darren r hill

the creative minimalist

Category: Writing

Posts relating to writing, either my own fiction, poetry or prose, or the writing of others.

  • Rediscovering Reading: Salvation book review

    Memory is not always reliable. Now, no comments about my age. A few years back I was reading three separate science-fiction trilogies, jumping from one series to another. I enjoyed them all, and continue to read what each author releases. However, jumping from one brilliantly conceived universe to another, back and forth, over three series was a little too much for my tiny little mind. Therefore, and that brings me to the point of this paragraph, if I know an author is writing a trilogy, I will wait until I have all three books and binge them.

    My current binge is the Salvation Sequence trilogy by Peter F Hamilton. I am a big fan of his epic space opera, and this trilogy promised more of what I like. This nerd can’t resist, aliens, FTL travel and books that include a timeline for clarity. I have just finished book one; Salvation, and before I get too far into book two wanted to write a quick review.

    Talking of book series, I began reading Salvation after a difficult journey through books five and six of The Expanse. I found both of those, especially book six, tough going. I hate to admit it, but by the end of that book, I had almost lost the ‘joy’ of sitting down and picking up a book. That isn’t to say I dislike The Expanse, and I will return to the series, I just struggled. However, all that was quickly forgotten as I was launched into the Salvation Sequence.

    In the nearish future, the earth has been visited by what appears to be two alien species. The predominant alien race has stopped by during a religious pilgrimage to meet their god at the end of the universe. They are friendly and offer to share their medical advances with humanity in return for energy to create their antimatter fuel to continue their journey. All very friendly. Meanwhile, in the far future, another group of genetically modified humans are training. Their mission is to continue their fight for survival against an aggressive alien race who have chased humanity across the stars.

    Meanwhile, back on earth, or actually on a planet that earth people hang out on, an of unknown origin alien spaceship has been found. In it are a group of humans in suspended animation, but no aliens. A group of interested parties go and check it out. We learn more about these interested parties and a lot more, through lengthy flashbacks. We also learn about the visiting aliens, the two distinct cultures that humanity has divided itself into and all the technology that is now commonplace, along with some interesting social commentary.

    Salvation jumps between the far future and near future timelines until… well, no spoilers, but there was a nice twist in the final few chapters. Setting things up nicely for book two; Salvation Lost.

    So, an enjoyable read and if you want to read it yourself here’s an affiliate link to Amazon UK and Amazon US. Back to book two for me…

    Thank you for reading this post. Please share your thoughts in the comment section below.
    namaste
    d
    xox

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  • Fire — Friday Fiction Writing Prompt

    A Fiction Writing or Journal Prompt exploring ‘fire’ to stretch the literary muscles. No rules. No word counts. Simply write and explore.

    It’s a cliché but very apt right now, there is no smoke without fire.

    Writing Prompt Expanded

    A golden rule in writing is to avoid clichés. The thinking behind this is simple, using an overused phrase is lazy. Writers should be creative, therefore don’t use something that someone, or many ones, have used before. However, we do use clichés because they are so often true and convey meanings that are easily understood by many. In this prompt, we are using a cliché, intentionally, and intentional use is fine, permission granted.

    This prompt is all about cause and effect, the fire is causing smoke, what the smoke and the fire are though is up to you…

    • Is your smoke real or a metaphor for something?
    • How do you notice the smoke?
    • Can you use all your senses to describe the smoke?

    The prompt works well for all genres of fiction, so you’ll have your creative muscles stretched to pin down an idea. If you are using this as a journal writing prompt, you could use it to explore actions in your life. What is the fire that causes you to act the way you do? Quite often we focus on the symptom and not the cause and then wonder why we struggle. What is the fire that perhaps needs putting out, or at least damping down? Enjoy the creative writing time, but remember, in general, avoid clichés like the plague.

    In the next couple of days, I’ll be posting about a change in these creative prompts, until then…

    As always, these writing prompts are optional and entirely open to your interpretation. Use them as a starting point for a short story, something a little more grandiose or a prompt in your journal. If you do write something, please share it or a link, in the comments, use the hashtag #ffwp or tag me. I’d love to read what you create. Write and enjoy the learning process.

    Thank you for reading this post. Please share your thoughts in the comment section below.
    namaste
    d
    xox

    If you enjoyed this post please support my writing by making a donation of any amount.

    Sign up for my (ir)regular newsletter to keep up to date with my creative adventures, including special offers, and join me on Instagram | YouTube | Twitter | Pinterest

  • Silence — Friday Fiction Writing Prompt

    A Fiction and Journal Writing Prompt exploring silence to stretch the literary muscles. No rules. No word counts. Simply write and explore.

    I hear nothing. There should be a cacophony, but there is only silence.

    Writing Prompt Expanded

    Last week was all about sound so this week it seems only fitting that we delve into the opposite. It is often easier to write about something that is there. Something that has shape and form, that triggers our senses. The challenge here is to write about something that doesn’t exist. The prompt should help a little in that it suggests an expectancy of sound.

    This prompt is all about silence, a complete lack of sound. It is about describing something that isn’t there.

    • What sound should there be?
    • How do you describe the absence of sound?
    • Why is there no sound?

    There is a lot of scope for creativity if you use this as a fiction prompt. You might be expecting noise from children having fun, a machine running, or a pet playing. It works well in both funny or sinister situations. As a journal prompt, it gives plenty of space to think about where the sound should or shouldn’t be in our lives, and again, how do you express this artfully on the page?

    As always these writing prompts are optional and entirely open to your interpretation. Use them as a starting point for a short story, something a little more grandiose or a journal page. If you do write something, please share it or a link, in the comments, use the hashtag #ffwp or tag me. I’d love to read what you create. Write and enjoy the learning process.

    Thank you for reading this post. Please share your thoughts in the comment section below.
    namaste
    d
    xox

    If you enjoyed this post please support my writing by making a donation of any amount.

    Sign up for my (ir)regular newsletter to keep up to date with my creative adventures, including special offers, and join me on Instagram | YouTube | Twitter | Pinterest

  • Sound — Friday Fiction Writing Prompt

    A Fiction Writing and Journal Prompt about sound to stretch the literary muscles. No rules. No word counts. Simply explore, write and create.

    a sound, clear and unique despite the background noise, a pattern defined among the chaos fiction and journal writing prompt

    a sound, clear and unique despite the background noise, a pattern defined among the chaos

    Writing Prompt Expanded

    We all know what it is like to hear a sudden, new sound. When all is silent even the slightest noise can awaken our senses and put us on alert. However, the same is true when there is a lot of background noise. Our hearing notices the unique and different.

    This prompt is all about sound, its description and the narrator’s response.

    • What is the sound?
    • Can you describe the sound using other senses?
    • What is the reaction, the felt response to the sound?

    The setting for this prompt could be anything. The same goes for whether you write in the first or third person or any other perspective. It could be a personal memory if you are writing in your journal, or it could be the beginning of a very scary story.

    As always these writing prompts are optional and entirely open to your interpretation. Use them as a starting point for a short story, something a little more grandiose or a page in your journal. If you do write something, please share it or a link, in the comments, use the hashtag #ffwp or tag me. I’d love to read what you create. Write and enjoy the learning process.

    Thank you for reading this post. Please share your thoughts in the comment section below.
    namaste
    d
    xox

    If you enjoyed this post please support my writing by making a donation of any amount.

    Sign up for my (ir)regular newsletter to keep up to date with my creative adventures, including special offers, and join me on Instagram | YouTube | Twitter | Pinterest

  • Enough — Friday Fiction Writing Prompt

    A Fiction Writing or Journal Prompt to stretch the literary muscles. No rules. No word counts. Simply write and explore.

    That was it, anything more would be too much. It was time to stop. It was enough. Friday Fiction Writing Prompt

    That was it, anything more would be too much. It was time to stop. It was enough.

    Writing Prompt Expanded

    We live in a world where we are bombarded by advertisements. We are told that our lives aren’t good enough, and they could be so much better. The solution for a better life is to get more. We are urged to upgrade and collect. We discover new issues that we didn’t know existed, however, the solution is available if we obtain it. We live in a world where more is seen as better, or good.

    This prompt is all about having enough. Can we think and write about not needing more? The context of the prompt is deliberately open.

    • What does the narrator have enough of?
    • How does the narrator know that there is enough?
    • What feelings does having enough bring out?

    This prompt lends itself very well to both fiction — especially sci-fi or an intense relationship — and personal reflection. Be aware that it might trigger some deep relational emotions, if so, do talk to a trained counsellor. One question to keep in mind as you do write… are there ever enough words?

    As always these writing prompts are optional and entirely open to your interpretation. Use them as a starting point for a short story, something a little more grandiose or as a journal prompt. If you do write something, please share it or a link, in the comments, use the hashtag #ffwp or tag me. I’d love to read what you create. Write and enjoy the learning process.

    Original beach image by Free-Photos from Pixabay

    Thank you for reading this post. Please share your thoughts in the comment section below.
    namaste
    d
    xox

    If you enjoyed this post please support my writing by making a donation of any amount.

    Sign up for my (ir)regular newsletter to keep up to date with my creative adventures, including special offers, and join me on Instagram | YouTube | Twitter | Pinterest

  • Alive — Friday Fiction Writing Prompt

    A Fiction and Journal Writing Prompt exploring life and being alive to stretch the literary muscles. No rules. No word counts. Simply write and explore.

    Movement, just a flicker, but movement. Almost imperceptible, but movement. It means one thing, life. - Friday Fiction Writing Prompt

    Movement, just a flicker, but movement. Almost imperceptible, but movement. It means one thing, life.

    Writing Prompt Expanded

    Easter has just passed and in the Northern Hemisphere, the buds are beginning to bloom, the lambs are being born and the trees are becoming greener. It was this time of year that decided Alive as my creative prompt for the week. Now it is time to turn that into a writing prompt and have a little fiction or journal fun.

    This prompt is all about life and being alive. Movement often defines life, and certainly intelligent life. This prompt explores that, although what is moving is entirely up to you.

    • What is beginning to move?
    • How do you describe the movement?
    • Is the movement hoped for, wanted or not?

    Depending on your setting and perspective, who the narrator is, will always determine what you write. One area to explore in fiction is the emotional response. Both hoped for life and feared life will bring out strong emotions. Depending on what is alive will bring relief or fear.

    In a journal setting, you might want to explore how to give life to your dreams and hopes. How can your ideal future become a reality and be alive?

    Put pen to paper, or finger to keyboard and let the words come alive.

    As always these writing prompts are optional and entirely open to your interpretation. Use them as a starting point for a short story, something a little more grandiose or for your journal. If you do write something, please share it or a link, in the comments, use the hashtag #ffwp or tag me. I’d love to read what you create. Write and enjoy the learning process.

    Original moss image by Susann Mielke from Pixabay

    Thank you for reading this post. Please share your thoughts in the comment section below.
    namaste
    d
    xox

    If you enjoyed this post please support my writing by making a donation of any amount.

    Sign up for my (ir)regular newsletter to keep up to date with my creative adventures, including special offers, and join me on Instagram | YouTube | Twitter | Pinterest