darren r hill

the creative minimalist

Category: Writing

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

  • Worship — Friday Fiction Writing Prompt

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

    I stop. My senses are overwhelmed. It is spectacular. I am in awe. Friday Fiction Writing Prompt

    I stop. My senses are overwhelmed. It is spectacular. I am in awe.

    Writing Prompt Expanded

    At times the above prompt is very real to me. Quite often a moment out among the trees or by the sea will stop me in my tracks. The beauty and untamed magic found at those times take me beyond the mundane. The complexity and, at the same time, simplicity of nature is amazing to behold.

    This prompt is all about taking one of those moments and exploring it. This falls into my own broad definition of worship.

    • What is causing you to feel this way?
    • How do you describe the effect on your senses?
    • What is the physical response of your body?

    This prompt works equally well as a fiction starter or as a personal journal prompt. For fiction, it could be unreal or an apparition, there might be ‘false gods’! It might be the realisation and culmination of a hero quest or pilgrimage? If you use the prompt in your journal, remember that worship isn’t limited to organised religion. In its broadest sense worship is simply acknowledging the awe and wonder of what is around us. And, I can’t help thinking that we could all do with a little more awe and wonder in our lives.

    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 prompt. If you do write something, please share it or a link, in the comments, use the hashtag #ffwp or tag me @darrenrhill. I’d love to read what you create. Write and enjoy the learning process and stop in awe at what you have created!

    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.

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  • Balance – Friday Fiction Writing Prompt

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

    I hold my breath. This moment can go as planned or spectacularly wrong. I begin to move. Friday Fiction Writing Prompt

    I hold my breath. This moment can go as planned or spectacularly wrong. I begin to move.

    Writing Prompt Expanded

    My creative word this week is balance. It is a word that keeps cropping up in my thoughts and journaling. And it is the background for today’s writing prompt. The narrator is ready to do something. Before moving everything is ready and in balance. Then they move.

    This prompt is about describing balance and how movement affects it. One challenge is to write without actually explaining what is balanced. Another is to explore something that isn’t tangible, such as feelings or dreams of the future. Here are a few more questions to inspire…

    • Does time stand still, and how do you describe that?
    • What is the predominant feeling, hope or fear? Why?
    • Who benefits if balance is lost, and who will not?

    I struggle with living in the present ‘balanced’ moment (more of that in future posts) as I spend far too much time either looking backward or to the future. If you are like me then this challenge is quite helpful as something to explore in your journal. Take a moment to appreciate and give thanks when things are balanced. It is beneficial. However, we all need to take a step and begin to move… and begin to write as well.

    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 @darrenrhill. I’d love to read what you create. Write and enjoy the learning process.

    Original stone balance image by Einfach-Eve 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.

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  • Elements – Friday Fiction Writing Prompt

    A Fiction Writing Prompt exploring elements and recipe, to stretch the literary muscles. No rules. No word counts. Simply write and explore.

    All the ingredients were finally there. Every essential element was ready. Now… Friday Fiction Writing Prompt

    All the ingredients were finally there. Every essential element was ready. Now…

    Writing Prompt Expanded

    My personality likes to have everything ready and in place. I like to know where all the things are that I need to use. I like to have all the elements that will be required at my disposal. My personality rarely gets what it wants. My actions don’t always match my needs, but that’s another story. Today’s story, pice of fiction, is yours.

    This prompt is all about listing, planning and doing. One way to look at this fiction prompt is to think of it as a recipe. The creative part is to decide who is using the recipe and what are they making. It is a recipe, but what is the recipe for? Is it a literal recipe or a metaphor? Just like the metaphor of a journey, a recipe can be for all aspects of life, so this also makes an ideal journal prompt.

    What are the ingredients for?

    • the primordial soup?
    • the healing chicken soup?
    • the cure for all ills?
    • the ill that has no cure?

    The list of possibilities is endless, so choose one of the above if you need a little guidance. And remember the most important ingredient in fiction writing and any writing is you. All you need to do is turn up and put pen to paper or finger to keyboard and begin. You are the essential element.

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

    Original spices image by Barbara Rosner 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.

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  • The Path a Friday Fiction Writing Prompt

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

    I am lost. I don’t know which way to go. Wait. Is that a way forward? Have I found a path? Friday Fiction Writing Prompt the creative minimalist

    I am lost. I don’t know which way to go. Wait. Is that a way forward? Have I found a path?

    Writing Prompt Expanded

    Finding a direction in life can be its biggest mystery. We look for direction and answers in philosophy, religion, pleasure, or pain. There is almost no limit to potential answers and solutions and therefore, roads to travel. As such, we can find ourselves, confused or even lost. This may be a temporary or seemingly permanent state of being.

    This prompt is all about a path. In the previous paragraph, the path would appear as a metaphor, however, it could be a literal path as well. In fact, I might go so far as to suggest that the best metaphors are ones we literally live out. Being lost in the forest whilst looking for life’s meaning could be the revelation we really need. Let’s explore the way ahead, our path, in this writing prompt.

    • Why do you think there is a path?
    • How does the realisation of a path change your feelings?
    • What do you have to do to follow this path?
    • What are your hopes or fears if you follow this path?

    This is fiction, but like all these prompts it can be used for personal reflection. The path is a powerful metaphor and one I return to quite often. It has been my creative prompt word this week too. And, as so often, given me plenty to think about and explore.

    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 time in your journal. If you do write something, please share it or a link, in the comments, use the hashtag #ffwp or tag me @darrenrhill. I’d love to read what you create. Write and enjoy the learning process.

    Original forest path image by jplenio 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

  • Friday Fiction Writing Prompt exploring grow

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

    I didn’t know if it was a plea, prayer or premonition, but the word left my lips as I saw the first shoot... ‘grow’ - Friday Fiction Writing Prompt

    I didn’t know if it was a plea, prayer or premonition, but the word left my lips as I saw the first shoot… ‘grow’

    Writing Prompt Expanded

    Waiting for something to happen can be frustrating. It can test our patience. However, this prompt is about the next step. The waiting is over, there is progress, something is happening.

    This prompt is all about expectation and need. You know what you want to grow, but there is plenty of time between emergence and fruition.

    • What are you wanting to grow?
    • What new emotions emerge as the process begins?
    • What are your hopes?
    • What are your fears?

    The image suggests that it is a plant you want to grow, however, feel free to use this prompt as a metaphor. There are many things that we would like to grow, relationships, success, well-being, healing. Any of these can be explored in your fiction, or in your journal. And may your words emerge and grow into something creative.

    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 some reflective time in your journal. If you do write something, please share, or mention it or a link, in the comments, use the hashtag #ffwp or tag me @darrenrhill. I’d love to read what you create. Write and enjoy the learning process.

    Original plant image by Ngo Minh Tuan 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.

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  • Prognosis fear — Friday Fiction Writing Prompt

    A Fiction Writing Prompt exploring fear to stretch the literary muscles. No rules. No word counts. Simply write and explore. Warning: this prompt may trigger deep emotions if you have or are dealing with illness. You may want to avoid it.

    The doctor glanced one final time at the computer monitor, as if for confirmation. She then turned to me and said… Friday Fiction Writing Prompt

    The doctor glanced one final time at the computer monitor, as if for confirmation. She then turned to me and said…

    Writing Prompt Expanded

    This Friday Fiction Writing Prompt is all about the narrator’s reaction. It is linked to my weekly creative prompt ‘fear’. So often, as we wait for something we spend our time worrying about what will happen, we fear the outcome. This is a learned response, however, without all the facts our fear is often unfounded. We go to the doctor because we don’t know. The doctor is the one who can interpret the situation correctly.

    The doctor is about to speak:

    • What do they say?
    • What is the reaction?
    • Is it positive or negative news, or even something else?
    • Are the words for the narrator or another member of the family?
    • What is the emotional response?

    Writing this prompt in the first person allows you to really get under the skin of your character. There is an emotional scene in the TV series Breaking Bad. Walter White is told that he has terminal lung cancer. The doctor is talking, but Walter isn’t listening to the words. Walter is focussed on a sauce stain on the doctor’s coat. That’s Walter’s reaction to the doctor’s words. What will the reaction be in your fiction?

    This may trigger very personal memories. Don’t attempt to use this prompt if that is so. However, it can be a good way to begin exploring your feelings and emotions, of the past and perhaps the future. Do seek professional help and guidance if you want to explore this further.

    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 some personal journal time. If you do write something, please share it or a link, in the comments or tag me #ffwp or @darrenrhill. I’d love to read what you create. Write and enjoy the learning process.

    Original medical image by StockSnap 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