darren r hill

the creative minimalist

Tag: fear

  • 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

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  • Fear — Weekly Creative Prompt

    Fear - weekly creative prompt

    It’s time for another weekly creative prompt word. These weekly words, or prompts, are to give me, and anyone else who wants to join in, some focus to our creative work and journaling.

    A few weeks ago the weekly creative prompt word was ‘hope’. Hope is seen as positive, and yet so many times we tag it to something we don’t want to happen ‘I hope x or y doesn’t… etc’. In these situations, we betray the emotions that are really running through our minds. Therefore…

    This week’s creative prompt word is:

    Fear — an unpleasant emotion caused by the threat of danger, pain, or harm:

    I admit to being a little fascinated by the concept of fear, the fact that so many of the threats are created by my thoughts. Something I try to deal with quite often as I journal.

    Let the prompt inspire you in any area of creativity and journaling that you are interested:

    • writing fiction
    • art journaling
    • songwriting
    • journaling
    • photography
    • painting
    • composing
    • blog posts
    • art therapy
    • anything that could use a little nudge to begin

    I now have ‘fear’ written on the board above my computer, although, I have added a smiley face next to it. The prompt is not to instill fear but to explore how fear is linked to the unknown and what-ifs and maybes. Fear is no more a reality than hope, and yet so often I let it control my thoughts and actions. I am confident it will inspire me on my creative journey and journaling this week. Furthermore, I can already feel it impinging on how I can begin to overcome fear and be positive and proactive.

    As mentioned before, this isn’t a ‘challenge’ but the prompts can be used that way if you want. If you do create anything using them, I would love to see or hear about it. Leave a link in the comments below or tag me @darrenrhill or #thecreativeminimalist on any social platform.

    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