the creative minimalist

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Holiday Season Creative Field Notes

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It is that strange time between Christmas and the New Year. It is a time of false starts, of quiet, of planning, of this and that, and of nothing, because everything feels on hiatus. It is a downtime but also pregnant with possibility. The perfect time to stop and reflect on where I am with creative projects.

The Creative Minimalist Blog

I am doing some planning for this blog. I need to give myself some regular deadlines and break the process down into manageable chunks. If I see a task and it is too big I run away from it, procrastinate and wait until it is too late to post.

This Temple Eden Music

I have just completed and shared Music to journal by. This took far longer than I expected. It means there are now even more unfinished songs and soundtracks in various states of disrepair. I am going to finish these. I have a plan formulating that will enable me to, as above, break down the projects into manageable steps.

Fragments is the working title of the current track being finished. I have a page full of draft lyrics… time to edit and shape. Here’s a snippet, or fragment of fragments.

Memories surface as the season turned
chilled reminders of a former tide

pLAnarchy and waoao

Next on the list is thinking about what to do with pLAnarchy and waoao. How much time can or should I spend on freelance work vs other creative projects that could provide some income? I suppose my thinking here is deciding what do I enjoy doing… what would get me up in the morning?

Creative writing

There is also the writing. I seem to have stopped my creative writing. But I would like to get back into the habit. Again, how much time do I have and where does this go on the priority list? I have a pile of unfinished drafts that need attention. There is a pattern emerging with regard to my completing projects I think. So. How can I plan and work productively?

Tools of the trade

I am deciding what journal(s) and planning methods to keep me focussed, know what I should be doing and keep myself accountable.

Things 3 is my digital planner and I write regularly in Day One. I also have a Diary and Spiritual journal that are coming to an end in a few days as the year ends. I think they will be replaced with a simple bullet journal and a long-hand journal, but I am still undecided. I thought writing here might help clarify. Perhaps it has, I’ll post more next week for the first Creative Field Notes of 2023.

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

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Alive — Friday Fiction Writing Prompt

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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.

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Worship — Friday Fiction Writing Prompt

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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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Friday Fiction Writing Prompt exploring grow

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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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Friday Fiction Writing Prompt exploring the cold

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

She pulled the blanket up around her neck. Only her face was left exposed. The room was cold just like her thoughts. Friday Fiction Writing Prompt

She pulled the blanket up around her neck. Only her face was left exposed. The room was cold just like her thoughts.

Writing Prompt Expanded

It’s no secret that a little sunshine can lift our spirits. Likewise, a damp grey sky can have us crawling for a mug of hot coffee and a seat by the fireside. Alternatively, you may dislike the sun and like the wet and gloomy, either way, the weather has an effect on the way we feel.

This prompt is all about linking the physical; the weather, the temperature, to the thoughts and feelings of the person we are writing about.

  • What was she thinking?
  • Why was it cold where she was?
  • Are her thoughts and the temperature related in several ways?
  • How can you describe her thoughts and the temperature in a similar way?

It could be that as you write you find yourself deliberately misleading the reader. It may read like you are talking about her thoughts and yet, you are describing the cold or the other way around. The challenge is to mix the two together somehow… and that, my writing friends, is a chilling thought.

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 sheets image by JayMantri 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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Happy mail Friday Fiction Writing Prompt

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

happy mail - I opened the letter and read. I had to be careful not to smudge the words, as tears of joy rolled down my cheeks a Friday Fiction Writing Prompt

I opened the letter and read. I had to be careful not to smudge the words, as tears of joy rolled down my cheeks

Writing prompt Expanded

Some things make us so happy that our emotions overflow. But what can make us so happy? Today’s Friday Fiction Writing Prompt is all about exploring mail that makes us so happy we cry.

Our main character, written in the first person, is reading a letter and it is happy mail. But what words could bring tears of joy to someone’s eyes?

  • is it the news they have been waiting for?
  • the news they never dared would arrive?
  • is it a confirmation of something or a positive change in fortune?
  • in a digital age what is so important that it arrived via the post?
  • or, is this a past event being described, before the advent of email, texting and messaging?

The choice, as always, is yours. Put pen to paper or finger to keyboard and write, that’s the only rule. As always these writing prompts are optional and entirely open to your own 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 or tag me #ffwp. I’d love to read what you create. Write and enjoy the learning process.

Original image by Victor Vote 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