prompt

Dreams — Weekly Creative Prompt

29 May 2021 by Darren Leave a Comment

Welcome to the new complete weekly creative prompt. We begin with a single word, a creative prompt, and expand it to inspire fiction writing, journaling and a host of other creative activities. These creative prompts, are to give me, and anyone else who wants to join in, some focus to our creative work.

I am not the deepest of sleepers. I find it easy to drift off, but I will often be awake again in a short while. Quite often, when I awake fully in the morning, I will be left wondering what memories were real and what ones were dreams. Unfortunately, both drift away quickly, especially when chased away by the morning coffee. Therefore, this week’s creative prompt is:

Dreams — a series of thoughts, images, and sensations occurring in a person’s mind during sleep

there are other meanings, but I like the way the dictionary uses sensations, dreams are so often a fully immersive experience

Let the prompt ‘dreams’ inspire you in any area of creativity that you are interested:

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

Let’s expand the word a little further…

Fiction Writing Prompt

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

This was not a coincidence. This is precisely what I remembered from my sleep. My dream was coming true.

Writing Prompt Expanded

Some of us suffer from motion sickness. It is a very unpleasant feeling and quite debilitating for some. As far as I understand, it is quite often caused by our senses getting confused. They send mixed messages to our brain suggesting, or not suggesting, movement.

This prompt is all about describing two events. There is the dream element and there is the current reality. Finally, you can explore how to explain how this is all occurring.

What is happening?
Do the feelings from your dream match the reality before you?
How do you explain this apparent premonition?

This writing prompt allows you to explore any situation. The wonderful thing about dreams is that they can be about anything. Although perhaps the less wonderful aspect of dreams is that they have a darker side. I am sure many of us can remember at least having one nightmare. But this is fiction, remember that all fiction has an end, just like a nightmare.

Journal prompt

Journaling allows us to hold conversations on paper. From private diaries to creative art journals we pour out our deepest thoughts. I know there are many who keep a dream journal; a place to record their dreams. As mentioned, I struggle to remember mine, so perhaps keeping a journal or at least a piece of paper by the bed will help. However, why would we want to record our dreams? We know that dreams often contain memories from the past, but are they more than just a rehash of events?

Questions to answer, thoughts to explore or images to create in your journal:

Does your dream relate to something that has happened recently?
Do you think your dreams offer guidance?
Are your dreams generally pleasant or unpleasant?
Do you dream more when anxious about something?

Theory of General Creativity

I now have ‘dreams’ written on the board above my computer. I am confident it will inspire me on my creative journey this week. Furthermore, I can recall having quite lucid creative moments when I dream. I have come up with many creative ideas while sleeping. Unfortunately, many were lost as I didn’t capture them. There is something magical about dreams, and I hope that their creative inspiration will find you.

Let ‘dreams’ inspire your music, photography, and painting this week, and also as you drift off to sleep…

Finally…

As always, these creative prompts are optional and entirely open to your interpretation. Use them as a starting point for a short story, something a little more grandiose.

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 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.

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Tangible — Weekly Creative Prompt

22 May 2021 by Darren Leave a Comment

Welcome to the new complete weekly creative prompt. We begin with a single creative prompt word and expand it to inspire fiction writing, journaling and a host of other creative activities. These creative prompts, are to give me, and anyone else who wants to join in, some focus to our creative work.

This past year has been anything but normal, although whether there ever is a ‘normal’ is open to debate. Let’s just say things have been different to what they were before. Many of the things we took for granted have been removed. Freedoms we were used to, have been curtailed, and we have not even been able to touch many of the things that were at our fingertips before. Therefore, this week’s creative prompt is:

Tangible — a thing that is perceptible by touch

This is just one definition. However, my word for the year was tangible because I was looking forward to things becoming perceptible by touch. I wanted to be reminded of that.

Let the prompt ‘tangible’ inspire you in any area of creativity that you are interested:

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

Let’s expand the word a little further…

Fiction Writing Prompt

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

The atmosphere of depression and decay was almost tangible.

Writing Prompt Expanded.

Being able to describe a place or situation is a key writing skill. We stretch our writing abilities when we describe something abstract. Mixing our language and using it in unusual ways adds to our composition. Describing something using a different sense to what we would normally use can be a challenge but is worth it.

This prompt is all about describing something abstract and which can’t be literally touched in such a way as it feels and is perceived as something that can be touched.

How do you describe depression as a physical environment?
How do you link decay and depression?
Tangible hints at touch, how do your other senses react?

The setting for the scene is completely up to you. As is the perspective; first or third person… or can you use another perspective? The challenge is to have fun describing. Mix as many senses as possible and enjoy your writing. The prompt may be about a dour atmosphere, but you don’t have to feel that way as you write.

Journal prompt

Journaling allows us to hold conversations on paper. From private diaries to creative art journals we pour out our deepest thoughts. As mentioned above my word for 2021 is tangible and I explored this in my journal toward the end of 2020. As I near the mid-point of the year, I’ll pour out some more thoughts in the journal, both positive and negative. What does tangible mean for you as we near June?

Questions to answer, thoughts to explore or images to create in your journal:

What would you like to be more tangible in your life?
What can you do to make this more tangible?
How will you cope with things beyond your control?

Theory of General Creativity

I now have ‘tangible’ written on the board above my computer. I am confident it will inspire me on my creative journey this week. It has felt like a lot of the past year has been anything but ‘perceptible by touch’. It feels like my creative adventure has been at the most percolating. It’s time to explore this prompt and also bring it into reality.

Let ‘tangible’ inspire your music, photography, and painting this week.

Finally…

As always, these creative prompts are optional and entirely open to your interpretation. Use them as a starting point for a short story, something a little more grandiose.

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

Magic — Weekly Creative Prompt

15 May 2021 by Darren Leave a Comment

Exploring magic in this weekly creative prompt

I have always wished that I could get things done easier. This can be seen in my ongoing quest for the ultimate productivity tools, sorting out to-do lists and the best way to journal. At the same time, my wishing would like to extend to clicking my fingers to get things done. Therefore, this week’s creative prompt is:

Magic — the power of apparently influencing events by using mysterious or supernatural forces

this is just one definition, but I love the phrase apparently influencing

Let the prompt ‘magic’ inspire you in any area of creativity that you are interested:

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

Let’s expand the word a little further…

Fiction Writing Prompt

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

I couldn’t believe my eyes. It was amazing. This was real magic.

Writing Prompt Expanded

Here is a chance to use superlatives, to go over the top, to explain something truly magical. Nothing is hyperbole when it comes to your writing for this prompt. The context is completely up to you. By leaving the context open, the prompt allows you to explore magic in either the supernatural sense or the magical feeling of awe.

This prompt is all about describing the scene before you, but your language needs to convey the beyond the ordinary.

What do you see?
Are you on your own or are others experiencing the event?
Are your other senses involved in the scene?

Again, the writing perspective is in the first person. This makes it easier to explore the scene and describe its magical nature to the individual. However, the setting and everything else is open to your imagination. Let your words weave a little magic on the page.

Journal prompt

Journaling is a place we can explore the mysterious and supernatural. It is a safe place where ideas can be developed and played with. And, if we have a private journal we know that no one else will see the magic we conjure.

Questions, thoughts to explore or images about magic to create in your journal:

What is the most magical thing in your life?
If you could click your fingers and work some magic, what would the spell be?
What colours convey the feeling of magic in your art journaling?

Theory of General Creativity

I now have ‘magic’ written on the board above my computer. I am confident it will inspire me on my creative journey this week. To all intents and purposes, the whole creative process is magic. The way ideas and thoughts develop in art is magical. There are basic rules to follow, which is evident as I make my music. However, it is the little steps that bend or break orthodoxy where I find the magic happens. And I can’t help thinking that many of the creative filters used to enhance our photography are like supernatural spells.

Let ‘magic’ inspire your music, photography, and painting this week. May your cauldron bubble and boil and bring forth something magical in your portfolio.

Finally…

As always, these creative prompts are optional and entirely open to your interpretation. Use them as a starting point for a short story, something a little more grandiose.

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

Myth — Weekly Creative Prompt

9 May 2021 by Darren Leave a Comment

Welcome to the new complete weekly creative prompt. I begin with a single creative prompt word and expand it to inspire fiction writing, journaling and a host of other creative activities. These creative prompts, are to give me, and anyone else who wants to join in, some focus to our creative work.

Ever since the advent of the scientific method, there has been a move toward finding meaning through fact and reason. The age-old truths found in religions and superstition can’t apparently be substantiated through experiment or laboratory work. However, visit any book store or turn on any streaming TV service, and you’ll find endless content exploring the supernatural. Therefore, this week’s creative prompt is:

Myth — a traditional story, especially one concerning the early history of a people or explaining a natural or social phenomenon, and typically involving supernatural beings or events

this is a general definition, but I love the way it seems so innocent and straightforward until it gets to the supernatural element

Let the prompt ‘myth’ inspire you in any area of creativity that you are interested:

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

Let’s expand the word a little further…

Fiction Writing Prompt

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

My eyes were not lying. I knew what I saw was real. However, how could it be? What I saw was a myth.

Writing Prompt Expanded

This prompt is all about comparing what we are seeing with what we knew, or thought we knew, to be real and possible; a mixed message.

What do you think you are seeing?
How do you describe something you know can’t be real?
Are your senses sending mixed messages?

The writing perspective is in the first person. This makes it easier to explore the feelings and subsequent confusion of the character. The setting and everything else is open to your imagination. Will you explore a ‘traditional’ story or let your creativity run wild and bring into being your very own myth?

Journal prompt

Journaling allows us to hold conversations on paper. From private diaries to creative art journals we pour out our deepest thoughts. A quick glance at the art journal hashtags online will deliver a multitude of mermaids, faeries, and other mythical creatures. Do we only find these myths on paper, or is there an inner yearning to believe in them and broaden reality?

Questions to answer, thoughts to explore or images to create in your journal:

What mythical creature could you bring to life in your art journal?
What myths do I believe and why?
Are there myths you believe in that you haven’t told anyone else about?

Theory of General Creativity

I now have ‘myth’ written on the board above my computer. I am confident it will inspire me on my creative journey this week. Furthermore, I have several pieces of music that are directly inspired by myth, so I am hoping this creative focus will help me move them along. And while I currently live in the South West of England, there are plenty of local stories and places that provide photo opportunities with a mythical twist.

Let ‘myth’ inspire your music, photography, and painting this week.

Finally…

As always, these creative 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 any creative project.

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

Fire — Friday Fiction Writing Prompt

7 May 2021 by Darren Leave a Comment

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

30 April 2021 by Darren Leave a Comment

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