the creative minimalist

writing

How to take the first creative step in 2023

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A few thoughts on entering 2023 (main or lunar calendar) and taking the first creative step. Events of recent years have left creative people in a weird place, so a simple thought on how to get going in the new year. Here’s the latest vlog. View below or click the link to YouTube.

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

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Imaginary figments Friday field notes

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screenshot of emerge in Logi Pro X
fig 1

An update, or excerpt, on what I have been creating and doing. Keeping myself accountable, even though I have forgotten to update here for a few weeks. Inspired by my imagination, here are some…

Figments

I am composing ‘emerge’. I think this will form part of a collection, the working title of which is currently ‘music to journal by’ – fig 1 is a screenshot of my work in progress. I’ll do a video update on the progress soon.

I am writing again. I have set myself a monthly word count goal. I had a nagging feeling in my soul that I wanted to write. I have plenty of ideas but wasn’t getting around to writing any. So, I set myself a goal, a little more accountability.

The music grimoire my songwriting journal hasn’t seen much action, but I have been working on a collection of songs. I’ll be back in the songwriting journal over the weekend.

I am reading Norse Mythology by Neil Gaiman. Really enjoying the oral ‘storytelling’ vibe. I always know when I am enjoying a book because I write quotes:

He had done as his dreams had told him, but dreams know more than they reveal, even to the wisest of the gods

Norse mythology by Neil Gaiman

I have been watching Brand New Cherry Flavor on Netflix. It was good, but I didn’t think it was great. There were some really nice ‘horror’ video effects. I quite liked those.

I am thankful for all of you who read and encourage me on my creative path, and as such, I’d best get going and finish a few things.

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

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Friday fiction writing prompt exploring Hope

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

If only…

Writing Prompt Expanded

This is the shortest prompt that I have ever shared and yet, it is also the most open. My general creative prompt for this week is hope. I’ve been looking for signs of hope as I have been working away. So often, especially in the current situation of the pandemic and general uncertainty, I have found myself saying, ‘if only this’ or ‘if only that’, then there would be hope. And so, that is why those words form this week’s Friday Fiction Writing Prompt.

This prompt is all about something that would bring hope. It is completely open to your interpretation. I have put a few ideas below but do let your creative imagination run free.

If only…

  • a miracle cure was discovered
  • there was enough money for…
  • this winter would end
  • I could find…
  • the phone would ring

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.

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 old journal – 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.

I discovered it at the bottom of the trunk. I opened the old, dusty journal and began to read. A life long gone breathed again… Friday Fiction Writing Prompt

I discovered it at the bottom of the trunk. I opened the old, dusty journal and began to read. A life long gone breathed again…

Writing Prompt Expanded

You might have noticed but I like to journal. In fact, I am an avid journal user. I often find I am repeating myself in several places. If you picked up and read my journals, you’d get a pretty good idea of what my life is like. And that is exactly where we are going with this prompt

This prompt is all about recreating a world from the past. Your character is reading an old journal and as they do they discover the life of the person who wrote it.

  • What year was the journal written?
  • Is the journal written by a relative?
  • If they had an occupation, what was it?
  • Was their life difficult or easy?
  • What things concerned them day by day?

This prompt will help you bring an old world to life. Creating a believable setting for your characters and stories is a vital skill. Using this journal style prompt is one way to do that. You describe someone’s life and therefore describe the world they inhabited. And even just several years in the past can make a huge difference to the way people lived. Smartphones and the Internet didn’t exist twenty or so years back.

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

Original Journal Image by JamesDeMers from Pixabay

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

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There is no one – 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.

There is no one. Shops are closed with windows boarded up or just abandoned. It looks like a ghost town. What has happened… Friday Fiction Writing Prompt

There is no one. Shops are closed with windows boarded up or just abandoned. It looks like a ghost town. What has happened…

Writing Prompt Expanded

How about a little apocalypse? Of course, it doesn’t have to be. That’s the freedom you have in these prompts. I thought it would be good to describe the emptiness of where your protagonist is. To explore and develop your descriptive toolbox.

One way to do this is to contrast the still and silent with the normal busyness and noise. Make comparisons as you describe the location.

  • What would normally be taking place?
  • Who would regularly be seen here?
  • What sounds are now long gone?
  • Without people do the buildings take on personalities or human traits?

And of course, there is how this all makes the protagonist feel.

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. I’d love to read what you create

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 white fluffy clouds – 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.

White fluffy clouds drift gently across the azure sky. The sight transports me back at once. The memory, as vivid as the heavens - Friday Fiction Writing Prompt

White fluffy clouds drift gently across the azure sky. The sight transports me back at once. The memory, as vivid as the heavens.

Writing Prompt Expanded

Sights and sounds, tastes and smells, and touch sensations are powerful. They can bring back memories long-forgotten, both good and bad.

This prompt allows you to explore how seeing the clouds in the sky brings back a memory. As the memory is vivid allow yourself to explore the other senses.

  • What can you hear?
  • What can you smell?
  • Is there an associated taste?
  • What do you feel, underfoot, fingertips or somewhere else?

Although you can draw on your own memories I would advise not using this prompt to remember your own past. That could bring up painful and other negative thoughts. So please be careful. These prompts are for you to enjoy and develop your writing ability, not work through serious trauma. Please find someone who can help you if you need it.

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. I’d love to read what you create

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