darren r hill

the creative minimalist

Tag: writing prompt

  • 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

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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.

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  • 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.

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  • Friday Fiction Writing Prompt exploring the cold

    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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  • It was the eyes – Friday Fiction Writing Prompt

    A Fiction Writing Prompt to stretch the literary muscles, possibly about love, but definitely exploring eyes. No rules. No word counts. Simply write and explore.

    I took in every detail, but I was drawn in by the eyes

    Writing Prompt Expanded

    It could be love, which is my creative word for the week, but it could be hate! It could be any reason at all that you have been drawn to this person and their eyes. This Friday Fiction Writing Prompt is about describing someone’s features.

    • What language do you use to describe a face, the mouth, the skin?
    • Why, are the eyes so special?

    Being able to describe someone is a vital part of writing a story. You should try to convey feelings, use metaphors, similes, and any literary tool you can.

    In fiction, it is not about describing the Pantone colour of someone’s skin and the distance in millimetres between their eyes, it’s about describing what these visual elements mean to you, the author, and therefore are important to the reader.

    Draw this person in words, and describe why they have drawn you toward them. 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 eye image by muratkalenderoglu 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