Welcome to this week’s complete creative prompt exploring water. 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.
I am blessed in many, many ways. I have to admit, I am also privileged in all I have and where I find myself. Being in this position means I find it easy to take my blessings and privileges for granted. Keeping a gratitude journal or at least a simple list of things I am thankful for helps to remind me. One of the greatest blessings I currently enjoy is being close to the sea. In just a few minutes I can be listening to the lapping, or crashing of waves and breathing in the briny sea air. Therefore, this week’s creative prompt is:
Water — a colourless, transparent, odourless liquid that forms the seas, lakes, rivers, and rain and is the basis of the fluids of living organisms
this is a general definition, but I love the way despite having no colour or smell and lacking opacity it is so important to life
Let the prompt ‘water’ 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 exploring water aims to stretch the literary muscles. No rules. No word counts. Simply write and explore.
I tried to focus my eyes. Was this yet another mirage, or had I finally found some water?
Writing Prompt Expanded
We have already seen in its definition that water is essential to life. Humans can survive for some considerable time without food, but without water, we soon lose our ability to function. Our protagonist is in such a position. It’s your challenge to explain why they find themselves in such a situation.
This prompt is all about describing how our character finds themself in this precarious position but using language that shows their faculties are struggling.
- Why are they desperately in need of water?
- What was the previous mirage they saw?
- How is the lack of water affecting their other senses, mind and body?
Being able to describe a character who is challenged is a valuable skill. Most of our writing calls upon our experience. However, it is unlikely that many of us have found ourselves in desperate need of water. One way of approaching this is to exaggerate the feelings and memories we do have. Our amplified written feelings of need should be able to resonate with our readers. Our description of desperation should be indistinguishable from the real thing, similar to the mirage in the prompt.
Have fun, but don’t forget to drink your water as you draw from the creative well.
Journal prompt
Journaling allows us to hold conversations on paper. From private diaries to creative art journals, we pour out our deepest thoughts. If you work in an art journal, you’ll probably use water a lot. It helps mix colours, merge colours and can be a base for various mediums to act interestingly.
As metaphor water can be used in many ways, and some words that relate directly are, flow, soak, saturate, refresh, erode, and even cry.
Questions to answer, thoughts to explore or images to create in your journal:
- When was the last time you cried real tears, and why?
- What shapes can you draw that remind you of water?
- On some decent paper, add a wash of water and then add drops of ink or watered-down paint to create interesting shapes?
Theory of General Creativity
I now have ‘water’ written on the board above my computer. I am confident it will inspire me on my creative journey this week. Water was one of the four ancient elements. As such, it is part of the myth and magic of Alchemy. This medieval practice, of mixing and changing the elements and base metals, has many similarities to creativity. We take, we mix, we create. Whatever creative ventures we embark on, water can play an essential part, just like it does for life as we know it.
Let ‘water’ 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 ideas and ventures.
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 #thecreativeminimalist on any social platform.
Thank you for reading this post. Please share your thoughts in the comment section below.
namaste
d
xox
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