the creative minimalist

Darren

Adventure. Weekly creative prompt

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adventure weekly creative prompt @darrenrhill

This week’s creative prompt is Adventure. Each week we begin with a single word and expand it to inspire writing fiction, journaling and other creative activities. These creative prompts, are to give me, and anyone else who wants to join in, some inspiration for our creative work.

Definitions

adventure — an unusual and exciting or daring experience, excitement associated with danger or the taking of risks, a reckless or potentially hazardous action or enterprise, engage in daring or risky activity

Adventure can be used as a noun or verb.

Related

escapade, deed, feat, trial, experience, incident, occurrence, event, happening, episode, affair, stunt, caper, romp, antic, quest, crusade, campaign, venture

Adventure often denotes excitement, life is an adventure, and yet there is always the element of the unknown in a true adventure, and the unknown brings risk and even fear at times.

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

  • 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…

Writing prompt

I closed the bag. If I had forgotten anything, it was too late. Now the adventure could begin. fiction writing prompt @darrenrhill

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

I closed the bag. If I had forgotten anything, it was too late. Now the adventure could begin.

Writing Prompt Expanded

I recently packed my bags and left on my own adventure across the world. Being a slightly obsessive individual, I may have checked and double-checked everything I put into my case and carry-on. All this was after seemingly endless debates about what I should or should not take.

This prompt aims to capture that moment and more. It is a moment of anticipation and uncertainty. A moment that should affect every sense of your protagonist.

  • Is the adventure planned or a surprise?
  • What feeling dominates, excitement or fear?
  • Where will the adventure lead?

The context for this prompt is entirely up to you. The challenge is to describe the feelings being experienced. Use your memories of travel and adventure. Try to draw on metaphorical adventures and transfer those feelings into this prose.

Enjoy and may your writing be an adventure captured in words.

Quick fiction writing

Set a time limit, use the following random prompts and write a short piece of fiction.

  • Character: five-year-old child
  • Place: airport
  • Item: an unattended bag

Journal prompt

We can use journals to record our adventures. Adding tickets and other ephemera turn a diary of events into a living memorial. The phrase life is an adventure is used by many, capture that adventure, your life in your journal.

Three ideas for your journal

  • next time you go on a trip, keep all the tickets and any related ephemera to make a journal of your adventure when you get home
  • make a collage inspired by the word adventure
  • create a list of places you would like to visit as part of your life adventure

Theory of General Creativity

I now have ‘adventure’ written on the board above my computer. I am confident it will inspire me on my creative journey this week.

  • capture the adventure of each day with your camera
  • use the emotions of adventure — the feelings of excitement and risk — in a painting or piece of music
  • begin a piece of art as and adventure with no destination

Let ‘adventure’ 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 or idea.

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

If you enjoyed this post please support my writing by making a donation of any amount.

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The moon was bright on a Wordless Wednesday

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The moon was bright on a wordless Wednesday

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

Rest. Weekly creative prompt

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Rest weekly creative prompt @darrenrhill

This week’s creative prompt is Rest. Each week we begin with a single word and expand it to inspire writing fiction, journaling and other creative activities. These creative prompts, are to give me, and anyone else who wants to join in, some inspiration for our creative work.

Definitions

rest — allow to be inactive to regain strength or health, be placed or supported to stay in a specified position

Rest can be used as a noun or verb.

Related

relax, ease up/off, let up, slow down, pause, have/take a break, ease, inactivity, respite, time off, time out, breathing space

Rest denotes inactivity, a time to do nothing. So, can we make rest work as a creative prompt? Let’s see…

Let the prompt ‘rest’ 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…

Writing prompt

It was too much. I was overwhelmed. My mind couldn’t cope. I had to rest. Fiction writing prompt @darrenrhill

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

It was too much. I was overwhelmed. My mind couldn’t cope. I had to rest.

Writing Prompt Expanded

The modern world is fast-paced. We are beset with deadlines, appointments, expiry dates, the time to upgrade, alarms to wake up and take medicine. We move from minute to minute, day to day, doing whatever our day demands. If we are fortunate, we may get a few weeks each year on holiday, a holiday full of new demands and time pressures.

Sometimes this all gets too much, and that is where this prompt begins. We should all know what it feels like, and so we can call on our memories and experiences in our writing here. However, this is fiction and so…

  • What has overwhelmed our character?
  • What are the physical effects?
  • How will the character rest?

The context for this prompt is entirely up to you. Use your experiences and memories of feeling overwhelmed to bring reality to your fiction. A truism often used is write what you know. To develop your writing, exaggerate and elaborate on these experiences.

Enjoy and may your words rest easy on the page as you create and write.

Quick fiction writing

Set a time limit, use the following random prompts and write a short piece of fiction.

  • Character: child
  • Place: shop
  • Item: shelves of sweets

Journal prompt

Making time for writing, creating and doodling in our journals is a great way to rest. Despite alarms often being the cause of stress for me, I have several set to remind me to stop and open up my journal. And if you’ve watched my YouTube channel, you’ll know I have and use several journals.

Three ideas for your journal

  • overwhelmed? write a list
  • create a collage that represents rest for you
  • plan a restful holiday, the place, what you need and how to make it a reality

Theory of General Creativity

I now have ‘rest’ written on the board above my computer. I am also on a journey of pilgrimage and discovery at the moment, so making time for some personal rest as well. However, I am still working away and creating, I am confident it will inspire me on my creative journey this week.

  • capture things resting with your camera
  • remember to pause and rest during a creative project if you are unsure of the next step
  • use rest and space in paintings, multimedia and sound

Let ‘rest’ 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 or idea.

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

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

Night. Weekly creative prompt

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night weekly creative prompt @darrenrhill

This week’s creative prompt is Night. Each week we begin with a single word and expand it to inspire writing fiction, journaling and other creative activities. These creative prompts, are to give me, and anyone else who wants to join in, some inspiration for our creative work.

Definitions

night — the period from sunset to sunrise in every twenty-four hours, the night as the interval between two days

Night can be used as a noun or adverb.

Related

darkness, dark, hours of darkness, nighttime, dead of night, nocturnal

And don’t forget nyctophobia, the fear of the night.

Night being an old goth at heart, I like the night and all things dark. However, it also makes me think of rest and expectations for the day to come.

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

  • 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…

Writing prompt

It was dark. All was quiet. It was the night before… fiction writing prompt @darrenrhill

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

It was dark. All was quiet. It was the night before…

Writing Prompt Expanded

Almost everyone knows the phrase, ’twas the night before Christmas’ even if they don’t know the rest of the poem from which it is taken. This phrase conjures up the expectation of what is to come.

This prompt is all about that magical conjuring. Something is going to happen, and before it does, your role as a writer is to set the scene. The prompt explains that it is dark, and then it offers the reason for that, it’s night… or is that the reason?

  • Why is it dark, is the dark different to other nights?
  • How will you keep the reader’s attention once you declare what the night is before?
  • Who is narrating, is it a non-performing character or someone in the story?

The context for this prompt is entirely up to you. The challenge is to describe the situation. How does what will happen after affect what is happening now, in the before? Will your fiction describe happy or sad events? A scary moment and impending fear?

Enjoy, the choice of context is yours, but if you are writing something scary, and it is the night, you may want to leave a light on.

Quick fiction writing

Set a time limit, use the following random prompts and write a short piece of fiction.

  • Character: vampire
  • Place: beach
  • Item: no coffin

Journal prompt

Do you count nights or sleeps until an event, or do you count days? I have been doing both recently as I wait for something. And there will be more about that in the blog soon, I am certain. But before the blog, my journal is and has been full of countdowns.

When it comes to writing in our journals, we may pick them up at specific times, as soon as we wake from the night, or at night before we go to sleep. It doesn’t matter when, but it made me think that night is more than just something we can put in our journal.

Three ideas for your journal

  • Create or use a black page, and add a single, simple item to be with you at night
  • paint a nighttime scan full of stars, galaxies, and the moon
  • keep a record of how long you sleep each night

Theory of General Creativity

I now have ‘night’ written on the board above my computer. I am confident it will inspire me on my creative journey this week.

  • capture things that light at night with your camera
  • use night (and day) as metaphor when creating some music or a painting
  • remember night as a rhythm of life, a downtime, before we had the availability of so much light, we had to take a break

Let ‘night’ 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 or idea.

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

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

Autumn sun on a Wordless Wednesday

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autumn sun in the sky behind some clouds

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

Remember. Weekly creative prompt

by Leave a Comment

Remember weekly creative prompt @darrenrhill

This week’s creative prompt is “remember”. Each week we begin with a single word and expand it to inspire writing fiction, journaling, and other creative activities. These creative prompts, are to give me, and anyone else who wants to join in, some inspiration for our creative work.

Definition

remember — have in or be able to bring to one’s mind an awareness of (someone or something from the past)

Remember is a verb.

Related

bear in mind, keep in mind, not lose sight of the fact, not forget, be mindful of the fact; take into account, take into consideration, recall, call to mind, recollect, think of; put a name to, place; reminisce about, think back to, look back on, hark back to, cast one’s mind back to, summon up, muse on; take a trip down memory lane, don’t forget.

Remember recalls the past and yet, that recollection occurs in the present and depending on what we are remembering it can direct our future.

Let the prompt ‘remember’ 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…

Writing prompt

This is the moment, what it is all about. This is what I would remember. - fiction writing prompt

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

This is the moment, what it is all about. This is what I would remember.

Writing Prompt Expanded

We live in an instant society. With the right resources, we can do most things when we want. I can’t help feeling that this leaves many of us with a sense of loss, a soullessness, which means we rarely focus on the experience of those ‘instants’. It becomes too easy to simply move on to the next moment.

This prompt is all about realising one of those moments and capturing it. This isn’t about describing a walk to the shops, it should be about something that is life-changing.

  • Why is this moment worth remembering?
  • How does the moment affect each of your senses?
  • What will your character do with these memories?

The context for this prompt is entirely up to you. The challenge is to describe something that is probably outside your experience. Fiction is always a balance between the imagination and things we know and understand. Making the unknown believable is an admirable writing skill.

Enjoy and may your words be memorable as they are captured.

Quick fiction writing

Set a time limit, use the following random prompts, and write a short piece of fiction.

  • Character: soldier
  • Place: battlefield
  • Item: where flag

Journal prompt

This week marks Armistice Day. Many people around the world will stop and remember the end of the First World War. Many veterans who have been on active service, share little about their experiences, and yet they remember. We remember their service and the events as well, giving thanks and praying that the future is peaceful.

Three ideas for your journal

  • find out and write about one of your ancestors who served
  • paint/collage and mage that represents peace
  • write and/or create a mixed media page of your favourite memory, something you are happy to remember

Theory of General Creativity

I now have ‘remember’ written on the board above my computer. I am confident it will inspire me on my creative journey this week.

  • Capture things to remember with your camera (photography is a great way to capture memorable moments, although remember to experience them as well.)
  • Recall a time when you were successful with a project, rinse and repeat. Or remember and change your process if something didn’t work.
  • Remember seeing or hearing your favourite art or music for the first time, express the emotions you felt in your art and composing

Let ‘remember’ 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 or idea.

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

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