• This week’s vlog shows how I create my weekly bullet journal layout. I use stickers, scraps of paper and plenty of glue stick. I show how I go from a blank page to a weekly layout for my current bullet journal set-up. And I chat as I go along. Please subscribe if you like the…

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  • A Fiction Writing Prompt about loss to stretch the literary muscles. No rules. No word counts. Simply write and explore. The word never is often used and frequently said in haste, but its real meaning was clear to me now Writing Prompt Expanded This week’s Friday Fiction Writing Prompt is about loss. We’ve looked at…

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  • A Fiction Writing Prompt to stretch the literary muscles. No rules. No word counts. Simply write and explore. She took his hand and set a mischievous grin on her face. ‘Right, let’s do this!’ Writing Prompt Expanded A decision has been made. An activity has been suggested or planned. There is attitude in the air.…

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  • Here is my current bullet journal, junk journal and planner set-up for October 2020. A little explanation of how I am using a wall calendar, a monthly weekly Bullet journal, a daily capture bullet journal and the latest additions to my junk journal. I also mention how I am using OmniFocus as my project to-do…

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  • An update on my Bullet Journal and Planner as we come to the end of September. It’s the second week of my new set-up and things are going okay. There are still some issues that I am working through, but I hope to sort them out as I get into October. This journal set-up is…

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  • A Fiction Writing Prompt to stretch the literary muscles. No rules. No word counts. Simply write and explore. This was it, the breakthrough, the eureka moment. Nothing would be the same. Writing Prompt Expanded This week’s Friday Fiction Writing Prompt is about capturing the joy and celebration of discovery. The discovery can be anything, although…

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  • And it was called Yellow – Wordless Wednesday


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

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  • How I make music – where ideas come from

    I am composing a piece of music and I thought I would share the process with you. This is the first video and I share where the ideas come from. These are the bare bones and early thoughts and ideas, but in the next few videos, we’ll see where the muse takes me and what happens. Join me on this creative venture and let me know any questions you have.


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

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  • Ink — Weekly Creative Prompt

    Welcome to this week’s complete 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, something to focus on in our creative work.

    We live in a digital age. Information is available at the touch of a button and the connection to a network. Binary code delivers whatever we want to know, some things that we don’t want to know, and cute videos of animals. Words, images, and sound appear on screens and speakers of all sizes. However, we still have and create things in print. Before digital, we had the printing press, before the press there were pens and brushes. Therefore, this week’s creative prompt is:

    Inka coloured fluid or paste used for writing, drawing, printing, or duplicating

    this is just one definition, I couldn’t leave out the fact that some of my favourite cephalopods use ink to confuse predators

    Let the prompt ‘ink’ 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.

    It was time. I had put this off for too long. I picked up the pen and dipped the nib in the ink. Fiction writing prompt

    It was time. I had put this off for too long. I picked up the pen and dipped the nib in the ink.

    Writing Prompt Expanded

    I love stationery. I love pens. Yes, that is my dipping pen in the picture. However, I also have plenty of blank pages. I can be a procrastinator, putting things off until the last minute. I might be unsure what to write or scared to say what I really think and feel, or simply afraid to make the first mark through fear of making a mistake.

    This prompt, in one sense, is about facing a creative person’s worst nightmare, the blank page. Remember though, this is fiction… really… sort of.

    • What have you been putting off?
    • Why are you using a pen and ink?
    • How do you encourage yourself to make the first mark?

    The writing perspective is the first person, but that, as always, can be changed. The challenge is to convey the reason using the ink has taken so long. It is about exploring fear. It might be insubstantial, but it has still stopped you from using it. Time to overcome any writing or drawing fears and put ink pen to paper in this piece of fiction.

    Journal prompt

    Journaling allows us to hold conversations on paper. From private diaries to art journals, we pour out our deepest thoughts. Inkblots can mean many things and have been used to explore personality. Spill some ink on a page. Blot it with another piece of paper. What do you see? Can you add other art embellishments to turn it into something?

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

    • Do you find the first ink mark the most difficult?
    • Why?
    • Do you like your handwriting? What do you like or dislike about it?

    Theory of General Creativity

    I now have ‘ink’ written on the board above my computer. I am confident it will inspire me on my creative journey this week. However, I struggle with messy art or writing. Ink, for me, has always been a medium where I make a mess. However, as I create more and more, I have realised that often creativity happens in the mess. Perfect doesn’t exist. Smudges, stains and splatters, either literal or metaphorical, are where the creative magic happens. I need to be messier.

    Let ‘ink’ 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 or something a little more grandiose, an ATC, large canvas or journal page. Commit it to paper in ink.

    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 @darrenrhill or #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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  • How to overcome creative fear

    Dianne and Darren Discuss how to overcome creative fear on YouTube
    https://youtu.be/ygcsPvz7Vso

    How do you avoid the paralyzing effect of creative fear? How do you cope with facing the blank page? Join Dianne and me as we discuss these questions posted by one of our YouTube viewers.

    For more of our creative discussions visit Dianne’s YouTube channel, you’ll also find some amazing mixed media, collage and ATC art there.


    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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  • Your touch on Music Monday

    Many moons ago I had a song called Your Touch. Having just passed a New Moon, it seems fitting that a new version of Your Touch is nearing completion. The draft lyrics have been written. Now I let them simmer while I mull over them, sing along with them and generally hang out with them. I’ll also record some demo vocals and perhaps record a live version of the song to see how it feels.

    Your Touch is part of a collection of songs inspired by recent events. I am hoping to release the songs as soon as I can. So I’d best get on writing and recording. But the picture and my words above should give a little insight into my songwriting process. I’ll explain more in the weeks ahead.


    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