darren r hill

the creative minimalist

In this week’s creative field notes, I am getting things done, despite the blips that all creatives have.
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A short exploration of Easter Saturday, weaving a narrative and basking in the ifs of who and what takes place between Good Friday and Easter Sunday.
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The site needs a bit of a refresh, so as they used to say it is under construction. As such things might not look right, work right, or even feel right. But only until everything is new and shiny. After that… who knows.
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This month has been productive despite global chaos, and I have noticed the importance of maintaining a positive and intentional creative practice.
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This week’s creative field notes include how I am keeping up with February Album Writing Month and coming up with a few other creative ideas.
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January has been a difficult month for this creative minimalist. However, the festival of Imbolc is as good a time as any to make a creative new start. This week’s vlog explores recent creative highs and lows.
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When balanced, begin
The Spring Equinox is today. Daylight hours are equal to those of the night. All is in astronomical balance. A momentary pause. The next step into spring and then on to summer. Everything is in balance, stable, and therefore it is an ideal time to set things in motion. A time to begin the new journey, to set off along a new path.

I love the seasonal cycles, the way our lives can connect with the motion of the universe. The connection between the macro and the micro. Sunrise and sunset. New and full moon. A time to sow and a time to reap. And today, it is a time to begin.

I also love ancient writings, rituals, and traditions. I love nature and the natural world. These two sit together in the Ogham alphabet. And, at this time of beginnings I have found myself drawn to the birch tree.

Beith / birch
The first letter in the ogham alphabet.
Traditions see it as a herald for the new.
A time to discard the old ways that inhibit.
A time to initiate.
A time to begin

All of this is where I find myself this day. I am balanced between where I am and where I want to be. This time of equality finds me in a stable position. And I am about to embark on a journey. The path isn’t yet clear or cleared. The timing uncertain. But this is where I begin. I stand beside my birch tree, ready to take my next step.
- Seek what I love and enjoy
- Create what I love and enjoy
- Share the love and creativity
It’s time for me to begin this creative journey from a place of balance.

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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20 March 2021
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…

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

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
19 March 2021
Elements — Weekly Creative Prompt
It’s time for another weekly creative prompt word. These weekly words, or prompts, are to give me, and anyone else who wants to join in, some focus to our creative work.

Last week I tried to merge two musical ideas. In my head I could hear them working together and seeing as both had come to a creative halt, I thought this could be the solution. Notes, motifs, and many other constituent parts make music. Therefore…

This week’s creative prompt word is:

Elements — an essential or characteristic part of something:

I have a strong personality trait that likes to know how things works and are made, so this is perfect for me

Let the prompt inspire you in any area of creativity that you are interested:
- writing fiction
- art journaling
- songwriting
- journaling
- photography
- painting
- composing
- blog posts
- art therapy
- anything that could use a little nudge to begin
When I put the two musical elements together they clashed, they reverberated, and they jostled with each other. One thing they didn’t do together was work. The musical elements were incompatible. But without trying, without attempting, I would never have known. And now I have learned something; sounding good in my head does not overrule the fundamentals of music theory. In fact, the reason it didn’t work was that both ideas had too many elements already in them to mix into something new. (Breaking rules can work and is a great creative tool, but in this case, it didn’t.)

I now have ‘elements’ written on the board above my computer. I am confident it will inspire me on my creative journey this week. Furthermore, I can already feel it impinging on how I might move those musical pieces forward and play in my journal.

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

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
14 March 2021
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?

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.

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
12 March 2021
Looking for a path – Wordless Wednesday

10 March 2021
Path — Weekly Creative Prompt
It’s time for another weekly creative prompt word. These weekly words, or prompts, are to give me, and anyone else who wants to join in, some focus to our creative work.

We have entered the month of March. In some circles this signifies the beginning of spring. With the arrival of spring, my thoughts invariably look toward the future. What do I want to do? Where do I want to go? I begin to plan my way forward. I seek a way to get to where I desire. Therefore…

This week’s creative prompt word is:

Path— a course of action or way of achieving a specified result:

this isn’t the only definition of the word, but it seemed the most apt to me for the year ahead

Let the prompt inspire you in any area of creativity that you are interested:
- writing fiction
- art journaling
- songwriting
- journaling
- photography
- painting
- composing
- blog posts
- art therapy
- anything that could use a little nudge to begin
I now have ‘path’ written on the board above my computer. I am confident it will inspire me on my creative journey this week. However, this word signifies more than just a creative direction, it has a practical aspect. Just as new life becomes a serious prospect in spring, I feel it is time to get serious about my path ahead.

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

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
7 March 2021