darren r hill

the creative minimalist

Discover how perfectionism silently undermines creativity and confidence. Learn to break free from the perfectionism loop and start sharing imperfect work today.
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Stop waiting for perfect conditions. Discover how 20-minute creative sessions, powered by distributed practice and the Zeigarnik effect, can boost focus, skills, and consistent output.
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Copying isn’t a failure of creativity—it’s where it begins. From Hunter S. Thompson typing out novels to The Beatles covering their heroes, imitation is how we absorb influences and make them our own. Master the mechanism first; originality grows from there.
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Discover why chasing perfection stifles creativity. Embrace rough drafts, volume, and imperfection to develop your authentic voice and bridge the creative gap. #Creativity #Art #perfectionism
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Discover why mastering fewer creative tools boosts speed and productivity. Learn how familiarity accelerates flow, reduces cognitive load, and unlocks deeper creativity. Focus on depth over breadth to compound skill, streamline workflows, and make your tools disappear so the work can truly begin.
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There’s a moment that we all, as creative people know: we’re stuck, and we start to think the problem is the gear I have. But the creative tools you already have are almost certainly enough. So why do we want more? Why do we think the creative fix is in the new shiny?
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Hope – Weekly Creative Prompt
I’ll be honest, the first weekly creative prompt and all the surrounding thinking, from here, didn’t really happen. I managed to let it inspire my Wordless Wednesday but beyond that, there was no music and no real writing. However, I’m not one to give up so soon, so as we move into the second week of 2021 we have a second weekly creative prompt.

I’m going to remain positive, both with the concept and with the prompt. There is far too much negative thought and energy around at the moment. Therefore, the prompt shouldn’t take you, or me, down any darkened alleyways of despair — although creative expression knows no barriers. We can at least begin positively.

This week’s creative prompt word is:

“hope” — a feeling of expectation and desire for a particular thing to happen…

and the thesaurus adds… an aspiration, desire, wish, expectation, ambition, aim, plan, dream, daydream, longing, yearning, craving, hankering…

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 have ‘hope’ written on the board above my computer. I am confident it will inspire me on my creative journey this week. At the very least, it will remind me that there is more to life than the current events shared on the news.

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.

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10 January 2021
Friday Fiction Writing Prompt exploring light
A Fiction Writing Prompt exploring the topic of light. The aim to stretch your literary muscles. No rules. No word counts. Simply write and explore. Light is the topic for this prompt.

As the light flickered on she understood; both the reason for the silence and the explanation to not being told

Writing prompt expanded

This week’s fiction writing prompt ties into my weekly prompt word; light. If you take a look at light in the dictionary you’ll find many uses for it and many meanings. Put light into a thesaurus and the possibilities stretch further. However, in this prompt, I have focussed on the aspect that light illuminates and makes clear.

Because we need light to see, and light is one of our senses, it plays an integral part in our lives. If we have difficulty seeing and/or are visually impaired you’ll understand the importance and the associated feelings with not seeing something.

The prompt is deliberately open. Something or someone has been hidden, but now the light has come on, they, or it has been revealed. But what? And that’s the writing challenge. Here are some ideas, but the list is almost endless:
- a forgotten, now returned relative
- a partner found in a compromising situation
- a dead body
- a known associate now revealed as someone else
- an item thought lost
- a surprise party
Those are just a few ideas, but have fun exploring and writing about your own if you want.

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 bulb image by >Free-Photos 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
8 January 2021
Light Wordless Wednesday

Inspired by my weekly creative prompt word, light, I took these pictures the other day. Nothing like a good light reflection to reflect upon.

6 January 2021
Weekly creative prompts for 2021
I want to make 2021 the most creative year of my life. My word for the year, if you’ve watched my vlog is ‘connect’ and the first step in many of my goals and dreams for the year is to create. Now 2020 has been difficult for us all in many ways. For me, I have struggled to maintain focus and that has impacted my creativity. I have struggled to start, work through and finish a whole host of creative projects.

One thing I have managed to do is keep posting the Friday Fiction Writing Prompts #ffwp. And that got me thinking. Could I expand the idea of prompts and use it to both my own and anyone else who is interested, benefit? So, I am going to share a weekly creative prompt. I’ll be using the prompt to inspire and guide my creativity, and to focus on some blog posts.

I am sure the prompts will evolve over the year but the intention is to keep them simple. This is an experiment, so I’ll see how it goes. I am hoping it won’t feel too prescriptive, I don’t like prescriptive, or rules or must dos… perhaps that’s why I’ve struggled creatively. So, we’ll see if this makes any difference. And, like all the prompts and ideas I share they are open to your interpretation.

Let the prompts 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’ll give a prompt, just one word each week, that we can use as a foundation for whatever art we want to create. I’ll share what I am creating and how it has helped or hindered, what I am working on. There will also be expanded fiction writing prompts each week and other posts.

As 2020 has passed, and we are trying to be a little optimistic for 2021, the first prompt seemed to choose itself. Of course, it is possible that it will lead you down darker pathways…

This week’s creative prompt word is:

“light”

I’ll add additional posts relating to the prompt through the week so do subscribe to stay in the loop.

This isn’t a ‘challenge’ but the prompts can be used that way if you want. And 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
3 January 2021
My Vision Journal and One Word for 2021

I created a vision journal for 2021. It also includes my One Word for the year. In the video, I show you how I made it, the process for creating the content on each page and how it all ties into my One Word for the year.

31 December 2020
Happy mail Friday Fiction Writing Prompt
A Fiction Writing Prompt to stretch the literary muscles. No rules. No word counts. Simply write and explore.

I opened the letter and read. I had to be careful not to smudge the words, as tears of joy rolled down my cheeks

Writing prompt Expanded

Some things make us so happy that our emotions overflow. But what can make us so happy? Today’s Friday Fiction Writing Prompt is all about exploring mail that makes us so happy we cry.

Our main character, written in the first person, is reading a letter and it is happy mail. But what words could bring tears of joy to someone’s eyes?
- is it the news they have been waiting for?
- the news they never dared would arrive?
- is it a confirmation of something or a positive change in fortune?
- in a digital age what is so important that it arrived via the post?
- or, is this a past event being described, before the advent of email, texting and messaging?
The choice, as always, is yours. Put pen to paper or finger to keyboard and write, that’s the only rule. As always these writing prompts are optional and entirely open to your own 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 or tag me #ffwp. I’d love to read what you create. Write and enjoy the learning process.

Original image by Victor Vote 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
18 December 2020