This week’s creative prompt is Cascade. Each week we begin with a single word and explore 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

cascade — a mass of something that falls or hangs in copious quantities/a succession of devices or stages in a process, each of which triggers or initiates the next

Cascade can be used as a noun or verb.

Related

waterfall, falls, water chute, cataract, rapids, torrent, flood, deluge, outpouring, white water, fountain, shower, avalanche

pour, gush, surge, spill, domino, stream, flow, issue, spurt, jet; tumble, descend, fall, drop, plunge, pitch; overflow.

Cascade denotes movement, action. It conjures up images of waterfalls and flowing rivers, or ideas and visions taking shape.

Let the prompt ‘cascade’ 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

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

One nudge and it will fall, a cascade with far-reaching consequences.

Writing Prompt Expanded

I love watching those astonishing domino challenges. Sometimes thousands of dominos are lined up, then with a single nudge, one is knocked over. This domino in turn knocks over the next and so on, until they all, hopefully, fall over.

This prompt may lead you to write about a domino challenge, or it might be exploring a domino effect elsewhere. Whatever you choose to write about, something may or may not occur and create a cascade effect. Use the following questions if you want.

• What is the trigger to begin the cascade?
• What will fall, and how long will it take?
• How does your character feel about the situation?

The context for this prompt is entirely up to you. The challenge is to describe how one thing falling causes the next to do the same. At its very basic this is a plot in simplified form, action causes a reaction, and so on.

Enjoy and may your words cascade onto and fill the blank screen.

Quick fiction writing

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

• Character: person over 70 years old
• Place: prison
• Item: domino

Journal prompt

Cascade can describe something falling apart or becoming something greater. Both these ideas can be explored in our journals. They can also go hand in hand, we pull down to build up.

Three ideas for your journal

• draw a series of lines cascading down your journal page and then embellish
• paint a waterfall scene
• list a cascade process to achieving your next goal/dream

Theory of General Creativity

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

• capture things cascading with your camera
• use the cascade effect as a metaphor when planning a project
• multiply a creative idea from a trickle to a cascade

Let ‘cascade’ 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.

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namaste
d
xox

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