Welcome to this week’s complete creative prompt. We begin with a single 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, some focus to our creative work.

From rings forged in fantastical times to cherished memories, we all have things that are precious to us. We might have keepsakes that hold links to past events or family. Or there might be precious gems or metals crafted into the finest jewelry or other items. It is likely, whether we are wealthy or not so, that we have some item or moment that we hold dear. Therefore, this week’s creative prompt is:

Treasure — a quantity of precious metals, gems, or other valuable objects

this is a simple definition, but there is also the verb definition, meaning ‘to keep carefully’

Let the prompt ‘treasure’ 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…

Fiction Writing Prompt

The Fiction Writing Prompt exploring the word treasure aims to stretch the literary muscles. No rules. No word counts. Simply write and explore.

All I had to do was solve the puzzle. Then the treasure would be mine.

Writing Prompt Expanded

Puzzles can be basic or intricate, obvious or cryptic. I have always loved the three tests, or puzzles, that Indiana Jones has to pass to get to the Holy Grail in The Last Crusade. Those tests included having to decipher the riddle and then take appropriate action.

This prompt is all about creating a puzzle, describing it, and then, perhaps, solving it.

• What is the puzzle that needs solving?
• What is the treasure?
• How do the protagonist’s feelings impinge on their ability to solve the puzzle?

All fiction relies on plot, something happens and the character responds. This prompt can be written in a simple step sequence. You create the puzzle and then solve it and get the treasure. However, is the puzzle obvious? Your protagonist may know there is a puzzle, but do they know what and where the puzzle is? To further develop the narrative, you could question whether the protagonist actually wants the treasure; are they after the precious item for themselves? Or this could all be happening at home having discovered a puzzle box.

As always, the choice of what you write is down to you. Just write and enjoy and develop your writing skill.

Journal prompt

Journaling allows us to hold conversations on paper. From private diaries to creative art journals, we pour out our deepest thoughts. Many journal users would describe their journals as treasures. I use Day One as a digital journal and looking back over the ‘on this day’ feature can bring back many treasured memories, although it can also bring back memories I would like buried. We can use our journals to capture all our treasures. We can write lists of our treasured possessions, along with the reason they are important to us.

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

• Write about your most treasured memory?
• Splatter or spill some bright-coloured paints or inks on paper and then turn them into precious stones.
• Commit to collecting ‘treasures’ each day in your journal; capture and record a precious memory every day.

Theory of General Creativity

I now have ‘treasure’ written on the board above my computer. I am confident it will inspire me on my creative journey this week. Everything we create can be precious to us. From the simplest of drawings to the most complex sculpture or piece of music. The creative process takes part of our very essence and places it in our art, or creation. This is what makes ‘art’ so subjective. However, let us, as artists, appreciate the precious nature of all art, whether it connects with us or not. May we treasure art in all its forms, support one another as we create, and encourage the creation of precious treasure.

Let ‘treasure’ 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, as is the case this week, supporting other artists in their creative process… a simple word of encouragement may be just what they need.

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

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