creative writing

Writing Prompts from Street Photograhy: A Fridge on the Street

/ The Magpie at Midnight / 1 Comment

I saw this fridge the other morning on a street near where I live. It was pretty gloomy when I took the photograph and I didn’t think that the light was that great so it was a bit of a hurried snap. We get a lot of fridges and things like that dumped in our area by fly tippers, and I don’t normally both to take photos because a big white box isn’t normally that interesting to me. This one was a bit different, because of the magnetic jigsaw puzzel that is still attached to the front door. The fridge was a new arrival that morning – it hadn’t been there the evening before.

The way that one of the puzzels looks almost complete, while the second one is a fractured smattering of pieces spread across the surface makes it looks as if up until very recently, this fridge was being used by a family. There is something about the dumping of this fridge that speaks to me of dislocation, or of a rapid change in circumstances.

What happened to result in someone needing to get rid of it in the middle of the night?

I’m not a huge fan of creative exercises, so it’s not my habit to tell people what to do with these prompts. There are lots of options – a scene, some flash fiction, a short story, an idea for a short film or a physical piece of art. If you do have a go with this one and would like to drop the result in the comments please do so. I would be very interested to see what people make of these so please do link to blog posts or comment below.

If you like the photos featured in these creative prompt posts you may be interested in my latest collection of prints and other things on Redbubble which feature a small selection of my best shots.

Thank you for reading. I also write, make art and films. You can read my short fantasy stories here on Simily. If you like these prompts and want to get a copy of a free short book of them I wrote, and to hear more about my writing projects please join my mailing list here. You can see my films at my YouTube channel here. You can see things with my designs on at my shop here. Could even treat yourself if you wanted to. Just saying. If buying art is not your thing, but you would like to support what you see you could buy me a KoFi, and I also have a Patreon Page.

Creative Prompts: A Mystery Box

/ The Magpie at Midnight / Leave a comment

I’ve been listening to The Science of Storytelling by Will Storr on Audible recently (affiliate links – if you use these links to make a purchase I’ll get a tiny commission). I’m not very far in and wouldn’t want to say at this point whether I reccomend it or not, but I’m finding it interesting. My attention was caught in particular by a section about curiosity and storytelling, and I am planning a longer post on that for later this month. Towards the end of this section he wrote about how the film maker JJ Abrams has described his “controling theory of storytelling’ as the opening a series of mystery boxes. This thought in particular was in my mind when I stumbled across this week’s creative prompt.

I saw this little package sitting on a wall in the sunlight a few mornings ago. Inside the bag you could see a collection of cans of Fosters Larger. I didn’t touch the bag, so I don’t know if they were full or empty, but the way the bag is tied neatly, with the ‘thank you’ massage emblazoned on the side gave me the impression that someone had left a thank you gift for someone else. The little package was left on a side street next to a play ground, not on someone’s doorstep or front fence, so it peaked my curiosity a little.

Who would leave such a thing? Who was it for?

I’m not a huge fan of creative exercises, so it’s not my habit to tell people what to do with these prompts. There are lots of options – a scene, some flash fiction, a short story, an idea for a short film or a physical piece of art. If you do have a go with this one and would like to drop the result in the comments please do so. I would be very interested to see what people make of these so please do link to blog posts or comment below.

If you like the photos featured in these creative prompt posts you may be interested in my latest collection of prints and other things on Redbubble which feature a small selection of my best shots.

Thank you for reading. I also write, make art and films. If you like these prompts and want to get a copy of a free short book of them I wrote, and to hear more about my writing projects please join my mailing list here. You can see my films at my YouTube channel here. You can see things with my designs on at my shop here. Could even treat yourself if you wanted to. Just saying. If buying art is not your thing, but you would like to support what you see I also have a Patreon Page here.

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Creative Prompt: Wherever you lay your hat…

/ The Magpie at Midnight / Leave a comment

The property market in London is crazy, right?

I’d like to claim that I know what I’m looking for when it comes to street photography, but I don’t really. Sometimes just looking around as you walk about will gift you a funny photograph like this one. I took it the other morning while taking my son to nursery, and happened to stumble on this little ensamble, where someone had dumped a child’s toy house next a bin and a SOLD sign. When I walked back the other way the bin and the house had been moved and the joke was lost.

I really like this photo. For me it tells a saterical version of the London housing market story, where increasingly small patches of land are selling for increasingly large piles of cash. The streets around this spot are showing increasingly strong signs of gentrification, and there are a number of developers building small blocks of modern but characterless flats nearby.

What might the new neighbours will be like?

I’m not a huge fan of creative exercises, so it’s not my habit to tell people what to do with these prompts. There are lots of options – a scene, some flash fiction, a short story, an idea for a short film or a physical piece of art. If you do have a go with this one and would like to drop the result in the comments please do so. I would be very interested to see what people make of these so please do link to blog posts or comment below.

Thank you for reading. I also write, make art and films. If you like these prompts and want to get a copy of a free short book of them I wrote, and to hear more about my writing projects please join my mailing list here. You can see my films at my YouTube channel here. You can see things with my designs on at my shop here. Could even treat yourself if you wanted to. Just saying. If buying art is not your thing, but you would like to support what you see I also have a Patreon Page here.

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Creative Prompt: A door in the floor

/ The Magpie at Midnight / Leave a comment

I saw this door laying on the pavement a few weeks ago. It had been dumped against the wall but had then fallen onto the pavement. When I passed it later in the day some helpful soul had propped it back up against the wall.

It’s not that exiting to look at is it? Just a block of wood on the pavement. But when I passed it was struck by the thought, I wonder where that opens to? It had a kind of Lion, Witch and Wardrobe feel to it for me (Affliate link).

For me, objects like this have great imaginative potential for fantasy/ sci-fi writers. What world would the lucky (or unluky!) person who opened this be confronted with?

I’m not a huge fan of creative exercises, so it’s not my habit to tell people what to do with these prompts. There are lots of options – a scene, some flash fiction, a short story, an idea for a short film or a physical piece of art. If you do have a go with this one and would like to drop the result in the comments please do so. I would be very interested to see what people make of these so please do link to blog posts or comment below.

Thank you for reading. I also write, make art and films. If you like these prompts and want to get a copy of a free short book of them I wrote, and to hear more about my writing projects please join my mailing list here. You can see my films at my YouTube channel here. You can see things with my designs on at my shop here. Could even treat yourself if you wanted to. Just saying. If buying art is not your thing, but you would like to support what you see I also have a Patreon Page here.

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Creative Prompt: Holding Court

/ The Magpie at Midnight / Leave a comment

I saw this chair sitting under a street light the other night while I was on my way home from a dinner out with Mr Magpie. There was something about the way it was placed that made me stop and take a photo while he marched off, oblivious that I had paused for a moment.

Sometimes I see things like this and get the eerie feeling that I have glimpsed something of an unseen world. There is the added mystery of things that happen after dark. Secret meetings in the soupy glow of a street lamp.

When I saw this I felt like perhaps minutes before, and unknown someone had been sitting, holding court with their unknown followers. Who do you think that little group were? What were they talking about?

I’m not a huge fan of creative exercises, so it’s not my habit to tell people what to do with these prompts. There are lots of options – a scene, some flash fiction, a short story, an idea for a short film or a physical piece of art. If you do have a go with this one and would like to drop the result in the comments please do so. I would be very interested to see what people make of these so please do link to blog posts or comment below.

Thank you for reading. I also write, make art and films. If you like these prompts and want to get a copy of a free short book of them I wrote, and to hear more about my writing projects please join my mailing list here. You can see my films at my YouTube channel here. You can see things with my designs on at my shop here. Could even treat yourself if you wanted to. Just saying. If buying art is not your thing, but you would like to support what you see I also have a Patreon Page here.

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Creative Prompt: Sound the Alarm!

/ The Magpie at Midnight / Leave a comment

I saw this whistle on the floor at the end of my road. It was early in the morning and the sun was still rising so the light wasnt great when it took the photo, but the brightness of the red against the dirty yellow parking lines caught my attention.

It struck me as an unusual thing to see laying around. When I was a kid I remember quite a lot of people having whistles, and not just school teachers, but these days I rarely see them. I think the last time I saw one was during a safety demonstration by a flight attendent who was showing us how to fit our life jackets on a short haul flight, but I have not flown anywhere for a number of years now.

Blowing a whistle used to be associated with sounding an alarm, although I doubt many police men carry them these days. I’m sure they will have been superceded by some kind of technology, although I do not know what.

It got me wondering who was out early in the morning with a whistle? Why did they have one, and how did it come to be dropped on the pavement?

I’m not a huge fan of creative exercises, so it’s not my habit to tell people what to do with these prompts. There are lots of options – a scene, some flash fiction, a short story, an idea for a short film or a physical piece of art. If you do have a go with this one and would like to drop the result in the comments please do so. I would be very interested to see what people make of these so please do link to blog posts or comment below.

Thank you for reading. I also write, make art and films. If you like these prompts and want to get a copy of a free short book of them I wrote, and to hear more about my writing projects please join my mailing list here. You can see my films at my YouTube channel here. You can see things with my designs on at my shop here. Could even treat yourself if you wanted to. Just saying. If buying art is not your thing, but you would like to support what you see I also have a Patreon Page here.

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Creative Prompt (Lost Shoe Series #4): A little bit Cinderella

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I saw this shoe some time ago now, tossed down amongst a collection of other shoes and rubbish. I think it had been flytipped, as many of the odd things I see around are. It was early morning on a relatively warm and sunny day, and the sparkle of the silver caught my attention.

The interesting thing for me was that at the time I could not see it’s partner. It’s quite a glamerous looking shoe, made for going to parties and balls. I got a sense that perhapse the shoes had been lost on the way home from such an event, and was waiting to be picked up and reunited with the foot that wore it.

I’ve drawn on the cinderella narrative before for one of these posts, but I think the story has space for multiple readings and interpretations. This shoe feels like a far more traditional fit – a glamerous party shoe left on the road by someone leaving a glamerous party in haste, before their carraige turns into a pumpkin. Now it waits to be found by a prince, who may happen to be working that day as a bin man.

I wonder who left it?

I wonder who picked it up in the end?

I’m not a huge fan of creative exercises, so it’s not my habit to tell people what to do with these prompts. There are lots of options – a scene, some flash fiction, a short story, an idea for a short film or a physical piece of art. If you do have a go with this one and would like to drop the result in the comments please do so. I would be very interested to see what people make of these so please do link to blog posts or comment below.

Thank you for reading. I also write, make art and films. If you like these prompts and want to get a copy of a free short book of them I wrote, and to hear more about my writing projects please join my mailing list here. You can see my films at my YouTube channel here. You can see things with my designs on at my shop here. Could even treat yourself if you wanted to. Just saying. If buying art is not your thing, but you would like to support what you see I also have a Patreon Page here.

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Creative Prompt (Lost shoe series #3): A Tiny Rainbow

/ The Magpie at Midnight / Leave a comment

There is something equally charming and forlorn for me in seeing a lost child’s shoe. This one in particular caught my eye because of the little rainbow on the side of it. I took the photo in gloomy weather on a shabby part of a main road, and the little flash of colour caught my eye.

The shoe remained there for a few days after I took the photo, moving up and down the pavement a little bit, perhapse being moved to more prominent locations by a pair of helpful hands, before it eventually dissapeared. Perhaps it was finally reclaimed by it’s owner.

Like the other two prompts in this series (you can see them here and here), this photo makes me think of crime thrillers or police procedural TV shows. A child’s shoe on the pavement could be a good opening scene to a story in these genres.

How could it have got there? What could have happened?

I’m not a huge fan of creative exercises, so it’s not my habit to tell people what to do with these prompts. There are lots of options – a scene, some flash fiction, a short story, an idea for a short film or a physical piece of art. If you do have a go with this one and would like to drop the result in the comments please do so. I would be very interested to see what people make of these so please do link to blog posts or comment below.

Thank you for reading. I also write, make art and films. If you like these prompts and want to get a copy of a free short book of them I wrote, and to hear more about my writing projects please join my mailing list here. You can see my films at my YouTube channel here. You can see things with my designs on at my shop here. Could even treat yourself if you wanted to. Just saying. If buying art is not your thing, but you would like to support what you see I also have a Patreon Page here.

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Creative Prompts (Lost shoe series #2): A Missing Step

/ The Magpie at Midnight / 1 Comment

For reasons that I don’t fully understand, I see a lot of lost or abandoned shoes about. So many that I only stop to take a photograph these days if there is something particularly odd or interesting about them or the way they are positioned.

When I spotted these shoes the other morning in the car park of a super market my first thought was ‘huh, that’s odd’. There is something about the way they are positioned which invokes movement of a person in my mind, or perhapse a journey. It’s a bit like someone, for an unknown reason, has kicked off their shoes as they were rushing away from something, or rushing towards somthing.

Why would somone discard their shoes like this? What do you think that thing was?

I’m not a huge fan of creative exercises, so it’s not my habit to tell people what to do with these prompts. There are lots of options – a scene, some flash fiction, a short story, an idea for a short film or a physical piece of art. If you do have a go with this one and would like to drop the result in the comments please do so. I would be very interested to see what people make of these so please do link to blog posts or comment below.

Thank you for reading. I also write, make art and films. If you like these prompts and want to get a copy of a free short book of them I wrote, and to hear more about my writing projects please join my mailing list here. You can see my films at my YouTube channel here. You can see things with my designs on at my shop here. Could even treat yourself if you wanted to. Just saying. If buying art is not your thing, but you would like to support what you see I also have a Patreon Page here.

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Curiosity, creativity and an encounter with an oven

/ The Magpie at Midnight / Leave a comment

Just before Christmas I was out in the morning doing the nursery run, when I spotted this oven and stopped to take a photo. I liked the way that it was peaking out from behind the tree. I was thinking to myself I wonder who left that there? Why leave it there, although the poor thing has probably been fly tipped and is destined for the dump.

On my way back from my encounter with the oven my mind followed a tangled strand of thought into the area of curiosity and creativty. At the moment I don’t have a huge amount of time to spend on my creative projects, most of my time is spent either working on the day job, or looking after Toddler Magpie. Sometimes this is frustrating, but I am not sorry. Time spent with him has been it’s own eduction is creativity.

That morning I was thinking about how if you are a toddler, expressing curiosity and giving something a try, even when you can’t really do it yet, is cause for celebration and encouragment from people around them. Somehow by the time we reach adulthood, for many of us this exact same process has earned us ridicule and sometimes even rejection. I began to wonder if the fear of being seen to get something wrong, or to not to already know the answer, stifles the natural curious instincts we are born with in many adults. Maybe adulthood trains it out of us, as we are busy struggling through other things?

During this last year and a bit of creative prompts (for all the links see this post) I have found myself re-claiming that sense of curiosity. Perhaps I am now known locally as that eccentric lady with a pram who stops to take photos of rubbish. I think I can take that. These days I’m too busy asking myself questions that often lead to other ideas and other creative projects.

I wonder who?

I wonder what?

I wonder why?

I wonder how?

Thank you for reading. I also write, make art and films. If you are interested in the process of creativity and want to get a copy of my free short book of creative prompts, and to hear more about my writing projects please join my mailing list here. You can see my films at my YouTube channel here. You can see things with my designs on at my shop here. Could even treat yourself if you wanted to. Just saying. If buying art is not your thing, but you would like to support what you see I also have a Patreon Page here.

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