story ideas

Creative prompt: I see you

/ The Magpie at Midnight / 1 Comment

I was walking my son to nursery earlier this week and I saw this googly eye on the pavement. At the time I didn’t stop to take a photo, but managed to snap one the next day instead. It’s not a great photo, because for some reason the camera on my phone seems to have focused on the pavement instead of the eye itself, and while I have made a few enhancements to this photo, but it doesn’t really make the image as clear as I would like.

I could try to go back and take another photo, but on this occasion I don’t think I will. The street where I saw this is kind of busy and I’m still building up my confidence when it comes to stopping in the middle of the pavement to take photos of strange things, in front of strangers. There is also the issue of whether this will even be there later. Lost things on the pavement tend not to stay where they were dropped. I think this relates to the sometime ephemeral nature of creativity. Sometimes you need to capture a thought or and idea, or a picture, in the moment, because if you try to come back to it later that moment has dissipated into the breeze.

There is something about this eye that I particularly like, the scrapes on the plastic bubble make me feel like it may have seen a few things.

What do you think they were?

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.

Thank you for reading. I also write, make art and films. If you want 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.

Creative prompt mini-series: paying respect to trees #2

/ The Magpie at Midnight / 5 Comments

I imagine that someone decorated this tree around Christmas with these sparkling snow flakes, but it was some time after the end of the holiday season when I took this photo. It was a bright crisp winter day and the snow flakes stood out more brightly than the photo does justice to here.

I have spoken before about my somewhat romantic relationship with a snow and ice. In the UK the summer has just arrived, and our final frost is long behind us. The trees are growing green and many plants are in full flower now, so perhaps it was a little odd to include this picture in this mini series, but I felt that it was an oddly good fit here. I often find that some of my better ideas come from seeing something familiar in a different context, where it suddenly sticks out as a poor fit.

The decorations on this tree seem slightly wild to me, like an offering made to the local tree nymphs, left out in the wind, sunshine and rain. They remind me of how humans have celebrated in the depths of winter with feasting and gifting long before Christmas was established as a Christian festival.

I hope that they will provide inspiration for someone, what ever the weather.

Thank you for reading. I also write, make art and films. If you want 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.

Creative Prompt: a crack in the wall

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When we moved into our house, pre pandemic, we were aware that there was lots of work that was needed. At the time we weren’t daunted by that because even though I had a big baby bump, we thought that we would have lots of help from our family. Unfortunately we then had a global pandemic which forced us all into a series of lockdowns, and our DIY has progressed rather more slowly than expected.

Upstairs in the room that is meant to be our bedroom, but that currently functions as an office/ dumping ground, I’ve been taking off the wallpaper a little bit at a time. There was a thin crack, and a lot of crumbling bits in the middle of one of the walls. I had to cut away and clean out some of the plaster before I could fill it all in again to make the rest of the plaster secure. In the middle of the process I took this photo of the crack, which I think looks kind of spooky. It has a whiff of MR James about it.

I thought that it would make a nice creative or writing prompt for somebody who has spooky tastes. Drop your ideas or flash fiction welcome in the comments below, or turn it into a post on your own blog and let me know.

Thank you for reading. I also write, make art and films. If you want 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.

Creative prompt: the Journey

/ The Magpie at Midnight / 1 Comment

When we moved into our house a couple of years ago the previous owners had left a lot of things behind. Most of these things were kind of annoying – huge wardrobes that have been difficult to get rid of or broken ornaments in the garden. However, they also left this little guy in a large flower pot in the garden, and I really like him.

He’s made of some kind of ceramic, and seen from the right angle, looks like he is about to journey into the wilderness. Many good stories begin with the start of a journey, and in my own books (all works in progress unfortunately) there are several. Here on the blog I like to share photos of things that give me ideas, as sometimes I think they may give other people ideas too.

What does this picture make you think of? What kind of tales does this picture inspire? Ideas or flash fiction welcome in the comments below, or turn it into a post on your own blog and let me know

Thank you for reading. I also write, make art and films. If you want 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.

Sunday Funday: Spring Creative Prompt

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I was out walking in my local park on Friday with my partner and my son and we came across a whole bunch of these little eggs stuck to the trees and branches. My son is still a bit young to appreciate these things, but we saw lots of other young children out searching for Easter Eggs. It turned out that the eggs were part of an organised event happening across the whole weekend, and that the Easter Bunny was lurking in a secluded location near by.

I really appreciate this kind of organised fun which incorporates a bit of imagination and invites people join in if they wish.

Many good stories begin with the search for something, and I thought that this picture may be the beginning of an idea for someone. Ideas or flash fiction welcome in the comments below, or turn it into a post on your own blog and let me know.

Thank you for reading. I also make art and films. 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.

Sunday Funday: Creative Prompt

/ The Magpie at Midnight / 3 Comments

On of the things I have started looking for on my walks with Baby Magpie is those little incidents where nature seems to get the better of the modern world. While out this week I saw this tree, that seems to have got the better of the wall it was growing through. Inch by inch, the little tree has grown through the mortar and caused the bricks to separate. In my Feeding Jasmine Valentine series, the idea of nature ‘taking back’ is a relatively strong theme, so I have started to collect pictures like this. I hope that you find it intriguing too.

What does this picture make you think of? What kind of tales does this picture inspire? Ideas or flash fiction welcome in the comments below, or turn it into a post on your own blog and let me know.

Thank you for reading. I also make art and films. 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.

Sunday Funday: Creative Prompt

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I’ve been very much enjoying the kind of atmospheric weather that autumn and winter bring to the UK. On a recent walk I saw a number of these spider webs bejewelled with dew and I thought them wonderful. I find this time of year to be very inspiring from a creative point of view, and enjoy sharing the odd little things I see when I am out and about.

What does this picture make you think of? What kind of tales does this picture inspire? Ideas or flash fiction welcome in the comments below, or turn it into a post on your own blog and let me know.

Thank you for reading. I also make art and films. 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.

Sunday Funday: Creative Prompt

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Not far from where I live there is a park with a small fishing lake. I like to take Baby Magpie there to walk him around it, and have often noticed this tree. I feel like there is a story here, somehow.

What do you think it could be? What kind of tales does this picture inspire? Ideas or flash fiction welcome in the comments below, or turn it into a post on your own blog and let me know.

Thank you for reading. I also make art and films. 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.

Sunday Funday: Creative Prompt

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I was recently doing edits to some bits of my novel, when I realised that a lot of my scenes are set at dawn or at dusk. I seem to be drawn to those times of day when the light changes and things may seem unreal. With that thought in mind I was very attracted to this view of a telecommunications tower in the mist recently. It’s a mysterious vision, which could inspire the beginning of all sorts of stories.

What do you think could happen here? What kind of tales does this picture inspire? Ideas or flash fiction welcome in the comments below, or turn it into a post on your own blog and let me know.

Thank you for reading. I also make art and films. 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.

Sunday Funday: Creative Prompt

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I was out walking with Baby Magpie a few weeks ago and I saw these two photo’s pinned to this tree. I’m not sure if this is a lost object that someone has pinned to the tree, hoping to reunite it with it’s owner, or a subtle piece of public art.

It’s one of those things that I come across on a fairly regular basis and think ‘Ohh, that’s interesting.’ I rarely get much further than thinking about how interesting the thing is, and how there is probably a story to tell about it. I thought that someone else may see this and get an idea that sends them off onto an interesting creative tangent.

If you are a writer, artist, doodler or storyteller, you may have your own ideas about this image. Post your ideas in the comments below, or turn it into a post on your own blog and let me know.

Thank you for reading. I also make art and films. 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.