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Sunday Funday: Spring Creative Prompt

/ The Magpie at Midnight / 1 Comment

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.

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 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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Sunday Funday: Writing Prompt

/ The Magpie at Midnight / 1 Comment

In my novel, Feeding Jasmine Valentine, a number of the scenes take place in this graveyard, which is no longer in use and has, to a large extent, been taken back by nature.

So, just for fun, 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.

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 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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Like my work but none of the above options appeal? You could consider a one off donation instead. I would really appreciate it.

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Sunday Funday: Creative Prompt

/ The Magpie at Midnight / 1 Comment

It’s Sunday, time to have some creative fun. For this week’s creative prompt I’ve chosen this photo of a path leading into the woods.

Writers, artists, doodlers and storytellers, have some fun with this image. Post your ideas in the comments below, or turn it into a post on your own blog and let me know.

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 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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Like my work but none of the above options appeal? You could consider a one off donation instead. I would really appreciate it.

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Sunday Funday: Story Prompt

/ The Magpie at Midnight / 1 Comment

While away at my parents a number of weeks ago I came across this tiny little hidden street with a great name – Shin Bone Alley. It sparked my imagination as it sounds a bit Dickensian.

So, just for fun, what’s the story with this alley? What kind of tales happened here? Ideas or flash fiction welcome in the comments below, or turn it into a post on your own blog and let me know.

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

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.

One-Time
Monthly
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donation instead. I would really appreciate it.

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Researching for my novel and a new YouTube Video

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A few weekends ago I uploaded the most recent of my YouTube Videos. I first started creating them as a kind of research project – one of the characters in my novel (currently called Feeding Jasmine Valentine) is a wannabe YouTube star and I felt it would be helpful to understand the process. As one of this people who tends to learn by doing, I was finding it a bit difficult to get into the perspective of this character, and now I feel better able to see ‘through his eyes’ as it were. The journey so far, however, has not been entirely smooth.

The best I can say is that as a research exercise, it has been quite successful in discovering the many splendid technical difficulties that can occur when making these films. My most recent two videos have suffered from some pretty substantial camera shake (although I think the narration to both was rather nice so if you are the kind of person who listens to films while working on other things, these could be for you), and problems with the camera adjusting to changes in the light.

I have also managed to run down the power on all of my equipment half way through filming something, and in my last attempt, to record no sound at all, despite using equipment that I know well and have used many times. It has been interesting, and sometimes disheartening, to understand the many ways in which something can go wrong. I am hoping that my next set of experiences may be about what can go right!

In the next few weeks I’m going to experiment with a different kind of film, and have taken some footage from a single viewpoint instead of trying to walk and talk. I’m looking forwards to seeing how that goes, and what kind of films I end up making. I hope to bring you some more successful videos in the next few weeks. In the mean time, I would really appreciate it if those of you who are into YouTube would pop over and have a look at my channel, and consider subscribing. You can see my latest effort below.

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.