Tag Archives: story ideas

Writing prompt – artefact

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Hay-on-Wye book pyramid cr Judy DarleyIn Hay On Wye, a curious structure stands: a rusted-up pyramid entombing classic books. Small windows show the books encased within.

In places these windows have been cracked and broken, allowing spiders and insects to make their way among pages mildewed by rain, rotted by weather.

Hay-on-Wye book pyramid cr Judy DarleyThere are so many directions you could take this prompt in – imagine it as a sole reminder of our bookish past for future generations to discover, or have it found inside an ancient Egyptian pyramid – an uncanny duel link to the present within the past.

Choose as your protagonist an alien, a spider, or a small, puzzled child. Turn the structure into a metaphor for humanity, or for a relationship. Make this the site of a significant meeting between two unlikely characters, and see where they take you next…

If you write or create something prompted by this, please send an email to Judy(at)socket creative.com to let me know. With your permission, I’ll publish it on SkyLightRain.com.

Jamaican rhythms

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II Treez in a Forest by Ebony G Patterson

II Treez in a Forest by Ebony G Patterson

Fancy feeling the heat this summer? Until 11th September 2016, Bristol’s RWA Galleries will be awash with Jamaican art, culture and politics thanks to a special exhibition.

Jamaican Pulse: Art and Politics from Jamaica and the Diaspora will showcase the diversity present in Jamaican art today and yesterday, with contemporary works exhibited alongside more historic pieces.

Artists featured include Ebony G Patterson, Andrea Chung, Kimani Beckford and Di-Andre Caprice Davis. Expect vivid colours amid works simmering with energy and emotion.

“While exploring the roots of modern Jamaican art and suggesting new links between past and present, the exhibition also explores the artwork through a political lens and considers how global attitudes to body, gender, religion, class and sexuality have impacted this small island nation.”

Find out more about the exhibition and connected happenings at www.rwa.org.uk/whats-on/exhibitions/2016/06/jamaican-pulse.

Are you an artist or do you know an artist who would like to be showcased on SkyLightRain.com? Get in touch at judydarley (at) iCloud.com. I’m also happy to receive reviews of books, exhibitions, theatre and film. To submit or suggest a review, please send an email to judydarley (at) iCloud.com.

Writing prompt – butterfly

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Butterfly cr Judy DarleyI spied this small butterfly while strolling in the beautiful wilderness of Arnos Vale Cemetery. I think it’s some kind of fritillary. As I paused to watch it bask in the sunlight, I thought about the stories it could inspire.

Symbolism works powerfully in fiction. Place a butterfly at the heart of your tale and let that image direct your themes. You could end up with an ecological futurist fable, a sweet story about a harried man or woman learning the value of stopping to effectively smell the roses, or even a piece about freedom, and the brevity of life.

It’s up to you. Where will your butterfly take you?

If you write or create something prompted by this, please send an email to Judy(at)socket creative.com to let me know. With your permission, I’ll publish it on SkyLightRain.com.

Writing prompt – rooftops

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Rooftop Unicorns cr Judy DarleyI’ve been reading rather a lot of Neil Gaiman short fiction recently, and he’s reminded me of how worlds can nestle within worlds, with magic hidden in plain sight.

If you take a moment to glance upwards at the rooftops you walk beneath, there’s always a chance you may glimpse something uncommonly beautiful, such as these unicorns dancing over Bristol’s City Hall. According to Bristol Post, the architect Mr E Vincent Harris who came up with these reputedly added them without informing the council, choosing art over bureaucracy. Brilliant!

This week, I urge you to look up, then write a tale or create something inspired by a detail that catches your imagination there.

If you write or create something prompted by this, please send an email to Judy(at)socket creative.com to let me know. With your permission, I’ll publish it on SkyLightRain.com.

Writing prompt – mortality

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Arnos Vale and cranes cr Judy DarleyThis view at Arnos Vale Cemetery always stops me in my tracks. It seems like a visual representation of the saying “Time waits for no man.”

How much of a life can you fit in a single tale? This week I urge you to write a story that attempts just that, thinking about how the end of a life echoes with all the greatest moments in it, every triumph and loss, love and regret. What, or who, have been the linchpins in that life?

If you write or create something prompted by this, please send an email to Judy(at)socket creative.com to let me know. With your permission, I’ll publish it on SkyLightRain.com.

Writing prompt – savages

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Feather tree cr Judy DarleyI recently meandered down a little used track, and discovered this scene. It made me recall how when seen through a child’s imaginative eyes, every old tree, fallen feather, discarded leaf and found stone has potential to become part of a savage land populated by pirates, vampires, dragons and more.

Make this the basis of your story, remembering to recast the ordinary as fearsome and the commonplace as potentially magical. Anything is possible.

If you write or create something prompted by this, please send an email to Judy(at)socket creative.com to let me know. With your permission, I’ll publish it on SkyLightRain.com.

Writing prompt – ship

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Small ship cr Judy DarleyI dug this tiny boat up from a patch of dirt when I was a child. For years I kept it in a small box along with other knick knacks from that time in my life. Then, last year, I found it and wondered if I could shine it up. So I did, and discovered that beneath the grime it was this exquisite little pendant.

Who might have owned this miniature ship originally? Who gave it to them, and why? How did they come to lose it?

If you write or create something prompted by this, please send an email to Judy(at)socket creative.com to let me know. With your permission, I’ll publish it on SkyLightRain.com.

Writing prompt – chain

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Bike chain by Kevlin HenneyThis week’s writing prompt comes courtesy Kevlin Henney, who posted this photo on Facebook earlier this week, and has given permission to me to repost it here.

To me it serves both as a work of art and a story prompt.

Kevlin’s explanation for the shot was: “Just found lying on the ground on the way to school this morning.”

Who might have lost this chain on their commute? What implications may it have had on the rest of their journey? Who and what might they have encountered as a result of this mishap?

If you write or create something prompted by this, please send an email to Judy(at)socket creative.com to let me know. With your permission, I’ll publish it on SkyLightRain.com.

Writing prompt – storm

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Tintagel storm cr Judy DarleyThere’s a moment on the coast when you can see a storm approaching, and know there’s nothing you can do to prevent the collision between land and air and sea.

You’re aware you should be taking shelter, but something holds you in place, transfixed by the sheer rawness of what’s powering across the sea your way. You’re standing on the last vestige of civilisation, watching the wild wind and rain charge relentlessly towards you.

What happens next?

If you write or create something prompted by this, please send an email to Judy(at)socket creative.com to let me know. With your permission, I’ll publish it on SkyLightRain.com.

Writing prompt – influence

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Boy meets the busker cr Judy DarleyIt’s my littlest nephew’s 3rd birthday this week, which means that any one of the many adventures he embarks on could well become his earliest memory.

On this day, he met a busker, stood transfixed, and then took the coins his mum gave him to drop into the busker’s guitar case.

The scene makes me think about the friendships that can form between the very young and very old – the positive influences each can have on the other.

Imagine your protagonist’s childhood. Who did they meet who helped shape the person they grew into? Alternatively, imagine your character very old – what small person might help them see the world with fresh eyes?

If you write or create something prompted by this, please send an email to Judy(at)socket creative.com to let me know. With your permission, I’ll publish it on SkyLightRain.com.