Tag Archives: story ideas

Writing prompt – fishing

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Fishing competition cr Judy DarleyI spotted these people fishing the day away on a recent visit to Clevedon, near Bristol. I’m always intrigued by the satisfaction fisher folk seem to gain from the quietness and the water and skies they gaze into. Part of me wonders if the catch is secondary – just the excuse.

What do you think these people are really up to? What are their aims for the day, opposed to what they tell their families? Are they really competing to catch the biggest fish? And, even more intriguing, is that actually a hula hoop in the lower lefthand corner?

Write a story puzzling it out.

If you turn this into a short story, or know the real answers to these questions, I’d love to know. Just send an email to Judy(at)socket creative.com. You could see your words published on SkyLightRain.com.

Two small poems

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Woman preparing pineapple, Borneo cr Judy DarleyA small poem of mine, Strays,  has been published in the current issue of Literary Bohemian, one of the most beautiful online publications of travellers’ tales that I know.

The poem appears in Issue 22 – Something About Water, although my ode is entirely earthy (it is set on an island, but a sizeable one) – curious when so many of my poems and stories are water-themed and inspired. As the editors comment, the issue is mostly about water, but also about sex and war. I think my poem encompasses both of the latter in a small way.

There are some wonderful reads in the issue, so do have a browse. I’m particularly taken with Ariana Nadia Nash’s The Pond. It holds the depths of a novel in just four brief, beautiful paragraphs. Impressive.

You can read Strays here. I’ll warn you, it isn’t one of my prettiest. I wrote it during an extraordinary trip to Borneo. The lady pictured here features in the poem, though she doesn’t have a starring role.

My small poem Intimacy has been published by Nutshells and Nuggets, a lovely lit mag that focuses on very short poems. I’m really pleased they chose to publish this one because it was written from the heart about my beloved. A small poem, about a big man!

You can read Intimacy here.

Midweek writing prompt – creating worlds

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Hidden world-JudyDarleyAs a child I spent a lot of time peering into ponds, or lying in long grass watching the tiny creatures bustling through their jungle. I was reminded of this when I took some dead flowers from a vase and found my attention snared by the beauty of the pebbles and marbles they’d been resting on.

I invite you to create your own underwater world. Fill a glass, vase or jar from the tap, then add in a handful of miscellaneous objects – such as shells, cracker charms, buttons or toys. You can have some fun searching for these in the street.

Then take a photo of the scene, or simply spend some time gazing at in, using your imagination to change the scale to create a whole world. And just see what rises to the surface…

If you write something prompted by this, please let me know by sending an email to Judy(at)socket creative.com. With your permission, I’d love to share it on SkyLightRain.com.

Midweek writing prompt – the egg

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Egg cr Judy DarleyA couple are woken by a strange sound, and emerge from their house to discover a large, strange egg on their patio – just sitting there, glowing softly in the early morning light.

What happens next?

If you create something prompted by this, please let me know by sending an email to Judy(at)socket creative.com. With your permission, I’d love to share it on SkyLightRain.com.

Midweek writing prompt – bird and girl

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Bird Girl Etching by Laura RobertsonThis week’s prompt is inspired by this rather dreamy etching from artist Laura Robertson.

Such a gorgeous image. To me it seems reminiscent to ancient fairytales in which a brother or sister is turned into a bird or beast, leaving our heroine to find a way to save them, and in the process herself.

“I read a quote in a book many years ago – ‘only a bird in a gilded cage,’” says Laura of the piece. “It set off my imagination with images of a sad lonely bird in a cage and a sympathetic lady looking at it.”

What’s happening in this scene? Can you spin it into a melancholy fairytale with an uplifting resolution? Or is your impulse to write something far jollier, or far darker?

If you write something prompted by this, please let me know by sending an email to Judy(at)socket creative.com. With your permission, I’d love to share it on SkyLightRain.com.

Midweek writing prompt – portrait

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Old Woman, Burma cr Premgit

Old Woman, Burma © Premgit

Some faces really tell a story – their lives are printed on their skin, in the lines like rivers in a   landscape tracing the journeys around their eyes, mouths, brows.

The image above was caught by Premgit, and you may use this if you wish, but equally look to the people you know, and see if you can pick out the experiences marked out on their faces. What has made them joyful, hopeful or afraid? And how can you spin this into a fictionalised narrative?

If you write something prompted by this, please let me know by sending an email to Judy(at)socket creative.com. With your permission, I’d love to share it on SkyLightRain.com.

Midweek writing prompt – Cast Out

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Cast out cr Heather Nevay

Cast Out © Heather Nevay

How I love this painting! Created by the splendidly disquieting Heather Nevay, Cast Out seems to me to capture the moment just after a child has fallen out with her siblings and playmates, and stormed off muttering, “You’ll be sorry when I’m dead!”

But what’s the significance of the dolls’ house on wheels? What doe it represent? Part of me can’t help wondering if her family have been shrunken by her rage and trapped inside, at her mercy. And looking at the anger in that girl’s eyes, I wouldn’t predict a particularly happy ending.

Oh, and before you begin, did you notice the ears sticking out of her intricately braided hair? And is that a tail in the right-hand corner of the picture.

So many options!

If you write something prompted by this, please let me know by sending an email to Judy(at)socket creative.com. With your permission, I’d love to share it on SkyLightRain.com.

Midweek writing prompt – open art

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RWA Interior Photography by Mark Ashbee

RWA interior © Mark Ashbee

Last week I spend a delicious morning meandering through the breathtakingly diverse array of art of show at the RWA’s 162nd Open Exhibition.

Serena Curmi painting, Images from the Private View 11th OctoberI spotted a characteristically contemplative painting by Serena Curmi (titled Judgment – but who is the girl in the image judging? Herself?), and a beautiful, resonant sculpture (literally – when you run your hand over its spines, which you’re invited to do, it sings) by Kim Francis called Child.

I brought along a largish notepad and a handful of pens, and took my time, pausing to jot down notes whenever an idea or thought nudged me. By the time I left I had ideas for half a dozen stories, a rough first draft of a poem and a complete piece of flash fiction.

I urge you to do the same. The RWA Annual Open Exhibition is on until 7 December 2014, but if you can’t make it to Bristol, why not visit your local gallery or museum? The key is time – a good, solid chunk of it, to soak in the works on display and allow your subconscious to take what you see and turn it into an original piece of writing.

If you write something prompted by this, please let me know by sending an email to Judy(at)socket creative.com. With your permission, I’d love to share it on SkyLightRain.com.

Midweek writing prompt – street signs

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Mardyke Ferry Road cr Judy DarleyHave you ever noticed how many street signs there are? All these indicators to inform us where we are, and in some cases, why. I took a stroll recently and snapped shots of a couple, the first because the place names are just so evocative – it’s almost like a found poem. The second caught my eye and made me smile because it prompted a vision of the poor disappointed person who’d mistakenly turned up with a tent and now had no idea what to do.

Sorry, no tents cr Judy Darley

I suggest that you pay attention to the signs you pass, and take note of any that provoke a response in you. Then imagine the place they lead to, and make that the setting for your tale. Alternatively, feel free to write something in response to either – or both – of the signs shown here.

Note: this definitely works best if you don’t know the street the sign leads to too well. A healthy quantity of ignorance can leave space for your imagination to unfurl!

If you write something prompted by this, please let me know by sending an email to Judy(at)socket creative.com. With your permission, I’d love to share it on SkyLightRain.com.

Midweek writing prompt – writing from art

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Stargazer by Robert Llimos photo by Judy DarleyIn around a month’s time I’ll be leading a creative writing workshop at Carol Peace’s sculpture studio on writing from art, and I thought I’d give you a sneak preview.

The pictured sculpture is actually Stargazer by Robert Llimós, snapped in Barcelona when I visited in June. I chose it for this post because I know Carol retreats to the Catalan city at every opportunity to draw inspiration for her own art.

I also particularly love the contemplative quality of this piece – it makes me think of beautiful fantastical children’s books involving journeys across oceans and into the stars.

Consider what might be going through the mind of the boy, what his fears and hopes might be. Throw in a detail from a child you know or knew (yourself as a child, perhaps) – a passion such as playing football or eating popcorn – then turn your impressions into a prose poem. Discard any bits that seem trite or clichéd, and explore further the sections that ring particularly true. You might be surprised by what takes hold.

If you write something prompted by this, please let me know by sending an email to Judy(at)socket creative.com. With your permission, I’d love to share it on SkyLightRain.com.