I recently discovered a rural idyll just a half-hour stroll from our home in the hectic centre of Bristol. Brimming with spring-fresh greenery and duck playgrounds aka ponds, it’s a place to unwind and relax amid a natural soundtrack of birdsong and gently lapping water.

Of course, I instantly thought of the bodies that could be lurking in the murk, and the dubious deeds that could be committed here under the cover of starless nights.

Can you create a character who finds a sense of calm here, either through pure or nefarious means?

What does it prompt in your mind? Can you turn that into a tale or work of art?

If you write or create something prompted by this, please send an email to judydarley (at) iCloud.com to let me know. With your permission, I may publish it on SkyLightRain.com.

There’s a woodland I love to walk to where the trees are gloriously sculptural and a white egret once posed like a storm-blown umbrella, whiles dogs and children rampaged in the brook and remnants of old tin barrels hulked beneath the earth over the bridge. It’s a curious mix of bucolic and industrial histories, and there’s always some new wonder to see.

Recently, the treasure was a scrap of poetry affixed to a trunk. What a lovely glimpse from ted.poems

‘home for tea
with every step
the sound of the river’

It made me think of how we draw inspiration from nature while contributing to our surroundings. There’s a constant rhythm of ebb and flow, whether that’s the act of adding something meaningful or only a shower of litter.

What would you choose to leave behind? Can you use this thought to dream up a story or other creative work?

If you write or create something prompted by this, please send an email to judydarley (at) iCloud.com to let me know. With your permission, I may publish it on SkyLightRain.com.

A writer I know via Twitter recently commented that people often ask them why short stories are so depressing. Do you know what? They don’t need to be! The days are getting longer and brighter in the Northern Hemisphere and our hearts should be filling up with hope!

So this week’s writing prompt is less about inspiration than about challenging yourself.

If you usually write thought-provoking tales with a sorrowful core, try a sunnier slant. Can you write a tale in which no one dies, no one is mulling over a dark past and everyone is cheerful? In essence, make your tale as contented as this pygmy goat scratching an itch in the springtime 🙂

Alternatively, write a jolly story about the pygmy goat.

You can still write from the depths of your soul – just give it a flash of sunshine on the way up.

Count this as your challenge. Write bright!

If you write or create something prompted by this, please send an email to judydarley (at) iCloud.com to let me know. With your permission, I may publish it on SkyLightRain.com.

Each weekday morning I set out early for a half-hour stroll before starting work. The wilderness I choose is a haven for birds, and recently they’ve seemed louder day by day.

It astounds me how nature came up with a creature small and light enough to fly, yet loud enough for the volume of its song to carry throughout woodlands.

This robin is a frequent sight, and it just one of the birds shouting at that early hour. I know they’re ferocious beasts, and love that the song we find beautiful is in fact their battle cry.

Imagine if we handled disputes in this way, where the most exquisitely varied song won a patch of ground. Instead of resorting to guns and bombs, could this be opened up to dance-offs, painting challenges or defiance portrayed in the form of spoken-word poetry? Could a couplet win a war?

Can you use this as the prompt for a story or work of art?

If you write or create something prompted by this, please send an email to judydarley (at) iCloud.com to let me know. With your permission, I may publish it on SkyLightRain.com.

I don’t know about you, but for me my local views are growing just a little bit dull. Every day, pandemic restrictions keep me confined to the same limited perimeter.

I have a favourite three-to-four mile route I walk most days in an attempt to stay sane. The other day, I decided to walk it back to front. BLEW. MY. MIND.

Setting out in the direction I would normally come back from made everything look different – the views that would normally be behind me were ahead and even the puddles refracted the light at fresh angles.

Imagine if you could take this far further and harness the hypersensitive smell or hearing of a dog or the ultra-violet aware sight of a bumblebee to understand your surroundings in a fresh way. What if you could see different historic eras your neighbourhood has experienced?

The possibilities are endless. Can you use this idea as a prompt for a short story or work of art?

If you write or create something prompted by this, please send an email to judydarley (at) iCloud.com to let me know. With your permission, I may publish it on SkyLightRain.com.

I pass this window often on my daily walks, and each time it strikes me a little differently. The bright colours and energetic shapes equally suggest children excited to be creative in an unexpected way, and homeschooling rattling out of control.

It’s possible that these pictures were scrawled by adults trying to cling to their sanity. Or could the adults have been absent physically or mentally for some time and these drawings be the clue that something is off-kilter inside?

I like to think this is a splash of artwork that displays hope – the figures are smiling despite their wonky bodies, and the colours are vivid despite grey weather. What inspiration can you glean from them to write a tale or create something unique and hopeful of your own?

If you write or create something prompted by this, please send an email to judydarley (at) iCloud.com to let me know. With your permission, I may publish it on SkyLightRain.com.

In the midst of a pandemic, when nothing fun had happened for weeks and we’d seen nothing new for months, a whisper crackled through the streets of Totterdown, Bristol.

After darkness fell on a chilly Friday evening, two stilt-walking angels strode through the streets, trailing sparkles and cheers in their wake. We wore masks to keep our exhalations from harming others and maintained our distance carefully, but for that moment we felt our spirits lift. It was a sighting of such creativity that we were reminded of how our vibrant city used to be, when artists invited us into their homes to witness their mark-making and performances erupted on street corners.

The talented stilt walkers of Corvus Angelicus have been striding their magic through different neighbourhoods in a bid to bring a smile to our faces in these challenging times.

This spectacular moment was a reminder of what we’re aiming for – a return to the weirdness we call normality.

Can you turn this into an encouraging or fantastical tale?

If you write or create something prompted by this, please send an email to judydarley (at) iCloud.com to let me know. With your permission, I may publish it on SkyLightRain.com.