While visiting Antalya, Turkey, in September, we explored the excellent Ethnographic Museum. One of the displays shows a series of ceramics, including the 17th century tile shown in my photo.

The reason this is remarkable is because of secrecy. An information plaque beside the tiles mentions that the craftsmen kept their ways of creating and obtaining colours a closely guarded secret, to the extent that the knowledge about how to make the lovely coral reds has now gone forever.

Imagine if a crucial piece of contemporary knowledge was lost in this way. What aspect of cultural or comfortable modern life would impact you most if it disappeared? Can you use this perturbing thought in a work of fiction?

If you write or create something prompted by this idea, please let me know by emailing judydarley (at) iCloud.com. I’d love to know the creative direction you choose.

The rising cost of living in my home city is pricing people out of their houses and into tent villages. It’s a phenomenon I’ve seen before, both here and abroad, but never on this growing scale. Local parks are becoming homes for residents with few other options.

These are often people with jobs forced out by rocketing rents.

Can you write a tale that examines this problem and finds some kind of solution? How would it feel to be in this position? How would you retain your equilibrium in this situation?

If you write or create something prompted by this idea, please let me know by emailing judydarley (at) iCloud.com. I’d love to know the creative direction you choose.

On one of the sunniest mornings of the season, I saw this paintbrush on a wall.

Nothing I could see nearby had been painted yellow. It’s a shade that reminds me of butter, lemon curd, sandy beaches and the sun.

Could this brush have been used to paint summer?

Can you turn this into an intriguing tale that veers away from the saccharine sweet to explore something about childhood or growing up?

If you write or create something prompted by this idea, please let me know by emailing judydarley (at) iCloud.com. I’d love to know the creative direction you choose.

I spotted this vintage VW Beetle resting in a field near Burton. I rather like the way looks like it’s been put out to pasture after a hard working life. It certainly has views worth pausing to soak up now. I can envision it trundling around on the grass admiring bumblebees nosing in buttercups and generally enjoying some relaxation.

Imagine the people who might have driven or ridden in this vehicle. You could put a sinister twist on a tale by imagining they travelled here for a picnic. What occurred that led to them abandoning their car? Bucolic scenes like this are ripe for uncanny happenings!

Whether you choose to go dreamy, comic or scary, turn this scene into a tale.

If you write or create something prompted by this idea, please let me know by emailing judydarley (at) iCloud.com. I’d love to know the creative direction you choose.

Turning on to a path in my favourite urban wilderness, I almost walked directly into this levitating caterpillar. It looks like a box tree caterpillar. Intriguingly the plant it’s hanging from seems to be a box tree that’s growing through a sycamore, with the trunks winding around each other.

I thought they might dangle from threads to evade predators, but apparently the thread is their version of an escalator. It helps them ascend to fresh tasty leaves and catch the breeze to nearby plants once they’ve stripped all the box leaves (or simply made them all curl up and die) from their home.

Imagine if our chosen transportation was to emit a silky thread and catch the next waft of wind! What chance encounters might occur?

Can you explore this idea in a story? It could even turn into a #clifi tale, examining how we could escape once we’ve stripped our planet of its resources.

If you write or create something prompted by this idea, please let me know by emailing judydarley (at) iCloud.com. I’d love to know the creative direction you choose.

This pair of generously proportioned, detached bug houses boasts green areas front and back and landing space for countless inhabitants.

I’ve been reading a lot of estate agency blurbs recently and it’s beginning to affect how I view the world.

Landlords across the UK are selling up as mortgage rates diminish their profits. Tenants, myself included, are left facing the fact that the rental market appears to have imploded, making home purchase necessary, however unfeasibly expensive that may be.

Can you write a tale where a family faces notice on the home they’ve shared for years? Where will they go? How will they keep themselves safe?

If you write or create something prompted by this idea, please let me know by emailing judydarley (at) iCloud.com. I’d love to know the creative direction you choose.

Every August in Bristol the chance of seeing a sky filled with hot air balloons rises. This is mainly due to the annual Balloon Fiesta, which took place last weekend, but on any day when the wind isn’t too vigorous, you’re likely to see a few passing overhead.

I snapped this photo early one Monday morning, sharing the moment with a few dog-walkers and a woman doing tai-chi. The balloons made everyone pause and smile.

What if this cheerful sight wasn’t a celebration but an exodus? What if something had occurred prompting people to leave, and the safest way to travel was via balloon?

What could have happened? Where might these people be going? What could befall the folks left behind watching from the ground? Can you write a piece in that most challenging genre, the hopeful dystopia?

To add a touch of humour, can you think of who the worst possible person would be to share a balloon basket with for a long flight?

If you write or create something prompted by this idea, please let me know by emailing judydarley (at) iCloud.com. I’d love to know the creative direction you choose.

Incongruous pairings make great writing prompts, and this cyclist framed by a viaduct on Sao Miguel, The Azores, is the perfect match of old and new. This blend makes me think of ancient myths in modern settings, or time slip tales, while the bumpy track and lush greenery of this volcanic isle adds to the backdrop.

Who might the cyclist be? What made them choose this route so far from the mainland? Who or what might they be running from or towards? What historic travellers have passed this way before? Why not turn it into a story with adventure at its heart?

If you write or create something prompted by this idea, please let me know by emailing judydarley (at) iCloud.com. I’d love to know the creative direction you choose.

What a curious sight! A simple wicker and metal chair has become part of the Devon coastline, inviting weary swimmers, seabirds, and perhaps Poseidon, to take a load off.

Who could have placed it here, how and why? What were they hoping to achieve, other than some anonymous notoriety (if that’s not a total oxymoron)? How will the chair be impacted by incoming storms, and with what results?

Using this as a springing off point for a comical or poignant tale.

If you write or create something prompted by this idea, please let me know by emailing judydarley (at) iCloud.com. I’d love to know the creative direction you choose.