gadget cosies:

wardi.dk has a cosy for an mp3 player

phone sock cosy from trilliums

camera cosy from fortytwo roads

A Picture Is Worth 1000 Words: Image-Driven Story Prompts and Excercises for Writers

Written by Phillip Sexton, photos by Tricia Bateman, Published by Writer’s Digest Books, Distributed in Australia through Capricorn Link.

Exercises and prompts to encourage creativity.

This is a book for writers, those whose creativity is expressed in words, those whose craft is the craft of writing, its creativity prompts, however, are useful for anybody wishing to expand the creative side of their brain, even if your thing is making, drawing, or gardening. Being inspired by one thing can lead in so many different directions. Which is why I would encourage anybody who has a creative bent to examine other areas where their creativity might be expressed. Be inspired by different mediums, try attending contemporary art exhibitions, poetry readings, folk music sessions or knitting clubs … or why not give writing a go. [I was telling my Husband about this idea of trying new areas of creativity to give a creative prompt, and he thought it sounded like Edward de Bono's provocative operator technique, where by forcing your brain to go down different pathways you can solve problems and make new discoveries, lateral thinking shifting of thinking patterns away from entrenched or predictable thinking to new or unexpected ideas.]

This book is a good place to start, to hone or practice your writing skills. It is about finding ideas, getting inspired and starting something. The reason I think that this particular writing prompt book is relevant to us crafty types and makers is its visual quality. The writing prompts are actually images and we are visual people. The concept is to start with an intriguing black and white image, such as an image of an abandoned tricycle on a footpath, or a man sitting in a waiting room with his head in his hands, a couple just about to kiss, the woman with a strange look on her face, or someone gazing longingly into an old photograph. The images fall into categories to prompt writing about different genres like horror, love and suspense or honing skills like character descriptions or emotional responses. There are images that evoke sorrow or hilarity or fear, others that contain tragedy or hope. The various prompts and images encourages the would be writer to expand and push their creative boundaries.