Fear of Writing: for writers & closet writers
by Milli Thornton
MOVING SALE
45% off for a single copy / 55% off 2 or more copies
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SPECIAL NOTE: THIS MOVING SALE IS OVER . . . BUT IF YOU SOMEHOW FOUND YOUR WAY TO THIS
UNLINKED PAGE, YOU'RE AN INTERNET BLOODHOUND AND THEREFORE YOU DESERVE THE DISCOUNT.
THE PAYPAL BUTTON BELOW STILL WORKS TO GIVE YOU THE DISCOUNT. HAVE FUN! —MILLI
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“Even at 6:30 a.m., sans my first cup of coffee, the Chapter One excerpt made me laugh, it was so on target. I’ve got to read on so I can find out what’s going to happen to me!”
—Sally McKissack-Lauck, Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Fear of Writing is for anyone who experiences a familiar thud in the pit of the stomach when they visualize sitting down to write.
Through stories about fictional characters with fear of writing, you will realize you're not alone. You’ll thrill to the powerful and bewitching experiences these characters use to burn through to writing freedom.
Through writing prompts known as Fertile Material, you’ll learn the skills you need to have f-u-n with writing.
See Related Topics in the box to your right for Chapter One, writing prompt samples, testimonials, larger cover image and other information about the book.
READ THE STORY BEHIND THE MOVE
Purchase Details
Regular price: $13.99
Moving Sale: 45% off
Sale Price: $7.69 USD*
Shipping Within the USA: $3.00
(See ** below for other shipping options)
(Note: For 55% Discount on 2 OR MORE copies, DO NOT USE this PayPal button. See below for more details.)
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* Moving Sale not offered in the state of Mississippi (residents of Mississippi can buy the book at Amazon.com)
ABOUT THE BOOK
For more info about the book and to help you decide, see Related Topics.
DELIVERY
Due to the nature of moving, I may not get to the post office every day. Please allow 7-10 days for your book to arrive.
**EXPEDITED SHIPPING
I am unable to provide expedited shipping for this sale. If you prefer expedited shipping and you don't mind paying the regular price for the book, you can visit my Fear of Writing page at Amazon.com.
**OVERSEAS SHIPPING
If you live overseas, please email me before you purchase (see email address below). I will need to calucalate your shipping and then send you an individualized PayPal invoice.
PAYMENT CONFIRMATION
You'll receive
a receipt from PayPal confirming your purchase. I will also email you once I've shipped your book. If you don't hear from me within 24-48 hours, it probably means my computer is temporarily offline during the move.
PAYING BY CHECK
If you prefer to pay by check, please send a check for $10.69, made payable to The Word Nerd, to:
Milli Thornton
dba The Word Nerd
PO Box 2814
Ridgeland, MS 39158
55% DISCOUNT FOR ORDERS OF MORE THAN ONE BOOK ($6.30 per copy plus shipping)
This is ideal for larger writing organizations purchasing on a budget, or smaller groups interested in starting a Fertile Material Writing Circle. If you'd like to purchase more than one book, please email me at the Customer Service address below. After I've determined the shipping cost for your order, I'll send you an individualized PayPal invoice.
I want you to have fun and enjoy using my book! If, for any reason, you are unhappy with your purchase, please email me and I will rectify your problem.
CUSTOMER SERVICE/CONTACT MILLI THORNTON:
Testimonials for Fear of Writing
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Milli, you cannot imagine how much positive impact you have had on me, my writing, and I’m sure, tons of other people! —Sandy Fleming, Pipe Creek, Texas |
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I'm still so amazed at how the Fear of Writing method WORKS for me. I can write creatively and leave my stuffy old left brain out of it! |
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Just read your first chapter last night, and you were speaking directly to me! If my fiancee hadn't been sleeping I would have shouted, “That is SO me!” I'm sure that is SO a lot of people, and I'm not the first to tell you that, but I just had to say thanks! |
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I’ve studied hundreds of books on writing. This book has proven to be the best investment ever. |
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The story “Worm Medicine,” with images I will never forget, made the point real—personal—alive and breathing. Afterwards, I went through and in a few hours fixed the corner I’d painted myself into with my novel. Woohoo! |
More testimonials about the SHORT STORIES
Testimonials about the Fertile Material WRITING PROMPTS
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RETURN TO TOP OF MOVING SALE PAGE
Front & back cover of Fear of Writing
From the back cover:
What Readers, Writing Circle Members, and Workshop Participants
are saying about FEAR OF WRITING:
“Great writing exercises! ‘Fertile Material.’ Nothing has set me free like these.”
—Lyn Canham, Sandia Park, New Mexico
“We wrote the one about discovering you’re still in your pajamas at the office. I haven’t laughed so hard in a long time. Great fun!”
—Donna K. Brown, Albuquerque, New Mexico
“I want you to know that this book was written for me. It’s like you can read my mind.”
—Margie Wellman, Clarion, Iowa
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The Story Behind the Fear of Writing Book Cover
The arsonist doggy on the cover of Fear of Writing: for writers & closet writers is the sneaky brainchild of Taos artist, Steve Andrus. I say sneaky because Steve and I agreed that the cover should be unisex, which is why we chose an animal.
Steve, as you can see here, is a dog person. He claimed he was at his most comfortable painting a dog. I'm a cat person myself, but I figured if he didn't like cats he might paint something unflattering—so I gave him the green light on the dog idea. Steve at first wanted to paint a dog blasting a hole in its monitor with a shotgun. But, being a pacifist, I said NO GUNS!
So he toned it down to arson and gave the dog a bow tie. When confronted about the bow tie, Steve admitted proudly: “Yes, this is a male dog.” He believes that men are the underdogs and when he saw the opportunity to avenge his fellow mutt in public, he grabbed it with both paws.
The original image was a watercolor. Book design by the author.
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CHAPTER ONE: Suffering Comes With the Turf
Is writing supposed to be fun?
Surely, it’s better to suffer. It will make our writing real—give it depth and integrity.
If we’re not going to suffer, we should at least work hard. We should be disciplined. We should think in terms of productivity. A writer’s not going to have a career to speak of unless she’s producing at least 1,000 words per day, right? If you get right down to it, it’s really a number crunching game. Or so the rumor goes.
Every writer has a personal tale about the hardships of writing. And we all know that writing is a lonely business. Martin Myers made this kind of alienation adorably quotable when he said: “First you’re an unknown, then you write one book and you move up to obscurity.”
But this swallowing gulf is no laughing matter. As we chart our descent into the nether world of writing, honk if you know the story already.
Outside, the sun is shining and the robins are happily pulling up worms. Inside your snug little home, you’re staring into the abyss. The terror of facing that empty page is only surpassed by the numbness of your decomposing mind.
Just moments ago you were a lively specimen of resourceful humanity. Moments ago you were finding ways to speed through your chores and commitments in order to allow yourself some precious writing time. But, now that you’re seated in front of your favorite writing implements, you uncover the bleak truth. You have nothing to say. You are less inspired than the lowliest drone sorting microchips on the assembly line. You are empty. Soulless. Mere space dust inhabiting a warm body. You have no right to aspire to that auspicious title: Writer. Where did you come up with the nerve to even think it?
OK, so you’ve managed to convince your primal brain stem these negative messages are melodramatic. You are not empty. You are not a zombie from the twilight zone. While waiting in line at the drive-up bank, you even had “an idea” and now you intend to write it down. You’re no lightweight.
In fact, you have some guts and you plan to use them. How can you not be a writer? It’s in your blood. It permeates every atom of your mortal being. It reaches all the way to your higher self. Even your past lives were spent as royal scribes in Egypt or poets in Atlantis.
Triumphantly, you break those chains of oppression. You commit some tentative words to paper. One line follows another and “Voila!” you have a paragraph.
You resist the urge to reread what you’ve managed to get down. You forge ahead: One paragraph becomes two, and then three, and then five. If the dog doesn’t throw up again or the phone doesn’t ring, you may even write two pages today. You are doing it! You’re writing. You have defied the laws of emptiness. You are a god of creation.
But, the internal drag is taking its toll. Even as you defeat inertia to get those valiant words down on paper or typed onto the screen, you are faced with another self-evident truth: You are boring. Your writing would put insomniacs to sleep. You’ve seen livelier writing on the label peeling from the dank bottle of dishwashing liquid under your kitchen sink.
Yesterday you finished reading a mind-blowing novel by a twenty-three-year-old Asian author. He learned English only six months prior to writing his book. He wrote the entire book in Oriental calligraphy, using a brush and ink inherited from his great-great-grandfather, and then transcribed it into grammatically perfect English for his publisher in New York.
His prose is fluid, scintillating—nearly translucent in its candidness and lack of clutter. It’s his first book, and yet he writes with the sensitivity and depth of a literary giant. His ancestors spring to life within the pages of his book; they say some of the funniest, wisest, most memorable things you’ve ever encountered. The writerly portrayal of this intricate, exotic foreign culture renders you speechless with admiration.
The book has won awards and has found a permanent niche on the bestseller’s list. The author is under contract for three more novels. He writes blurbs for the covers of other people’s books, and his name is sheer unadulterated gold in the publishing industry. Everyone wants a talisman; everyone wants a piece of his literary magic.
Meanwhile, sunk in a private morass of shame and self-loathing, you sit in front of the mundane passage you’ve written. You reread your words and reel in shock. It’s blindingly obvious that you should give up now to save your family from the pain of watching you bomb out. Your paltry effort should be fed to the pigs for breakfast—with salt and pepper and plenty of ketchup. At least make it palatable for the pigs!
The rush of inspiration you felt in line at the bank is now in ashes on the page. You’re embarrassed that you ever bragged to your friends about being a writer. Bragging leaves you no room to exit gracefully. Bragging leaves you no pride and no way to resume a normal life. If you give up now, your friends will know what a weakling you are and they’ll never let you live it down.
Why would anyone want to suffer this way? You sit there, dripping with failure; pungent with the sweat of your fruitless labor. You remember that you go through this same horror scene every time you try to write. You always start on an innocent high, but then you degenerate into writing hell.
By the time the hounds of hell regurgitate you, you’re limp with defeat. Your skin crawls with self-revulsion. Looking up from your mundane passage, you observe the ordinary world: You can’t help but notice that your family and friends aren’t being auto-consumed by this tapeworm called writing. You long to veg out in front of the TV with the kind of serenity you see others reveling in as their birthright.
You look in the mirror and tell yourself to “get a life.” You decide to exercise at the gym whenever the urge to write strikes. You can put your nervous energy to good use at the gym instead of doing all that unhealthy introspection. Instead of agonizing like a word miser over what you have or haven’t written.
The concept “writing is fun” is ludicrous. Experience has proven it beyond a shred of doubt. Fun for others, maybe, but never for you.
Still, you are curious to see which panacea will be on offer here. You remind yourself, since you’ve given up writing to lead a healthy lifestyle, that you’ve got nothing to lose. You have no personal stake in it now. . . . Miraculously, this has killed off the hellhounds and smashed the mental blocks. You are now free to try the exercises in this book without expectation or attachment to outcome. You’re a perfect Buddha ready to give into non-judgmental acceptance.
Well, if not a Buddha then a glutton for punishment. You’ve made up your mind to try these dang exercises just to prove what you already know: Writing is a torture chamber invented specifically with you in mind.
Chapter One of Fear of Writing, Milli Thornton Copyright © 1999
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What a Godsend! I had never experienced the joy of 'prompt' writing until I was introduced to the world of Fertile Material ... what a blast! For so long I had felt trapped by my own fears, of not trusting my capabilities as a writer or that of my imagination. I carry my copy of Fear of Writing almost everywhere I go these days; it's the 'bible' of words for me and has allowed me to step out of my comfort zone and explore more challenging areas. If I seem stuck for an idea, I open the book, look for a prompt and see where it leads me. There's no limit to the imagination from this point, which is a wonderful surprise when you stop for a word count and are beyond your expectations! —Deb Stevens, Sydney, Australia |
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Testimonials for the Fertile Material Writing Prompts
I’ve had loads of fun doing the Fertile Material exercises!
—Dena Harris, Madison, North Carolina
Great writing exercises! “Fertile Material.” Nothing has set me free like these.
—Lyn Canham, Sandia Park, New Mexico
Wow, I was laughing out loud at some of the skeleton plots! This is great stuff! I think our readers are really going to enjoy this contest.
—Krista Barrett, editor, writergazette.com
I’m excited to have won the contest (my first!) and even more thrilled to be the recipient of your book. I look forward to reading it and growing as a writer as I use more of your writing exercises.
—Dena Harris, Madison, North Carolina
I really am thrilled with this new way of writing. It seems to bypass the clinical/critical mind and get right to the creativity.
—Sandy Schairer, Tijeras, New Mexico
The freedom part of it, for me, is getting away from technical writing and having the chance to write something more fanciful. Also, not being critiqued on your English, spelling, formatting of paragraphs and so on. It's very therapeutic to run away from reality for a while! And humor comes naturally using the Fertile Material prompts. It even affects my other writing.
—John Gaines, Boerne, Texas
It really got them going. Even one student who never liked to write and usually stalled around was engaged.
—Micah Roseberry, principal, Country Day School, Taos, New Mexico, on using the Fertile Material exercises with her sixth graders
One great thing about the Fertile Material is that I can take a break from a longer piece (such as my novel #2) and have some real fun! Not that my regular writing isn’t fun, but I believe it’s important to stay fresh, and doing smaller projects really helps with that. But the best part about doing the Fertile Material exercises is that each story can be saved and worked on again later—either as a novel or as a short story that might be worth submitting to a magazine or writing contest.
—Jennifer Turner, Stevens Point, Wisconsin, author of Stark Knight
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The Fertile Material exercises motivated a creative area in my brain that was lying dormant. One minute I was staring at the title of the exercise—the next thing I know I was shaking the pain out of my hand from writing five pages. —Marlena Dammé, San Antonio, Texas |
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Testimonials for the Four Short Stories in Fear of Writing
I read “The God of Mystery” yesterday. I couldn't put it down!
—Sandy Fleming, Pipe Creek, Texas
I don't know if I ever told you, but the story about the grandfather baby-sitting his great-grandchild in Fear of Writing was one of the best short stories I've ever read.
—Sandy Schairer, Tijeras, New Mexico (referring to “The God of Mystery”)
I just finished “The Way Dempsey Works.” The description of the mountains around Taos and the drive up to his adobe house was all too real for me. You made the coffee shop come alive. I could hear the chatter and smell the coffee and I felt like I had met Dempsey before.
—John Gaines, Boerne, Texas
The story “Worm Medicine,” with images I will never forget, made the point real—personal—alive and breathing. Afterwards, I went through and in a few hours fixed the corner I’d painted myself into with my novel. Woohoo!
—BJ Apostol, Santee, California
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I’d been battling a case of writer’s block ever since the terrorist attack on September 11. Each word needed to be squeezed out of me like lemon juice, and when it hit the page it was just as sour. And then I read “Jack’s House.” Every obstacle Helen encountered, every fear she had, every thought she had, paralleled my own troubles so completely I was stunned. I'd been terrified that my fiction was trivial, meaningless, and without purpose, but when I finished reading “Jack’s House” I understood what I needed to do. This was the miracle I’d been searching for. Thank you! |
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“Fertile Material”: Samples From the
112 Writing Prompts in the Book
Go ahead! Pick a prompt and let your creative imagination go wild.
Remember, there's no rule that says you have to use every detail given in the prompt. Just let it trigger your imagination and see where it takes you. You can write a short story or just a story fragment. The main idea is to have fun with it.
FERTILE MATERIAL SKELETONS
Roach Lover You are a cockroach sympathizer giving a speech at a rally for animal rights.
As Juicy as They Come Your spouse is addicted to mangoes—that slurping sound drives you wild and makes you want to kill.
FERTILE MATERIAL
Play Big You are a musician in a sought-after jazz band. Your name is Clarence and you travel with the band for six months of every year, playing concert halls and jazz festivals. How old are you? Give the band a name. Choose your instrument. Portray the other band members and the feeling you get when you play together. Eleanor, a high fashion model, is interested in one of you. She has wiles and she uses them. Will the band survive her foxy tricks and secretive smile?
FERTILE MATERIAL FOR YOUR SERIOUS MOODS
Cliffhanger You’re out hiking in the mountains. Some shale slips under your feet, and suddenly you’re sliding down a steep embankment. Describe how you feel as you slide. It’s a rough landing and you are injured. How do your companions react? Are you calm or upset? Is your speech lucid? You need help right away. How can the nearest Search & Rescue team be notified? When they do arrive, how do you feel about your rescuers? Describe how they bring you to safety. What effect does this mishap have on your life?
Excerpted from Fear of Writing: for writers & closet writers by Milli Thornton Copyright © 1999
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Milli's techniques are so friendly and non-frightening. . . . The book is very laid-back, conversational, and downright funny! Even the cover picture of the dog holding a match to his manuscript makes me laugh every time I look at it. The exercises are fantastic—they wind up your imagination and let it go and then wonderful things happen. |
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Table of Contents
1. Getting Milk from the Coconut
Suffering Comes with the Turf
Beyond the Purge
Fertile Material: Exercises for Writerdom
How to Reap an Abundant Crop
Fertile Material: Play Big – Only the Wise – Fort Rivalry
An Audience of Your Own
Accidental Salvation
2. Jen Speaks
Writing Practice, June 20, by Jen
Flight of the Woodpecker
3. Chanting the Douhm
Writing Practice, June 26, by Milli
The Land of IL Rhanesia
4. The Passive Zone & the Active Zone:
Short Stories & Exercises
Short Story: Worm Medicine
Fertile Material: Yin & Yang – How Many Karats? – Solitaire Island
Short Story: The God of Mystery
Fertile Material: Zzz – A Freak of Time – Duello
Short Story: Jack’s House
Fertile Material: Space Cadet – Jekyll & Hyde – Amber Is for Caution
Short Story: The Way Dempsey Works
Fertile Material: Drunk with Power – Dreams You Never Dreamed Of – Mucho Macho & the Fluffy Slipper
5. Fertile Material Unlimited
More Fertile Material
Grand Cross Alignment
Fertile Material Skeletons
Fertile Material for Your Serious Moods
Submit Your Fertile Material
About the Author
Grammar & Punctuation: A Happy Footnote
Footnote 2: Music for Creativity
Footnote 3: Character Copyright
Footnote 4: Author’s Permission to Use the Fertile Material Exercises
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“Fertile Material” writing prompts
Full Index of 112 Prompts
| A Freak of Time, 107 A Noble Bed of Nails, 212 A Thousand & One Swords, 194 Abracadabra, 198 Absentminded Professor, 208 Acropolis, 208 Ahem, Maestro, 195 Amber Is for Caution, 144 As Juicy as They Come, 212 Bah, Humbug, 212 Battle of the Budget, 195 Beatlemania, 211 Bleeding Heart, 197 Boyd’s Eye View, 212 Bridesmaid’s Duty, 210 Butcher of the Language, 202 Chez Pride, 203 Cinderella Had It Easy, 210 Cliffhanger, 213 Close Encounter of the Food Kind, 194 Cockle Shells & Silver Bells, 209 Cold blooded?, 213 Cold Oatmeal & Burnt Toast, 200 Courtroom Fever, 204 Dear Murphy, 197 Decaf D.U.I., 191 Dick Traceski, 193 Double Vision, 209 Dr. Spock in a Dress, 196 Dreams You Never Dreamed Of, 187 Drink Me, 210 Drunk With Power, 187 Duello, 107 Escapism, 199 Fallen Star, 209 Fit to Print, 214 Flying Slave, 210 Fort Rivalry, 23 Fortune Smiles, 211 Free Spirit, 210 Gallery Admission, 198 Gentle Guide, 213 Goff, 210 Guru Groove, 208 Hermit Crab, 211 Hippy-Hippy-Shake-Shake, 194 Honesty—or Diplomacy?, 211 Horse Sense, 191 How Many Karats?, 63 Human Lightning Conductor, 212 Idiot on the Box, 209 Jekyll & Jekyller, 144 Jules Was Right, 209 Lower Than a Snake’s Belly, 197 Mark of Self-Esteem, 214 Matriarch City, 209 |
Modernism in the Raw, 209 Mother Power, 192 Mucho Macho & the Fluffy Slipper, 187 Needle Freak, 209 Nowhere to Hide, 212 Obsessed, 208 Only Humanoid, 211 Only the Wise, 23 Oops, 210 Ordinary Slice, 214 Pajama Party, 193 Play Big, 23 Poobah, Warrior Woman, 196 Portrait of Milady, 195 Proud and Free, 209 Public Spectacle, 210 Purity of the Spirit, 208 Radical Role Reversal, 199 Reluctant Surveillance, 210 Roach Lover, 208 Scarlet Woman, 211 Schmuckdom Never Pays, 203 Sci-Fi Genius, 196 Selling Prestige, 193 She’s Mine, 201 Shooting Star, 199 Sit on It, 208 Sit Up & Beg, 202 Sleight of Hand, 202 Snide and Prejudice, 196 So Good It Gets an Oscar, 192 Social Chill, 210 Solitaire Island, 63 Space Cadet, 144 Speak to Me, 201 Stage Fright, 211 Starburst, 204 Survival of the Whitest, 209 Switching Careers, 200 The Kissing Reflex, 191 The Mysteries of Love, 210 The Power . . . Oh, and the Glory, 211 The Right Person for the Job, 200 The Stink of Politics, 201 The World Is Young, 204 The World’s Your Oyster, 193 Them Picnic Blues, 198 Tonsil Tickler, 203 Twin Paradigms, 192 Voices From the Twilight Zone, 212 Waiter, There’s a Gremlin in My Soup, 200 Wash Me, 211 What, Not an Egyptian Sun God?, 211 Who, Me?, 209 Yin & Yang, 63 Zzz, 107 |
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