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START YOUR OWN
Fertile Material Writing Circle
FERTILE MATERIAL ONLINE CHAT: WRITE A GROUP STORY ... IT'S FUN!
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WRITING CAREERS:
“ NICK DAWS IS a renowned British expert on how to get more writing done and actually make money with your writing. ”—Milli
Nick Daws: Write Any Book in Under 28 Days
Fertile Material Writing Prompts:
Putting the fun back into writing!
“I’ve had loads of fun doing the Fertile Material exercises!”
—Dena Harris, Madison, NC, author of
Lessons In Stalking . . . Adjusting to Life With Cats
Milli's book contains 112 creative writing prompts known as the Fertile Material. The idea is to have fun and
let your creative imagination go wild.
The book provides tips for writers on how to use the Fertile Material, but these prompts will unleash you even with no prior instruction. You can get started right this minute. Just look below for sample prompts and then unleash your Inner Wild Child!
P.S. If the prompt is a longer one with more detail, don't let that intimidate you. There's no rule that says you have to use every detail from the prompt. Just let it trigger your imagination and see where it takes you.
Photo: Four of the regular members of the Santa Fe Fertile Material Writing Circle using one of Milli's prompts
Page Contents
SUBSCRIBER BOX: Write a group story online—it's fun!
Samples of the writing prompts
Index of the Fertile Material
Why did Milli invent the Fertile Material?
What writers are saying about the Fertile Material
Meet writers using the prompts every week
Read short stories written using some of the prompts
FREE BOOK to start your own writing circle using the Fertile Material—it's fun!
Write a group story online . . . it's fun!
This online chat arena is a place for participants to try the Fertile Material writing prompts from Milli Thornton's book. A communal story is written using a round robin style where everybody gets a turn. The results are compiled by Milli and published online. NOTE: This is a fun and supportive atmosphere for the purpose of recapturing the joy of writing. No literary vapors allowed.
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Samples of the three types of Fertile Material
Go ahead! Pick a writing 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.
Excerpted from Fear of Writing by Milli Thornton Copyright © 1999
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?
Excerpted from Fear of Writing by Milli Thornton Copyright © 1999
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 by Milli Thornton Copyright © 1999
More info about what's in the book & who's using it
A Selection From the Index of
112 Fertile Material Writing Prompts
Only Humanoid, 211
Schmuckdom Never Pays, 203
Close Encounter of the Food Kind, 194
Roach Lover, 208
Mucho Macho & the Fluffy Slipper, 187
Acropolis, 208
Waiter, There’s a Gremlin in My Soup, 200
Poobah, Warrior Woman, 196
Idiot on the Box, 209
Goff, 210
Butcher of the Language, 202
Pajama Party, 193
Decaf D.U.I., 191
Battle of the Budget, 195
The Kissing Reflex, 191
A Thousand & One Swords, 194
Cold Oatmeal & Burnt Toast, 200
Guru Groove, 208
Voices From the Twilight Zone, 212
Duello, 107
Chez Pride, 203
Them Picnic Blues, 198
Dick Traceski, 193
Amber Is for Caution, 144
Who, Me?, 209
Yin & Yang, 63
Zzz, 107
Full Index
Table of Contents
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Why did Milli invent the Fertile Material?
Milli Thornton invented the Fertile Material in 1999 after she failed to find writing books featuring the type of writing prompts she craved. She longed for exercises that would be fun to use—rather than academic, introspective, or list-oriented. Milli wanted writing exercises to cause her to to launch into writing stories, complete with characters, dialogue and action.
It has since been demonstrated, in many workshops and writing circle sessions, that anyone can use the Fertile Material to launch into story writing. It works instantly; no previous experience required. Commitment-wise, too, the Fertile Material works well at any level—including thumbnails and story fragments. As one reader put it:
“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! But the best part about the exercises is that each story can be saved and worked on again later—either as a novel or as a story that might be worth submitting to a magazine or writing contest.”
—Jennifer Turner, Stevens Pt., Wisconsin, author of Stark Knight
The sequel, Son of Fear of Writing (and subsequent sequels), will publish pieces created by people from all walks of life who have written stories and vignettes using the writing prompts from the book. The sequel will introduce a fresh batch of Fertile Material, some of it directly inspired by writing circle members.
Milli’s habit is to do the Fertile Material alongside her workshop and writing circle groups, and Milli and some of her regulars have published e-book anthologies of their Fertile Material stories and poems.
More info about what's in the book & who's using it
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What writers are saying about the Fertile Material
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 Shairer, 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
Dear Milli: Thank you so very much for coming to the LAWG meeting last night. Everybody had a lot of fun. And wasn’t it fun to see what a group of ‘brave’ [published] writers can do with the Fertile Material? The writing was hilarious and very creative. It’s intriguing to think that the Fertile Material has applications for motivating even the seasoned writer into another level of creativity.
—Penelope Stowell, Los Alamos Writers’ Group, Los Alamos, New Mexico, 4/25/02
Milli’s Fertile Material exercises have helped me go from a closet writer who dreamed of writing a novel when I retire, to a writer who began writing a book during what for me is the annual time crunch—tax season!
—Skip Pedlar, CPA, Taos, New Mexico
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Meet writers using the Fertile Material
writing prompts every week
Groups that meet to use the writing prompts are known as “Fertile Material Writing Circles.” Each week we congregate in a coffeehouse or similar friendly place and create our own safe environment (using Milli's guidelines) to make it fun and supportive.
The routine is to pick a single prompt so that everyone in the group writes a story (or poem, story fragment or novel fragment) using the same prompt. We then read our stories out loud to the group. This has the uplifting effect of demonstrating that your unique style is right for you, because there are so many unique approaches.
We write hilarious stories full of description, characters, dialogue and action, and make each other laugh when it's time to read to the group—sometimes we laugh 'til our bellies ache.
“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 Brown, Fertile Material Writing Circle, Albuquerque, New Mexico
September 2005 Bulverde/Canyon Lake Fertile Material Writing Circle (aka The Chicklettes), Chicki's Coffee Shop, Spring Branch, Texas
Back row, from left: Susan Smith, Mary Ann Campbell, Lainie Dulaney, Jeanetta Davis, Doris Stump, Marilyn Agee
Front row from left: Milli Thornton, Marlena Dammé, Dee Nielsen, Kathleen Stevenson
Absent: Caitlin Smith, Cindy Wilson, Jeannie Mumau
September 2005: Boerne (pronounced Bernie) Fertile Material Writing Circle, Ye Kendall Inn, Boerne, Texas
From left: Milli Thornton, Kathy Cloud, John Gaines, Sandy Fleming, Holly White
Absent: Daisy Whisenant, Thom Ricks, Michelle Horstman
Meet More Writing Circle Regulars
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Read short stories written using some of the
Fertile Material writing prompts
WriterGazette.com Contest Winner: Dena Harris
Don't Poach the Roach (based on "Roach Lover")
Fear of Writing Gazette author: Deirdre Nielsen
“The Devil's Darning Needle”—a free e-book
Fertile Material short stories by writers in Santa Fe, New Mexico
Spend a creative evening with six members of the Santa Fe Fertile Material Writing Circle. The writers explore a single Fertile Material writing prompt and share their freshly inspired raw material with you, from the comic to the poetic, from the deep South to fantastical lands, from the scientific to the magical. Find out more about how Fear of Writing works and meet six of our Guest Authors through this free sampler e-book.
Easy to Download * Formatted for Easy Reading * No Scrolling * No Small Fonts
39 pages - 352 KB
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