I’ve had loads of fun doing the Storyteller prompts!   

—Dena Harris, Madison, North Carolina

Milli’s book contains 112 creative writing prompts known as the Storyteller Prompts. The idea is to have fun and let your creative imagination go wild.

The book provides tips for writers on how to use them, 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!

SAMPLES OF THE 3 TYPES OF STORYTELLER WRITING PROMPTS

TIP: 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.

STORYTELLER SKELETONS

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

STORYTELLER WRITING PROMPTS

Schmuckdom Never Pays You are an old woman making a last stand against slimy, sleazy, no-good developers. They want you to leave the home you have inhabited for fifty-seven years so they can bulldoze it and build another shopping mall. They send in their heaviest dude, Mr. Schmuck, to persuade you to leave—but ol’ Schmuck wasn’t expecting your Chihuahau, Caesar, to be a force to reckon with.

Excerpted from Fear of Writing by Milli Thornton Copyright © 1999

STORYTELLER PROMPTS 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