Welcome back for the eighteenth day of Writober. Today we’re exploring our third universal fear, loss of autonomy, through the intense fear of phobias.
Phobias are different than our regular fear response. The fear response is no longer from the stimulus, but from the fear of the stimulus. Phobias can become debilitating. There are as many different phobias as there are things that can cause fear. According to WebMd here are some categories of phobias:
- Animal phobias: Examples include the fear of dogs, snakes, insects, or mice. Animal phobias are the most common specific phobias.
- Situational phobias: These involve a fear of specific situations, such as flying, riding in a car or on public transportation, driving, going over bridges or in tunnels, or of being in a closed-in place, like an elevator.
- Natural environment phobias: Examples include the fear of storms, heights, or water.
- Blood-injection-injury phobias: These involve a fear of being injured, of seeing blood or of invasive medical procedures, such as blood tests or injections
- Other phobias: These include a fear of falling down, a fear of loud sounds, and a fear of costumed characters, such as clowns.
Rhetorical Device: Oxymoron
An oxymoron combines apparently contradictory terms in conjunction. For example the term “humblebrag,” or “frenemy.”
Fighting Fear of the Blank Page: Start with a page that isn’t blank.
Draw what you’re afraid of: Afraid of spiders? Draw spiders all over a sheet of paper, or in your notebook. Afraid of dogs? Draw snarling dogs until they fill your page. Then, use your pen as a weapon and battle those fears with your words. Make a game of it. When your words cover a drawing, you have conquered that fear, then battle the next one.
*Quick Note about links in this post: I am an amazon associate, so most of the links in my post will take you to amazon products. If you buy from these links, I will make some pennies which will help me pay for this site and my creative endeavors.
OctPoWriMo
Poetry Toolbox
These are quick exercises that I hope you’ll do every day. We will build on these exercises throughout the month.
- Word list: Write down the first ten words you think of when you think of fear. Any words at all. Anything that comes to mind. Then choose your three favorite and say them aloud a few times until you hear the accented and unaccented syllables (if more than one syllable) and notice the duration of each syllable. (Inspired by Frances Mayes’ list of a hundred favorite words in The Discovery of Poetry)
I created this Excel Spreadsheet for you to use to collect and explore your fear words.
2. Sensory Imagery: In your journal or a word processing file, fill in these lines as quickly as you can. Notice they are slightly different from last week. You may want to revisit one or two in more detail if you’re inspired and have time.
I didn’t see
I didn’t hear
I can’t carry
I didn’t smell
I wouldn’t follow
The dead end road
The frustration of
I can’t taste
The burn of
I witness
I touch but don’t feel
(Inspired by a week one exercise in the poetry chapter of The Portable MFA in Creative Writing)
3. More Sensory Imagery: Ask yourself sensory questions about phobias.
4. Choose one poem to study all week: Read your chosen poem again. Read it aloud. What new things come up as you read it? What stands out now? What techniques and tools are the poet using to evoke emotion? Can you identify a form, meter, or rhyme scheme?
Poetry Building
Oxymoron: The most common type of oxymoron is an adjective followed by a noun like “sweet sorrow,” or “unbiased opinion”. An oxymoron can also be formed by an adverb and adjective like” truly false,” or “strangely familiar.” What oxymorons do you think of when thinking about phobias?
Example poem: Today we’re looking at The Bear, The Fire, And The Snow by Shel Silverstein, copied here from poemhunter.com for educational purposes.
The Bear, The Fire, And The Snow
‘I live in fear of the snow,’ said the bear.
‘Whenever it’s here, be sure I’ll be there.
Oh, the pain and the cold,
when one’s bearish and old.
I live in fear of the snow.’
‘I live in fear of the fire,’ said the snow.
‘Whenever it comes then it’s time I must go.
with its yellow lick flames
leaping higher and higher,
I live in fear of the fire.’
‘I live in fear of the river,’ said the fire.
‘It can drown all my flames anytime it desires,
and the thought of the wet
makes me sputter and shiver.
I live in fear of the river.’
‘I live in fear of the bear,’ said the river.
‘It can lap me right up, don’t you know?’
While a mile away
you can hear the bear say,
‘I live in fear of the snow.’
Today’s prompt: Write a poem exploring a phobia or phobias using an oxymoron or oxymorons.
Form: If you’re looking for more of a challenge, write your poem as a Cascade. A cascade is a poem in which each line of the first stanza becomes the last line of the following stanzas in order.
Writober Flash Fiction
Write a story with a beginning, middle, and end with conflict that leads to change in less than a thousand words (no minimal word count) inspired by one of the images in the Loss of Autonomy folder of the Writober 2024 Pinterest board. How does a phobia, or phobias affect your character?
NaNo Prep
Let’s continue looking at creating movement in Act 2 inspired by Novel Writing Blueprint Workbook: A Storyteller’s Journal by Jill Harris.
Think of a scene when your MC is hiding. Who is s/he hiding from? Why? Where does s/he feel safe? What would happen if s/he is found? Does s/he get caught/found?
Imagine a scene in which your MC is running (for her life). Where is s/he running to? Who or what is s/he running from?
Halloween Photography Challenge
Take a photograph that depicts restriction or fear of restriction and link to your photo in the chat.
Get Moving
Now that you’ve read all the prompts and have all these ideas running around in your head, it’s time for motion. Some suggestions:
More Childhood Memories: Remember the game Twister? How about trying this ab twister board. I got one of these and I love it! It’s in my kitchen. I twist while I wait for the kettle to boil, and while I wait for food to cook. It’s so fun, and it massages my feet as I twist. I highly recommend it.
Experience Writing 
Writober – I´ve got a phobia – Ladyleemanila (wordpress.com)
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