Fear of Loss of a Sense

Welcome back for the twenty-seventh day of Writober. It’s Sunday, and the last day we’ll be looking at the universal fear of loss of a sense.

Fear of loss of a sense to most, I think, would instantly be the fear of losing sight, but what about not being able to hear, or feel touch? My father lost his sense of smell, and can’t taste anything (a package deal). For him, this has its ups and downs. He doesn’t smell the terrible smells he makes working in his shop, or fixing the septic, but he also can’t taste the wonderful ways my mom cooks the salmon he catches.

By looking back at this week’s fears, the aspects of the fear of mutilation: injury, attack, dismemberment, torture, parasites, and loss of a sense, have you gotten any closer to any of your core causes of these fears? What memories have come up for you that you may not have thought of since they happened?

Rhetorical Device: Simile

A simile is a figure of speech comparing one thing to another, usually using like or as. Similes are important in all kinds of writing. However, be careful of cliché similes, the ones that are used all the time, and don’t use too many similes. There are some good tips for creating and using similes in this quick article:

What is a Simile? from Masterclass.com

Fighting Fear of the Blank Page: How’s your relationship with the page coming along? Which approaches have been your favorite so far?

Review this week’s techniques: Try one you didn’t try yet, or use your favorite from this week.

*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. Add the least connected exact rhyme, and the strangest slant rhyme. (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.

OctPoWriMo wordlist Download

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 will see

I will hear

I will carry

I will smell

I will follow

The slice of

The pain of

I will taste

The color of

I will witness

I will touch

(Inspired by a week one exercise in the poetry chapter of The Portable MFA in Creative Writing)

3. More Sensory Imagery: Answer sensory questions about fear of loss of a sense. This is a good exercise for coming up with similes.

4. Poetry collection study: Search the collection for similes. Are there any exciting, surprising, and unique comparisons? Which are your favorite? Which didn’t work for you?

Poetry Building

Simile: similes are often used in sensory description especially for taste and smell. Something smells like strawberries, or tastes like diesel fuel (shouldn’t be tasting that). Similes provide information by comparing something that isn’t familiar to something that is. Similes can be a great place to create surprise in your writing. Try comparing two things you have never compared before. How are they alike? Create a simile.

Example poem: Today we’re looking at Last Words by Mary Jo Salter, copied here from blog. bestamericanpoetry.com for educational purposes.

LAST WORDS

by Mary Jo Salter

Forgive me for not writing sober,
I mean sooner, but I almost don’t
dare see what I write, I keep mating mistakes,
I mean making, and I’m wandering
if I’ve inherited what
my father’s got.

I first understood it when he tried
to introduce me to somebunny:
“This is my doctor,” he said,
then didn’t say more, “my daughter.”
The man kindly nodded
out the door.
I thought: is this dimension
what I’m headed for?

I mean dementia.|
Not Autheimer’s, but that kind he has,
possessive aphasia: oh that’s good,
I meant to say progressive.
Talk about euthanasia!
I mean euphemasia,
nice words inside your head not there,
and it’s not progress at all.

No, he’s up against the boil
after years now of a sad, slow wall
and he’s so hungry,
I mean angry.

Me too. I need to get my rhymes in
while I still mean. I mean can.

from Zoom Rooms by Mary Jo Salter ( Knopf, 2022).

How does this poem make you feel? How does Salter use language to explore fear?

Today’s prompt: Write a poem exploring the fear of losing a sense using simile.

Form: If you’re looking for more of a challenge, write your poem as an n+7. Use a poem you wrote this week and replace all the nouns. Or, try one of the other variations from woodlandpattern.org. Want to speed things up and force yourself to use the seventh word and not a different choice? Here’s an n+7 machine.

Write your poem and post it to your site (blog/ website/ other), then post a link in the chat. You may also post your poem in the chat if you do not have a place to post it. If you are posting as “someone” or “anonymous,” please put your name at the end of the poem. Throughout the day, please check back when you can to read and encourage other poets, to learn from each other, and enjoy each other’s efforts.

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 Mutilation folder of the Writober 2024 Pinterest board. How could fear of loss of a sense play a role in your story?

Novel Prep

Now that we know more about our main characters, let’s revisit our main scenes and see if we can increase the stakes even more. What would be the worst thing that could happen to our character in each situation? Use this month’s study of universal fears to brainstorm scenes for each. What scene could have ego death be the worst thing that could happen to the MC or the Antagonist? Brainstorm a scene in which separation is the worst thing that could happen. You get the idea. Can you imagine a scene in which your MC loses one of his/her senses either permanently or temporarily?

Halloween Photography Challenge

Take a photograph that depicts loss of a sense or fear of loss of a sense and link to your photo in the chat.

Tunetober

How did it go? Is your tune getting scarier as it develops? This week, put all the pieces together and finish up your tune. Don’t forget to link it to the chat on Halloween.

Sewtober

This week, finish up your costume, and your decoration. Share your creation in the chat on Halloween.

Get Moving

Okay, this is just something I found that I think looks really fun, but it’s too expensive and I would probably break myself if I tried it, but Kangoo jumps jumping shoes are a real thing.