Welcome back for the twenty-eighth day of Writober. The month has flown by like a ghost-witch on a rocket-powered broom, and here we are in our final days looking at the fifth universal fear: fear of extinction. The big fear, the fear that rules them all death, master of the fear of the unknown.
Fear of extinction is not only the fear of death, but includes the fear of the end of ones species, the fear of the end of life on Earth, the fear of Armageddon, and fear of the end of all things. It’s the fear of fatality, and also the fear of what’s to come: the unknown.
Rhetorical Device: Metaphor
A metaphor is a figure of speech that, for rhetorical effect, directly refers to one thing by mentioning another, a thing regarded as representative or symbolic of something else, especially something abstract.
Fighting Fear of the Blank Page: How are you feeling about that blank page? Is it still taunting you? Start with a catalogue.
Catalogues of inspiration: Before writing, choose an old catalogue like reprints of the Sears Roebuck & Co. Catalogue from 1897 or 1923. Explore history, objects, and description all in one place. Could any of these objects be a metaphor for fear of extinction?
*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 will never see
I will never hear
I will never carry
I will never smell
I will never follow
The death of
The grief of
I will never taste
The texture of
I will never witness
I will never touch
(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 fear of extinction.
4. Choose a poetry collection: If you’re ready, you can choose another poetry collection, or continue to study the one you chose last week.
Poetry Building
Metaphor is similar to simile, but instead of saying something is like something else, we say that something is something else. Extinction is a toothless viper, for example. Or Extinction is price of misuse. How many metaphors for fear of extinction can you think of?
Example poem: Today we’re looking at After by Leonora Speyer, copied here from poets.org for educational purposes.
After
I will not walk in the wood to-night,
I will not stand by the water’s edge
And see day lie on the dusk’s bright ledge
Until it turn, a star at its breast,
To rest.
I will not see the wide-flung hills
Closing darkly about my grief,
I wore a crown of their lightest leaf,
But now they press like a cold, blue ring,
Imprisoning.
I dare not meet that caroling blade,
Jauntily drawn in the sunset pine,
Stabbing me with its thrust divine,
Knowing my naked, aching need,
Till I bleed.
Sheathe your song, invincible bird,
Strike not at me with that flashing note,
Have pity, have pity, persistent throat,
Deliver me not to your dread delight
To-night!
I am afraid of the creeping wood,
I am afraid of the furtive trees,
Hiding behind them, memories,
Ready to spring, to clutch, to tear,
Wait for me there.
This poem is in the public domain. Published in Poem-a-Day on March 10, 2018, by the Academy of American Poets.
How does this poem make you feel? What stands out to you?
Today’s prompt: Write a poem exploring the fear of extinction using metaphor.
Form: If you’re looking for more of a challenge, write a narrative poem including metaphor.
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 Extinction folder of the Writober 2024 Pinterest board. How does fear of extinction affect your character?
Novel Prep
These last few days are about finishing up our outlines. Brainstorm the scenes that lead to the final battle, your MC’s dark night of the soul, and any other scenes that we haven’t discussed so far.
Halloween Photography Challenge
Take a photograph that depicts extinction or fear of extinction 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:
Ever want to be a ballerina? How about working out like one with this barre workout:
Experience Writing 
from my archive 🙂
Writober – “And with strange aeons even death may die” – Ladyleemanila
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