Welcome back for the thirtieth day of Writober. We are in our final days looking at the fifth universal fear: fear of extinction. Today, we’re looking at Acts of God, storms and other large events that are out of our control.
Fear of Acts of God is the same as fear of bad luck, similar to fear of fate or destiny, but I mostly see it as fear of bad storms, earthquakes, and eruptions. Maybe a better name would be fear of acts of planet and atmosphere.
Rhetorical Device: Aporia
Aporia is a declaration of doubt, often feigned. Aporia comes from the Greek word meaning “to be at a loss.” I like the example on LitCharts from Sojourner Truth,
“That man over there says that women need to be helped into carriages, and lifted over ditches, and to have the best place everywhere. Nobody ever helps me into carriages, or over mud-puddles, or gives me any best place! And ain’t I a woman? Look at me! […] I have borne thirteen children, and seen most all sold off to slavery, and when I cried out with my mother’s grief, none but Jesus heard me! And ain’t I a woman?”
Sojourner Truth obviously knows she is a woman, but doubts “that man” sees her as such. Thus she presents this doubt with her question.
Fighting Fear of the Blank Page: Do you remember playing Mad Libs? Thinking up words without any context and then laughing at the fun final stories with the words you chose. Why not enjoy that kind of fun with your own writing.
Mad Libs: Take your favorite example poem from this month, a poem you studied, or the poem or story you wrote this month that was your favorite to write, and replace every noun with the word “noun”, every verb with the word “verb”, and every adjective with the word “adjective.” Then play mad libs with your poem or story.
*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 acts of God.
4. Choose a poetry collection: How do the poems in the collection explore fear? Can you identify the five universal fears in the collection?
Poetry Building
Aporia is another tool for presenting the argument of the poem. What doubts do you have about acts of god? How would you express fear of acts of god with aporia?
Example poem: Today we’re looking at Storm Fear by Robert Frost copied here from poets.org for educational purposes.
Storm Fear
When the wind works against us in the dark,
And pelts the snow
The lower chamber window on the east,
And whispers with a sort of stifled bark,
The beast,
‘Come out! Come out!’—
It costs no inward struggle not to go,
Ah, no!
I count our strength,
Two and a child,
Those of us not asleep subdued to mark
How the cold creeps as the fire dies at length,—
How drifts are piled,
Dooryard and road ungraded,
Till even the comforting barn grows far away
And my heart owns a doubt
Whether ’tis in us to arise with day
And save ourselves unaided.
This poem is in the public domain.
How does this poem make you feel? What stands out to you? Can you identify aporia in the poem?
Today’s prompt: Write a poem exploring the fear of acts of God using aporia.
Form: If you’re looking for more of a challenge, write your poem as a Monchielle.
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 acts of God affect your character?
Novel Prep
Today’s a good day to either interview your MC again, or journal as your MC and let your MC tell his or her story. Use whatever comes up inspire some new scenes for your outline.
Halloween Photography Challenge
Take a photograph that depicts acts of God or fear of acts of God 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:
Don’t forget to exercise your face 🎃
Experience Writing 
Writober – Ferocity of the typhoon – Ladyleemanila
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