Fear of Death

Happy Halloween! You’ve done it: thirty days of poems, stories, and photographs; weekly sewing and music projects. And we’re here at the end. Our final Writober poem, story, and photo prompts of 2024.

OctPoWriMo

Poetry Toolbox

1. Word list: You now have well over a hundred words to use while exploring fear in your writing. Fear is universal, everyone feels it and experiences it, and now you have the tools to write about it. Spend time with your word list. Put your words into categories of your choosing. Compare and contrast your words. Journal about your words. Put your words on cards and make your Personal Universal Deck, or print out your words, cut them out and put them in word jars. These are your tools, practice with them, and get to know them. (Inspired by Frances Mayes’ list of a hundred favorite words in The Discovery of Poetry)

If you didn’t make your word list this month, it’s never too late. I created this Excel Spreadsheet for you to use to collect and explore your fear words.

OctPoWriMo wordlistDownload

2. Sensory Imagery: There is so much you can do with the phrases you wrote this month.

• Go back through and collect them by sense. Write a poem for each sense separately using your responses.
• Choose your favorites to use in a poem about universal fears
• Write a poem with anaphora
• Put the trigger phrase at the end and write a poem with epiphora
• Search your phrases for euphony, or cacophony
• Search your phrases for rhyme, or meter
• Order all of your favorite lines and order them to fit a metaphor

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

3. Choose a poetry collection: Read more poetry collections while working on your own.

Poetry Building

Putting it all together: Have fun today. Experiment and stretch yourself. Try writing something completely different than anything you’ve ever written before. Write as your Halloween costume character. Put on your mask, so your inner critic has no idea who you are. Use your wordlist. Use your sensory details, and sensory question answers. Every day of the month has built up to this day. What stood out to you as the most interesting technique or rhetorical device this month? Try it out. Then read your draft aloud and make changes for sound and mouth feel.

Example poem: Today we’re looking at Because I could not stop for Death by Emily Dickinson, copied here from poetryfoundation.org for educational purposes.

Because I could not stop for Death – (479)

By Emily Dickinson

Because I could not stop for Death –
He kindly stopped for me –
The Carriage held but just Ourselves –
And Immortality.

We slowly drove – He knew no haste
And I had put away
My labor and my leisure too,
For His Civility –

We passed the School, where Children strove
At Recess – in the Ring –
We passed the Fields of Gazing Grain –
We passed the Setting Sun –

Or rather – He passed Us –
The Dews drew quivering and Chill –
For only Gossamer, my Gown –
My Tippet – only Tulle –

We paused before a House that seemed
A Swelling of the Ground –
The Roof was scarcely visible –
The Cornice – in the Ground –

Since then – ’tis Centuries – and yet
Feels shorter than the Day
I first surmised the Horses’ Heads
Were toward Eternity –

Source: The Poems of Emily Dickinson, edited by R.W. Franklin (Harvard University Press, 1999)

---

How does this poem make you feel? What stands out to you? How does this poem explore fear of death?

Today’s prompt: Write a poem exploring the fear of death using your favorite rhetorical devices.

Form: If you’re looking for more of a challenge, write a sestina using six words from your wordlist.

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 death affect your character?

Novel Prep

Diving into your new novel in November? I hope you feel prepared and are excited to get started. If you scroll down to the bottom of these posts, you’ll find a search and a Select Month box. If you select November 2017 you’ll find lots of daily prompts to keep you inspired to write every day.

Halloween Photography Challenge

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

Tunetober

Don’t forget to link to your spooky tune in the chat.

Sewtober

Don’t forget to link to your project 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. My suggestion:

Put on your costume and dance around while waiting for trick-or-treaters.

Now, grab what inspires you, and create!

Don’t forget to come back & link in the comments.

Have a Happy Halloween!