In the Dark Wet Deep

Writober 2025: Our Deepest Fears>Prompt Post

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🔗Links in the Table of Contents are Jump links to each of the challenges to navigate easily to the prompt of your interest: OctPoWriMo for poetry; Writober Flash Fiction for flash fiction; Halloween Photography Challenge for photography
🐦‍⬛Example poems are copied here for educational purposes.
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🎃OctPoWriMo 🦇Writober Flash Fiction 👻Halloween Photography Challenge

Today’s Theme: Sea Monsters

On old maps areas that had yet to be explored had paintings of sea monsters with the words “Here there be monsters”. These monsters came in all sorts of forms: giant lobsters, unicorns with fish tails, dragons, giant snakes, etc. At a time when only fifty percent of sea explorers returned, it made sense to those on land that sea monsters were swallowing them up, ships and all.

Like nature that abhors a vacuum, our pattern seeking, short-cut machine survival minds fill up the unknown. We are constantly imagining every possible bad thing that could happen, especially that could result in death, so we will be prepared for all the worst case scenarios. Having these horrible possibilities constantly playing out in our minds, it’s no wonder there’s so much fear of the unknown.

As writers, however, the unknown is our friend. It’s where we can ask deep questions. You may find some inspiration in my Deeper Questions post from earlier this year. One of those questions is What if . . .?

Here’s a quick exercise for exploring the unknown that I presented in my Abstract and Concrete Thinking post in April:

The What if and What If Game

There are many ways to practice abstract thinking. Here’s a quick game to get us started.

1. Start with something concrete. Find a small object you can hold in your hand. Note its size and shape, it’s color and texture. Does it make a sound? What does it smell like? Can you taste it?
2. Now, ask yourself a what if question about your object. Something fun like what if this object sprouted legs or wings. Now picture it. Imagine it happening. What would happen next?
3. Once you have imagined what would happen, ask yourself another what if. For example: When my object is flying around the room, what if it flew up the chimney, or what if it got caught in a spider’s web?

OctPoWriMo

A poem is a great place to explore “what if” scenarios. One stanza or section can be a happy what if and the next a scary what if, the next can be another possibility and wander about exploring the unknown.

Example poem: “The Kraken” by Alfred, Lord Tennyson from Monster Verse_(Aal)

The Kraken

Below the thunders of the upper deep;
Far, far beneath in the abysmal sea,
His ancient, dreamless uninvaded sleep
The Kraken sleepeth: faintest sunlights flee
About his shadowy sides: above him swell
Huge sponges of millennial growth and height;
And far away into the sickly light,
From many a wondrous grot and secret cell
Unnumbered and enormous polypi
Winnow with giant arms the slumbering green.
There hath he lain for ages and will lie
Battening upon huge seaworms in his sleep,
Until the latter fire shall heat the deep;
Then once by man and angels to be seen,
In roaring he shall rise and on the surface die.

~Alfred, Lord Tennyson

What “what ifs” keep this poem moving?

Prompt: Write a poem about what fears lie in the depths. What shines light on them? How do they appear? How are they defeated?

Possible form: Extended metaphor

Writober Flash Fiction Challenge

Day Nineteen Image

Click on the link and take a look at the image. How might this image relate to today’s theme? Write a piece of flash fiction, anything from a six-word story to 999 words. Feel free to bring in the OctPoWriMo prompt and the Photography Challenge prompt, anything that inspires your story.

Halloween Photography Challenge

Thank you so much for joining me for this year’s October challenges. Remember to support each other by visiting and commenting on as many links as you can as we explore our Deepest Fears in anticipation of Halloween.

If you enjoy these posts and the work I do here, please head to my buymeacoffee page and show your support! Thank you so much. Every bit helps keep this site going.

Music to get us moving: