The new issue of Gold Man Review is now available, and includes my poem “Taste of Temptation.” I really love the cover. That shark fin makes me so happy.
Yesterday, at my parents’ house after attending a family friend’s memorial, I glanced through a bookshelf in my childhood bedroom that my parents keep insisting was mine, but I say was my bother’s. Turns out there were books that were mine, my parents’, and my brother’s. I discovered a long, slim book from Instructor Curriculum Materials called Poetry for today’s child by Ruth Kearney Carlson published in 1968 and 1972.
In a section near the end called, “Symphonic tone poems in color,” I was introduced to “Frank Sinatra Conducts Tone Poems of Color.” I found it on YouTube and have been listening to colors all morning. What a great way to block out the construction that has started back up nextdoor.
To inspire the students the teacher in the book paired the music with color poems from Hailstones and Halibut Bones by Mary O’Neill. The poems have little drawings for every word which I found very interesting. Like in the poem Gray, it says some spring coats are gray, but the drawing of the coat is blue. I think I’m going to really enjoy exploring that book.
Then in a section called “Using a record with young children” I read about Dylan Thomas’s recording “A Child’s Christmas in Wales.” I found it on YouTube as well. It’s a humorous and vivid story with a poetry only Thomas could deliver.
So much fun from one little book I found on a mystery bookshelf in my childhood room. Here are a couple poems from the section “Poetry for the modern child” supplied for “pupil pleasure and help.”
Words Words are such funny things, They can be lovely or give bitter stings, Think hard before you let them go– You cannot get them back, you know! ~G. D. Davis
My Word A noun is quite dependable; It never leaves you in suspense! But a participle may be dangling, And a verb is always tense! ~W. Lowrie Kay
Every day can be a day of thanks if you’re looking on the right bookshelf. I hope you find some fun to be thankful for.
I thought I was exhausted from Writober, but it turned out I just needed the election to be over, or perhaps both. I unplugged yesterday, and didn’t peek at the results until kitty was curled up next to me, I had delicious baked plums to fill my empty belly, and cocoa-coffee to wash it down. Maybe it’s just that the sun came out, and even though the construction started at 6:50 am, I was already awake and the world was just too beautiful with my headphones on.
The Calm in the Chaos and the Chaos in the Calm by Maria L. Berg 2024
My response to the headlines surprised me, I started scrubbing my kitchen, then cleaned some windows, then did the mending on my sewing table. I cleaned up my sewing crafts area and planned two new sewing projects. Then I suddenly found the contradictory abstract nouns for November (when I just couldn’t the other day). And I reset the calendar quilt for November.
I have some catching up to do, but it feels like my November started today. That’s why I put the inspiration for my contradictory abstract noun study “Find the Hope in despair and the despair in hope” as today’s inspiration.
ModPo 2024
This is the tenth and final week of ModPo, and Rae Armantrout was at this morning’s ModPo live. Knowing she was going to be there, I spent the hour before reading her poems in ModPo Plus, and watching the video about her poem “Care” that was recorded in Seattle in January of 2020. I really enjoyed it. At first, I wasn’t sure I wanted to watch and listen to ModPo Live, because I knew the poets would be upset. But I’m glad I showed up. Hearing the other poets express their grief, disbelief, and anger is what inspired me to get to my abstract nouns calendar, and not give up until I had it finished.
New Poem
Yesterday’s Poetics prompt fits so perfectly with getting my contradictory abstract noun calendar done. Merril’s prompt post was “Choose Joy” and asked us to write about something that brings us joy. Though I have Grief / Joy for next Wednesday. “Find the hope in despair and the despair in hope” brings me joy. Exploring contradictory abstract nouns brings me joy. So writing a poem inspired by any abstract noun brings me joy.
The dangers of joy
The mountain in all its volcanic calm— hovering on the horizon, dressing itself with colors of cloud formations reflecting in the calm autumn lake accompanied by the red, yellow, and orange leaves, or the choppy wind-swept lake those same leaves floating, melt-dancing through the blues of rock and whites of glacier —always brings me joy
I stare in awe whenever it appears on a sunny day, shedding its cloud coat, baring itself to the golden rays Like a hovering parent, or a self- obsessed sharer, I can take a picture every day, and its contours are always new. And there are other good views.
Dangerous to drivers, the mountain will suddenly fill the sky on the way up a hill, or around a corner On the way to work, or on the way out of town, it fills the sky and my heart, and I’m stunned The world stops turning and if I’m not careful so do I.
Recently, the mountain has been showing signs of waking from slumber tossing and turning a bit Maybe having the same bad dream I keep leaving the computer playing uninteresting re-runs to avoid but I hope not. If the mountain wakes up on the wrong side like I did the other day it’ll take more than a twister-disc and some roasted plums to temper that volcano.
Having your hopes snatched away is definitely fuel for despair. But instead, I feel like today is my ticking clock. I need to use the time I have as fully as I possibly can before the volcano erupts figuratively, or literally.
Time For Reading and Writing and Art Find Your Joy
This Writober was a huge success. Thank you everyone who participated, linking up their images, poems, and stories. Your work was intriguing, thought provoking, entertaining, and fun. And you kept me inspired to keep working every day.
There was so much to enjoy about this Writober. First, I completed my challenge: 31 poem drafts, 31 flash fiction drafts, 31 new photos, some sewing, and some music. I’m really excited to look back on everything I created.
Favorite Image: Fear of Predators
The Low Points
The main low point was that I was working on the prompt posts almost the whole month. I couldn’t seem to get ahead, and that took away from the energy and time I had to respond to the prompts. So I’m going to create next year’s prompts this winter while I’m still in the Halloween mood.
I think my responses to Fear of Separation were my least favorite. Though I really enjoyed taking my camera for a walk around the neighborhood, I don’t think my work got to the feeling of fear of separation in any interesting way.
Least favorite image: Separated Least favorite poem: Lost in the Forest Least favorite story: Lost in the Forest
The other low point was that the huge interest on Day 1 immediately dropped off. And then continued to drop off. So I’m wondering what people were looking for that I didn’t provide.
Suggestions?
I would really love some feedback. How can I improve the prompts, the activities, the information, the site, so that Writober is a ton of fun for everyone. Please leave suggestions and comments in the chat. Or if you would rather shoot me a private note, send it to mariaberg@experiencewriting.com. Thank you.
Next Steps
During Writober we enforced our daily writing habit with warm-ups like word collecting, sensory detail phrases, and sensory detail questions. We also explored activities to fight fear of the page, and learned about the basic building blocks of writing. There’s no reason to drop all of that because October is over. As Dorianne Laux wrote in Finger Exercises for Poets, “My instrument is the immensity of language,” and like any instrument, we need to practice to play well.
Now that the rush of Writober is over, you can come back and visit the posts at your leisure whenever you have the time. Just scroll to the bottom of these posts and in the Select Month box choose October 2024. They’ll come up last post first, but just click to the final page and start at the beginning. You can also select Octobers from previous years and see how Writober has evolved here at Experience Writing.
In November I like to keep the momentum of Writober going with more daily writing challenges. I write a novel draft for NaNoWriMo, do the NovPAD daily poetry challenge, and create a daily photography challenge.
I want to get back to my contradictory abstract noun study. So this November, I’m going to look over my Writober word list and pick out all the abstract nouns, or abstract nouns that I connect with my favorite words, and put the abstract nouns and their opposites in my calendar, attempting to cluster them into the five universal fears. Each day I’ll attempt to photograph the abstract noun in it’s opposite, and the opposite in the abstract noun. For example “Find the hope in despair, and the despair in hope.” That’s the statement that launched my study I’ve been enjoying for years.
Robert Lee Brewer at Writers Digest provides daily poetry prompts in November. Then poets are challenged to edit and compile their poems into a Chapbook. This is a great opportunity to continue our daily writing habit and explore the techniques we learned during Writober.
I have a special painting on my mantel many would consider folk art or outsider art or kitsch that says “Be Nice or Leave”
I earned that piece with its Abita bottle cap frame from Dr. Bob himself for playing my songs in a loft of a barn for a benefit for kids learning and it survived the hurricane
It has a place of honor and like mismatched socks once you notice it, you can’t stop talking about it
So before you leave know you weren’t nice and wonder why you couldn’t be That sign survived when so many of my friends and places didn’t but you stood by
November Novel Writing
I thought I had decided to continue my full focus on poetry through the rest of the year and start my new novel in January, but then I looked at the NaNoWriMo site and realized that it’s my tenth NaNoWriMo in a row and I’m not ready to break that streak.
I didn’t finish the first draft of my horror novel last year, so this year, I’m going review what I did write last year and using the universal fear study, and Novel writing prompts from Writober, attempt to finish a very frightening first draft.
I’ll be looking back through previous years’ Novembers for prompts and inspiration. Last year I bought a Clue board game with the intent to invent a word crawl to go with the board game. Hopefully I’ll figure it out this year and can share it with you.
I’m also excited that I finished my spooky pockets for my calendar quilt, so I can rearrange it for November, and put Halloween candy, stickers, and positive messages in the pockets to reward myself when I meet my goals.
I look forward to hearing what you are all up to this November. Write On!
These are my responses to the final Writober prompt post Fear of Death.
OctPoWriMo
Living With Fear of Death
Color of the distant object deceives The slice of cloud dismembered from the sky becomes filthy while falling and floating by The dead end road ends abruptly I can’t taste the poison but it’s there I will never hear his voice and not feel disgust texture is often more important than taste I will hear my inner music again Everything changes if I use a filter I will witness transformation through chopping Trauma lingers like an underlying hum I will follow him if he’s prowling and wonder why now? Why did it take so long? I will witness a changed world if I live pressure like a flame thrower at my back I will touch my lips as I think about what I will touch
Writober Flash Fiction
I felt called, as if I could walk across the water to the giant pushing on the sky. It was a cold day, the day he came. I pulled on my long wool coat, for my morning walk along the beach. I slipped out before she woke up. I had a lot to contemplate. She had made up her mind without saying a word. She was taking the job, moving to Jackson Hole. So far from the ocean I loved. We either split up, or I went with her. There were no other choices. I couldn’t be that angry at her for not consulting me. I hadn’t told her about my cancer diagnosis. I don’t know why, but I didn’t feel it was any of her business.
I was kicking at the wet sand, watching the ocean’s furthest reach fill up my divots when I felt pushed, and almost fell over. It wasn’t the wind: there wasn’t even a hint of a breeze. No, it was like the air over the ocean was forced into me. I turned expecting a tidal wave on the horizon to explain it, but instead saw a giant shadow pushing against the sky, as if someone a thousand times as big as me was backlit onto a sky curtain and was trying to push through. I felt surprisingly calm, no fear at all. I took this as the third choice I had been wishing for. No moving, no staying, just walk across the water to the giant in the sky and accept whatever comes. But the ocean didn’t hold me. I probably should have taken off my heavy coat.
Halloween Photography Challenge
Today’s images are a celebration of completing my Halloween decoration Sewtober challenge. The photo represents fighting the fear of death with beautiful light.
Fabricglass Pumpkin by Maria L. Berg 2024
Sewtober
I really pushed myself hard and completed my vision of a glowing fabricglass 3-D pumpkin for Halloween. Fabricglass is a layering, sewing, and cutting technique I invented using spandex fabrics to create a stained glass effect. I had some rope lights sitting in my closet from when I made light boxes, and coiling a strand inside worked perfectly to give it a warm glow. I’m so happy with my finished pumpkin. Thank you being my accountablibuddies and inspiring me to finish my project.
Fabricglass Pumpkin from the Side by Maria L. Berg 2024
Congratulations everyone for all your Writober writing and projects. Thank you for joining me. It was so fun to read your work and see your images. The month went by way too fast.
Happy Writober!
Happy Halloween!
Come back tomorrow for a Writober Recap and Next Steps
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
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.
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 – 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.
I can’t imagine how people blamed the city, everyone in the city for being hit by a hurricane, but they did. So many said we deserved it for our beliefs and our actions. Some said that God was punishing us but aren’t we all victims of acts of God?
Do those people blame themselves when lightning hits a tree and the fire spreads? Do they feel punished when a strong wind blows and a limb falls on their roof? Is it their own beliefs and actions that caused the water heater to burst and flood their house? No. It’s never their debauchery, their impure thoughts or deeds. It’s only bad luck.
Writober Flash Fiction
Jayden and her tornado hunting friends, thought it was fun to make up stories of what horrible things the owners of the destroyed houses must have done to deserve the wrath of God. As they watched a funnel sweep up a cow, they laughed and said Bessie must have made sour milk. When a ferocious, wide twister took out a small town, they imagined a conspiracy of murdering vagrants and making them disappear. When a church was the only building destroyed, they imagined a cult of devil worshipers in the basement. They laughed and laughed as they recorded the destruction, and posted it to their Youtube channel for likes and comments, hoping to eventually get a sponsor to one day become professionals, and not just hobbyists. Vehicle damage and injuries, made for an expensive hobby, but the adrenaline from getting so close to such power, was worth the credit card debt.
They were chasing a super-cell. A group of tornadoes that were joining into one massive, earth-tearing monster, roaring through farms and small towns. Jayden stopped laughing in the middle of her story of a mid-western drug cartel; meth-cooking farmers, small town dealers; because she saw a face, a giant face in the funnel, staring at them, scowling at them. “Guys, do you see that?” she yelled over the deafening roar. She didn’t know if they heard her, but Yolanda slammed on the breaks. “It’s turning right at us,” she yelled. Jayden saw the finger, definitely a giant finger form at the base of the funnel. It pointed right at them. Then it was over them, pressing down on them, as if squishing an irritating ant.
Halloween Photography Challenge
For today’s images, I was thinking of how a Tornado can hit down and destroy one house leaving its neighbors untouched. I cut a tornado with a finger pointing down at its base for my shape filter then used the blue only setting in my camera to take pictures in the mirrorworld.
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 by Maria L. Berg 2022
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.
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.
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:
These are my responses to the Writober prompt post Fear of Predators.
OctPoWriMo
Predation
I am the field mouse running through the tall grass under the sliver moon’s pencil light Each push or pull changing pressure above me is a hungry winged monster I zig-zag. I serpentine. So many eyes like search-lights criss-cross this prairie Here it comes, the swoop I’m frozen, overwhelmed by smells of feathers and gore then a squeak and I’m running again And in my den sated, I curl up grateful those talons met the mouse beside me
Writober Flash Fiction
Lena kept an eye on the pack; watched it dwindle as it hunted closer and closer to her home. She knew the alpha by a tear in his ear, a chunk bit out while dominating a challenger. Every time she looked at it, she thought of the toe she cut off with an axe last winter when it turned black after getting frostbite.
She felt the hunger in their howls. Her stores had run out weeks ago, and she and the other predators were desperately snapping at rabbits, squirrels and birds with barely any meet on their bones.
Soon, very soon, Lena would meet the wolves as either predator or prey. Unless, there was something bigger, even more hungry out in the cold.
Halloween Photography Challenge
For today’s images, I wanted to create the effect of a predator coming at ya. I cut a new shape filter of teeth and eyes, and tried to get the blue depth effect in the mirrorworld. Then I had fun with my predator over red, brown, and gray lens filters among the leaves in the yard.
Welcome back for the twenty-ninth day of Writober. We are in our final days looking at the fifth universal fear: fear of extinction. Today we’re looking at fear of predators.
Fear of Predators by Maria L. Berg 2023
Fear of predators is hard-wired into the human psyche from cave man days, but today, a human is as likely to be the predator as a bear or mountain lion, or more so depending on where you live.
The wolf is a traditional predatory figure in stories such as “Little Red Riding Hood” and “The Three Little Pigs.” In more recent story telling the Dragon , or the more than ginormous shark, tends to be the alpha predator.
Rhetorical Device: Extended Metaphor
These final few days, we’re putting all our techniques together. We have sounds, syllables, words, phrases, lines, stanzas, and rhythm to play with as we write. We can use all of these tools to create an extended metaphor. With an extended metaphor, a metaphor is presented and then the entire work continues to present the connections and argue how one thing is another thing.
Fighting Fear of the Blank Page: How are you feeling about that blank page? Is it still taunting you? What if you give that page a beat?
Write to a beat: I have a drum kit and played around with playing simple beat patterns and then trying to make my words fit that day’s beat. Here are a couple posts where I was playing with that idea:
*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.
3. More Sensory Imagery: Ask yourself sensory questions about fear of predators.
4. Choose a poetry collection: Why do you think the poems are ordered in the manner they are? Do you agree that it’s the best possible order, or would you have changed how the poems were presented?
Example poem: Today we’re looking at The Death King by Anne Sexton, copied here from poemhunter.com for educational purposes.
The Death King
I hired a carpenter to build my coffin and last night I lay in it, braced by a pillow, sniffing the wood, letting the old king breathe on me, thinking of my poor murdered body, murdered by time, waiting to turn stiff as a field marshal, letting the silence dishonor me, remembering that I’ll never cough again.
Death will be the end of fear and the fear of dying, fear like a dog stuffed in my mouth, fear like dung stuffed up my nose, fear where water turns into steel, fear as my breast flies into the disposal, fear as flies tremble in my ear, fear as the sun ignites in my lap, fear as night can’t be shut off, and the dawn, my habitual dawn, is locked up forever.
Fear and a coffin to lie in like a dead potato. Even then I will dance in my dire clothes, a crematory flight, blinding my hair and my fingers, wounding God with his blue face, his tyranny, his absolute kingdom, with my aphrodisiac.
How does this poem make you feel? What stands out to you? Who is the predator in this poem? Can you pick out which rhetorical devices Sexton uses in this poem?
Today’s prompt: Write a poem exploring the fear of predators using an extended metaphor.
Form: If you’re looking for more of a challenge, write your poem as a villanelle.
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 predators affect your character?
Novel Prep
Now is a good time to think about how you want to tell your story. Will you be telling the story linearly? Or do you want to reorder your scenes?
Who will be telling the story. Will it be in first person from your MC’s point of view, or from your antagonist’s point of view? Or are several different characters telling the story? Or will the story be in third person with the narrator perched on the MC’s shoulder? Or several characters?
Is the story finished and told in past tense, or is it ongoing and in the present tense?
Halloween Photography Challenge
Take a photograph that depicts predators or fear of predators 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:
Melinda curled into her knees, shivering on the floor in her shabby room. A cold wind whispered through the shredded curtains that tickled her neck exacerbating her nerves, but she couldn’t move. If she moved, it might see her, and the giant hand might not be blocked by the roof as she had hoped. If it found her it would reach down and squish her head. She regretted making fun of that goth chick that was so excited about finding her great grandma’s old book. The thing was gross. It looked like it was covered in skin all stitched together with some ugly dead face in it. But it must have been the real thing because she opened it and started chanting some language Melinda had never heard before, and then this giant black, cloudy hand came down from the sky, pinching its thumb and forefinger together. Pinching and pinching. Melinda ducked into the subway and it didn’t follow, but she was afraid to go out in the open. She felt safe in her room at first, but then began to worry about the leak in the roof, and the cloudiness of the giant hand. Then she felt it, the giant thumb on the side of her head, and the forefinger on her other cheek, then the pressure of the pinch.
Halloween Photography Challenge
For today’s images, I layered filters thinking of a planet breaking apart, playing with the wind in the red leaves as fire or explosion. The image I chose is mostly the blur of the moving leaves.
Experience Writing 