Modern Women: October Writing Prompts & Theme

Facing the blank page together

Image by Alexandra Gorn on Unsplash

There’s a switch that gets flicked around the time we turn 5. I’ve watched it happen four times now, that moment when a child first becomes scared of the dark, of the unknown, of the possibities that lurk in the shadows and unseen places. Suddenly there are monsters under the bed instead of dust mites and old toys.

It seems as though there has never been a point in human history that didn’t tell stories that contained our fears. Horror is as much a part of being alive as breathing, once that switch has been turned on at least.

Folklore tales, religious stories, cautionary tales. They all reflect real fears we carry around with us. They teach us what is safe and what is to be avoided. The need to stay on the path, the strangers to be wary of, and the ever present conditioning of what constitutes as ‘good’ or ‘evil’, ‘dark’ and ‘light’.

I feel like there are universally shared fears, and I honestly don’t know if they become imbedded through nature or nurture, but they certainly fuel our choices and actions in life.

I’m wondering this month what those are for you and how they’ve shaped your decisions, and which paths you’ve taken through the metaphorical forests in your story.