My local stores have filled with ghosts and ghouls and spooky things, a Halloween movie marathon is on my television, and I'm ready to decorate my yard with cute monsters that won't scare the neighborhood children. This is also the time of year when I find myself curling up with a few favorite poets (Kinnell, Roethke, Poe), trying my hand at twisted fairy tales, and revisiting that gothic novel I started in college.
October is full of frightful symbolism, but if the spiritual, supernatural or superstitious themes aren't in your wheelhouse, there are other activities to entertain and inspire. The height of autumn is also synonymous with visits to apple orchards and pumpkin patches (and their respective flavors of pie!), cool weather that is perfect for hiking and camping, bonfires with cozy flannel and s'mores, and lazy drives to see colorful foliage - often at its peak throughout the United States during this month.
There is a duality in autumn of bountiful harvests and decay, both arguably representative of maturity / adulthood. It is a curiosity of literature that I find fascinating. Have you noticed the themes in mythology and poetry? Does one resonate with you more than the other?
Whatever you choose to do with the crisp days before the coming of the freeze,
happy writing!
Holidays (offbeat, writing, and otherwise) to embrace this month:
October 12 - Moment of Frustration Day
October 13 - Friday the 13th / International Skeptics Day
October 16 - Dictionary Day
October 25 - International Artist Day / Howl at the Moon Night
October 27 - National Tell a Story Day (celebrated in the U.K. & Scotland)
October 29 - National Frankenstein Day
October 30 - Mischief Night
October 31 - Halloween
Writer's block? Try this month's prompt!
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