Comments on: Fear Thesaurus Entry: Growing Old

By: BECCA PUGLISI

BECCA PUGLISI — Tue, 05 Apr 2022 12:57:43 +0000

In reply to Roland R Clarke. I'm sorry to hear that you're struggling, Roland. Sending you a PM :)

By: Roland R Clarke

Roland R Clarke — Sun, 03 Apr 2022 22:07:21 +0000

As a writer struggling to write because of health issues, I fear growing old and I’m unable to do much about it.
I’m 68 in a wheelchair with multiple sclerosis. Little physically works: my typing has declined from touch typing to slow tiring pecking, and my fingers quickly lock/seize up. As for using voice recognition software, my speech is slurred and sporadic, which Dragon hates. Everything takes time… a month of sessions for one blog post – multiple drafts. My current novel came back from my editor with invaluable suggestions, but time revising is infinite.
The only thing working is my brain, so I’m frustrated by being unable to keep up with it.
My legacy is dying and I’m afraid… of dying with too much unfinished.

[Apologies: no energy left to edit this.]

By: BECCA PUGLISI

BECCA PUGLISI — Sun, 03 Apr 2022 13:14:23 +0000

In reply to Andie Patrick.

Hi, Andie. I think there might have been some confusion about the purpose of this post. It’s part of a Fear Thesaurus which, as you see in the introduction, is about debilitating fears that a character might have and how that fear can impact them and their story. So this entry on growing older isn’t a statement about the elderly, nor is it meant to characterize someone who might be a bit concerned about aging. It’s an exploration of how someone with a crippling fear of growing old might act, what they may struggle with internally, and how that fear could hold them back in life.

Characters have fears, things they’re deeply afraid of that become motivators for them and hold them back from fulfillment. It gets really complicated when those fears relate to things in life that are unavoidable: making mistakes, letting people down, the government, dogs… Gerascophobia (the fear of growing old) is a documented fear. For a character who has it, it can range from merely inconveniencing them to becoming a formative force—changing who they are, what they want, how they respond to conflict, and impacting the story as a whole.

Hopefully this helps you see our intent with this entry (and with the whole thesaurus). I appreciate you sharing your concerns with us.

By: Andie Patrick

Andie Patrick — Sun, 03 Apr 2022 10:30:21 +0000

I have just read your Thesaurus entry on the fear of growing old. As I am in my late eighties, I feel I am qualified to comment on it. My first thought was that a writer younger that I might assume that these fears apply to all older people. Let me assure them that this is not so. I agree that the behaviours listed may very well apply to some senior citizens: though they may not apply to this one.

A second comment in that not all of the behaviours mentioned are necessarily signs of fear or ageing. Take exercising, for example. Some of us do follow exercise regimes in order to remain as mobile as possible for as long as possible. There are many forms of (usually gentler) exercise that can be safely follower by older people, which are beneficial to our health and wellbeing.

Another is the tendency to visit a Doctor more frequently. This becomes a necessity for most seniors, as bits and pieces of one’s anatomy wear out and medication becomes essential. I won’t bore you with a list of my conditions; suffice it to say that I take three prescribed medications daily – without which my continued existence on this planet would be curtailed.

I take my pills and do my exercises, not to be able to compete with younger people, but to enjoy a better quality of life in my autumn years, and to enable me to carry on for as long as I can, doing the things that I enjoy doing. The converse is that I am able to put aside the activities that I can no longer do, without regret.

So, fellow authors, if you are writing about an older person, be careful not to fall into the trap of stereotyping them – we’re not all a bunch of old white-haired wrinklies, nodding in front of a fire – there’s still a bit of life left in us whilst we still breathe.

P.S. What if my libido is no longer the force it used to be – I can still write sexy romances!