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Q and R
Quixotism and Regret Q was rather hard to find in the emotional register. Qualmish and quizzical? But the wonders of quixotism was the...
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O and P
Optimism and Patience Sounds easy? But both have some challenges. Some people are genuinely mistrustful of optimists. They seem to think...
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M and N
Two similar emotions with overtones of sadness, wistfulness, and reflection. Melancholia is almost a ubiquitous trait in powerfully...
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K and L
What would be the most logical of emotions in the K and L lists? Kindness or keenness? L might obviously look at love or loyalty or even...
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I and J
Irritability and Jealousy. I don't have pet peeves; I have whole kennels of irritation. Whoopie Goldberg Irritability! Hardly a noble...
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And now for G and H
'Guilt is the very nerve of sorrow.' Horace Bushnell It’s a tricky emotion guilt and it has a number of guises. You commit a crime, and...
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E and F
Empathy is a much-used word these days. We know we should be less judgemental and more empathetic. We know it because it’s taught in...
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Emotions C and D
This week’s emotions are contentment and doubt. ‘True contentment is not having everything but in being satisfied with everything you...
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Emotions: A-Z
Last week I wrote about emotions providing a landscape for characters to exist in and made a half-serious suggestion that we give finding...
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Love and other stuff
Writers create emotional landscapes where characters play out the gamut of human feelings. Those feelings need to be real and resonate...
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The 'W' Words
For those of you who read the Lily O’Hara series it would be hard not to note that the titles all begin with the letter W. What Remains,...
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The 'Write' Time
Perhaps during the last two years of the pandemic lockdowns one might assume that this would have been the right time to write. Plenty of...
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After the fire
“There is nothing permanent except change.” -Heraclitus Written April 2020 This has not been the year I expected it to be. Although the...
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Vale Rod Lee
Eulogy (noun: a tribute to someone who has just died) A thing that is so hard to write and deliver. And those not giving the eulogy will...
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Platitudes, Philosophy and Commonplace Books
📷 I am a note keeper. I keep all sorts of notes. Writing ideas, names for characters, events that make me laugh or cry, recipes,...
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The Name Game
📷 “Names are the sweetest and most important sound in any language.” Dale Carnegie. A name is so important and I’m sure there are many...
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Mothers
It’s my mother’s birthday today and despite the fact that she died 15 years 3 months and 8 days ago when I started to talk about her to...
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Optimism: a hard gig
📷 When I work with young people who are miserable, angry or scared I ask them what they think the next day will be like, or the day...
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The Art of Ambling
📷 A recent trip to Melbourne made me think about the merits of walking without a destination in mind. It seemed that in the city centre...
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The End of Summer (holidays)
📷 It’s hard to explain the sense of dread and grief that accompanies the end of one’s summer holidays. The end of January signifies the...
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