#simi

...as vivid and fabulous as a unicorn... ↗

— Anne Rivers Siddons

#simile #simile

No misfortune is so bad that whining about it won’t make it worse. (Apr 2007 Gen Conf) ↗

— Jeffrey R. Holland

#pessimism #optimism

The man who is a pessimist before 48 knows too much; if he is an optimist after it he knows too little. ↗

— Mark Twain

#pessimism #optimism

The optimist lives on the peninsula of infinite possibilities; the pessimist is stranded on the island of perpetual indecision. ↗

— William Arthur Ward

#pessimism #optimism

Keep a light, hopeful heart. But ­expect the worst. ↗

— Joyce Carol Oates

#hope #optimism #pessimism #pragmatism #worst

And now, my poor old woman, why are you crying so bitterly? It is autumn. The leaves are falling from the trees like burning tears- the wind howls. Why must you mimic them? ↗

— Mervyn Peake

#copy #cry #crying #despair #fall

If you reach for the stars, you just might land on a decently sized hill. ↗

— Stuart Hill

#pessimism #accomplishments

Indian summer is like a woman. ↗

— Grace Metalious

#opening-lines #simile #simile

I particularly scorn my fondness for paradox. I despise pessimism, narcissism, solipsism, truculence, word-play, and pusillanimity, my chiefer inclinations; loathe self-loathers ergo me; have no pity for self-pity and so am free of that sweet baseness. I doubt I am. Being me’s no joke. ↗

— John Barth

#paradox #pessimism

But suspense presupposes uncertainty. No matter how nightmarish the situation, real suspense is impossible when we know in advance that the protagonist will prevail (as we would if Woolrich had used series characters) or will be destroyed. This is why, despite his congenital pessimism, Woolrich manages any number of times to squeeze out an upbeat resolution. Precisely because we can never know whether a particular novel or story will be light or dark, allegre or noir, his work remains hauntingly suspenseful. ("Introduction") ↗

— Francis M. Nevins

#noir #noir-fiction #suspense #pessimism