EMOTION THESAURUS

JOY



Never struggle with Show-and-Tell again. Activate your free trial or subscribe to view the Emotion Thesaurus in its entirety, or visit the Table of Contents to explore unlocked entries.

CHOOSE MY PLAN

HELPFUL TIP:

The inner landscape of your characters (especially your protagonist) is the lifeblood that runs through your story. Emotions, and how they're expressed, are tied deeply to a character’s personality and which positive traits and negative traits will manifest. To bring your readers in deeper through shared experience, consider filtering the setting descriptions through your character’s emotions while also exploring important colors, textures, and shapes through his or her senses.
DEFINITION:
A strong sense of satisfaction and pleasure—due to a happy event or just an appreciation for the little things

SIMILAR EMOTIONS:
HAPPINESS, ELATION, EUPHORIA, CONNECTEDNESS

NOTES:
The concept of joy is a hotly debated one. At its heart, it's a buoyant, underlying sense of "all rightness" and is strongly related to connectedness—with others, the world, a higher power, etc. It can be felt in good times, such as when one's child achieves a long-sought-after goal. It also exists when things are far from good—with children living in abject poverty or someone experiencing a devastating loss. Joy can be a mixture of many emotions, such as happiness, pleasure, satisfaction, peacefulness, and appreciation. This emotion elicits a wide array of responses that depend on the circumstances and the character's personality, so this entry will attempt to cover that range.

PHYSICAL SIGNALS AND BEHAVIORS:
Turning the face to the sun, eyes closed
Drawing in a breath and gently releasing it
A facial expression that indicates an inward focus
Head tipped slightly to the side, lips tilted upward
Smiling through tears
...

INTERNAL SENSATIONS:
...

MENTAL RESPONSES:
...

MAY ESCALATE TO:
...

CUES OF SUPPRESSED JOY:
...

MAY DE-ESCALATE TO:
...

ASSOCIATED POWER VERBS:
...