EMOTION THESAURUS

AWE



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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:
Euphoric-like wonder at being in the presence of something vast enough to change one's perceptions or understanding of the world


NOTES:
Awe can enlighten or terrify (based on whether the character can handle what they have experienced), since it often leaves a person feeling small and insignificant. For the negative emotional reaction, please see the HORROR entry.


PHYSICAL SIGNALS AND BEHAVIORS:
Ceasing all movement
Tension leaving one's body
The shoulders dropping
One's mouth falling open slightly (a slack jaw)
The neck tipping back
A deeper intake of breath
Unabashed staring
Slowly releasing a deep breath
Being rendered speechless (or becoming less articulate)
Forgetting to blink; having a fixed gaze
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INTERNAL SENSATIONS:
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MENTAL RESPONSES:
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CUES OF ACUTE OR LONG TERM AWE:
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MAY ESCALATE TO:
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CUES OF SUPPRESSED AWE:
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MAY DE-ESCALATE TO:
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ASSOCIATED POWER VERBS:
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