8 Fascinating facts about Classic Novelists, Playwrights and Poets

                             

I read across many genres of the past as well as the modern day. I'm fascinated by many of the great classic writers of novels, poems and plays who lived interesting lives in trying times, and had a huge influence on literature. 

Here are eight interesting facts about some of the best classic writers:

1. Thomas Hardy’s ashes reside in the Poets' Corner, Westminster Abbey, but his heart was removed before his cremation and buried in Stinsford Church graveyard, where his first wife, parents and grandparents, also lay.

2. William Shakespeare is estimated to have created more than 1,700 words for the English language including the words ‘assassination,’ ‘cold-blooded,’ ‘tranquil’ and ‘gossip.’

3. In 1937, George Orwell fought in the Spanish Civil War for a group fighting against General Francisco Franco and was shot in his throat and arm. He and his wife were indicted on treason charges in Spain - after they left the country.

4. Ernest Hemingway lived through skin cancer, malaria, anthrax, pneumonia, hepatitis, diabetes and two plane crashes. He also ruptured his spleen, kidney and liver and fractured his skull. He finally killed himself with his favourite shotgun.

5. Jane Austen was the earliest novelist to use the phrase 'dinner party’ (in Mansfield Park) and the first English writer to use the word ‘baseball’ (in Northanger Abbey – written in 1798-99)

6. Charles Dickens was interested in the paranormal and a member of The Ghost Club. He loved magic and once put on a conjuring show for his friends.

7. C S Lewis’s favourite books were Treasure Island and The Secret Garden, and Beatrix Potter was a main literary influence.  He dedicated one of his books to J.R.R. Tolkien.

8. H G Wells is famously known for first coining the phrase ‘time machine,’ but did you know that in his lifetime he wrote a larger volume of work than both Charles Dickens and William Shakespeare’s combined?

I am the author of the fiction eBook The First Sense  for more information visit my website

In Pursuit of the Meaning of Happiness

Happiness is a complex state of well-being – if you over-think what it is, you’re in danger of eroding what it means; if you try and define how happy you are, you risk convincing yourself you’re not happy enough; and if you reach the dizzy heights of happiness, you have a long way to come back down.

I don’t mean to sound like a pessimist, but I can’t help wondering what happiness is all about. 

Unhappiness is easier to comprehend: we feel it when our loved ones’ lives or our own are a struggle, when we try to be what we’re not (but think we should be), when we get our heart ripped out by a loved one, or if we believe the grass to be greener on that other, bloody side.

Yes, any of the above will make us truly miserable with our lot.

But what about being happy? Is it really as simple as perceiving our half-empty cup as half-full? What is happiness made of anyway? Is it just a fanciful concept to keep us on our toes as we endlessly pursue it? If we could bottle happiness and sell it would it be in demand? Or would it quickly go out of fashion when we realise we don’t need it anyway? Is happiness just about not being unhappy? 

There’s a well-known Ernest Hemingway quote: 
"Happiness in intelligent people is the rarest thing I know."

By no means do I profess to be intelligent; but I can certainly over-think a shiny subject like happiness until I’ve wiped the gleam right off it. 

Like a lot of writers, I write better when feeling intensely sad or angry… you might call that wallowing, but at times like those, writing is all I can do. So what if I’m happy? Well, then I’m usually too busy celebrating that to do anything else. 

I want to know if happiness feels different for different people. So what is happiness to you?

I’ll leave you with the words of Haruki Murakami: 
“It's like Tolstoy said. Happiness is an allegory, unhappiness a story.” 

Anyway,if all else fails, here’s 10 ways to trick yourself into being happy

Nisha P Postlethwaite is author of eBook The First Sense for more information visit her website

Emotional Intelligence & Creativity

We often hear the term ‘Emotional Intelligence’ used to describe a person’s ability to identify, evaluate and control their own emotions, or that of others. 

Last week, I came into contact with a person with absolutely no emotional intelligence. As I observed them flatten their employees with their harsh and unnecessary criticism, I was shocked how little understanding (or interest) they had in the impact of their words on those they are supposed to lead... by example.

Unfortunately, we often come into contact with emotionally ignorant people; yet most of us find it unbelievable that people exist that have little or no empathy when dealing with others. 

Unfortunately it’s also common to come across Emotional Vampires who suck the optimism and energy right out of us and try to push us into a pit of their pessimism. 

It appears Emotional Intelligence may be something we are born with, or it can be strengthened and improved upon if we have very little of it; but what if we are born with no Emotional Intelligence at all? Is there any hope? 

I wonder about the relationship between Emotional Intelligence and Creativity; for a writer to create believable and interesting characters, surely they must have a good degree of Emotional Intelligence or their characters would lack depth and substance, and their words would have no impact? 

Even if a writer creates a psychopathic character, the writer must be Emotionally Intelligent enough to portray what is missing from that character’s personality? 

To improve on Emotional Intelligence, we need to understand the importance of it, to be self-aware, to connect our feelings and thoughts with our actions, and put ourselves in other people’s (or our characters’) shoes. 

When dealing with someone with no Emotional Intelligence, by just trying to understand their behaviour shows at least we are Emotionally Intelligent. 

If you have any thoughts are articles on the relationship between Emotional Intelligence and Creativity, I would love to hear from you

Here are some useful articles on improving Emotional Intelligence

Five Key Skills for Raising Emotional Intelligence

Emotional Intelligence Developing Strong "People Skills"

Here is a useful article on Dealing with Emotional Vampires 

Nisha P Postlethwaite is author of eBook The First Sense  for more information visit her website