If there was an abundance of misery in the world, there was also sufficient joy, yes - as long as one knew where to look for it.

Loss is essential. Loss is part and parcel of that necessary calamity called life.

So we tell the same story, over and over. Just the details are different

If there was an abundance of misery in the world, there was also sufficient joy, yes - as long as one knew where to look for it.

All fiction relies on the real world in the sense that we all take in the world through our five senses and we accumulate details, consciously or subconsciously. This accumulation of detail can be drawn on when you write fiction.

You have to maintain a fine balance between hope and despair.

Walk, first, through the fire, then philosophize.