Everyday Canvas

Anger

Prompt:
Anger: Make a list from 1-10 of things that make you angry. When you are finished look through your list and use it as fuel for writing your entry today! Can you also use the energy of anger for character development in your writing?

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As far as anger goes, most of us may have different triggers, as one situation does not affect one person in the same way as it affects another. As to my coping mechanisms, it depends on the situations; however, it is very difficult to overlook something unjust that has made me angry.

For example, it makes me very angry all the scam e-mails and phone calls I'm getting. Not because of the scammers, but because our useless congress does nothing about protecting the elderly from the scammers. Several of my friends have fallen for such scams. So far, I've been on the alert but you'll never know. Most old people are very vulnerable.

As to the list of ten, here it is:

1. Unnecessary conflicts: This could be within a family or a work situation.
2. Betrayal: When a trust is broken, especially in a big way.
3. Unnecessary personal attacks on one person, such as criticism, insults, and derogatory comments due to the attacker's internal conflict.
4. Injustice: unfairness, discrimination, or inequality.
5. The answering robots that refuse to connect me to a live agent when I'm calling a company for a very legitimate reason.
6. Frustration: when I can't achieve a goal for some dumb thing I did in the process.
7. People who are cruel to animals.
8. People who harm their neighbors or friends just because of their own ends.
9. Extreme pain or illness
10. People who are really bad and totally incompetent in their professions: bad doctors, politicians, lawyers, sales people, policemen etc.

As anger is a complex emotion with many faces, it can be used very effectively to explore character depths and complexity, in writing. Anger in writing can be used as a motivator to seek revenge or achieve a particular goal, for example.

Moreover, it can create interpersonal conflict in between two characters, leading to strained relationships. Thus, it can encourage change and growth in a character. While some characters can learn from their traumas, usually depicted in their backstories, others may become more vulnerable and end up with character flaws.

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