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Apologies for the late post today.  I've had a bit of a family shake-up, as my aunt passed away last night.  Today has been spent making arrangements and trying to figure what to pack for North Dakota in the middle of February.  (Answer - every sweater I own, and a few more I'll have to buy.  Also, thermal underwear.) I've found that, when I read through some of my earlier writing and journals, I can learn more about my mood at the time of writing from the way that I write than the words themselves.  It's something that I've found really helps flesh out a character's emotional state when writing, even if the character isn't speaking.  For instance, I've found that I tend to use shorter, simpler sentences when I'm very upset or angry.  Longer, more rambling sentences can mean that I'm either happy or anxious. +Mary Robinette Kowal  has spoken before (on the podcast  Writing Excuses ) about using breath in puppetry, and how it relates to wr...

I think it must have been during my first trip into NaNoWriMo that I encountered the term "plot bunny", and I've found it immensely useful in describing my thought process.  Plot bunnies, for those who haven't been introduced, are those little bits of an idea that spring up - usually when the last thing you're doing is even thinking about writing - and demand your attention.  It can be something small, like an image that is just begging for you to write a scene around it, or more complex, like the basis of a civilization.  Admittedly, the latter tend to come to me in the form of fever dreams, but they are plot bunnies either way. I think Terry Pratchett said it best when he said "Inspirations sleet through the universe continuously," and sometimes there's just no getting out of the way.  Sometimes I feel like Richard Madoc from Neil Gaiman's Sandman series, constantly hit with ideas.  It takes some time, but I've found a decent way to herd ...

Just to be on the safe side, I'm going to put a trigger warning for suicide and depression here. The other day, I was listening to a podcast in which the hosts were discussing a friend of theirs who had recently committed suicide.  They were discussing their own history with depression and anxiety, and I noticed that they kept using the word "suffer" - as in, "I suffer from anxiety" or "I suffer from clinical depression."  I realized that this is a pretty common word choice when dealing with mental illness.  Most people, if they are discussing either their own illnesses or that of another person, will say that the person suffers from that illness. To a certain extent, this makes sense.  Speaking from my experience with clinical depression, generalized anxiety and panic disorders, I know that it can feel as though something is attacking you from the inside, and there isn't much you can do but suffer.  Considering how hard it can be for people wi...

So, for those of you who don't know, I live near Seattle.  Yesterday, there was the Big Sportsball Game, in which our local team did very, very well, and won a championship they'd never won before.  Naturally, this has led to much rejoicing on the West Coast, and many, many tears of lamentation pretty much everywhere else. Watching the game last night, I found myself focusing a bit more on the expressions of the people on the sidelines and in the stands than the action on the field.  (This, of course, is in no way related to my general apathy towards all things sportsball-related.)  Through most of the game, I kept making comments on the faces I saw, making up what I thought they could be saying and thinking. I realize this is something that I do frequently, and I'm wondering if I'm alone in this.  I feel as though there's a lot of inspiration to be had in a captured moment of time, even if it isn't something as dramatic as losing the Super Bowl.  It se...