Not actually an editing post. I tend to put more things in as I edit, anyway. No, unfortunately, instead of looking at the story, I’m looking at the author.

I remember an interesting study a while back (this means 6+ years) on visualization and mirror neurons said that when people were intensely visualizing an activity as preparation to doing the same, their metabolism would ramp up as if they were doing the thing. Thus, a mountain climber who was sitting there meticulously planning his route for next attempt (I think they had access to him because he was in the hospital after the last attempt had an oops) could ramp up his metabolism something fierce, close to his normal active state, instead of the baseline it should be at when bored in a hospital bed.

When chatting with Sarah Hoyt, she noted that when writing in a white heat on the highly exciting action parts, she could actually drop a few pounds, so she wasn’t surprised.

I made the mistake of stepping on the scale a few days ago. Clearly, I need to write more action parts in a Flow state while intensely visualizing what’s going on. Failing that, now that my foot has mostly healed up, get back on the treadmill desk at least for writing MGC and surfing the internet.

I say this not just for vanity, but for the minor note that I can tell how many times my characters might be exhausted, or in pain, because the author is. If I’m healthier, will that make livelier, healthier characters? Or will what I put them through make them exhausted and grimly pushing on anyway? It’s an experiment worth trying.