Who looks good to you? This long list might make sense on your reading lust. I plan to add a few to mine, starting with Elizabeth McCracken.

Fiction Long List Announced for National Book Awards – NYTimes.com

http://mobile.nytimes.com/blogs/artsbeat/2014/09/17/national-book-awards-fiction/

As you develop characters, imagine how they might have done on the marshmallow test. What might that mean about them as adults? Are they patient planners or feet-first reactors? How do they interact now with others and with the world around them?

The Marshmallow Test for Grownups – Ed Batista – Harvard Business Review

http://blogs.hbr.org/2014/09/the-marshmallow-test-for-grownups/

Ever since I discovered Kurt Vonnegut, he’s been one of my favorite writers. So I had to pass this list on.

How to Write with Style: Kurt Vonnegut’s 8 Keys to the Power of the Written Word | Brain Pickings…

http://www.brainpickings.org/2013/01/14/how-to-write-with-style-kurt-vonnegut/

When I was young, I had to walk to school every day. When I walked alone, I used the time to make up stories.
In college, walking between classes, I pondered sections of papers I needed to write.
This piece from the New Yorker tells me the act of walking may have made all the difference.

Why Walking Helps Us Think – The New Yorker

http://www.newyorker.com/tech/elements/walking-helps-us-think?utm_source=tny&utm_campaign=generalsocial&utm_medium=facebook&mbid=social_facebook

When I saw an article from NPR about Chinese train passengers failing to help a stranger in need, I immediately thought about how to play on cultural differences in a story. What would happen to the person who fainted on the  train?
I thought about  the Good Samaritan story from the Bible. Someone helped the stranger, the “other.”
Then I remembered the Kitty Genovese story. She was a New York woman who was stabbed to death while dozens listened to her screams, but did nothing to help.
And when I thought about it some more, the plot I was imagining turned back on itself.
How do these true stories strike you?

Why Did Crowd Flee Shanghai Subway After Foreigner Fainted? : Parallels : NPR
http://www.npr.org/blogs/parallels/2014/09/01/344033379/why-did-crowd-flee-shanghai-subway-after-foreigner-fainted?utm_source=facebook.com&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=npr&utm_term=nprnews&utm_content=20140901

Here’s some background on Kitty Genovese.