How do I keep myself and family from going insane during my up-and-down emotions, especially over holiday weekends? How do I use my own personal strengths and weakness to my advantage? I write during and about them. I keep a running notepad in my iPhone of my thoughts and feelings throughout normal events, such as eating out, grocery shopping, vacations, holidays with family, and children’s events. Anything that will make my characters more believable. But I also go one-step further. A fter all, how do you write about a loved-one's death when you just spent a great day celebrating your child's graduation. Sometimes I can. Occasionally, when all is perfect, the writing flows effortlessly, but other times it doesn't. So, if I am experiencing a particularly strong emotion, I'll seek out a scene that requires that sentiment, reread, and almost always edit accordingly. When I am feeling down, I seek out a troublesome period in my protagonist’s life, b...