Tuesday Hangovers

• The Printz prediction blog is making some changes as they get ready to embark upon this year's reading.
• Kat Howard with a great entry on realizing the essential help other writers can provide: "I don't know where I got the idea that being a good writer meant being able to write by myself. I mean, I'm one of those people who always reads the dedication and acknowledgements. I'm not sure what I thought those people being thanked had done – provided moral support and sandwiches, maybe? But I'm very glad that I've been able to recognize this false idea for the insanity it is."
• Edan Lepucki at the Millions on finding inspiration and a story skeleton exercise she put a recent class through.
• That article from the New York Times about how fiction works in the brain. I knew we were all secretly adventurers.
• David Coe shares some things that surprised him about the business of writing; Carrie Ryan responds in turn with things that surprised her about the business of writing YA.
• Received a pointer recently to an interesting-looking new site, Book Lamp, which did a recent computational post about average book length and most common POV by genre–with handy dandy charts even. 
• A 'Where Are They Now?' on the cast of Buffy (ended in 2003! doesn't seem possible;still miss it). (Via editor Amanda.)
• You are following the 12 Days of Monsters at the Weird Fiction Review, right? It is filled with wonders. (I contributed a response to a question for a whole bunch of people about their favorite monsters that will run at some point, btw.) And it's in honor of ICFA. ICFA = can't wait.
• Cheap tips for relieving back and neck pain, aka the writer's lament.
• This story about a whale with a 19th century weapon embedded in its skin is a marvel; sadness for the weapon, fascinating for the sheer age of the whale.
• Laura Bogart's essay about Katniss Everdeen and how the character speaks to her at the Nervous Breakdown is one of my favorite pieces of writing on the internet in a long, long time. An absolute must read: "Every time I spilled the milk, slammed the door, or looked at him the wrong way, I was as noble as Katniss ascending that stage. The Hunger Games has gifted me with a new way of perceiving the lowest moments of my life. I am not just the girl whose skin burns from the sting of leather; I am the girl on fire." Must. Read.