Know what I hate? When yet another smirking wiseass says "of course, it's keeping it off that's the problem" (as though they've just come up with the most profound utterance ever off the cuff, instead of spewing an endlessly-regurgitated cliché). Yes, thank you, I'm worrying enough by myself, there's no need for your smug folk wisdom.

Ugh. I don't know. Maybe it's masked jealousy or something. Maybe it's that irresistable human drive to say something, however banal, rather than shut up.

It's annoying.

How about, instead of regaling me with some terribly interesting tale of a friend who keeps yo-yo dieting and putting it all back on (yes, I've been on a diet, no, that doesn't mean I'm now gaspingly fascinated by all aspects of dieting in general) in order to stress me further during this delicate stage of learning how to eat real food again, you say "Oh. Well done, man," and then we talk about something interesting?

So, taking my own advice here and shutting up about les diets - I'm worried I suck as a writer again. What aspect of my suckitude am I whingeing about today, you ask? Well, maybe instead of "suck", I ought to have said "suck up". You see, I have this thing, and I've noticed it on and off for a while now, where I absorb the style of whoever I've been reading most recently - anyone I think is particularly good, that is. I know I'm doing it, I know I'm doing it, if I write this sentence in this way I know it will turn out completely derivative of this author's voice, but that's how the words fit together. That's the only way that feels right. Today it's drivel-in-the-style-of KJ Parker day.

Doubly annoying because it was one of Parker's books that kicked a 'til-then-mostly-personalityless concept character into gear, eventually to become Brother Weft.

There's that and also a minor crisis about Mary Sueism. I arguably write fantasy (I'd secretly prefer 'sci-fi-fantasy', but don't merit a genreblender title yet...) and a hell of a lot of things in fant at least skirt the realm of the dreaded Sue, like that's any excuse --- but I'm less concerned about characterisation than plot, as well as general Suethor syndrome. You know, the "I find this character/concept/species incredibly interesting and you should too!" sort of behaviour.

The ideas I'm wangsting about here don't exist in any form other than in my head - not roleplayed out, not even talked about - and unless I iron out some pretty major confusions nobody ever will get to hear about them, so I'm likely working myself up over nothing.
Thus, I shouldn't worry.
But then, that's exactly what happens when something unrelated puts me in a miserable mood and I end up with a choice between fretting about something creative and allowing my mind to torture itself in worse ways. Diddums.

P.S. Nepali becomes both man and woman

Minus ten "get your terminology right" points to the journalist, plus ten "haha that's sort of awesome" points to Nepal.