Since the last day of 2014 (when it snowed 4 inches in North-Central AZ), I’ve been obsessed with doing jigsaw puzzles. I even got my SIL hooked on them! Some were downright challenging, like this oval of DaVinci’s Last Supper. 
I thought when the weather turned nicer–and it did almost right away–that I would put the puzzles away and escape to the great outdoors. But I didn’t. 
I mentally chastised myself for “wasting” my time, not accomplishing anything. But still the desire, the need, the driving force was there–one more piece, one more puzzle, just one more…
I mentioned this obsession to my grief counselor, and she told me something that piqued my writer’s mind. Doing puzzles is a metaphor for picking up the broken pieces and putting something back together.
As writers, we all use life experiences to shape our characters and our plots. This is just another example of something we can use in developing a character somewhere down the line.
Just one more piece… Just one more…
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Heidi M. Thomas 