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mcarterphoto t1_j0r79gb wrote

Not specific to traffic jams, but if you want to read some work that puts you in the head of someone who's stressed and overwhelmed, "Operation Wandering Soul" by the great Richard Powers is amazing. A beautiful book, but oppressive. Martin Amis' "The Information" also really puts you in a distressed person's head, but it's a bit more satirical than Powers' work.

I don't think this sort of thing can be answered by tips specific to a situation, it's more studying how good writing sucks us into an imagined psyche. Everyone's annoyed by car horns and traffic jams, but the specific reasons and ways your character is annoyed should teach us something about the character or build up things we're learning about his/her emotional state.

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