Chocolate

My Writing Space: 5 Things That Aren’t Writing Related

~ shawnaborman ~ Leave a comment

Hello, hello!  How is everyone doing this bright and beautiful July day?  I’m still finding motivation and focus hard to achieve, which means most of my writing goals have failed miserably.  Slumps suck, but I’ll get out of it.  Anyway, I don’t really have anything writerly or exciting to post about, so I thought I would reintroduce you to my writing area.  I know I posted about it before, but writing areas aren’t entirely about writing.  They’re also about the writer (in this instance, me), so I wanted to introduce you to some of the non-writerly things that I keep nearby.

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An old picture.  Things have changed, like a new stereo and different pictures, but still a good representation of my work space.

1. Yarn.  I decided to teach myself how to crochet, so I have a slowly disappearing skein of yarn and an 85% finished project sitting on my computer.  I just have to make a few more rows, then figure out how to sew it into a hat.  As usual with my creative endeavors, I’m finding it difficult to work up the motivation to finish.  Mostly because the next project I want to undertake scares me.  It’s supposedly fairly easy, but it looks so complicated!  And kind of big, so I don’t know if I’ll be able to handle it physically.  But I’m enjoying the new hobby even though it scares me.  That’s about all it has in common with writing.  Well, that and shitty first attempts being acceptable.

2. Tequila.  I actually have two bottles of tequila on my desk.  One is an anejo from Republic Tequila in a bottle shaped like Texas.  It hasn’t been opened yet, even though I’ve had it for years.  I also have a Kah reposado in a sugar skull bottle.  I’ve only had a couple of shots of it, so it’s mostly full.  I’m not a lush.  I swear.

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This one is similar to my bottle, but the designs are always a little different because each one is hand painted.

3. Assorted treats.  I keep a jar of chocolates on my desk, plus various candies and Pocky that I pick up or that people give me.  I still have chocolate from Christmas and Easter, plus candy and Pocky that are at least a couple of years old.  I keep forgetting they exist.  It’s weird, I know.  But my sweet tooth only activates at random times and I usually go for the chocolate instead of the rest.

4. Random creepy creatures.  Well, they aren’t really creepy.  I have a little rubber rat finger puppet that a neighbor gave me one Halloween.  His name is Yuki (it means snow) even though he’s black.  I just really like Fruits Basket.  And he cheers me on from my computer or right next to it.  I also have a tiny glass octopus named Tako that a friend sent me during one of her visits to Italy.  He watches me from one of my shelves.  And I have a bunch of other random figurines I’ve collected over the years.

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Sohma Yuki, year of the rat.

5. A pile of CDs.  My new stereo doesn’t have a multi-CD function, so I have 60+ CDs sitting around in plain sight (many more hidden in my cabinets), waiting to be ripped to my computer.  But I’m lazy and keep forgetting about them.

So, that’s some of the non-writerly things I have in my writing space.  If it tells you something about the kind of person I am, feel free to share.  What are some of the things you keep in your work space that have nothing to do with your work?  Feel free to leave your comments, thoughts, or questions here or on my social media pages!

Five Things I Couldn’t Live Without As A Writer

~ shawnaborman ~ Leave a comment

Howdy, howdy!  Lately, I’ve gotten back into a pretty steady writing and reading rhythm with this new book.  My current novel-in-progress is something I’m still excited about, even after the “new” has worn off.  I’ve also found a book that I’m enjoying reading, so that helps a lot.  But even though my writing rhythm has changed during this new process, there are still a few things that I couldn’t do without during my writerly time, things that have stuck with me through all of my writing processes.  I thought I would take a minute to share them with you.

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1.  Writing stints.  Most writers call them sprints, but that implies a race and I’m not comfortable with that since I type fairly slow.  Anyway, these are when I get together with a friend or two, we set word count goals for ourselves, then write for an hour, check in with each other, and start all over again for a second hour.  It’s not a regular thing anymore, but it really helps on those days when writing is hard.  And we don’t have to do it at the same time (though it’s more fun when we do), as long as we check in at some point.

2.  Eye candy or regular candy, I’m not picky.  Writing is surprisingly draining, so it’s important to refuel and relax occasionally.  For me, that includes music videos with my favorite pretty males.  Chocolate also helps.  And yes, I totally use the post-writing haze as a rationalization to objectify people (males and females alike) and indulge in sweets.

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3.  Specific t-shirts.  I swear I’m not one of those people who have a writing outfit or something like that, but I do have a few shirts that seem to improve my writing mood.  I mean, who wouldn’t want to write when they have Cthulhu on their chest?  I tend to be more productive when I’m wearing either of my Cthulhu shirts.  My Little Mermaid shirt is also showing promise given how much I achieved the last time I wore it.  Some shirts just seem more energizing than others.  Don’t judge me until you try it.

4.  Mirrors.  This is probably just a weird quirk of mine, but I have trouble focusing when I can’t see what’s going on around me.  The easiest way for me to do that is with mirrors.  If I hear a funny noise behind me, I only have to glance to either side to see what it is.  It cuts down on excuses for me to turn away from my computer when I’m working, which helps when I’m looking for a reason to avoid writing.

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5.  A severe dislike of phone calls.  Focusing on writing is so much easier when you have zero desire to make a call or answer a ringing phone.  I don’t mind texting, but admit that I don’t answer them right away when I’m writing or reading or eating or unless it’s some kind of emergency… no wonder people rarely text me.  Anyway, being an introvert helps with writing time.

What about you?  What are five things your writerly or artistic side couldn’t live without?  Feel free to share your thoughts or comments here or on my social media pages!

See you next week!

Happy Excuse For Chocolate Day

~ shawnaborman ~ Leave a comment

Howdy, howdy!  As I write this, it’s Valentine’s day.  I’m not going to go into some rant about how it’s all just some corporate holiday thought up by “Big Chocolate” and the greeting card companies, because it’s not (and even if it is, who cares?).  I think it’s nice to have a day set aside to celebrate love.  Yeah, we should express our love every other day of the year as well, I know, but there’s nothing wrong with going a little above and beyond one day if you want to.  By all means, send someone a candygram.  Give someone that gaudy pink heart card.  Have fun with it.  Or, if you’re like me, use the day as an excuse to eat more chocolate than usual and show yourself a little love (on a second read-through of this, I must say I wasn’t being perverted, but I can totally understand if that’s where your mind went).  So, for this week’s post, I think I’m going to give you a list of my top five favorite chocolates (in no particular order), then go watch Netflix on this love-filled day.

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Hope you had a wonderful day, whether you celebrated a special someone, yourself, or just another Tuesday!

1. Ghirardelli squares.  This one is a little unfair, because it’s a broad category.  I can’t pick just one flavor.  I’m the kind who likes to pick up a few different bags (read: who likes it when Dad surprises me with a few different bags) and mix things up a little bit.  Though, I will say that you can never go wrong with milk chocolate caramel or dark chocolate raspberry.

2. Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups.  I fully admit that I’m not usually into peanuts in my chocolate (whether it’s M&Ms or Snickers or whatever).  It’s just not my favorite combination in the world.  But I totally love peanut butter with chocolate.  I don’t know why.  It even extends into sundaes.  I don’t like crushed peanuts, but peanut butter sauce is amazing.  I’m just a weird person, I guess.

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Be more like chocolate.

3. Kit Kats.  Actually, I like pretty much anything that adds crispiness to chocolate.  This includes Crunch bars and Krackles.  But Kit Kats are still higher up on my list than those two.  Their crunch to chocolate ratio is the best.

4. 100 Grand Bar.  This particular candy bar takes my love of chocolate coated crunchies and adds caramel.  You can’t go wrong with caramel and chocolate.  Rolos and Caramellos prove that point, but 100 Grand Bars up the ante with the addition of crisped rice.  What’s not to love?

5.  A regular old Hershey’s milk chocolate bar.  Sometimes, you just want regular chocolate.  Sure, the fancy stuff is delicious and the other stuff is satisfying in its own way, but Hershey’s is the taste of childhood and nostalgia.  It’s a special kind of treat.  There’s nothing wrong with savoring a piece or two every now and then.

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Change wine to boozy coffee and it sounds like an awesome day.

So, even though this is a day late, I hope your Valentine’s day was filled with love!  What is your favorite chocolate?  Not a fan of chocolate?  What do you treat yourself with?  Leave a comment here or on my social media pages with a response.  I’m off to spend the evening watching Netflix and TV!

See you next week!