Writer Life

Random Updates (Including Wheelchair Saga Part 10.5)

~ shawnaborman ~ 5 Comments

Howdy, howdy! How’s everyone doing this wonderful first Wednesday of October? Things here are about the same as always. I don’t have much to talk about. Everything is monotonous. I don’t have much in the way of options to do things until I can use the new chair. I can’t trust the one I’m using to keep a charge if we leave the house, plus it’s missing the headrest, so being in the van is weird and I feel super unstable and I don’t want to go anywhere without it. Yes, Dad can transfer it back to this chair, but I don’t need need it at home so I just keep waiting. Anyway. Life is boring. So, I thought I’d just list a few random updates and let you go back about your business.

1. Wheelchair Saga mini update: After some radio silence and a few Karen-ish emails insisting on an update, Mohamed has passed me onto someone named Arnav who is supposed to be the manager of the department. I got a little snippy because I also found out they already charged Medicare for the chair despite the fact that I can’t fecking use it yet. Arnav replied promptly to assure me that I can still refuse the chair if they can’t get it to work for me. But they’re getting different armrests and mounting gear for the joystick. Then, they’re going to make Gustavo (their most experienced tech) schlep all the way out here from Florida to work on the chair. He’s also supposed to “adjust the footrests” which means he’ll make the tiny adjustment possible with these footplates and it will do nothing, but at least he will be able to see if he can figure out different hangers or something that they can order. Anyway, who wants to start a betting pool? Will the new chair be useable by Thanksgiving? Christmas? My birthday? Will I just give up and refuse it and find a different chair that I’ll secretly loathe because it’s so slow? Who knows!

2. Writing: I missed a few days in September because Dad and I got our Covid and Flu vaccines. They always kick my immune system into overdrive for a day or two, so I feel like crap then need another day or two to recover from lack of sleep and general blahs. But otherwise, I’ve written every day since August 1st. I haven’t been going for a specific word count, but usually do between 150 to 250 a day. It’s not a lot, but it’s slowly adding up. I’m about 30 pages away from the midpoint of my book.

3. Reading: I’m barely on track with the review book for October. I like to be a little ahead by now, but I’m a few percent behind (yes, I track review books by percentage, like I need to read 5% five days a week aka 25% a week to finish in time to write the review of this one). And I’m even struggling with my “for fun” book right now.

4. Getting Universal to do their job, respiratory division: I recently got a new breathing therapy machine and it’s annoying. But there’s supposed to be an app I can put on my phone to make it less annoying. The problem is my machine doesn’t mention anything about the app. I contacted the manufacturer directly and they said I need a software upgrade. I told Ursula (a respiratory therapist at Universal who we love and who is absolutely the only reason I stay with this company) what was going on. She tried to get Universal to get the upgrade for about two weeks before she decided we needed to pull out the big guns (Dr. Lucifer’s (not her real name), my pulmonologist, office). Since then, I got instructions on how to set up the app, which still don’t work because my machine doesn’t mention the app at all. When I pointed that out to whoever emailed me, I didn’t hear back. So, I told Ursula because nobody keeps her in the loop. She pushed the people at Universal, and the next day I got another email saying they were working with a rep from the manufacturer on figuring out how to get the software upgrade for me. We’ll see how that goes.

I could keep rambling about stuff no one cares about, but it’s late. I think I’m just going to finish this up and watch tv or play games depending on what Dad’s doing. See you next week!

Women Again!

~ shawnaborman ~ Leave a comment

Hello, hello! How’s everyone doing this lovely Wednesday? I’m tired, hurty despite taking aspirin, and high on Benadryl. I really don’t feel like writing anything here, but I don’t want to skip two weeks in a row. Luckily, it’s Women’s History Month, so I’m going to do something I do just about every year. I’m going to share some lovely lady authors with you! It’ll be a short post, but at least it’s a post. On to the ladies!

1. Leonie Swann. Specifically her Agnes Sharp series. I love those books.

2. Jennifer Dupree. She’s a wonderful lady and a great writer. Yes, I’m biased because she’s a Stonecoast buddy, but that’s okay.

3. Ellie Alexander. Specifically her bakeshop mysteries. I’m currently working my way through them. On number 6, but there’s around 23 at the moment.

4. Jesse Q. Sutano. Specifically her Vera Wong series. I’m planning to try out the aunties books too.

5. Melanie Brooks. Again, Stonecoast has me biased, but that doesn’t mean I’m wrong. Lovely lady and great writer.

Perks of Plotting

~ shawnaborman ~ Leave a comment

Howdy, howdy! How’s everyone doing this lovely Wednesday? Things here are about the same as usual. The dumpster fire is at a constant simmer with random public flare ups whenever the administration wants to distract us from whatever evil they’re working on that particular day. Trying to destroy the budget? Oops, the public is getting interested. Let’s turn the protests in LA into riots and activate the Coast Guard then immediately send in the Marines! Ugh. Anyway. I’m not here to rant. I’m just here to talk about writing. If you’ve been following along, you should know I tend to be a pantser when it comes to writing. I hate outlining. It feels too restrictive to me. But apparently plotting has some perks! So, I’m going to ramble about that today.

I’ve been feeling like writing lately, so I decided to pull out the Unnamed Cozy Mystery (UCM) and try getting back into it. Since I’m usually a pantser, my main concern was that I wouldn’t have any clue where I was planning to go with it, but I had approached this novel differently when I started it. I did a beat sheet for it (go read Save the Cat! by Blake Snyder or any of the Save the Cat! Writes a… Novel interpretations if you don’t know what that is). It’s a vague and messy beat sheet, but it’s mine and I understand it. And boy howdy did it save me a lot of stress. I wrote 1,100 words on Monday with no problem other than the usual “did I use that super common word that I use every day right?” or “is that one word or is it hyphenated?” etc. crap.

My favorite part is that I even included page numbers of where specific stuff is supposed to be given the length I’m aiming for in this novel. But that sounds super restrictive! It’s not, though. It’s just a reminder that those beats will most likely fall somewhere around that point. It doesn’t have to be perfect. If it’s too far off, the book length either needs to be rethought or my pacing is too wonky. This is just the first draft, so it’s not something I’m adjusting for right now, but if I ever finish the book, it’ll help me make decisions during the editing process. For now, it’s all just helpful reminders of what direction I was planning on going when I came up with the story.

As far as the actual story goes, I have a few beats that are super clear because those were the triggering ideas for this book, but most of them are like “Rainn and her cohorts track down loose ends and question suspects, crossing people off their list left and right. Meanwhile, renovations begin on the hotel and outbuildings.” which is meant to take up about 80 pages. This makes the pantser in me happy because it allows the story to grow organically with pretty minimal directions.

Anyway, I’m enjoying the structure I built for writing this story despite preferring to wing it most of the time. Let’s see if I can keep it up. Have you tried a beat sheet before? How detailed do you get? As always, feel free to share your thoughts and questions here or on my social media pages!

Bad Writer

~ shawnaborman ~ Leave a comment

Hello, hello! How’s everyone doing this wonderful Wednesday? Things here are quietly terrifying. Nothing is particularly bad for me currently, but we’re still in a dystopian horror story, so I can’t feel anything near calm. Anyway, as you well know, I’ve been a horrible writer for a long time now. A couple of short stories and random scribblings over the past couple of years do not a writer make. I’ve tried different things to get back into it, but I’ve failed repeatedly. I don’t really know why. I’m just lazy is what I keep telling myself. Writer’s block is a bitch. I just need time after so many rejections. Etc. But how do I fix this? How do I fix me?

I’m not just lazy. I know I’m generally a lazy person, but not when it comes to work. I went through something similar with reading when I was younger. I spent a few years voraciously reading everything, then one day I just stopped. I had no problem completing reading assignments for school, but whenever I picked up a book for fun, I couldn’t do it. Over the span of like 5+ years, I only read a handful of books for fun. Then, I randomly got back into reading. I don’t read anywhere near as much as I did, but I still read at least 20 minutes a day for fun on top of the time I spend reading for the monthly reviews. I don’t hesitate to write letters or stuff when I need to, so I know it’s not laziness. I don’t think it’s burnout either. I don’t know what it is.

I also know it’s not writer’s block. I know what I want to write and I’m not even opposed to doing it on most days. It’s like my brain prioritizes the book review reading and won’t let me write until I read, but then doesn’t want to write so late in the day. It’s more like self-sabotage than writer’s block. I suppose I really need to decide on a schedule and stick to it, but it’s hard.

Needing time after all the rejections is a good excuse, but I know it’s not really a factor at this point. Maybe the first six months or so it was. I’m not that sensitive, but hundreds of rejections (granted there were some really nice ones in there) with only a few acceptances is bound to get anyone down and questioning their life choices. But when does it become too much time? I’m well beyond that point and I know it.

Anyway, enough rambling. All I really wanted to say was that I opened the file of the book I’ve been thinking of getting back to and I had one of those moments. You know the one. That “Where’s the rest? Fuck… I have to write it…” moment. I’m not promising I’ll write it, but it was a nice feeling and I have been fiddling with the outline to update it.

Tattoo Ideas

~ shawnaborman ~ 2 Comments

Howdy, howdy! How’s everyone doing this lovely Wednesday? Things here are okay, I guess. Trump’s America is hitting super close to home (like next door kind of close) and I hate it. But there’s nothing I can do, so I’m trying to think about better things. Dad and I were chatting (I don’t even remember about what) and he mentioned piercings, but I don’t want any piercings (on other people they’re great, just not a me thing), so we somehow got onto tattoos from there. Anyway, I always told myself I’d get a tattoo when I got published for the first time (anything, not just a novel), but I never did. Then it became “I’ll do it when I get my first full length book published.” We’ll see if that ever happens. Now, maybe it will just be an “if I survive the dumpster fire that is the current administration” reward. Despite never doing it, I still have ideas, so I thought I’d share them with you. We should all take some time to think of something happy.

1. The kanji for sakura (cherry blossom) with some cherry blossoms. Something relatively small. I don’t really have much in the way of an actual design. I’d just let the artist come up with something.

2. A Sailor Saturn inspired image designed by my little sis (Jenae). It would probably need tweaked by the tattoo artist, so I might be better off finding someone who specializes in anime tattoos (they do exist), but this is all just daydreaming, so it doesn’t matter right now.

3. A Sailor Uranus inspired image designed by my little sis (Jenae). There are also versions for Pluto and Neptune if I get crazy.

I also wouldn’t mind something Gambit/Rogue related. But no idea what. What kind of tattoos would you want to get? Are you a planner or someone who randomly picks something? Someone who needs their tattoos to be meaningful or someone who just likes pretty things? As usual, feel free to leave your thoughts and comments and questions here or on my social media pages!

Women Authors

~ shawnaborman ~ 2 Comments

Hello, hello! How’s everyone doing this wonderful Wednesday? Things here are usual. I was going to show pictures of Dad’s hydroponics system and plants, but he’s busy and can’t take pictures right now, so I’ll do that next week. Today, since it’s women’s history month, I’ll share some books by women authors that I enjoy. I’ll try not to use repeats from recent posts. In no particular order, books by women!

1. The Library of Legends by Janie Chang. This is my current for fun book, but I’m about 75% of the way through and really liking it.

2. Agnes Sharp and the Trip of a Lifetime by Leonie Swann. It’s the second book in a cozy mystery series, but I think it’s better than the first book.

3. The Witch of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth George Speare. An old book, but a lovely read.

4. Light from Uncommon Stars by Ryka Aoki. A strange combination of horror and sci-fi and life in general that I found lovely.

What are some books by women that you recommend? As always, feel free to share your thoughts or questions here or on my social media pages!

Happy 2025!

~ shawnaborman ~ Leave a comment

Hello, hello! Happy New Year, everyone! I hope 2025 is kind to you and isn’t anywhere near as dystopian as I think it’s going to be. Actually, the future is looking more bizarro with a dystopian subplot and I’m not entirely sure if that’s better or worse. But I’m not here to rant or share my fears. It’s a new year! Time for things to begin afresh. I’m going to try to focus on things that I can control, which isn’t much. I’ll keep my goals simple this year. That’s what this post is going to be about. As always, feel free to share your goals or thoughts or questions here in the comments or on my social media pages (which I’ve made some changes to, so see my social media goals for more info)!

Writing Goals: I wrote a couple of short stories in 2024, but not much else. This year, I’m planning to finish a cozy mystery novel that I started and gave up on because of a lack of will to write. I read through what I have and I really like it, so it’s not like I was stuck or anything. There’s even an outline with it. I’m going to set a deadline of July 18th (Dad’s birthday) to finish the first draft. Feel free to prod me occasionally for updates on how it’s going. No short stories unless I see a call for submissions that conjures an irresistible idea right away. I’m just going to focus on this book and see how it goes.

Social Media Goals: Leave X in favor of Bluesky. Ever since Musk implemented algorithm changes to prioritize paid accounts and bury free ones, I’ve gone from daily interactions to one a month if I’m lucky. It’s not worth my time anymore. I’m going to give Bluesky a shot as one of the sites (along with Facebook and Instagram) that I post to every day except Sunday. I’ll still check X occasionally and probably post major updates there (book releases and such) if they should occur, but it will be mostly inactive. This starts today.

Reading Goals: I read 38 books in 2024. I’m sticking with a goal of 35 books for 2025. It gives me room to read a couple of super long books if I want or just to go slow on some shorter books. I’m not looking to push myself or read a book a week or anything, so this works for me.

Year End Goals

~ shawnaborman ~ Leave a comment

Hello, hello! How’s everyone doing this wonderful Wednesday? Not much going on besides end of year stuff. There’s not really much to ramble about. I’ve been trying to think of ways to get this blog more active. I don’t read fast enough to do a review every week. If you have ideas, feel free to share them. But for now, I think I’ll just ramble about my plans for the next couple of weeks. It’s nothing exciting. Just trying to get motivated for next year. So, here’s what my December looks like in no particular order.

1. Benefits stuff. I just had my yearly meeting to assure the state I’m still cripple and need the benefits I receive. The nurse is supposed to come out on Friday so they can do even more paperwork assuring the state that I am indeed still cripple. After which, I’ll keep pestering my case worker until my plan is approved so we don’t end up in the same clusterfuck that was 2024. But that’s a rant I don’t want to get started on. Deep breath. Big smile. Scream into the void. That’s it. Everything is fine. Moving on.

2. Reading. I have one more book to finish for reviewing this year. I’m a little more than halfway through it. I’m also reading one “for fun” book. I would like to finish it before the end of the year, but I’m not going to rush it. It’s supposed to be fun. And I’ve already passed my book goal for 2024, so yay me. I’ve read 37 so far, which means I’ll at least end the year at 38. For me, that’s great.

3. Open the files. Starting in January, I want to get back to writing a novel. Before then, I need to read over what I’ve already written (only one chapter) and study my notes. Yes, this one has notes! There are character names/descriptions and a broad strokes plot outline with key points planned out. I just need to refresh my memory and decide if I want to tweak anything before I let the characters destroy my lovely little mystery with their own ideas.

That’s it, really. There’s also a vet appointment for Sophia (yearly check up) and we need to schedule one for January for Bonnie, but that’s it. (Mardi doesn’t go until April for anyone wondering about her.) What do you need to do before January? As always, feel free to leave your thoughts or questions or whatever here or on my social media pages!

September Plans

~ shawnaborman ~ Leave a comment

Hello, hello! How’s everyone doing this wonderful Wednesday? Things here are okay. It’s currently Monday (the 2nd) because Dad has a check up tomorrow, so we’ll be spending most of Tuesday in Rockwall and I won’t have a chance to ramble at you if I wait until then. Anyway, I have decaf choco-cherry coffee from Texas Coffee Traders and lots to read, so I’m probably going to keep this brief. Maybe. All I really want to do is get a list of things I’m planning to do this month down, so you can all be disappointed in me when I fail. Here it is…

1. Writing. I finished a short story last week, but actually writing felt nice, so I’m going to try to keep up with it. I have a novel that I want to finish (I’m only a chapter into it). It’s something I had barely started when I hit the “what’s the point?” funk I’ve been in. I’ll try starting it up again and see if I can get anywhere.

2. Reading. I’m a little behind in my review books because I somehow ended up with a book for September 18th, 25th, and October 2nd. So, I’m currently reading those three plus a book to listen to while I’m in bed. It doesn’t help that I’m not exactly enamored with two of them (wait for the reviews). But I’ll use the rest of this week to catch up on them and focus on writing starting next week. Hopefully.

3. Slushing. I’ve mostly been keeping up with my first reader responsibilities. I try to get through 20+ stories a week. I don’t think I’m behind. But there are still a lot to go. Everyone is working hard to get through the submissions in a timely manner. We’ll get it done.

4. Peopling. I haven’t been on top of answering my messages (from friends, anyway). I read everything, but sometimes I forget to answer for a few days. If I start writing again, that will probably just get worse. Sorry. But I’ll try to do better.

Those are the things I need to work on in September. What are your plans for the month? As always, feel free to leave your thoughts and comments here or on my social media pages!

Mindless Games as Productivity Tools Follow Up

~ shawnaborman ~ Leave a comment

Hello, hello! How’s everyone doing this wonderful Wednesday? Things here are about the same as they’ve been. Not great, but it could be worse. I’m getting a late start on this post because I had a meeting with my case manager and another team member about the government crap. Ugh. But anyway, that just means I’m tired and not really into blogging today, so this will be short. Yay! I suppose I’ll ramble about the fact that I wrote words on Monday! Only about 400, but I did the thing. I also did it while playing my mindless games. A few posts ago, I mentioned that the mindless games have actually helped with my reading productivity, so I thought I would try it with writing. Does it work?

Honestly, I’m not entirely sure yet. It took a long time for me to actually bring myself to start writing because I started a new short story, so the page was blank. Well, not technically blank. I always throw in the header with my contact info and word count like it’s ready to submit, plus a throwaway title and my byline. Sometimes, that’s enough to trick my brain into thinking the story is already in progress. But most of the time, I suffer from blank page paralysis. That first sentence is just so much pressure. And it doesn’t help that I’m the type who has to start at the beginning. I can’t just jump to a random scene then go back and fill stuff in. That’s just not how my brain works.

But once I got started, the system seemed to work. I’d set up a battle, write while it played out, then eventually set up another battle, and somehow at the end of the night, I had 400 words. I even stopped to eat dinner and watch some tv, then started up again with no problem. That’s super rare for me. I usually just cram in the words and when it’s dinner time, it all gets shut down and stowed away for another day. So, even though it’s only been one day, I’m kind of hopeful for this system. I even got my reading done that day. We’ll see if I can keep it up. Any words are better than none, so I’m trying not to focus on a specific word count yet. I’ll add that in later if this system keeps working.

What kind of stuff helps you write when you just aren’t feeling it? As always, feel free to share your thoughts and comments and questions here or on my social media pages!