The subject: Name a guilty pleasure – one that is writing related and one in real life
Writing Guilty Pleasures
One of my biggest guilty pleasures when it comes to writing is world building, synopsis and emotions.
I like writing character emotions. Delving in deep into the inner workings of the characters, building tension with the emotions and showcasing the different emotional ups and downs in relationships. And it’s one of the things I actually one of my strengths. Often times, the characters will take me in places where I hadn’t anticipated which is frustrating but fun. It usually adds to the stories, character growth and makes for some interesting scenes and dialogue.
I do a lot of world building. Even in my contemporaries. If there is a restaurant, home, motorcycle club, club house, etc I make sure I know the design and layout. I have the restaurants, kitchens, jazz club, houses, strip club and even the banquet space layout done.
I have spreadsheets on the characters. I have my plot sheets. And a bunch of other tools I may or may not use (it depends on the story). Remind me to share some of them someday. And of course I do a blurb which I expand into a mini-synopsis (1 page). The synopsis is basic and helps to keep me on track. And I know it’s strange but I started it as a form of positive thinking instead of dreading the synopsis I decided to approach it as a learning tool and make it fun. And I found out that I liked writing synopses.
Real Life Guilty Pleasures
My real life guilty pleasures are Better Made Potato Chips and Vernors Ginger Ale.
I usually mix a bag of plain and bbq chips together. And I’ve even been known to crush the bbq ones up and eat it with pizza.
Vernors is what my mom used to serve us to settle our stomachs when we were sick as kids. Either warmed up, room temp or left out to weaken a bit. When I’m in the mood for a ginger ale it’s my go to drink. I remember going to the factory when I was growing up for a tour.
Boston Cooler’s anyone?
A Boston Cooler is a Vernors float. It has nothing to do with the state of Massachusetts or city of Boston. It’s so named because Fred Sanders (from the Sanders Ice Cream Empire – and side note: another happy childhood memory I will share later) invented it at his ice cream shop which was located on Boston Boulevard in Detroit.
My sister when she lived out of town used to have my mom ship them to her along with some Faygo Rock and Rye (check out the flavor line-up.) I’ll have to talk about some of my favorite Detroit and Michigan centered food snacks another time.
Recipe:
- 8 oz ginger ale – I use Vernors of course
- 1 large scoop of vanilla ice cream
Pour ginger ale into a large glass. Add in ice cream. Or vice versa. It’s going to foam and you can add more ice cream or ginger ale if you like.
And I have a culinary guilty pleasure. I love making up spice blends, experimenting with recipes and creating recipes on my own. But the biggest is the creating my own spice blends. The other to is just secondary off shoots that are products of the spice blend creation.
Side note: Writing this post has made me realize how many food related happy memories I have that correspond to my childhood. And not just consumption but making and learning about. It’s a wonder that I turned out to be a foodie and a chef.
If you want to check out how a few of my writing friends write:
* Alexia Reed * Emma G. Delaney * Kimberly Farris *Kristen Koster *