I have digressed from the topic since I wrote about that in December right here. In that post I established that my bucket doesn’t quite meet the standards for a list. I’d like to say I’ve accomplished everything I discussed and that I’ve filled up a new bucket in that time frame. But, alas, I have not. 2018 has been productive, but not that productive, and I’m still waiting on that pajama day. So…instead I’ll talk about why I just might never have that bucket.

No Bucket For Me

For starters, I never liked the expression, bucket list. It reminds me too much of “kicking the bucket” which is a continuous reminder about the end of days, and the expression is also linked to suicide by kicking a bucket aside after fastening a noose around one’s neck. I prefer not to dwell on those last moments and would rather strive to live in the moment.

But there’s another reason why I don’t have “a list of things to do before I die”. Mostly it’s because I’m a simple gal and it doesn’t take a lot to make me happy. I might be sad if some big lofty dreams weren’t met in time, but I’d be sadder each and every day if I was lacking these few essential items.

If I was indeed toting the ‘bucket’ and you took a moment to gander inside, you wouldn’t see the infamous list others speak of. Instead the few essential items I cannot be without would be rattling around in the bottom…Blistex, Water and a Snack. An odd collection of items better suited for a murse than a lofty bucket of inspiration and dreams.

What’s She Doing Now

Now that your brow has furrowed further I hate to disappoint you in that these essential items aren’t going to assist me in escaping near death, or evading a criminal as they might for MacGyver. Unless you count warding off a never-ending thirst, perceived chapped lips and hunger. Although without these items, I could be pressed to summon inhuman strength and rage, or step upon that fictional bucket because, well—hangry. #thestruggleisreal

Or worse, I could hit you with my murse. Which would, of course, be packing a bottle of water so that baby could hurt.

Essential List or Essential Items?

This is a blog hop, so if you’d like to hop around to visit the other author’s blogs I’m sure their posts will be much more inspirational and filled with lofty goals and dreams. It’s unlikely that there will be more talk of odd items to tuck away in the fictional bucket, or the even more unusual rationale for writing such a post.

But, alas, left unsupervised with free reign on a topic tends to ignite my imagination. #amwriting #MFRW
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That is, after a quick swipe of Blistex, a swig of water and a little snack.

What Are Your Thoughts on Bucket Lists?

Did You Vote?

There’s a few days left to vote! I might be convinced to share a snack with you if you vote for Evil Speaks Softly for the PRG Reviewers Choice.

Have You Checked it Out?

If you haven’t visited the Moonlight and Mystery authors website you’re missing out on tons of fun.

Virtual stories, opportunities to vote for/or enter cover contests and all kinds of cool stuff.

The post All I Need is Blistex, Water & a Snack appeared first on Author Maureen L. Bonatch.

It All Started With a Binder

This week’s post let me take a little journey of my writing space through the years and how far I’ve come. Initially when I started writing, my twins were young. Which for anyone who has young children understands that during those years, nothing is your own. If you try to claim it, then it usually ends up covered with stickers or crayon markings as the little ones mark their territory.

So besides not having an area anywhere in the entire house that wasn’t filled with the overflow of toys, no place was safe to leave my writing things unattended. Plus I didn’t feel that I had the right to demand a space dedicated to writing when in my mind I wasn’t a “real writer.”

Therefore, I had a binder. Although even if I had a coveted day without the kids around, my first writing partner, Bummy, would often claim his territory—on top of my binder.

It Progressed to a Bulletin Board

My writing stuff accumulated. Soon it was difficult to visualize a scene with only a binder. But I still didn’t actually have my own writing space. Plus, there was the pesky problem of my writing parter, Bummy, who felt the paper was laid out for his use.

So I got a tripod, and a few bulletin boards that I could put a storyline on and other notes. This kept my writing space mobile, and it was easier to pull out and store.

Then I Got a Wall

The guest room upstairs was rarely used except when the girls had friends over for a sleepover. Otherwise it was just another space where the toys overflowed. The girls were now old enough to leave my coveted bulletin board collection alone, so I claimed the back wall of the guest room/playroom/toy explosion.

Because the ongoing worry of stepping on push pins dislodged as I toted my boards around was getting to be an aggravation.

Things Finally Got Real & I Got My Writing Space

Not long after I staked claim to the guest room and declared it an office, I gained my current writing assistant, Scruff. Within the last few years, Scruff stopped trying to eat the push pins that fell off my boards. Plus I finally got to paint the room a color that wasn’t so intense as

the vibrant green the girls loved in their youth because of their love of frogs.

A Tour of My Writing Space

Virginia Woolf had it right in saying that a woman needs a room of her own, because I couldn’t love my little writing haven much more.

Even though Scruff claims the room as partially his and I share the space with office items for the house and a few other odds and ends.

It's taken me almost ten years to claim my own #writing space. #MFRW
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I’ve rearranged it a few times, but here’s a glimpse of where I’m sitting today.

In the day I get a nice view of the street and in the early morning hours, and the neighbors see that scary woman reflected in the window. (Probably how spooky stories originate.)

Do You Have a Room of Your Own in Your House?

Don’t Forget To Check Out the Writing Space of the Other Authors

Thank you for visiting my writing space. The place where I start my day almost every morning and create my stories.

This is a blog hop—so don’t forget to scroll to the bottom and check out the other authors.

The post No One Gets In To See—Okay…Here’s My Writing Space appeared first on Author Maureen L. Bonatch.