So it appears that I have, after an entire semester of not even catching a cold, contracted a terribly sore throat…in the height of summer. Believe me, it is the opposite of fun to attempt bundling oneself when it’s relatively warm out, to drink tea 24/7, and to consume so many cold lozenges that your stomach starts protesting.

If it wasn’t obvious enough—I’m not quite feeling up to writing my usual day-in-the-life post since the most noteworthy thing that’s happened to me this week is probably related to the amount of water I’ve imbibed. No, instead of a day-in-the-life, here are some snapshots of a day-in-my-recent-past that was far more interesting because that was when I finished my longest short story to date. (“Yay!” —Tony Stark)

Hot chocolate

There is truly never a bad time for hot chocolate. Whenever I’m tired of tea or when it’s too late in the day for coffee, hot chocolate – even the cheap Swiss Miss packages – is my go-to drink. It’s thicker than tea, richer than water, and drinking it is a little like putting on a nice warm sweater. (Forgive the imagery, I’m sick.)

I don’t drink hot chocolate exclusively when I’m writing, but it’s definitely my preferred drink over water or tea, particularly since I’ve made a habit of writing late at night.

Soup

I never, ever eat over my laptop. Even the thought of it frightens me perhaps more than you’d imagine. It – okay, not my actual laptop, I meant my writing – is essentially my baby, and if I were to lose any piece of it by a careless mistake, I would never forgive myself.

So why is, then, a bowl of hot, thick, rich soup paired with a soft bread roll on this list? Because as much as I love the rest of my food (read: carbs), the warmth that spreads through your body while and after having soup is sometimes all you really need to comfort yourself for having that horrible, massive writer’s block that you just can’t get around, no matter what you do.

Tea

So why does tea also make this list if I’ve just expressed my preference for hot chocolate just a few paragraphs ago? Because this girl likes to be a marathon writer and doesn’t always tend to her hot chocolate as she should, and no one likes drinking cold chocolate. (That’s why there’s chocolate milk.)

But in all honesty, I do have a tendency – for better or for worse – to marathon write portions of essays, scenes of stories, or even entire short stories all in one sitting. And even though I may have made myself a hot drink for the process, I won’t have remembered to drink it at all simply because I was so focused. Drinking an entire cup of slightly chilled green tea is a far more pleasant experience than it is to drink slightly chilled hot chocolate. Trust me.

Mint chocolate chip ice cream

I used to dislike mint chocolate chip ice cream, that is, until I had back surgery in December 2010 and then had an incredible craving for any and all ice cream flavors that had mint. I’m fairly certain my mom thought I had gone crazy since my favorite ice cream flavor was – and still is – Cookies N’ Cream.

At any rate, I still harbor a fair appreciation for my mint ice cream. Right now, that fondness may be driven partly by my sore throat which truly appreciates the ice cream’s cold temperature, but there’s also something quite refreshing about mint chocolate chip ice cream. When facing writer’s block, the minty flavor provides a nice little mental kick while the little bits of chocolate treasure serve as a sort of reassurance that no, I’m not going completely off the wire with my story at the moment.

With all that having been said now, I really ought to get back to my writing-now-editing. And if you’re feeling particularly curious, here’s a teaser.