Nikki Starcat Shields's Blog, page 14

Sprinting to the Finish: NaNoWriMo Days 24-27

NaNoWriMo, November 2019,DAY 24 – 2003 words

Dear Diary,

I did my writing in the evening, after a day of making more holiday cards and then going out to dinner with BlackLion and some of his co-workers. No sprints this time, but I didn’t seem to need them. The scenes are rolling out of my imagination smoothly!

I mentioned in an earlier post that one of my characters ends up in a casino in Patterns book 1. Well, there’s now a casino scene (or two) in book 3, as well! The picture shows the...

Ahead of the Game: NaNoWriMo Days 20-23

NaNoWriMo, November 2019,DAY 20 – 1861 words

Dear Diary,

I had a long day today, and got home in the mid-evening. I was going to do writing sprints, but no one was on Discord, and Brent went to bed early. So I just wrote on my own.

It went well, for the most part. I’m liking using Scrivener, rather than a Word document, because my scene notes (such as they are) and character info are all in one place, so it’s easy to jump around.

This book takes place on a cruise ship, and since I’ve never...

More, Please: NaNoWriMo Days 17-19

NaNoWriMo, November 2019, DAY 17 – 1982 words

Dear Diary,

I like Sundays because that’s usually my day to sleep in a bit. Not that I get up particularly early most days. I’m not a morning person.

Today BlackLion and I went to the casino with my parents and brother. We played the slot machines and had lunch together; it’s one of my Dad’s favorite outings, though we only do it two or three times a year, usually. In my first Patterns novel, I have a scene where the main character goes to a casino and falls into a trance whi...

2019, DAY

Take a Break: NaNoWriMo Days 14-16

NaNoWriMo, November 2019, DAY 14 – 2055 words

Dear Diary,

No sprints tonight. They hadn’t started yet by the time I was ready to write, and Brent wasn’t home. So I just wrote my scene by myself.

When I sat down to write this evening, I had just 1021 words to go to make it to 25,000, which is the halfway point as far as word count goes. I finished tonight’s session at just over 26K. Since tomorrow is the halfway point in time, I decided to give myself a well-deserved break.

Some dear friends are in town, and I want to hang ou...

2019, DAY

The New Book: NaNoWriMo Days 11-13

NaNoWriMo, November 2019, DAY 11 – 2006 words

Dear Diary,

Monday again, and a holiday at that. I’m feeling much better, and my shift at the radio station didn’t tax my voice too much, which is good. I thought about writing in the morning, before I left, but that didn’t happen. Based on when I’ve checked in, the NaNoWriMo website has labeled me a night owl, doing most of my writing in the evening. Which is quite true, this time around.

Once again, sprints are totally working for me. I can’t believe I never tried them before! Fr...

2019, DAY

To the Bridge: NaNoWriMo Days 8-10

NaNoWriMo, November 2019, DAY 8 – 1896 words

Dear Diary,

I feel crappy. Hack, hack, sniffle, sniffle. Standard head cold. Yuck.

Still, thanks to hot soup and Tylenol, I wrote a goodly amount of words this evening.

Also, in Googling for standard word counts in my genre, I found an article one shouldn’t read while still writing drafts (this one’s about urban fantasy, my genre for the Patterns books I’m working on). Luckily, my novels pretty much meet the criteria so far.

DAY 9 – 1721 words

Dear Diary,

I felt really sick today. Low energy, lots of coughing, not...

2019, DAY

Just Keep Swimming: NaNoWriMo Days 5-7

NaNoWriMo, November 2019, DAY 5 – 2250 words

Dear Diary,

I voted today. I worked on my business. I took a yoga class with BlackLion at our favorite studio, and we made “breakfast for dinner” together afterwards.

And yeah – I wrote some more words. BlackLion and I did another word sprint, and then I just kept going afterwards, and ended up with a nice word count. I’m focusing more on the word count than the quality of what I’m actually writing, because I’m still not solid about this book’s ending. But I know that I can fix it duri...

2019, DAY

Resistance Is Futile: NaNoWriMo Days 1-4

NaNoWriMo, November 2019, DAY 1 – 2878 words

Dear Diary,

I thought I’d write about the process of writing during this November, for National Novel Writing Month (aka NaNoWriMo). Because, you know, 50K just isn’t enough words (is there a sarcasm emoji?). Actually, it’s because, on my 5th year doing NaNoWriMo, going for my 5th “win,” I find myself struggling.

I usually prep a bit, in advance of the start of the month. This time, thanks to an inspired idea BlackLion had, I even ran a little impromptu planning session, where 4 o...

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Starcat’s Favorites: High and Low All at Once

I know I’ve referred to one of Quester’s favorite quotes here before, more than once. It’s by the band Moe, and goes “it’s high and low all at once, not one or the other.” This month has been one of those times when the quote comes in handy.

We lost two dear people from our extended clan. My wonderful Uncle Merton (Dad’s oldest brother) died after a fall at age 91. He was very kind and loving and adored the outdoors. My Mom’s best friend Carol died in hospice after a short but intense terminal cancer...

What Is Enlightenment?

What is enlightenment? Yeah, I know, big topic for a random midweek post. But it’s something I’ve been pondering lately.

A friend and I tend to have impromptu metaphysical discussions when we find each other in the same space. As a martial artist, he comes at it from a perspective I find interesting.

In a recent chat, where we were talking about using our personal energy in various ways, he noted that the purpose of life isn’t to continually seek more and more direct connection with the Divine. It’s also about enjoyin...