Nikki Starcat Shields's Blog, page 32

Holiday Wishes Especially for You

Hereis aholiday list of gifts for you, directly from my heart to yours. Many blessings!

I wish good health for you. I wish good health for those you love.

I wish for you to be surrounded by people who love you. This includes cats, dogs, and other critters – they’re people too, in my book.

I wish for you to love and accept yourself just as you are. I wish that you enjoy the solitude of your own company,

I wish for you interesting and sustaining work to do in this world. I wish for you wonderful pa...

December Reflections and More

Happy December! I woke up feeling especially creative today. After a fun trip to town with my Mom for breakfast and some groceries, I’ve been boppingaround getting some fun creative projects for this month all ready to roll. I know, I need to sit down and work on my novel, too. And there are all those Christmas cards to be finished. But hey, this stuff is inspiring me, and there’s a cool synchronicity involved.

I’ve decided to participate in Susannah Conway’s December Reflections photo project...

How to Stay Sane During the Holidays

This week is Thanksgiving here in the U.S., and as my Mom reminded me last night, Christmas is just one month from today, and Winter Solstice comes even sooner. One month! Ohmygosh! There’s so much to do!

I started to get a little bit stressed about it, thinking of all the preparations and celebrations. I’m also writing a novel, which won’t be done when the end of November arrives. I don’t want to set it aside and lose momentum on my story, so I need to add that to the mix. How can I do all th...

Starcat’s Favorites: NaNoWriMo Forever

I’ve written nearly 40K words on my NaNoWriMo novel at this point, and I’m reasonably sure that I’ll make the 50K goal by the end of the month. The thing is, though, the novel I’m working on will only be at about the halfway mark at that point. So what do I do?

December is a busy month, preparing for and celebrating the winter holidays. I want to keep up the momentum on the novel, but will I really have time to work on it every day? Quester says I should just go ahead and block out time for wr...

The Power of Dreaming

I’m caught up in the throes of NaNoWriMo, dreaming up a novel that won’t be finished this month, though I will make the 50,000 word count by November 30th. So for today’s post I bring you a thought-provoking quote on dreams and creativity, from one of my favorite author duos, Seth and Jane Roberts. Enjoy!

“The waking state as you think of it is a specialized extension of the dream state and emerges from it to the surface of your awareness, just as your physical locations are specified extensio...

5 Ways to Break Your Curses

Have you ever felt like you were cursed? Like there are these old patterns that have you in their grip, and they just won’t let go?

I have a friend who is having what she calls “a string of bad luck” right now. She feels like an old pattern is recurring in her life, one of being the unpopular one, the outcast, the kid who is always picked last. She describes this state as “being cursed,” and wants some help breaking it.

For the record, yes, this is an actual friend, not myself in disguise. Thou...

How to Release Your Mean Inner Critic

One of the things that all humans have in common is our non-stop thinking. Our brains almost never stop their chatter, except for when we fall asleep at night. The quality of that mental self-talk can affect us profoundly. You might never have noticed the things you tell yourself, day after day. And yet that mental chatter affects the quality of your life. How?

Think about what happens when someone compliments you. You might immediately discount the compliment, saying to yourself that they are...

Inspiration for the Journey

Writing a novel in a month is, let me tell you, quite a journey. But no matter what projects you’re working on right now, you probably look for inspiration in other areas of your life. Everyone has their go-to music, or books, or TV shows when they’re looking to be inspired. Hopefully they change over time, and you find new things to motivate and/or relax you.

What, you don’t think relaxation and distraction are a part of the creative process? For me, they’re essential.

So, while I’m working on...

A Little Extra Sunshine for Your Spirit

Here in the northern hemisphere, it’s late autumn. The leaves have fallen from the trees and Mother Nature is ready for her long winter’s nap. In the U.S., daylight savings time means that it now gets dark at 4:30 in the afternoon. Yeesh. I don’t know about you, but that can make me want to curl up under my blankets with a book and call it a day.

If you have things to do and you can’t just hibernate every evening, then what do you do to uplift your energies? How do you keep going when the days...

What Is Your Foundation?

What are your most important priorities in life? The really super big ones?

It’s okay to pause for a moment and get philosophical. This is late autumn, the dark time of the year, a chance to go inward and seek what is most meaningful to you. Take your time.When you’re ready, pick two or three top priorities.These priorities represent your most deeply cherished core beliefs about how to live “the good life.” They’ll be different for each of us.

When you’re living in tune with yourself and who yo...