Nikki Starcat Shields's Blog, page 8

Starcat’s Ten Best Books of 2020

It’s a bit belated, but I’m delighted to share my ten favorite books that I read during past year. As always, please note that these aren’t necessarily books that came out in 2020, just ones that I read and enjoyed.

One would think that I’d have read more books than usual during a pandemic, and that’s somewhat true. But I also love to write, coach others who are writing their books, walk in the woods, and lots of other fun stuff that can be done from my cozy homestead. So it wasn’t a LOT more.

W...

Vulnerability in Writing

This past weekend I attended a workshop called the Gateless Writing Salon. I loved it SO much. It feels so good to be held and led when it comes to writing, as most often I’m the one facilitating.

We were led into a guided meditation, and had a one-word prompt at the end. Then we did 25 minutes of writing. We had the option to share our writing on the call, which I did. It felt vulnerable and scary and thrilling and joyful, all at once.

So I thought I’d share what I wrote with you. NOTE: There a...

Starcat’s Favorites: Self-Acceptance

Hey there! The title of this post, self-acceptance, is around feeling some guilt (I know, Mom, “no guilt”) about not posting here much lately. I’ve had lots of ideas, but haven’t yet taken the time to sit down and share them with you.

The acceptance is fairly easy, actually, because I’ve been doing lots of other fun stuff, and I generally do what I want. I’m now fully self-employed, so I’m the boss of me!

What have I been up to? Reading a lot. Hosting Parallel PlayDates, my writing group, and a ...

Starcat’s Favorites: Hibernating with Books

Here we are at the tail end of January, and it’s my first post here in the new year. Yeah. I’ve been following my intuition, and the message has been to take it easy. Rest. Hibernate a bit.

With books, of course. This stack contains my current reads. Does it seem a bit over the top, even for me?

I’m okay with that.

Of course, even with my nose continually in a book (just like my childhood!), I’ve also found a few interesting things online.

Here are my favorites from the past month or so:

Speakin...

Magick is Afoot!

BlackLion and I hosted a Vision Board PlayShop this week on the Full Moon, via Zoom. Seventeen of us gathered in (virtual) sacred space to craft our visions and intentions for the new year.

It was so powerful doing this in community with these wonderful co-creators and Thriving Artists! What a blessing.

This is my vision board for 2021. I’m absolutely in love with it.

My word for 2020 was SOVEREIGN, and although the year didn’t go as planned, which is true for pretty much everyone, I did really ...

Writing the New Myths

Happy Winter Solstice!

Today there’s a grand conjunction that my astrologer friends tell me is all about moving into a new era, the long-awaited Age of Aquarius.

If that’s the case, then it falls to us, the Thriving Artists, the co-creators, the writers and dreamers and crafters, to offer up the new stories that will carry us forward.

I don’t know about you, but I’m weary of the dystopian fantasies that have captured our collective imagination.

Zombie apocalypse? Yawn.

Winter is coming? It’s he...

Starcat’s Favorites: An Introvert Holiday

My holidays usually involve hosting a Winter Solstice celebration, followed by gatherings of my extended family on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. This year, because of the pandemic, things are different.

So even though I’ll miss hanging out with family and friends, I’ve decided to make the best of it. Among the silver linings: my daughter and her husband are living with us. We haven’t spent Christmas with them for the past three years, while they were living out west, so this is a treat!

Anoth...

We Are All Interdependent

This year has been quite a wild ride for most everyone I’ve talked with (yes, I realize that’s an understatement).

My Aunt, who is in her 80s, fell and broke her femur in late September. She had to navigate surgery and recovery during a pandemic, which is very different than just a year ago.

It was stressful.

Like many of our elders, she was worried that she’d lose her cherished independence.

Quester’s answer when she shared that fear with him was, “well, none of us are truly independent.”

It’s ...

Wrapping It Up: NaNoWriMo Days 25-29

NaNoWriMo, November 2020, DAY 25 – 2177 words

Dear Diary,

Today after I was done with my biz work, I started making food for tomorrow, which is Thanksgiving.

I made cranberry sauce, stuffed butternut squash, honey-mustard Brussels sprouts, and non-dairy pumpkin pie (with pumpkin that I baked and peeled myself, and homemade crust, because that’s how we roll). Brent made the stuffing.

We had takeout burritos for dinner. I burned my finger when a potholder slipped. But the food all came out great, ...

Starcat’s Favorites: Inside the Creative Cave

As much as I (used to?) talk about the cold time of year not being my favorite, I’ve come to appreciate this season we’re entering. It’s the ideal time for holing up inside the Creative Cave.

Besides writing (which gets intensified during NaNoWriMo), I have some other favorite creative pastimes.

My favorite hobbies include papercrafts (making cards, collages and scrapbooks), music (in the form of making playlists and hand drumming), cooking, and of course READING.

What do you love to do when the...