Nikki Starcat Shields's Blog, page 9

New Habits: NaNoWriMo Days 20-24

NaNoWriMo, November 2020, DAY 20 – 2137 words

Dear Diary,

Today BlackLion and I ran our second Writing Sprints Session on Discord with a couple of my book coaching clients.

It was fun introducing them to the power of sprints!

I also got a lot of words written today. That felt good.

DAY 21 – 1391 words

Dear Diary,

Brent and I did some sprints this evening. It went well.

I got caught up to par, in terms of staying on track to make my 50K words by the end of the month.

I’m still kind of making up t...

In the Groove: NaNoWriMo Days 16-19

NaNoWriMo, November 2020, DAY 16 – 1733 words

Dear Diary,

It’s Monday, so BlackLion had his online RPG. I tried to join a sprint with others, but no one was around. I tried sprinting on my own, but something was messed up with the bot, or more likely, with my internet connection.

Failed sprints. 

However, I still wrote my quota for the day, on my own. Then, since I’m often tired by the end of a Monday, I just read and went to bed fairly early.

DAY 17 – 2063 words

Dear Diary,

I had fun this eveni...

It’s An Experiment: NaNoWriMo Days 12-15

NaNoWriMo, November 2020, DAY 12 – 1583 words

Dear Diary,

I’m still not sure if I like this pantser approach (you know, just writing by the seat of my pants without knowing where the story is going next).

On one hand, it can be fun. I’ve come up with some cool ideas on the fly that are actually quite a hoot to write.

Then again, on the other hand, sometimes the well runs dry at the wrong moment and I’m stuck in the middle of a scene, or between two scenes, not sure where to go with it next.

Yet ...

Slacker Manifester: NaNoWriMo Days 8-11

NaNoWriMo, November 2020, DAY 8 – 2074 words

Dear Diary,

BlackLion made us a new Discord channel, the Parallel PlayZone, for my writing community. So naturally we played with it this evening, and did sprints with our own “CatBot.” It was fun.

I’m going to be running a couple of Writing Sprints sessions in our channel, for my current clients and subscribers to the Parallel PlayDates. They’ll be happening this Sunday and next Friday.

I’m super excited to introduce this way of writing to my peeps!

...

Sprints Totally Rule: NaNoWriMo Days 5-7

Look at my crazy graph! Dude…

NaNoWriMo, November 2020, DAY 5 – 1726 words

Dear Diary,

I was thinking we’d probably do sprints tonight, but I completely forgot that BlackLion was starting a new online RPG that he’d been invited to by some Star Trek gamers.

Sure, I could have done sprints on my own (or with whoever else was on Discord), but I didn’t. I wrote after dinner, and wasn’t sure where to go next with a scene, so I just made sure I got enough words to make the general daily target (which ...

Robots Need Words Too: NaNoWriMo Days 1-4

I miss coffee shop writing sessions…

NaNoWriMo, November 2020, DAY 1 – 0 words

Dear Diary,

Recently I looked back over last November’s blog series I wrote about doing National Novel Writing Month (aka NaNoWriMo). It was actually quite useful to me. I was reminded that I did most of my writing in the evenings, quite often doing sprints with BlackLion and others.

I have some clients and community members who are doing NaNoWriMo for the first time, and I figured perhaps this will inspire them on th...

Using NaNoWriMo for Non-Fiction: 7 Tips

If you’ve read this blog for a while, you know that National Novel Writing Month (also known as November) is something I enjoy. I’ve done it for the past several years now, using it to try my hand at writing contemporary fantasy.

Most of my writing clients, though, write non-fiction. “If you’re not writing an actual novel,” they wonder, “can you still do NaNoWriMo?”

While NaNoWriMo is focused on fiction and its particular challenges – like character development and world-building – the container...

What’s Stopping You From Doing The Thing?

You know the thing I mean. The one that is of deep priority to your soul…yet you never quite seem to get to it.

It gets continually moved forward on your (written or mental) to-do list.

It could be a creative project, like writing a book, starting a band, or taking a class in that new art technique you’d love to try. It could be something like asking that special someone on a date.

Maybe it’s cleaning and de-cluttering your room.

You’re not even sure WHY it’s not getting done.

Procrastination is...

Starcat’s Favorites: Daily Spiritual Practice

The last couple of weeks have been like a rollercoaster. Lots of ups and downs – both personally and collectively.

My astrologer friends tell me that, given what’s going on in the stars, it’s to be expected. This is a time of big transitions.

I’m so thankful that I always have my daily spiritual practice to keep me centered (or as centered as possible).

My current practice includes meditation, alchemical journaling, and Tarot cards. I also write down my dreams, and I’m keeping a Pray Rain Journa...

Why I’m a Druid by D&D Rules

Do you play that imagination game where you figure out what you’d be in a certain scenario? For example, which Hogwarts House you’d be sorted into (Ravenclaw, of course), and that sort of thing?

Or is that just me? I love those little sorting and labeling quizzes, though I try to resist them now since they have the reputation for bringing computer viruses.

If you’ve played Dungeons & Dragons, you’ll know that the magickal-type characters are divided into neat little categories. Priests & prieste...