Monthly Archives: March 2013

Big Goals, Big Dreams

This is my first post for the Round of Words in 80 Days (ROW 80). How exciting! At the same time, I’m finding it a bit ironic and hilarious that I’m making a goals post. Why? Because I had decided to forego goals this year, and instead focus on my intentions. However, the amount of creative and promotional work I’m doing has made some form of organization a necessity, so I’m going to try it. Here goes!

I’m envisioning 3 sections to my goals for the round. Here they are, with related action items below each one:

Writing

Writing is my favorite creative focus. It’s what I do. It does help to have some sort of direction to it, though. Here are some writing goals for this round.

  • Write 5000 words per week on the Cultivating Self-Love e-book.
  • Draft and edit supporting materials for our upcoming workshop (May 25th). If all goes well, develop the workshop into a multi-week online course, and draft the materials for that.
  • Post to my Starcat’s Corner blog at least 3 times per week, and on this blog at least 2 times per week.
  • Write and edit at least 3 guest blog posts and have them posted.

Promotion

I’m promoting my new book, which in itself is a big learning curve. We’re also promoting our business, Feline Dreamers, which is an ongoing thing. This section looks like it might be too full, but remember that I have a partner for these. BlackLion rocks!

  • Continue to attend (or, when necessary, listen to the recordings) online Shift Your Biz classes. Complete all homework assignments prior to the following class.
  • Learn and practice 5 new ways to ask people to purchase our Feline Dreamers wares. The asks should be clear, concise, and joyful. Use them to make sales.
  • Set up and offer a book signing and reading at a local bookstore.
  • Continue to increase my reach with book promotion, using tools like Good Reads, Amazon Author Central, and guest blogging. Consider doing some paid sponsorships on compatible websites.
  • Have at least 5 people pay and attend our May Feline Dreamers workshop. When we create our online course, have at least 6 people sign-up, pay, and take the online course.
  • Host a Feline Dreamers chat on our Facebook page in May.
  • Finish and release our 2 new Feline Dreamers e-books by June 1st.

Wellness and Practice

For me, wellness and practice go hand-in-hand. Here are some things I want to focus on as the weather gets better and better (a typical cat, I don’t like the cold and wet, so I’ve been hibernating a bit over the winter).

  • Continue doing my morning pages and affirmations in my journal. 4 pages each day.
  • Continue dancing for at least 20 minutes every day. 90-day dance challenge continues through mid-May.
  • Practice drumming at least 3 times per week, plus the weekly troupe practice.
  • Do yoga at least twice per week.
  • Go out for walks at least 3 times per week, for fitness and to attune more with the natural world.
  • Spend more time in ritual and sacred space. Attend the Women for All Seasons meetings more regularly.

***

For this particular week, the first one of the round, I’ll be away at the Life Rocks! Radical Unschooling conference, with part of my family. This is our second year, and it’s a wonderful, uplifting celebration with like-minded folks. That said, it’s a party, not really a quiet space for writing. So I’ll be starting off the round by doing some networking, meeting folks who might be interested in the book and in what we do at Feline Dreamers. BlackLion and I decided on two (tangible) goals for the week:

  • Add at least 10 new people to our mailing list at Life Rocks conference.
  • Sell at least 5 books, 4 CDs, and 1 Core Belief Kit at Life Rocks conference.

I want to also add a (more ephemeral) goal:

  • Significantly uplift my energy vibrations surrounding prosperity, and in particular, about making money from my creative callings.

Well, here goes! Let’s hope I’m doing this right. *laughing at myself* (Note to self: my way IS the right way, for me. Silly ego brain.) Please leave a comment below if you are so inspired. Blessings!

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Here I Am

“I feel very firmly that, in as much as I exist, I have a right to be here. And I have a right therefore to express what it is that I affirm and love about being here. This is fundamental. I mean, I’m like any other plant, any other tree, any other creation on the planet. I see no reason to feel in any way hindered in expressing my essence, my being. I mean, if I were a rose, I would be doing what a rose does. So I would just say to any young writer, poet, painter, dancer, whoever, of whatever hue, shade, form, to believe that you have a right to be the self that you feel.” – Alice Walker

(Coming this weekend: my first Round of Words in 80 Days post…ever!)

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My Favorite Magick

“You can, you should, and if you’re brave enough to start, you will. Writing is magic, as much the water of life as any other creative art. The water is free. So drink. Drink and be filled up.” – Stephen King

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Productive Energies

Wow, I’ve gotten more creative and promotional work done over the past few days than I have in the past two weeks! Must be the increasing energies of spring – that, and Mercury has gone direct again, thank goodness! We had a big snowstorm yesterday (winter’s last hurrah, I hope), and I had a bunch of extra time for writing and reading. Between that and a productive morning today, I’ve:

  • written 2500 words on my new e-book
  • followed up with several local bookstores about carrying my book (and potential reading and signing events)
  • finished a journaling project I was hoping to get done before Spring Equinox
  • worked on a new art journal page
  • written on all 3 of my blogs (this one, my Starcat’s Corner one, and our Feline Dreamers blog)
  • ordered more copies of my book
  • read and made notes on one of the books I’m reading

and a bunch of other small items that were haunting my to-do list, mostly planning and scheduling-type stuff. Yippee for bursts of energy and momentum! I hope I can sustain it, especially the work on the e-book. I’m excited about it, which certainly helps with motivation. Tomorrow is a busy day, but I hope to get some writing time in the late evening when I get home. It helps to be a night owl. Hoot!

 

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Ingoing

“Hardly anybody every writes anything nice about introverts. Extroverts rule. This is really rather odd when you realize that about nineteen writers out of twenty are introverts. We have been taught to be ashamed of not being ‘outgoing.’ But a writer’s job is ingoing.” – Ursula K. LeGuin

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Favorite Writing Tools

What are some of your favorite tools for your writing practice? I most often like to start my first draft on paper. I love Pentel fine-point black pens. Or sometimes gel pens, but usually black. Spiral-bound notebooks in bright colors and patterns are what I usually use for writing projects, and I keep one with me to jot down notes and ideas. I also journal a lot, and for those I like blank lined bound journals.

When I transfer that first draft onto the computer, I use Word, and my favorite font and size is Garamond 12 point. I like the older version of Word that we use, not the newer one with the “docx” suffix. It’s mostly just because I’m used to the layout and features. I keep it pretty simple, not using a lot of bells and whistles.

My laptop is an older model, a Dell Inspiron 1520, and it’s starting to show a bit of wear. I always back up my files by attaching them to an e-mail or (sometimes) using Google docs. But the laptop is still my trusty writing and editing pal. When we upgrade, I’ll probably go with Dell again. For reading blogs and things like that, I love my Kindle Fire. I do read books on it, too, but I would stay that the majority of what I read is still in the form of good old-fashioned paper books.

Please leave a comment and share your favorite writing (and reading) tools.

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Dream Come True…Now What?

Hi, I’m Nikki, also known as Starcat. I’m a published author. Yay!!!

Ever since I was a little kid, that’s what I wanted to be. Now I’m 43, and my first book has just been published. Why did it take so long? Well, the old story. I bought into the culture’s tales about not being able to make a living as a writer, went and studied something else, had a pretty successful career…and gradually woke up to the fact that I wasn’t living my dreams or pursuing my passions. So I (mostly) quit my day job and here I am.

Granted, I learned a whole lot along the way. I have skills that I’m finding very useful now that I’m working for myself. Things like organization, public speaking, and networking. I draw on my career in public radio, my earth-based spiritual practices as a Pagan priestess, and the sense of freedom and joy I have as a Mom to two always-unschooled kids. And I’m still learning (always learning); ethical marketing, social media, and spiritual entrepreneurship are among my favorite subjects right now. Most of my writing is non-fiction, centered around personal spirituality.

So, why this blog? I’ve achieved my lifelong dream, only to find that there’s much more to do! The time came to promote my book, and there are many tasks associated with that big project. I’m starting some new creative projects as well, both for my business (my partner BlackLion and I run a website called Feline Dreamers, where we offer tools to help people live their spirituality every day)  and for myself (I feel my second book calling me). It’s a lot to keep track of, even for an organized Virgo type like me.

A few months ago, I noticed an intriguing post on Facebook from my friend Shan, a fellow unschooling Mom who I haven’t met in real life yet. It was a post linked from one of her blogs, and talked about something called, intriguingly, A Round of Words in 80 Days (aka ROW 80). I started following her blog. I was enthralled by her journey as a writer, and interested in the ways she organized her various projects and goals. I wondered if I should join in.

ROW 80 participants are supposed to make twice-weekly updates on their progress, and give and receive encouragement and comments from their fellow writers. While the talk of word counts and WIPs (works in progress) fascinated me, I thought my regular blog readers would become bored. I usually write about spirituality and unschooling, and share my ponderings on living a spiritual life. This sort of behind-the-scenes writerly stuff could be an unwelcome interruption, so I put my ROW 80 plans on a back burner.

Until now. Now I’m ready for the organization, support, and encouragement that I feel ROW 80 will bring to my virtual desk. So, with the help of BlackLion, who is a wiz at all things web, I started a new blog for this very purpose.

Welcome, fellow writers! I’m sure we’ll be getting to know one another as I jump in with both feet to my first Round. In the meantime, if you’d like to know more about me, I’ve linked to my websites over on the sidebar. Come visit, if you feel so inspired. Blessings to you in your creative work!

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