Starcat's Writing Desk

I’m committing myself to do these twice-weekly ROW 80 updates, or perhaps re-committing to them. I haven’t really accomplished much on my list since Sunday’s check-in. But I think it will encourage me to do more if I actually come here and admit that. At least for now, I feel like it needs to be said, for motivation’s sake.

It actually wasn’t *nothing* at all. I wrote a blog post on Monday for Starcat’s Corner. I’ve done some journal-writing each day. I picked up 3 books from the post office, to read and review (ooh boy, new books!). I’ve done a bunch of planning and correspondence.

Other than that, life’s just been busy. I have extra shifts this week at the radio station, and I had a birthday dinner to host, and kids to drive around, and grocery shopping. Life stuff. It’s snowing again as I write this. The house is tidy and there’s homemade mac & cheese in the oven. So, you know, it’s going along fine, for a winter’s week in Maine.  See you back here again on Sunday. May the rest of your week be productive and fun in the ways you want it to be!

Art supplies at the ready!

I’ve been doing other stuff, still, besides working on my main goal of novel writing. I was going to say that I’m not writing, but that’s not true. Just not novel-ing. I feel like I’ll be ready to get back to it before too long, though.

In the meantime, I’ve been journalling, and blogging. BlackLion and I finished our first mini e-workbook and sent it out to all of our subscribers. It’s about how to use the power of your inner landscape to help make your dreams come true. I wrote all the copy, and he did the layout and the adorable cat drawings. If you’d like to receive it, just let me know and I’ll send you a link!

I’ve been writing in my Leonie Dawson workbook, making cool plans for the year. I signed up for a really awesome in-person workshop called “The Energy of Business.” It’s being led by someone I know and respect, and I’m very much looking forward to it. I started reading Let’s Get Digital by David Gaughran. My online course is going great; I shared my self-love ideas with the women and it went well.

In terms of art, I’ve created a couple of new art journal pages, and done some zentangling too.

Things have been busy at my part-time side job – I fill in as needed, and they’ve had a few folks on vacation, including this coming week. So I doubt I’ll get back to fiction this week, but I plan to add it to my daily agenda for the following week. This week, besides working the side job, I want to do some more blogging, do some research for Feline Dreamers, and get back to daily meditation. That’s the plan! I hope you have a great week.

The playfulness workshop I’ve been taking wrapped up last night. It was fantastic! I’m still integrating the things I’ve been learning. My number one message to myself right now is, no matter what I’m doing, to “just keep playing!” I’m still figuring out how that will play out (pun intended) in my daily writing and other creative work.

This week in the Barefoot Being course, I’m the “resident expert” for the topic of self-love. I’ll be answering members’ questions, and I’m giving away a pdf that’s an excerpt of my book, Cultivating Self-Love: Your Path to Wholeness. I’m excited about the topic, and about helping new folks along on their path to self-love.

BlackLion and I created a free mini-workbook on dreaming for our Feline Dreamers subscribers. I’m really pleased with it. It’ll go out this week in the e-newsletter.

I’m excited because our new refrigerator will be delivered this week. I also have a polarity session. My intentions are to pick up my novel WIP again, and keep up with blogging and business tasks. I’ll also start reading another craft book.

Blessings for a productive week, fellow writers!

Since I last updated this blog, we’ve gotten 3 1/2 feet of snow in a one week period. Yes, that’s FEET! Yowza. Well, it is Maine in winter.

I’ve still been in the process of upgrading my inner software. It’s going super well. I’m getting really clear on my priorities, and how to reach my personal goals. I’m even more involved in the Barefoot Being program that my friend is running. I’m one of her two official helpers now, and I’m an affiliate as well. It’s fun and rewarding, and I’m gleaning lots of new insights. I also joined another online course, on a whim. I know, I know…I already have plenty of projects. But this one is only for a week, and I’m learning SO much. It’s all about playfulness, and how it is “one of the most efficient strategies for exponential growth.” Play and creativity are so entwined for me, anyway. This is lighting me up!

All this extra stuff means I haven’t gotten any new writing done on my novel. I’m not too concerned, though, because it’s all directly feeding into how I am recreating my life and my days so that I’ll be more available for writing. I’ve been letting go of things in my life that eat up time without feeding my soul. I’m making changes in lots of areas of my life, and that’s exciting.

During the biggest of the three snowstorms, I made my vision board for 2015. While I was making it, the electricity went out, so I finished it by candlelight. It was such a magickal process. The lights came back on not long after I finished, so we never got cold or anything. I got to create my vision for the year, sitting in my cozy home with my family, lentil stew bubbling on the stove (gas stove, keeps going when the electricity is gone, yay!), while the winds howled and snow fell outside.

I’m so very excited about 2015. The spiritual work I’m doing now supports what I know is going to be an amazing, game-changing year.

Some of my other goals that I’ve been working on: Blogging has been going well. Today my February post for Kind Over Matter was published. I finished reading Author, Publisher, Entrepreneur by Guy Kawasaki and Shawn Welch. It was pretty good; I gleaned a few useful tips. I took some snow photos, and made an art journal page. Drumming has been going well. I’ve been meditating and paying attention to my dreams, as well as setting daily intentions. I’ve been enjoying doing yoga once again, and I recently re-started my practice of dancing in the evening, freestyle around the kitchen. It’s good exercise and a lot of fun.

My plan as it stands right now is to keep my focus on the online courses for the rest of this week, along with doing some blogging and other tasks for my business. Next week, one of the courses will be done and I’ll get back to work on the novel.

No, I’m not talking about computers, here. It’s my brain that’s getting an update. I feel like this whole week has been one of upgrading my mindset. My personal spirituality is intricately entwined with my creativity, and although I haven’t done much actual writing this week, I’m feeling incredibly productive.

It’s all thanks to a sweet friend of mine, who I met online several years ago. She lives all the way on the other side of the country. We’ve only met once in person, but we’re truly soul sisters. She’s offering a new spirituality program for women as part of an expansion of her business. She asked me to be part of this new online course, as she knows how much I love this type of thing, and to participate in ways that help uplift the other women. I was happy to help, and I didn’t have any idea how much I’d benefit from doing the course! What a bonus!

So, I’m delving into old beliefs and expanding my awareness. I’ve been meditating more regularly (which was on my goals list) and I’ve gotten back to doing yoga after a hiatus. I’ve been journaling like crazy, and discovering new insights. I’m unfolding new ways to integrate various parts of my life. And I’m doing this work with my friend and a group of wonderful women who support one another on the journey.

I love it so much!

So, the things on my goals list that I have been doing this week are meditation and yoga, as mentioned above, as well as some reading. I’m 62 percent of the way through reading Author, Publisher, Entrepreneur. I’ve been drumming more, too. My goal to set intentions before sleep and upon waking have woven in nicely with the online course, so that’s going well. I only blogged once this week on Starcat’s Corner, and I missed the Wednesday check-in here, but that’s okay.

My intentions for this week are to keep up my spiritual work (especially yoga, intention setting, and meditation) and to get back to the page. I want to work on blogging, including my next column for Kind Over Matter, and on my novel. And I want to finish reading Author, Publisher, Entrepreneur and start reading another craft book. That’s enough for now.

I hope you have a fantastic week!

The birthday cats were pleased with receiving catnip treats and boxes to play in.

This week my lovely daughter turned Sweet 16! Her birthday was Wednesday, and we had a party at our house. It was a friend’s birthday on Thursday, too, and I helped her celebrate with drinks at a fancy restaurant. And we celebrated the 6th birthday of our sweet cat boys (they’re brothers). A busy week, which is why I missed the Wednesday check-in, and took a couple of days off from writing and such. Still, it was a pretty productive week overall.

I wrote 3,713 new words on my novel-in-progress this week, and I’m now at 70,257 words total on the way to 100K (ish). I only blogged once on Starcat’s Corner, but today I brainstormed a list of posts. I was having trouble figuring out what to write about, so this list of personal prompts will be helpful. I’m now 30 percent of the way through reading Author, Publisher, Entrepreneur. BlackLion and I meditated 3 times this week, which is my goal (and feels great).

For Feline Dreamers, I wrote a new blog post and did some research on starting an Etsy shop. The gist of that is that you need to have handmade items ready to sell before you set up the shop; we have plans for creating greeting cards and rune stones. I bought some paint for the rune stones this week.

I managed to get a bit of outdoor time, even though it was super cold. My daughter and I purchased ice skates and made our first visit to the new outdoor rink in the next town over. It’s so much fun! We’ll be doing it more. I also bought a new-to-me pair of ski poles, so I’m all set for some cross-country skiing. Bring on the snow!

This week’s priorities include more novel writing, finally creating my 2015 vision board, going ice skating again, and working on my Leonie Dawson workbook.

I’m delighted to report that I’ve started working on my novel, Patterns In the Void, once again. Yay! The last time I’d written anything for it was on December 13, before the holidays completely took over my life. I’d left off at 61,008 words, and currently I’m at 66,544. So in the past two days I’ve written 5,536 words. I was able to jump right back into the flow of the story, and I’m happy with how it’s going.

In addition to that good news, I’m also on target with blogging. I’ve been working on my goals and plans for 2015, and it’s going well. I’m still reading Author, Publisher, Entrepreneur. Other activities I’ve been doing that are part of my goals for the round include drum practice, journal writing, and zentangling.

It’s been really nice to have the time available this week to devote to my priorities. I hope to continue the trend.

My intentions for this week: more novel writing, doing some research for Feline Dreamers, getting my planner all set up, making a 2015 vision board, and adding some meditation to my daily routine. Have a great week!

Right at the beginning of the new round, I got sick with a chest cold. Bleah. I haven’t felt much like writing, but at least while I’m lying on the couch under a pile of blankets, I can still read, and work on my art journal a bit. So it’s not been a total loss.

I’m 24 percent through reading one of the craft books on my list, and I have one new art journal page done, with two others in progress.

I’m feeling a bit better today, and managed to put away a lot of our holiday decorations, getting our living space back to normal coziness. I also did some tidying and laundry, all of which I’m counting towards my de-cluttering goal.

The good news is that I have some blank space on my calendar over the next few days. I plan to stay home, heal up, and focus on writing and some more plotting & planning. Yay!