Category Archives: Blog

Meanwhile, Over in Paris

About a month ago I landed in Paris, where I’ve been hanging out and writing ever since.

 

Nikki Paris window 1

True confession: I spend way more time than I’d like to admit in more or less this position, watching the goings on down in the plaza below our apartment. Endlessly fascinating. And besides, isn’t that what you are supposed to do when in Paris? People-watch? It’s a national pastime here. 

 

On my author blog I’ve been posting a bit about being here…

P is for Pleading Paris

Eiffel tower locks river 2

Q is for Query Letters (in Paris)

Graffiti ronin P4307848.jpg

R is for Reading in Paris

Nikki Shakespear Co Paris 3

S is for Shut Up and Write (in Paris)

writer green-chameleon-21532

T is for Taking Time to Write (in Paris)

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

I’m off to do my daily ‘pop my head out of a new subway station and see what’s there’ mission. After I get back later tonight, I’ll post something on this poor, neglected blog about what I discover on my journey…

patreon-logo

Enjoy the blog? Consider becoming a patron to support the creation of these blog posts, photo essays, and short videos. In return, you’ll have my undying appreciation, but you’ll also get access to Patron-only content, advance peeks at works in progress, and more – all for as little as a buck a month! It’s easy – head on over to Patreon to have a look at how it all works.

Over on the Writing Blog… I’m Spilling My Guts

With apologies to anyone emetophobic who may be reading There are some writers who agonize over their first drafts. As I understand it, their process goes something like this: 1. Write an opening clause 2. Reconsider 3. Rework the opening clause, add a comma and consider how to continue. For half an hour. Tentatively write the […]

via B is for the Beauty of Barf (AtoZChallenge) — Nikki Tate – Author

Meanwhile, over on my author blog…

Busy times! After shuttling back and forth between the coast and the mountains for nearly two years, I finally loaded up the car and made it official – I’m an Albertan once again!

boxes in canmore IMG_8129

It’s hard to believe that after all that sorting, tossing, donating, and clearing out of stuff, I still wound up bringing more stuff with me than I was expecting. How do we accumulate so many things? Why do we choose to hang onto those things we schlepp from one side of the mountains to the other? I’ll write more about that process in a future post, but for now… I’m here!

 

On the writing front, I’m embarking on this year’s A to Z Blogging Challenge – a post a day for the month of April. This year, I chose writing as my theme, which takes me out of my comfort zone as I really don’t find it that easy to write about writing.

A atozchallenge

Read the first post A is for Authorly Angst over at nikkitate.com

patreon-logo

Enjoy the blog? Consider becoming a patron to support the creation of these blog posts, photo essays, and short videos. In return, you’ll have my undying appreciation, but you’ll also get access to Patron-only content, advance peeks at works in progress, and more – all for as little as a buck a month! It’s easy – head on over to Patreon to have a look at how it all works.

 

 

Writergrrrl vs the Dastardly Drysuit

There can be only one winner… and something tells me it wasn’t me…
For some reason I thought it would be a good idea to get myself a drysuit – you know, in case I am invited to go surfing in Antarctica. I found one, really cheap, online. This was my attempt to put the stupid thing on.

Warning: Best not watch this with a mouthful of coffee… I can’t be responsible for any damage your keyboard might suffer as a result.

Curious how I got out again? Pop on over to Patreon and sign up to be a Patron. There’s a sequel that only Patrons get to see… Escape from the Dastardly Drysuit.

Dad Draws a Tree

For as long as I can remember, I have loved to watch my father draw. It has always seemed to be somewhat miraculous the way images somehow seep out of the tip of his pencil (or flow from the brushes) and onto the page (or canvas). Because Dad will be recording his impressions of the Camino trip visually, we have been talking a lot recently about the artistic process and how he will capture his experience of the trip through his art.

We’ve decided to make a series of videos about Dad and his work – where he gets his ideas, how he ‘trains’ for a new project (more about that in a future post), and then how he gets what’s in his head onto the page. This first, short video (about two minutes long) shows him drawing a tree. Simple. But we wanted to set up the camera and do a test before we launch into anything more complicated. I have watched it several times now and still find it just as fascinating to see a tree appear from nothing as I did when I watched, captivated as he drew or painted something marvelous when I was a little girl.

patreon-logo

Enjoy the blog? Consider becoming a patron to support the creation of these blog posts, photo essays, and short videos. In return, you’ll have my undying appreciation, but you’ll also get access to Patron-only content, advance peeks at works in progress, and more – all for as little as a buck a month! It’s easy – head on over to Patreon to have a look at how it all works.