Is That So?

Posted on March 17, 2015 by Julie Tallard Johnson

It’s a powerful thing and a great accomplishment,–– to write and live your own story. Sometimes I write a story out so I can better live it. Sometimes I try a story on for size and see how it fits. I write to explore, understand and transform ideas. Rewriting the written word, and reframing my life, are tools that keep me focused and content. An exercise I suggest for writers is to take a favored myth or teaching story (such as the one below) and rewrite it, reinvent it as your own. Use it to transform or reframe something you … Continue reading →

Good Regret/Bad Regret In Life and Writing

Posted on September 3, 2014 by Julie Tallard Johnson

Regret can propel us forward or take ahold of us and keep us fastened to the past. Good regret’s sting can teach us something. It’s the sting of awareness that we made a mistake. We now have an opportunity to do it differently. The regret of missed opportunities is a trickier one and can slide into “bad” regret – where you mire yourself with the “could of beens’, should have beens’.” Regret can be a motivation to act, to move forward with new insight into what works and what doesn’t work for you. You can use the sting and knowledge … Continue reading →

We Are Made of Stories

Posted on May 28, 2014 by Julie Tallard Johnson

“Among animals, it’s eat or be eaten. Among humans, it’s define or be defined.” –Thomas Szasz We are made of stories. As David R. Loy writes, “We make stories and those stories make us human.” It’s not so much our consciousness that sets us apart from other sentient beings, such as the animals, but the stories we hold, write and live. (To order Loy’s book click on the above cover). Most of the stories we live have been passed down to us. The story our parents, or church, or childhood friends have of us may no longer be true. In … Continue reading →

Stealing Like An Artist, Isn’t Enough

Posted on April 30, 2014 by Julie Tallard Johnson

One of the books I often recommend is Steal Like An Artist, by Austin Kleon. He stole the theme of his book from numerous authors and artists before him. All creative types know how to steal ideas from others. I have an entire section in my book, The Zero Point Agreement on “how to” steal like Picasso. “Bad artists copy; good artists steal.” –Pablo Picasso “A good composer does not imitate, he steals.” –Igor Stravinsky “Genius borrows nobly.” –Ralph Waldo Emerson But stealing like an artist isn’t enough–– Write something worth stealing. (This is easier than it sounds.) Write your … Continue reading →