For A Beautiful Life: Take Two & Go To Bed

Posted on January 18, 2017 by Julie Tallard Johnson

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I write this to you from the 2nd day into my weeklong (city) writing retreat. On my first night (Saturday), I planned on going to the comedy club on State Street. A woman comedian seemed like a perfect fit for what I needed. Going solo meant I would be placed with a table of strangers. An opportunity to meet up with either a good social experience or material to write about. Likely both. As I unpacked and then went to the co-op to get food for the week, I felt I was having an allergic reaction to my space at the airbnb. I … Continue reading →

Which Goes After Which?

Posted on February 17, 2016 by Julie Tallard Johnson

The centipede was happy, quite! Until a toad in fun asked, “Pray which leg goes after which?” This worked his mind to such a pitch He lay distracted in a ditch, Considering how to run. Zen poem (memorized from childhood) Sometimes we make writing more difficult than it needs to be. We feel overwhelmed by the magnitude of our project or find our selves distracted by details. We get caught up in structural questions, like, what goes where? Then, like the centipede, we get stuck in these distractions. This is the reason I recommend we start and return to our list of pivotal moments. … Continue reading →

Easier Said Than Done

Posted on January 27, 2016 by Julie Tallard Johnson

One reason I enjoy facilitating transformational circles, writing support circles, and teaching creative nonfiction, is it helps me maintain my practices, while I am continually stretched beyond my comfort zone. That being said, I can be (very) resistant to learning and applying new practices. It’s good to have enthusiasm and joy for our writing (and spiritual practices) but we should still find it challenging enough to test our capacities for growth. Difficulties may be welcomed because it’s only by working through challenges and resistance that we develop as writers (and human beings). We can look at where we have resistance to sometimes … Continue reading →

Last Words: Last Writes

Posted on October 7, 2015 by Julie Tallard Johnson

First, let me invite you to attend this year’s final (and free) Writers’ Retreat this coming Monday October 12th. As many of you know, I am addicted to quotes. So for today’s World Into Word blog, I share some with you . . . “I know who I WAS when I got up this morning, but I think I must have been changed several times since then”― Lewis Carroll, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland “Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?” “That depends a good deal on where you want … Continue reading →

I Made Wonder Woman Cry

Posted on January 7, 2015 by Julie Tallard Johnson

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I made my writing partner, Wonder Woman, cry. The last time I blogged about writing my novel I shared how my writing partner said it was time for me to take out all the backstory. I had a lot of backstory, especially in the beginning chapters. I read through my manuscript and discovered how backstory can be “resistance showing up on the page.” Because I believed I couldn’t write about this particular topic (at least well) I slipped it in as backstory. I convinced myself I didn’t’ have the skills to get this scene and story onto the page in … Continue reading →

What’s Next and Turning Back

Posted on December 3, 2013 by Julie Tallard Johnson

In late October my writing partner and I went away for a needed “fiction” writing retreat. I emphasize fiction because the writing momentum for my novel had nearly come to a screeching halt. Actually, it was more of a halt without the screech. I had gotten busy with editing my latest release The Zero Point Agreement: How To Be Who You Already Are. (Available now!) So this blog is about opening up to the what’s next. But it is also about the value of turning back. How many times have you been on a trip, or on holiday and … Continue reading →