Short Stories: A Year of Creativity and Growth

by juliehartig | Sep, 2024 | Writing Life and Craft | Process, Practice and Making Stories

This year has been a period of creative experimentation as I’ve immersed myself in writing short stories. The quick iteration of scenes and complete narratives has been invaluable in honing my craft. The format also allows experimentation in form and content. Some...

How to Know When Your Writing is Good or Sucks

by juliehartig | Jul, 2024 | Writing Life and Craft | Process, Practice and Making Stories

Note: Updated January 2026 How do you know if your story is any good? How do you know if you’re writing sucks? These questions haunt me. Constantly. My concerns go beyond imposter syndrome. Given the importance and the responsibility I feel in sharing Hope and...

Bliss, Struggles, and Epiphanies: My Two Years in Writing

by juliehartig | Jun, 2024 | Writing Life and Craft | Process, Practice and Making Stories

Honeymoon Phase: Falling in Love with Writing The first five months of my writing journey were a time of blissful ignorance. I was consumed by the joy of developing a writing habit, sweating out 3000 words per week of my initial book draft, and wholly immersed in the...

A New Writer’s Review of Your First Page by Selgin

by juliehartig | Apr, 2024 | Writing Life and Craft | Process, Practice and Making Stories

As an author, I’m always on the hunt for resources that can help me improve my craft. Today, I want to share a gem I’ve discovered: Your First Page: First pages and what they tell us about the pages that follow them by Peter Selgin. This book was...

New Writer’s Review of Anatomy of Story by Truby

by juliehartig | Mar, 2024 | Writing Life and Craft | Process, Practice and Making Stories

First, I must confess I’m more of a plotter than a pantser and this preference undoubtedly shapes my perspective. If you’re a budding writer looking for a guiding light, I have a recommendation for you. While I firmly believe that no writer should limit...

How Do You Know When You’re Making Forward Progress

by juliehartig | Feb, 2024 | Writing Life and Craft | Process, Practice and Making Stories

A Tale of Two Teams While working for a mid-sized company, the engineering group took part in a half-day team-building workshop. The organizers divided us into two groups and presented us with a survival challenge. Each group had an hour first to decide if they would...