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...

Fear, Flight, Hope – The Creation of a Short Story

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

Story synopsis: In a dystopian America, where a radical party and a rising despot have taken over the government, Grace embarks on a perilous journey to escape her homeland before the government seals off its borders. Her path collides with a young girl brought...

Embracing Light, Shadow, and Darkness to Create Interesting Stories

by juliehartig | Nov, 2023 | Writing Life and Craft | Process, Practice and Making Stories

During the Balloon Fiesta, Albuquerque experienced the added treat of a solar eclipse. I found special delight in observing the eclipse through the leaves of a tree, its light and dark shapes interlacing together and continually changing. I always believed beauty...

Book Cover: Inspiration from Van Gogh’s Art and Life

by juliehartig | Oct, 2023 | Writing Life and Craft | Process, Practice and Making Stories

As I prepared to share my first drafts, I felt an overwhelming urge to include a book cover. Maybe it was procrastination, or an attempt to add a professional flourish to compensate for my uncertainty in the writing, but I believe books should be a feast for our eyes....

Craft and Business Resources for Writers, Speakers, and Storytellers

by juliehartig | Oct, 2023 | Writing Life and Craft | Process, Practice and Making Stories

This page has a list of relevant resources I’ve used, investigated, or have been recommended to me. Over time I intend to write reviews and expand on this, but primarily this is for personal use and to share with writing friends. Websites and Podcasts Jane...

An Authorial Review of Where’d You Go Bernadette

by juliehartig | Sep, 2023 | Writing Life and Craft | Process, Practice and Making Stories

General Information How I came to read this book The book was very popular when it was released, but the primary reason for me to read it was a protagonist with mental health issues.  Overall Impression The book had some very humorous sections, but some of the...