The Enduring Benefits of a Coach

A young man sat at a piano, his fingers easily traveling over the keys…until a grumpy old guy with a vaguely Eastern-European accent, batted the younger man’s hand away.

“You have to breathe after this phrase, to bring life into the music.”

I was astounded.

The old guy was correcting the piano playing of Jon Battiste, who had recently been nominated for 11 Grammys and who is one of the country’s most beloved musicians.

And yet, Battiste listened to his old teacher, breathed, and nodded appreciatively as he heard the change in his playing.
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Everyone benefits from expert coaching, no matter whether they are starting out, or scaling the heights.

If you want to make progress in your writing, faster, and with fewer wrong turns, it’s worth asking yourself if it’s time to get someone in your corner.

My superpower is that I can really hear what writers need, and what they may not be able to hear themselves say.

Your gift is your writing. What are you letting get in the way of that?

​Let’s find out.​
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If you already like my style, and know you’re ready to commit to your writing, watch this video and then let me know you’d like to talk.

Keep writing,

Julie

P. S. Where do you want to be this time next year? And what are you going to do, to ensure you get there? Let’s talk…​

2023 Triumphs

In this episode I talk about some of the publishing successes StoryADay Superstars have achieved this year, and invite you to share your own. Also, a special invitation for you, if you’re ready…

in this week’s episode I’m celebrating the successes of writers from the StoryADay Community, and our Superstars Group. Some of those successes are publication-related and others are more about the progress of the writers’ practice. Join us. I also extend an invitation to join our Superstar group in the coming year.

LINKS

Join Superstars


Never Give Up (Brenda’s Post)

WATCH NOW (with subtitles)

Watch with transcript

Superstars Triumphs

Publications:

The Mothership, The Rumpus, Maery Rose

Elixir – Laura Porter

Bikes In Space Anthology – Monique Cuillerier

Sad Goose Collective Issue 2 –  Astrid Eggar

Blink-Ink Issue 51 – Astrid Eggar

A Boat, a Bike, and a Balloon (Or What It Takes to Return a Stolen Sun), Bikes In Space Anthology – Marta Pelrine-Bacon

Bones In The Road, Pilgrimage Magazine – Peyton Ellas

Naming The Dead, Heartwood Literary Press – Walter Lawn

The Unguarded Moment , Active Muse – Astrid Eggar

Death Chips & Love Fries – Short Stories for City Lovers – Neha Mediratta

Make A Wish, Fiddlehead Folio – Robin Stein

From Nothing, Rise – Monique Cuillerier

Fixing The Books, a novel –  Fallon Brown

The Garage Fridge Situation, a novel  – Fallon Brown

The Warrior Defying Time And Space, Short Fiction Break Reader’s Choice Award – Neha Mediratta

The Painter Must Be Going Nowhere, Wingword Poetry Prize, longlisted – Neha Mediratta

Honorable Mention in NYC Midnight Short Story Contest – Kim Younkin

300 Episodes Later…

In which I share what’s been going on and what’s coming up at StoryADay AND talk about AI and you.

In this episode I explain where the podcast has been for the past few week, talk about the workshops I’ve been running and talk about what’s coming next for StoryADay, AND encourage you to understand the value of the work you’re doing.

00:00 Introduction and Podcast Updates
00:10 Creating Content and Workshops
02:08 Exploring the Use of AI in Writing
04:56 AI for Organizational Structures and Marketing
11:21 Reflections on Recent Events and Future Plans
11:40 StoryADay Superstars Group and Annual Planning Bundle
15:48 The Pressure of Milestones and Overcoming Blocks
20:19 The Importance of Writing and Encouragement
24:15 Conclusion and Future Podcast Plans

LINKS:

Holiday Stories Workshop 50% discount

Annual Planning Bundle

Would you like the AI workshop?

What do you love/like/want in the podcast

StoryADay Superstars waitlist

Your stories from 15 years of StoryADay

WATCH NOW (with subtitles)

Who Do You Talk To About Writing?

When my fellow writer—let’s call her Amanda—popped onto my Zoom screen, she was hunched in her chair, listless, and slightly cynical.

For months, she’d been trying to work on her novel.

She knew what she had to do.

She knew the scene she wanted to work on.

She had a writer friend she checked in with weekly…and still she was spending her writing time checking email and looking at social media and feeling the self-loathing grow like a thorny hedge, choking out her creativity.

The Heart of the Problem

As we started to talk it became clear to me that the problem wasn’t with her work ethic (she’s worked as a writer for decades) or her identity (“writer” is central to her identity and she has no problem saying it out loud).

The problem was technical: she didn’t know enough about the structure of the story she wanted to tell; about reader expectations; about how to arrange her beautiful writing into a compelling, novel-length story.

And that is a problem that can be fixed.

But it’s hard to fix alone at your desk (or alone inside your brain).

As I asked more questions, and Amanda answered, I watched her sit up straighter, lean in towards the camera—she may have even clapped her hands in glee—as the true problem emerged.

What Happened Next

With the problem diagnosed, it was a snap for us to put together a plan of action to tackle it.

She’s ready to write, again.

Better than that, she’s excited to write again.

She was so happy she called me a genius.

Not A Genius

I’m (probably) not a genius.

But I am a coach.

I study and practice storytelling all day long.

And I ask really good questions.

Your Turn

  • If you’re stuck on your writing, and you don’t understand why
  • If you’re making progress slower than you’d like
  • If you don’t know what the next step is, for you

Do you have someone you can talk to about your writing, and who asks excellent questions?

Leave a comment and let me know

Happy People-Watching Season!

During the busy holiday season (when did October-Jan become ‘the holiday season?!) we’re all overwhelmed with inboxes full of holiday greetings, people trying to sell us things, and the inevitable (endless) invitations to social events. (or a feeling of nostalgia for the days when we used to get more invitations…).

This is just a quick love-note from me to encourage you, in case you’re feeling like you’ll never have time to write on your work-in-progress again.

This is actually a great time for writers:

  • All those people getting together and interacting in ways they wouldn’t on a normal day? Fuel for your next crowd scene!
  • All those smells and tastes and sights that only come around once a year? Grab a notebook and capture the exact words that you can use later to recreate a similar scene in your fictional world (a quick trip to the bathroom can be your friend, here!)
  • All the feelings inside you, as you wait anxiously or excitedly for your celebration to begin? Pinpoint where they are happening in your body and how they manifest. Write them down and give them to a character (a great way to go beyond ‘she gasped’ and ‘his eyes widened’!)

Grab your notebook. Stay hydrated. Take breaks (get outside if you can) and try to remember: it’s all material!

Keep writing,

Julie

P. S. I often run a tiny, 5-Day Challenge at this time of year. Are you signed up?

Why You Should Include Holidays In Your Stories

September.

That was when I saw the first ‘holiday’ themed products in my supermarket (and yes, I mean the twinkling-lights, snow-covered, jolly fat-man type holiday),

And I know I’ll start seeing Valentine’s displays soon.

As a consumer it drives me a little crazy.

As a writer, it’s a great reminder.

  • Holidays are part of the fabric of our lives
  • It pays to plan ahead if you’re creating something with a date-related theme!

Why Include Holidays?

Take the Holiday Stories Workshop

Write a holiday story, anytime, with this on-demand workshop.

When it comes to end-of-year holidays my personal bias is towards Christmas & New Year, but there are so many other holidays to celebrate. Which will you choose?

The great things about including a holiday in a story are:

  • They are evergreen: you can recycle them every year! (Think about how rich Maria Carey has become from that one song…)
  • They are universal: no matter what culture we come from we all have those days where people come together, eat too much, face family members and friends they don’t really want to see, see people they haven’t seen for years, have fights, make up, fall in love, and get nostalgic.
  • It’s an instant character-motivation-creator: around a holiday you always have some people who are sad, some people are excited, and some people who are a little too into it…
  • If you are writing in a secondary or fantasy world, including this universal human experience in your story enriches the culture you’re creating. It feels real when your characters’ lives are complicated by ritual events they may have strong feelings about (even if it’s just to be frustrated at the interruption to their quest!)

Instant Drama

One of the best ways to get to know people is to see how they act under stress.

One of the best ways to stress your characters and find out who they are, is to throw them into the mix with people they wouldn’t necessarily choose to be with.

Can you think of a better way to do that, than to send them a holiday party? 😉

What holiday will you include in your next story? Is it real or fictional? What is your favorite holiday? Leave a comment!