Julie Duffy's Blog, page 118

093 – Getting Creative In The New Year

Happy New Year! If you haven’t quite settled into your new routine (or your old routine) yet, and want to get creative, this is the episode for you. Also, I’m inviting feedback on the questions of  -What you do to get yourself to your desk -What routines/practices you use to start work Call and leave … Continue reading "093 – Getting Creative In The New Year"

[Write On Wednesday] Word Salad

Sometimes lowering the stakes for a story can be the best way to make your writing go well. So let’s play. Let’s be silly. Let’s write a story that can’t possibly be a masterpiece and just, instead, have some fun. How? I’m going to give you a list of words and you’re going to write … Continue reading "[Write On Wednesday] Word Salad"

[Writing Prompt] The Cruelest Month

Happy New Year! Here’s your first writing prompt of the year. The Prompt Use the title The Cruelest Month and set your timer for 30 minutes. Write a story with a beginning, middle and an end Tips Spend five minutes brainstorming a character, a situation, a problem, and then start writing. At the ten minute … Continue reading "[Writing Prompt] The Cruelest Month"

SWAGr – Accountability for January 2018

Every month we gather here to discuss what we’ve achieved and commit to making more progress in our creative lives in the coming month. We call it our   Serious Writer’s Accountability Group or SWAGr, for short! (We’re serious, not sombre!) Leave a comment below telling us how you got on last month, and what you plan to do next … Continue reading "SWAGr – Accountability for January 2018"

When The Student Is Ready…

When I started StoryADay May back in 2010, some of 100 or so people who took part really stuck with me. One was Gabriela Pereira, who had just finished up an MFA and was transitioning from student to working writer. We shared an enthusiasm both for writing and for the hair-brained scheme. Back then, I … Continue reading "When The Student Is Ready…"

[Writing Prompt] Write A Seasonal Story

Today I’m encouraging you to write a seasonal story, just not one for this season. Of course, you can write a Christmas/Hannukah/Kwanzaa/New Year/Festivus story if you want, but if you’re thinking about building your portofolio of stories that you might submit to a market soon, your best best is to write 3-6 months ahead. Publications … Continue reading "[Writing Prompt] Write A Seasonal Story"

SWAGr – Accountability for December 2017

Every month we gather here to discuss what we’ve achieved and commit to making more progress in our creative lives in the coming month. We call it our   Serious Writer’s Accountability Group or SWAGr, for short! (We’re serious, not sombre!) Leave a comment below telling us how you got on last month, and what you plan to do next … Continue reading "SWAGr – Accountability for December 2017"

[Reading Room] The Provincials by Daniel Alarcón

This story comes from the 2017 collection of Daniel Alarcón’s stories The King Is Always Above The People. I picked up the collection because I saw it on a ‘recommended reading’, highlighting non-white/non-mainstream voices. Short story collections are a funny thing. Sometimes the whole collection hangs together and I can’t wait to read the next story. … Continue reading "[Reading Room] The Provincials by Daniel Alarcón"

092 – Making Choices In Writing And Life

This week I talk about ways to make your life easier by embracing the idea of decision-making, both in your writing and in your writing practice. You can read a (slightly altered) version of this, here: Another new episode of Write Every Day, Not “Some Day”

Learning To Make Choices In Writing And Life

There is still time left this year to meet some of your goals. The question is which ones? You probably had a list of projects you wanted to write this year, and there are only two possibilities now: You haven’t made the progress on the projects that you would have liked, or You blew through … Continue reading "Learning To Make Choices In Writing And Life"