Ellie Di Julio's Blog, page 23

Write Against the Machine 19: Don’t let The Man (or The Machine) get you down

What’s “the machine”, you ask? We’re gonna tell you alllll about it in this week’s podcast. I don’t even want to write a summary here because it’ll just ruin the awesomeness that is our rant about how The Man wants to keep you small and quiet so you don’t ever make anything new or beautiful. You’ll just have to listen for yourself.

Check it out right here.

Psst! We need your questions about writing so we can keep making awesome podcasts for you! Please take a moment to leave your thoughts in th...

Inquiring minds only, please

This moment is bigger now than when it happened. A snapshot of profound insight wrapped in the sticky fluff of limerence and summer.

“I’m pretty much terrified that I’m not interesting enough for you,” he said.

The hiss of acid rain hitting the hot pavement outside muddied his voice. I had to strain to hear the implied question under his words as I leaned against the low-arched entryway, my bare shoulder glued to the paint by the humidity.

“You’re curious,” I said. ”Do you know how rare that is...

Write Against the Machine 18: WTF is inspiration, anyway?

We talk a lot about inspiration in creative/artistic circles, but we never really talk about what thatmeans. Inspiration’s sort of a dodgy bitch. Mary and I talk about the possibility that it could be messages from the universe, hormones not unlike falling in love, or your subconscious mind processing ideas in the background. But no matter what it actually is, we both agree that you’ve got to keep working after inspiration wanes.

Check it out right here.

Psst! We need your questions about writi...

A grownup first: a brush with parental mortality

Most folks panic when their parents have their first sudden reminder of near-fatal mortality- not the everyday kind of white hair and creases and slower footsteps but the immediate, gone-in-an-instant kind. Not the kind that kills but the kind that wounds for whatever days they have left. It reminds them that death is waiting ever so patiently to steal away their loved ones. It shotguns them with guilt and grief. It makes them selfishly question the entire gamut of their own lives.

My dad had...

Write Against the Machine 17: Mental Illness and the Creative Life

This week’s episode is touchy, triggering, and dear to both our hearts. We’re talking about the romanticizationof mental illness in creative people – the idea that being depressed or manic or self-harming is somehow a good path to great art. The podcast deals with the possible roots of that idea, good and bad, as well as touches on self-medication with drugs/alcohol. Mary and I both discuss our own struggles with mental illness as creatives, reminding you (and each other) that no art is worth...

Not ashamed, just quiet

Believe it or not, sometimes there’s shit you just can’t write about on the internet.

I know, I know I was shocked, too.

In the last ten days, my world has changed. Things are happening on my side of the screen that have altered the way I look at my work, my marriage, and my Self. It’s serious shit, yo, and I’d love to tell you about it.

And you guys know me. There’s not a damn thing I’m ashamed to share. I’ve written about my marriage exploding, my private parts, my fear of death, my financial...

Write Against the Machine 16: Staying Motivated When Inspiration Wanes

This week’s episode is all about motivation – getting it, keeping it, and losing it. I just wrapped the first draft ofTransmigration of Cora Rileyin 41 days, so Mary wanted to pick my brain about how I keep going even when writing sucks. We touch on speed, celebration, comparison, and throwing it all in the trash.

Check it out right here.

Psst! We need your questions about writing so we can keep making awesome podcasts for you! Please take a moment to leave your thoughts in the comments (here o...

What my fridge contents say about me (and yours about you)

No jokes or deep thoughts here today, folks. Just a picture of my beer, hot sauce, coffee, cream, homemade pickles, and Perrier-bottles-filled-with-tap-water. The inside of my fridge says a lot about my taste – literally and figuratively. I like spicy, vinegary food, but also creamy, rich drinks. I’m also pretty damn cheap and can occasionally be crafty.

The kitchen is where I wind up snooping in other people’s houses (rather than the more traditional medicine cabinet). So, let’s open up the f...

Gratuitous picture of myself

I take selfies because I want attention. There, I said it.

Today’s selfie is mandated by the prompts, and because I’m standing at the lip of The Hole, the last thing I want is for people to be giving me attention, so the buildup to taking this picture – fresh out of the shower, no makeup, no fucks given – was disproportionate to the actual energy required to just take the damn thing.

But it came out okay. There’s a metaphor in there somewhere.

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This post is part of Susa...

She said kiss me somewhere dirty, so we went to Hamilton

I love this city. It’s dirty, greasy, full of weirdos, and constantly under construction. It traps people inside, makes them hate who they are and wish to be anywhere else. But it’s got a special kind of magic just under the smog and concrete and steel that not many people – especially new residents from cleaner, friendlier towns – can see. I wrote a love letter to this place in my first book, trying to share my enthusiasm with you in metaphor. I’m not sure if it worked. But come visit – we’l...