Guest Blog: Writing Uphill with Julia Rose Grey
I’m delighted to devote this Guest Blog to a post from our member, Julia Rose Grey, who reveals how writing uphill is a sign of optimism, which in turn has influenced her writing success.
Always believing my upwardly-slanted penmanship was a symptom of some sort of emotional problem, I tried to correct it and write on a straight line. I tried using a ruler, drawing penciled lines on which to write, and turning my paper 45o, but nothing worked. I was stuck with having thank you notes, addresses, and signatures low on the left and travelling one-half-inch uphill to the right. In my teens, a nice lady administering a psychological test told me my slanted script indicated how hopeful I was about the future. She elaborated that I had a sense of responsibility for my own behavior and believed in myself. I was, she declared, an optimist. At the time, I was lost in the ambiguity left-over from childhood and did not fully comprehend what she meant.
Having retired recently, I started writing and found that I had enough stories to fill many books. Now I understand what that nice lady was trying to tell me. My stories are uplifting, about resilience, perseverance, and hope.
In my first novel, Cry Before Supper, the Campbell family, parents, devoted grandmother and five children start each day with
a song and, using happiness as their bond, protect the one child who suffers from a neurological condition that marks him as different. Then, in one swift stroke, irrevocable harm is inflicted upon them by a town local mired in his own bitterness. The family’s joy is shattered. Their future bleak. Except for that one ray of hope. The middle child, Annie, who has the endurance and willingness to provide for others, brings light to them once more. Her account of what happened defines the power of perseverance.
Excerpt from Annie’s Story
The body fell out with a thud. It wasn’t a hard sound, like the time we were playing hide-and-seek in the library and I turned too quickly, sending the unabridged Oxford English Dictionary and the table it was sitting on crashing to the floor. No. This sound was soft…A sudden crackling sound split the silence like lightning. I jerked with a startle and gasped before I realized the sound was the lady’s jaw. It had dropped open, as if to say “Hello, dearies.” I guess she was as surprised to see us as we were to see her…I let out a sigh and tried to think through this awkward state of affairs…Help might be here soon, I thought. Crosey — Caroline Rose, my younger sister — had taken off as soon as the mysterious lady did her jack-in-the-box routine. Apparently she’d run down the hallway and was now leaning over the balustrade. I heard her shouting, “Mom, call the police! No, make that the coroner. She’s beyond help, now!”
My holiday novel, The Dream Catcher, is a whimsical tale about the diminutive Rupert Rumple, who is concerned about the gloom surrounding the town of Greeneville. Despite his many fears, he sets out on a journey to bring back the joy of making dreams come true.
Excerpt from Rupert’s journey
Like a twister, Farrell collected his vapors and rotated himself into a funnel. He then started to spin, faster, then faster yet, like a whirling dervish. Sprays of vapor spritzed away from him as he twirled into a maelstrom, becoming denser with each rotation. Rupert heard a sucking kind of whistle sound, as he watched Farrell scoop himself into a large crescent moon shape.
Even if you don’t have penmanship that slants upward, visit my website at where I will let readers select story details, such as town and character names and even plot twists.
@jrgrey602
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