Julie Artz | author, editor, book coach, dragon

Julie Artz helps writers who dream of a life spent telling stories that matter slay their doubt demons so they can send their work out into the world with confidence. An active member of the writing community, she has volunteered for SCBWI, TeenPit, and Pitch Wars and is a member of EFA, the Authors Guild, and AWP. A social and environmental justice minded story geek, Julie lives in an enchanted forest outside of Seattle, Washington, with her husband, two strong-willed teenagers, and a couple of naughty furry familiars. Check out her weekly newsletter, Wyrd Words Weekly, and subscribe today.

[Wyrd Words Weekly] Writer's Block is not a thing

Hello Reader, I don't really believe in writer's block. Before you hit delete or fire off your rebuttal to my controversial statement, let me clarify that I don't beleive in writer's block, but I do know writers get stuck sometimes. The truth is, there's no wicked virus or affliction out there that infects our creative brain and keeps us from writing. Instead, I've found clients come to me with one of several reasons behind their "stuckness:" Doubt Demons - Fear is the biggest culprit when...

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7 months ago • 1 min read

[Wyrd Words Weekly] Pumpkin spice and creative quests...

Hello Reader, Happy Thanksgiving, friends. By now, I hope you've had your fill of turkey and pie and all the things that make this a beloved holiday here in the U.S. I'm so thankful for all of you and for this amazing work that I get to do. I rewrote the opening to this newsletter several times this week. Deleted a bunch of drafts. Added the cheerful image above. Because the last thing I want to do is be a sad sack during a lovely holiday. But the truth is, I'm struggling. I'm a big fan of...

7 days ago • 2 min read

[Wyrd Words Weekly] Key checkpoints along the way to typing "The End"

Hello Reader, We interrupt this broadcast with an important announcement from your favorite wyrd booklover: THERE IS A NEW BOOK IN THE MURDERBOT DIARIES !!! Although I am usually the book recommendation engine in this household, my husband introduced me to these books. He couldn't stop laughing as he read the first one (All Systems Red) so I had to see what all the unmitigated chuckling was about, especially because it takes a lot to make Matt Artz crack a smile. From the first novella, I...

11 days ago • 2 min read

[Wyrd Words Weekly] Dear Insecurity...

Hello Reader, Recently, I was lucky enough to see the amazing SistaStrings open for Brandy Clark at Washington Hall in Seattle. It's a great small venue, which I love because you get to be so close to the artists and really FEEL their music. It was a magical night, but I almost felt like I needed to take notes because there was so much amazing creative inspiration being handed out throughout the concert. Three Things I Learned... First, SistaStrings is, like the name implies, a sister duo...

18 days ago • 3 min read

[Wyrd Words Weekly] Do you know your seven key scenes?

Hello Reader, We're a few days into NaNoFUNMo, and I've noticed an uptick in questions around my prewriting process as I work on a new story. And I get it--writing a novel is hard! But you don't have to do it alone. I'm here to help. I've already given a high-level overview of my process over on Instagram, starting with this post about finding a high-concept story idea and going through things like character arc, themes, and more. If you're looking for even more detail than an Instagram post...

26 days ago • 1 min read

[Wyrd Words Weekly] Finding the FUN!

Hello Reader, Last week, I took the first chapter of my brand-new story to critique group. It was a scary prospect, and not something I would do with anyone but my most trusted writing pals. While we were chatting, we talked about how a few of us are at the beginning stages of drafting a new story and how we'd love to get some real progress done. As I often do at this time of year, I exclaimed "Let's do NaNoWriMo!" I've been a fan of National Novel Writing Month for over a decade now, even...

about 1 month ago • 2 min read

[Wyrd Words Weekly] Are you trapped in Stucksville?

Hello Reader, The last few newsletters have been all about how to know if you're ready to pitch and what to do with a brand-new story idea, but this one's for all of you who are stuck in that feeling of dread and overwhelm that many folks misname writer's block. TRUTH: There's no contagion out there that infects your brain and renders you chronically unable to write. But that doesn't mean writers don't get stuck. Let's face it, the discourse out there around the nature of art that's been...

about 2 months ago • 2 min read

[Wyrd Words Weekly] So you've got an idea for a story, what next?

Hello Reader, It's been almost five years since I started a brand-new story, and despite coaching dozens of clients through my prewriting process during that time, I felt a little rusty when I arrived at retreat with only an elevator pitch and the vaguest idea of my two main characters. If you're looking for some prewriting inspiration, here's a little look under the hood at the tools and resources I used to flesh out my idea. Map Out the Big Picture I was lucky enough to learn the ins and...

about 2 months ago • 2 min read

[Wyrd Words Weekly] Nurturing the initial spark of an idea

Hello Reader, Taking on a particularly challenging story is an investment of both time and emotional energy. But to be honest, I never anticipated that writing my YA novel in verse would take me 4.5 years. Sure, I revised a different novel during that time and wrote and published numerous short stories and other articles during that time. The fact remains that the last time I started a brand new book was in October 2018. Those of you who have been here for a while know that I finished that...

2 months ago • 2 min read

[Wyrd Words Weekly] Are you ready to pitch? I can help you figure it out!

Hello Reader, The single most common mistake writers make is querying before their manuscript is pitch-ready. I hear it all the time. If only I'd waited. If only I'd sent it to one more reader. If only I'd hired a book coach before I queried... Querying too early burns your chance with your dream agent, leads to crickets in the inbox, and can lead to you shelving a viable story that truly just needed one more round of deep revision to shine. That's why I'm passionate about keeping writers...

2 months ago • 1 min read

[Wyrd Words Weekly] Why I always ask why!

Hello Reader, I'm delighted to welcome everyone who joined my world-building talk this past week as part of ProWritingAid's Sci-Fi Week. I had such fun talking about one of my favorite topics and am so glad to see you here. And since you're here, I wanted to talk a bit more about one of the questions that came in during the Q&A during my talk. A writer mentioned they'd received feedback that they told too much of their world-building rather than showing it and asked me how to fix that...

2 months ago • 3 min read

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