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...

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5 months ago • 1 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...

about 13 hours 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...

8 days 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...

14 days ago • 3 min read

[Wyrd Words Weekly] - Getting your hands dirty

Hello Reader, At this time of year, there’s always a bit of garden dirt underneath my nails (and likely in my hair, on my jeans, maybe even on my face). That’s usually because I’m spending a lot of time doing this: But you know me, this message isn’t really about gardening. It’s about writing....

22 days ago • 1 min read

[Wyrd Words Weekly] - What does "thick skin" really mean?

Hello Reader, You’ve all heard the recommendation: If you want to be a writer, develop thicker skin. Searching for “writing, thick skin” on Google yields almost 75 million results. But after two decades of writing and editing, I can tell you: getting a thicker skin will only hurt your...

29 days ago • 5 min read

[Wyrd Words Weekly] - Break the rules, but do it well

Hello Reader, Are you a writing rebel? Someone who likes to break the rules, take risks, or do things just a little bit differently than your peers? Me too, friends. My rebel heroes... My love of the rebels, the underdogs, the unexpected heroes definitely had its roots in the books and movies...

about 1 month ago • 3 min read

[Wyrd Words Weekly] - Sweet summer musings

Hello Reader, There's an old proverb (sometimes attributed as Greek, Buddhist, Chinese, etc.--I was not able to find an original source I felt confident about) that says: A society grows great when old men plant trees in whose shade they shall never sit.” I'm less into planting shade trees, but...

about 2 months ago • 2 min read

[Wyrd Words Weekly] 'Cause you can't, you won't, and you don't stop

Hello Reader, I thought about calling this newsletter "how to date yourself with one silly subject line," but then I realized that I bet I have some readers a generation older than I am who are scratching their heads too. So I think I'll stick with "you may be a Gen Xer if..." So yeah, Beastie...

2 months ago • 2 min read

[Wyrd Words Weekly] Guard your writing time!

Hello Reader, I attended a webinar this week put on by the amazing Dallas Travers. It was called "Find Inbox Freedom" and it really changed my life. One outcome of that webinar was the decision to create a new email address for this newsletter. Action: Please add newsletter@julieartz.com to your...

2 months ago • 2 min read

[Wyrd Words Weekly] For best results...break the rules

Hello Reader, I'm in a lot of gardening groups on Facebook and one of my favorite petty things to do at this time of year is to scan threads for bad gardening advice (Don't judge!). Readers, there's so much of it! I don't engage, because I have a strict "don't feed the trolls" rule when it comes...

3 months ago • 3 min read

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