Julie A. Wallace

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Big Secret Goal Reveal: It’s 1977 All Over Again

It’s finally time to reveal one of those big secrets I’ve been keeping from you. And this big secret isn’t finished: it’s just beginning.

I’ve always wanted to write fiction, and have failed over and over. I get off to a great start then lose steam and stop. That’s about to change – thanks to The Write Practice’s 100 Day Book Challenge.

100 Day Book

Sure, I’ve written a lot of poetry. And yes, I co-wrote through the first draft of a cozy mystery with a friend. I believe that 100 Day Book will encourage me to finish the first draft of a novel I’ve wanted to write for years. How does this program work?

It started with a book plan that was submitted over the weekend. That plan outlines my goals. And you know how I feel about goals, right?

So, of course, this 100 days is a mission! It’s an adventure! And if I hit all the deadlines and finish the first draft on or before September 6, 100 Day Book will pay me $100 and I will give me a weekend getaway.

Pants Or Plans?

In the fiction writing world, you either write that first draft flying by the seat of your pants (aka “pantser”) or you plan meticulously. I’ve tried pantsing my way through a first draft and it was sad.

Turns out, I’m more of a planner. I even have an Excel spreadsheet with a scene-by-scene breakdown. It has character arcs and a few more things I may talk about at a later date.

You remember that I wanted to write 250 words a day, five days a week? Well part of the book plan was breaking down the novel by how many words you need to write per week. I already have about 20,000 words written so to hit a goal of 70,000 words, I need to write 3500 words per week every week over the next fourteen weeks. Yikes!

Tell Me More

This is a coming of age novel set in the 1970’s. So this summer, I’ll be reliving the Autumn of 1977 through that character’s eyes. Here are some hints:

Let’s Go!

So here I go, working my way through the first draft of a novel that I’ve wanted to write for a l.o.n.g. time. Tell me about your memories from high school and the 1970s – good, bad, funny, sad, or tell me what projects you have planned for this summer.

Mission 2022 February

In 2022, I’m combining lessons from the heart with some –cough cough – goals.

But I don’t like the word goals, so it’s a quest, a journey, a mission: that for which I am destined.

So how was January?

January’s Tarot Card

I did a tarot spread for the full year and January’s card was Magic Stream. The card reminded me that collective awareness can lead to great inspiration. It’s encouraged me to let it flow – and especially to not try to force inspiration to happen. I definitely was “hibernating” in January, hunkering down at home, just like many of the plants in my back yard.

My office looks out onto that snow-covered back yard of this property. When I look out that window, I think of all of the flowers that are sound asleep, with one day just like the other, awaiting the warmth of the spring sun.

The same is true for me. January was hibernating, hunkering down, with the days flowing into one another. And even in all the quiet that is January, I got stuff done.

Write 250 words a day, five days a week

The fact that I managed to schedule four posts tells you I wrote more than 250 words a day, five days a week. Unfortunately, most of those words were written in December 2021.

  • I’m having a hard time tracking and quantifying this goal. For example, if I don’t write in something that counts words, I don’t know how many words I wrote.
  • Which makes me think I need to tweak this mission a bit.
  • Perhaps 250 words a day five days a week on a specific project?
  • What should I do here? Any suggestions?

Revamp Wordstorm Casserole poetry book

Post twice a month on this website.

Year end goal is 24 posts. A monthly “mission” check in is 12 of those posts!

DeGoogle, deApple, deMicrosoft – embrace Linux!

  • Why? Because Google, Apple, and Microsoft all track your every move online. Google, for example,  “allows you to freely use their services so they can track you and sell your data to advertisers.”
  • Linus is an alternative operating system, like Windows. You can change your Windows computer to a Linux computer; I wouldn’t recommend trying that unless you’re super comfy with computers.
  • For example, I tried to transform a computer because I ran into a funky technical thing. Even after trying multiple registry edits and consulting a group online for help, I caved and bought a refurbished Dell computer loaded with Linux Mint Cinnamon. It was ready to go, out of the box, just like any Windows or Mac machine would be. I did this in October and then Rona came to visit. 🙁
  • In January I ran updates on that computer, and installed some software that I’m familiar with like the Brave browser and LibreOffice. I also started transferring my personal computer stuff onto this Linux machine.
  • In late 2021, I changed my personal email account to MailFence; Tutanota and ProtonMail are alternatives, too.
  • For searches, I recommend DuckDuckGo; I’ve been using it for at least a year now.
  • For browser alternatives to Chrome, Firefox, and Edge, I have been using Brave; alternatives are Vivalidi and Tor.

Have fun

  • It’s really too cold to think about having fun…my main task this month was to stay warm – lol. No, seriously, as I write this post, it’s 19 degrees Fahrenheit outside and the ground is snow covered. Brrrr.
  • I did try a bunch of new HelloFresh recipes. Did you know that you can get to the recipes even without receiving a box? You sure can. This month I tried Creamy Lemon Butter Chicken, Sun-Dried Tomato Spaghetti, and Ricotta Tomato Ravioli with Toasted Panko. I’m really looking forward to my next shipment of Pub-Style Shepherd’s Pie.
  • I bought myself some spiffy new shoes from Alegria and a new pair of Birkenstock slippers.
  • I had dinner at an actual restaurant. I hadn’t done that in…three months maybe?
  • I got a good bill of health from a dentist and a doctor. Doc says I need to lower my cholesterol – any tips?
  • I had two craniosacral massages. I get massages about every other week and LOVE them.

Big secret goal #1. 

  • While I wrote this month, I didn’t track the number of words and only some of those written words apply to big secret goal #1. Sigh.

Big secret goal #2.

  • This goal involves hiring pros. I have a document and Pinterest board ready to share with them.

What I’m Reading

On GoodReads, I have a 2022 Reading Challenge goal of at least 50 books. It’s only one month into the year and I’m ahead of schedule by two books, but then again, I read more in the winter than I do in the summer. Here’s what I’ve read so far:

  1. The Fire Night by Teresa Messineo
  2. Wither by Lauren DeStafano (Book 1 in The Chemical Garden series)
  3. Take the Long Path by Joan de Hamel
  4. The Boston Girl by Anita Diamant
  5. The Dressmaker’s Secret by Rosalie Ham
  6. D (A Tale of Two Worlds): A Novel by Michel Faber
  7. There are two ways to read The Crossing by Alex Landragin. I just finished The Baroness sequence of Crossings by Alex Landragin. I’ll read it cover-to-cover, then add it to GoodReads.

How About You?

How was your January? Did you already forget about your New Year’s resolutions? What big dreams and projects do you have for this year?

The WordStorm Cover Reveal

At long last, I am releasing a collection of poetry and here is the cover:

This was immediately the cover that pulled me in and held me. Allen Ginsberg’s approach to poetry was ‘first thought best thought’ and -in the case of this cover- that really applies.

There’s something about that lightning and the purple and blue that speak to me. I love that WordStorm is huge. I like the use of different fonts add interest.

And the fact that there’s lightning in the Word and the Storm? I was stunned.

A friend said the cover “shows intensity and passion.”

The lightning is also a nod to a poetic term called a ‘turn’ where, at the end of a poem, there’s often a line or two that take your breathe away or makes you sigh in recognition. I think of turns as itty bitty enlightenments which lightning represents well.

And the fact that I can write a paragraph or so about the potential different interpretations? No doubt, this is the cover that’s perfect for this poetry.

What’s A WordStorm?

I don’t really know, but it has all sorts of implications. It comes from my poem called Starvation:

I’m hungry for a wordstorm casserole, fresh from the oven of my imagination, accompanied by cornbread dreams, steamed dictionaries, hot flashes of insight, and hot fudge recitations.

That sounds like one tasty meal to this word-loving lady!

The Back Cover

The back cover is as understated as the front cover is boisterous. The excerpt is the last stanza of my poem How To Express Yourself More Clearly.

Cover Design

The cover and interior were designed by the talented professional Danielle Smith-Boldt.

You know how when you meet someone you just hit it off? Working iwth Danielle was like that.

She even has a love of poet E. E. Cummings,which brings nothing but music (treble, bass, coda) to this mudluscious, puddle wonderful poet’s pitter-patter h.e.a.r.t.

Check out Danielle’s other work! Hire Danielle either directly from her website or, like me, on Reedsy.

Poems

The poems in The WordStorm cover several decades. There are a couple of poems from high school, a lot from my time living in Athens, Georgia, and several from my earliest years living here in Mount Pleasant, Michigan.

The “hits” from the Athens years are definitely here. When I think of Athens, these poems come to mind: 2Kewl, I AM Becoming One, Be/Learn/Know, Damariscotta, Luna’s Lending Library, On Shooting Trees, Sexrain, and -as mentioned above- Starvation.

There are poems that explore my inner world, look at the outside world of nature, and also those that examine the world and society around me. Heck, the book is more than 100 pages long!

Get The Book

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Head over to my Amazon author page and buy an ebook or physical copy.

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Writing & Mindfulness

Not long ago I told someone that I was interested in the intersection of writing and mindfulness. The phrase just rolled off my tongue and – to be honest – I wasn’t quite sure what I meant.

A female hand holding a pen and writing. The words "writing and mindfulness."

Full disclosure: I am an Amazon Affiliate. If you click on a link and buy something (even if it’s not the particular book,) I receive a little compensation.

At first glance, mindfulness and writing have zero commonality. But a closer look reveals the “intersection” – that place where the two meet.

The easiest way to experience this intersection is by writing by hand. There comes a very obvious transition from complaining and list making to what feels like taking notes from god – spirit – source – whatever. And it’s clearly not you thinking, because words flow freely and are deftly organized.

For me, this “space” of not thinking is where my best writing comes from.

This transition between everyday consciousness to something else is nothing new for writers. Natalie Goldberg’s beloved Writing Down The Bones touches this space, as do Julia Cameron’s “Morning Pages” exercise. Both help you move from everyday and into this other type of writing. Here’s how to recognize that space:

Everyday Writing

  • Complains
  • Makes to do lists
  • Acts like “The Editor” and criticizes
  • Intellect talking to itself
  • Feels like you’re working at writing
  • Your handwriting is practiced and perfect

ExtraOrdinary Writing

  • I’m not writing, I’m taking notes from god.
  • Flow and lack of effort
  • The words move through me
  • It writes itself
  • Handwriting is loose and playful

When you enter into the stillness of not thinking, your writing changes. For me, if I do nothing for long periods of time, this “ExtraOrdinary” writing comes naturally. It becomes -if you will – the new every day. The question is how to get these extraordinary states to come into your life more often.

I daydream. I stay quiet and let cats sit on my lap for a long time. I don’t run off and get busy with a to-do list. This doing nothing keeps the connection between rigid consensual reality and source/spirit/no time firm. And the more you move back and forth between these two ways of being, the easier it becomes to adapt to the timelessness of not thinking.

The “lack” of structured time is a terrifying thought for anyone caught in 9-5, appointments, and to do lists. By daydreaming and not doing on a regular basis, you acclimatize yourself to this sinuous approach to life. I believe it is the natural way to be in the body.

Abandon Thought

We love thinking and linear thought. But there are other ways of being in the world that are utterly devoid of thought and that are profoundly natural and transformative.

On page 12 of Mindfulness, Bliss, and Beyond, Ajahn Brahm gets straight to the heart of the matter of this problem of thinking and commenting on everything. He calls it “inner speech.”

…inner speech does not know the world at all. It is the inner speech that spins the delusions that cause suffering. Inner speech causes us to be angry with our enemies and to form dangerous attachments to our loved ones. Inner speech causes all of life’s problems. It constructs fear and guilt, anxiety, and depression. It builds these illusions as deftly as the skilled actor manipulates the audience to create terrors or fears. So if you seek truth, you should value silent awareness and, when meditating, consider it more important than any thought.

Inner speech gets in the way of good writing. Learn to abandon inner speech, so your writing moves into that ‘other’ extraordinary space.

Writing morning pages – aka stream of consciousness or writing whatever comes into your head – helps you make the leap between here and there.

Meditation takes you the rest of the way.

But that’s another story.