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Talking Long Form Creative Projects with Author Julie Barton

Talking Long Form Creative Projects with Author Julie Barton

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 There are creative projects that ask us to tell the truth. All of it. Memoir is one of them.Writing a book from lived experience requires incredible bravery. It asks us to stay in a heightened state of reveal for the duration of the entire project. Sorting through memories, insight, and change, often while handling our own invalidation about the experience we are writing about. Did it really happen that way? Are these facts or feelings? It is challenging work and requires a lot of the writer.Last week on Substack Live I had the pleasure of speaking with New York Times Bestselling author Julie Barton about her creative process and what it means to write a book drawn from personal experience.Julie is the author of Dog Medicine, a memoir that explores her experience with depression and the unexpected path toward healing through her deep connection and relationship with her dog Bunker. Writing a book that honors the depth and tenderness of Julie’s experience has its own unique creative process. Long stretches of solitude. Returning again and again to moments that are not always easy to revisit. Julie’s work is a testament to her devotion to her craft of writing and her commitment to creating the conditions for her creative process to endure such long-form projects. What struck me most in our conversation was the level of inner steadiness this work requires. Writing memoir is not just about remembering. The writer must stay present as the work unfolds. Trusting their perspective. Allowing the meaning of the story to emerge over time.It’s creative work that asks for both emotional depth and disciplined action. And a ton of endurance. If you’ve ever found yourself working on a project that draws from your own life, or if you’re in the middle of a body of work that feels personally significant, this conversation will resonate.Julie and I touch on vulnerability, structure, the responsibility of telling personal stories, and what it takes to stay in relationship with a long-form writing project.The recording is above.Thank you Margaret Williams, MS, ACC, Lisa Riddiough, and many others for tuning in live! And…I’ll be Live with food photographer extraordinaire Eva Kolenko on March 24 at 9am pst, discussing her thoughts on the creative process of working on cookbooks as a food photographer.You can join us here.STUDY HALL begins April 1Just a quick reminder…we’re about to get to work.In it to win it. You, ideally, in your metaphorical acid wash jeans and bigger than ever hair, showing up, clocking in, and creating the conditions for your creative process to be totally rad.Because that’s the thing.In STUDY HALL we don’t wait for inspiration.We provide the conditions for the work to flow.Study Hall came directly from my private mentorship clients asking for more time like this.More space to drop in, regulate, and actually work.So I built it.A live, structured container where we meditate, enter the work, and stay with it. Past blocks, through resistance. Getting it done. Brainstorming, drafting, making, playing, thinking, finishing.There are prompts for when you’re stuck (they’re so good).A DJ-curated playlist to set the vibe (also very good).And a method I usually only teach in private work, approaching creativity as energy, and learning how to work with it instead of against it.The container is Study Hall.The benefits are rad.Details:Monday — 9:00–10:00am PTWednesday — 9:00–10:00am PTThursday — 4:00–5:00pm PTThree times a week.12 sessions a month.$150/monthCome for all 12 or drop in for 3. You decide. And because you’re here:You can try it free for 7 days.Join us for up to three sessions and see what you think.If you’ve been wanting a place to actually be in your work, this is it.We start April 1. Get full access to MUSE at lisaandersonshaffer.substack.com/subscribe
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