Interview with Julie Lockhart, Third Place Winner in the WOW! Q4 2024 Creative Nonfiction Contest

 

Julie Lockhart loves an adventure in wild places. During the last years of her career, she led a grief support nonprofit, where she discovered the beauty and depth of personal stories, writing about her experiences to help grieving people feel less alone. Her essays have been published in The Journal of Wild Culture, bioStories, Feels Blind Literary, Minerva Rising (Keeping Room), Bluebird Word, Sunlight Press, and Witcraft. Julie has placed several times in the top ten in Women on Writing Essay contests. She is a Pushcart nominee. Born in the Chicago area, Julie has lived, worked and played in the Pacific Northwest since 1982. She lives in Port Townsend, WA. Find her at: julietales.com. 

 ----------Interview by Renee Roberson 

WOW: In “Sonata,” you weave your extensive knowledge and experience of playing music with the highs and lows of marriage, divorce, death, grief, and processing all of the above. What gave you the idea to set an essay against this particular backdrop? 

Julie: Thank you for interviewing me! For a couple of years now, I have been studying the various forms that can enhance a personal essay–hermit crab, braided, collage, etc. For example, I love Brenda Miller’s "A Braided Heart," as well as many of her essays. My husband and I are both musicians, and when I described to him the hermit crab essay form, I realized that one possible way to organize an essay is through the musical scale. I thought of the idea before I had any content in mind. A year ago, I signed up for Chelsey Clammer’s grief writing course. Something in her readings and assignments triggered this idea of using Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata in C# Minor as the basis of an essay about my second marriage and the grief that seeped into my life through that relationship. Once I had the form, the essay kind of wrote itself. I was in the flow. Of course it’s been edited several times since, but I was able to get the essentials of what I wanted to say inside the musical scale. Chelsey loved it. One of the things I’ve come to realize in this writing journey is that it’s important for me to write what I know, and I know music. There may be another musically organized essay in my future! 

WOW: I know you’re a fan of Chelsey's writing workshops, and they’ve helped you produce numerous award-winning essays. Are there any other online writing classes or workshops you think would be helpful to writers exploring creative nonfiction? 

Julie: I am especially inspired by Chelsey’s readings and assignments in her classes. These four to six-week courses drop me into the creative zone. I also enjoy two-hour courses on a particular topic, such as Barbara Noe Kennedy’s travel writing course (although I have yet to complete a travel piece). A short course I would be interested in is how to write about difficult people in my life without subjecting myself to their reactions, assuming they get ahold of one of my essays. I use pseudonyms, yet I wonder if there are other recommendations by seasoned memoir-style authors. And are there legal ramifications for publishing an essay with details of abuse, etc.? I think a lot of writers would be interested in such a short course. 

WOW: That's a great idea for a course. I agree about taking Barbara's travel writing webinar and I also have yet to produce a travel piece so you're in good company there! “Your essay, “Worthy,” has been nominated for a Pushcart prize. This is an emotional piece that details your experience with domestic abuse and violence. How difficult was it to capture those feelings and details in one essay? 

Julie: I worked on “Worthy” over a period of several years as I figured out how to write impactful narrative nonfiction. That meant lots of revisions, trying to “show” vs. “tell,” and also immersing myself in what it felt like to be me back in my 20’s. Scene was particularly important for getting back to those feelings. For example, the scene where my ex was so angry that he threw bags of chips out of the cabinet and stomped on them put me right back into what it felt like to be blamed for everything wrong in his life as I cleaned up the mess. When I submitted it to Feels Blind Literary, I paid for a critique. The editor asked me to expand the ending so that readers would be able to see how I escaped that marriage. Then I dove back into the messy months of separation and divorce. It was great advice and they loved the changes. A big challenge for me and perhaps all writers is what to include and what not to include in a personal essay. In “Worthy” I picked a few choice and significant scenes that illustrated what I went through and massaged the essay to help readers sink into my experience. 

WOW: In a previous interview with WOW!, you mentioned you enjoy reading the critiques from the contest. How have they been helpful for you and should other writers participating in the contests select a critique for their submission? 

Julie: When I submit essays to journals and magazines, rejections come without me ever knowing what the editors did or didn’t like about my work. We writers need to develop a thick skin for the inevitable rejections. I will usually wait a little while and then make revisions before sending a piece out again. But I’m in the dark about what works and doesn’t work. What I love about the WOW! critiques is how positive your readers are in their critiques. They generously point out things that work well. They also give suggestions where the writing could improve. I used those suggestions for revising an essay that didn’t place in the top ten, then got it published somewhere else. I think it’s worth the cost and highly recommend WOW! critiques if a writer can afford the extra cost. 

WOW: I agree--I think our critiquers do a fabulous job. You also created a blog with some of you and your husband’s favorite hikes. How often are you able to get out and explore and how do you think nature inspires your creative writing? 

Julie: Interesting that you ask that question. I just had a publication in Herstry that was inspired by the rain forest of the Olympic National Park. Wild places give me juice for living fully--with vivid scenes that I can recreate in my writing. And I have another recent essay that delves into hiking and aging. Living on the Olympic Peninsula means I enjoy quick access to places that bring me solace and allow me to escape into creative reflections. Several times a week, we get on the local trails that take us into lush Northwest forests and views of the Salish Sea. We also have a pop-up truck camper that gives us comfortable camping in places farther away. In 2020, my husband and I created that blog during the pandemic when we lived in Southern Oregon--with the Pacific Crest Trail within easy driving distance. Day hiking sections of the PCT became our way of moving through the stress and fear that came with both the pandemic and the discord in national politics. It kept us sane. Just as nature keeps me sane in this crazy election year.