Julie Shattuck
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juliewrites.bsky.social
Julie Shattuck
@juliewrites.bsky.social
1.3K followers 1.6K following 140 posts
Writer of MG/YA | Rep’d by @michelle4laughs at Storm Literary Agency | Community College Professor | SCBWI | NCTE | Teacher, learner, writer | She/her/hers
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juliewrites.bsky.social
Me at the start of 2024 / me at the end of 2024
Gollum Before Finding the Ring Gollum After Finding the Ring
December 28, 2024 at 11:55 PM
juliewrites.bsky.social
I picked up a new craft book on Saturday, and my youngest daughter gifted me a journal she bought on the Isle of Skye last summer. This book "The Way of the Fearless Writer" is just what I need right now to kickstart my stalled writing practice :) #WritingCommunity #MiddleGrade #KidLit
Photo of a writing craft book: The Way of the Fearless Writer: Mindful Wisdom for a Flourishing Writing Life by Beth Kempton.
November 12, 2024 at 10:50 PM
juliewrites.bsky.social
Put together a mood board for my latest Middle Grade story which is set in 2 watery places that are very dear to me - Deep Creek Lake in Maryland & the Worcester and Birmingham Canal where I lived on a narrowboat many years ago - the photo is of my old boat Joan :)
Six pictures - a small pond inside a tree stump, a water dragon on a piece of wood, two kayaks, a map of Deep Creek Lake, a photo of Narrowboat Joan, and a tree stump in the middle of a lake cove with plants growing on it.
February 10, 2024 at 11:34 PM
juliewrites.bsky.social
Oh, the satisfaction of writing THE END on a 1st draft. My motivational turtle and fish are looking colorful and complete. Time to celebrate before diving into my favorite part of writing-revising and editing 😍🥳🍻

#WritingCommunity #AmRevising #KidLit #MiddleGrade
Hand drawn fish with 101 scales colored in to show 50,500 words written Hand drawn turtle with scutes colored in to show 30 chapters 1st drafted.
December 11, 2023 at 4:29 PM
juliewrites.bsky.social
My 1st draft motivational fish and turtle are almost colored in! Three short wrap-up chapters and 3000 words to go on this #MiddleGrade story :)

#WritingCommunity
#KidLit
Hand-drawn black and white fish with 94 scales colored in. Hand-drawn black and white turtle, mostly colored in.
December 8, 2023 at 3:55 PM
juliewrites.bsky.social
Act 2's "done" (well, the messy 1st draft)! #NaNoWriMo got me to the 75% mark on this #WIP - 14,000 words in 14 days. Feeling happy, but a bit burnt out. Can't decide whether to plough ahead or stop and revise. I MUCH prefer revising... #WritingCommunity #KidLit #AmDrafting #MiddleGrade
Hand-drawn fish with 75% of the scales colored in. Hand-drawn, bird's eye view of a turtle with 24 scutes colored in.
November 14, 2023 at 4:30 PM
juliewrites.bsky.social
1018 new words written so far today AND cleared a path to my front door - looks like we got just shy of 2 inches - a balmy 30 degrees now, up from 23 this morning ❄️

#NaNoWriMo
#MiddleGrade
Wooden deck half cleared of a 2-inch layer of snow
November 1, 2023 at 4:05 PM
juliewrites.bsky.social
Finally! I've wanted to put "Dog Vomit Slime Mold" into my #WIP since I saw it on a fallen tree on August 12 - photo below. Just managed to slip it into the chapter I'm writing for #NaNoWriMo

#MiddleGrade #WritingCommunity
Yellowy-white blobs of Dog Vomit Slime Mold covering a fallen tree's rotten wood.
November 1, 2023 at 2:01 PM
juliewrites.bsky.social
Woke to the white stuff this morning! Won't be sitting in my deck chairs any time soon ❄️🌨️☃️Great way to start NaNoWriMo - hunkering down to get some words written this morning! #KidLit #MiddleGrade #WritingCommunity
An empty wooden deck - with two deck chairs - covered in about 1.5 inches of snow.
November 1, 2023 at 11:11 AM
juliewrites.bsky.social
Hit the Midpoint on my WIP! 49 scales colored on my motivational fish and met my 5000-word October goal. My chapter turtle is looking good too with 16 chapters drafted :) My dream for November is to mini-NaNoWriMo this 1st draft with another 25,000 words, but I'll settle for getting to the 75% mark!
Hand drawn black and white fish with 49 scales colored in greens, blues, yellows, and browns. Hand drawn turtle with 16 scutes colored in blues and greens.
October 29, 2023 at 7:16 PM
juliewrites.bsky.social
I'm enjoying "The Rest of Us Just Live Here" by Patrick Ness :)
Book cover for The Rest of Us Just Live Here by Patrick Ness
September 28, 2023 at 9:54 PM
juliewrites.bsky.social
To celebrate meeting my Sept writing goals, I visited one of my favorite places today - Swallow Falls. I just sent my characters there for a day trip and a picnic in the book I'm drafting, so I took that as an excuse to spend my afternoon there too! #AmDrafting #WritingCommunity #KidLit #MiddleGrade
Panoramic view of the top of a waterfall with a happy woman stretching her arms wide. The trees are starting to turn into their fall colors and the sky is blue.
September 28, 2023 at 9:13 PM
juliewrites.bsky.social
39 scales colored on my 1st draft motivational fish = 10,500 words written in September, 19,500 total. I'm happy with my progress because I find 1st drafting so challenging. My chapter turtle is looking good too - each scute is a chapter. 13 chapters drafted :)
#MiddleGrade #KidLit #WritingCommunity
Hand-drawn fish with black and white scales, and 39 colored in. Hand-drawn turtle with 13 scutes colored in.
September 28, 2023 at 3:57 PM
juliewrites.bsky.social
Happiness is… when you unexpectedly discover your airbnb is a 5-minute walk to a brewery :)
Pint of beer in front of a sunset Sunset viewed from a picnic table in the front garden of a brewery
September 13, 2023 at 11:49 PM
juliewrites.bsky.social
Tell me where you're from with a food pic.
A plastic carton of fish and chips on a pebbly beach by the sea.
September 7, 2023 at 2:18 PM
juliewrites.bsky.social
Saw a young black bear on the shoreline today...
A young black bear on all fours on the shoreline near some canoes
September 6, 2023 at 4:45 PM
juliewrites.bsky.social
18 scales colored in on my 1st draft motivational fish = 9000 words written in August. I was aiming for 10,000, but I am happy with the progress I've made. I've added a chapter turtle to help me with my goals - each scute is a chapter. Chapter 7 here I come!
#MiddleGrade #KidLit #WritingCommunity
Hand drawn black and white fish with 18 scales colored in. Hand drawn black and white turtle with 6 scutes colored in.
September 1, 2023 at 1:09 PM
juliewrites.bsky.social
According to the Seek app, these are two Autumn Meadowhawks - just hanging out on my leg, doing their thing...
Two red dragonflies on white pants leg - one in front of the other, possibly mating.
August 30, 2023 at 6:44 PM
juliewrites.bsky.social
Spotted this Eastern American Jack O'Lantern on today's walk and put my cap beside it to show how big it is. Such a bright orange :)
An Eastern American Jack O'Lantern with a baseball cap beside it to show how big it is. It's about twice the size of the cap and a bright orange fungus
August 30, 2023 at 3:26 PM
juliewrites.bsky.social
So true! It really works for me. Here are the COMPLETED motivational pictures for my previous books. Flowers were for my 2nd book - petals for chapters, the tree for my 1st with leaves for 500 words. I can't wait to have a fully colored fish :)
Four hand-drawn flowers in a vase with 32 petals colored in. A hand-drawn tree with 100 leaves colored in to show 50,000 words written.
August 20, 2023 at 12:01 PM
juliewrites.bsky.social
What's more magical than nature? Here's a damselfly emerging from its exoskeleton, 1st picture is what we saw on a tree stump while canoeing into a cove, and the second is when we returned about 30 minutes later.

#whistpr
Damselfly emerging from its exoskeleton on a tree stump Damselfly fully emerged from its exoskeleton on a tree stump
August 20, 2023 at 11:57 AM
juliewrites.bsky.social
Beautiful morning for a breakfast picnic with this view :) Water is my happy place. Home and ready to write now...
Woman with coffee at the end of a concrete jetty with tree-lined lake and cloudless sky behind.
August 19, 2023 at 12:44 PM
juliewrites.bsky.social
Motivational fish for my new story. I color one scale every 500 words - REALLY helps me with the tough 1st draft. Nine scales colored :)
Black and white drawing of a fish with scales to color.
August 18, 2023 at 10:46 PM
juliewrites.bsky.social
My two elderly dogs, Bonnie and Clyde, almost making a heart shape - excited to finally be on BlueSky :)
Two black lab/collie mix dogs together on a bed with their legs making a heart shape.
August 18, 2023 at 8:40 PM
juliewrites.bsky.social
A beautiful, cool (70F) afternoon canoe trip in the cove near me. I never get bored studying the growth on these old tree stumps :)
3 half-submerged tree stumps with plants growing out of their tops.
August 18, 2023 at 8:27 PM