Category Archives: Writing

“The Question Is”

Posted on June 2, 2016 by Julie Goldberg

Here’s another short story that takes place in the A&P two Tuesdays before Thanksgiving a little before 6pm. Jennifer Lerner, PhD., asks herself 66 questions about competition, marriage, academia, children, sex, careers, the soul, and cake mix. Here’s an excerpt: … Continue reading →

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“The Schools”

Posted on March 14, 2015 by Julie Goldberg

Lately, I’ve been writing essays in my head instead of on paper, which has made Perfect Whole far too quiet, and my head far too noisy. But I’m popping in to share some news. The inaugural issue of River, River, a … Continue reading →

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“How Kind of You to Come”

Posted on October 30, 2014 by Julie Goldberg

In what may be the first and last sort-of ghost story of my career, I present “How Kind of You to Come,” a short story I wrote for Neil Fein’s Magnificent Nose, a tale of Halloween, art, grief, obsessive love, … Continue reading →

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Creating a Character Template

Posted on September 28, 2014 by Julie Goldberg

Dr. Johnson called remarriage “the triumph of hope over experience.” The same might be said of writing a second novel before selling the first. Yet here I stand at the altar again, veiled, clutching a bouquet, arrayed in the sleek second-wedding ivory suit, tuning … Continue reading →

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Alligators and Flash Fiction

Posted on July 23, 2014 by Julie Goldberg

Flash fiction is a strange beast, isn’t it? It’s compressed like a poem or a joke. It tries to do many things in a tight space: create a tiny narrative arc, suggest fully-formed characters in a gesture or two, allude … Continue reading →

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The People’s MFA

Posted on April 21, 2014 by Julie Goldberg

I have a new essay on Neil Fein’s Magnificent Nose today about the People’s MFA, and about a particular session taught by Professor Michael Chabon. I’ve been thinking for some time about the process by which writers consciously and unconsciously model, … Continue reading →

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“The Goldfinch”

Posted on April 21, 2014 by Julie Goldberg

Now that Donna Tartt has won the Pulitzer for The Goldfinch, I should probably link to my review of her beautiful novel on Neil Fein’s Magnificent Nose. A time-honored axiom among screenwriters and novelists is “Chase your character up a tree and … Continue reading →

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Querying is Like Hell, Except Your Friends Aren’t There, Part I

Posted on March 22, 2014 by Julie Goldberg

In February of 2013, I rejoiced to type “The End” on the manuscript I’d been writing on and off for over twenty years. I spent the next two months editing, proofreading, and preparing the manuscript for the querying ordeal. Querying, … Continue reading →

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Today’s Reason to Love the Humans

Posted on September 25, 2013 by Julie Goldberg

Today’s Reason to Love the Humans They are vain selfish obtuse They shimmer with holy light so hard it hurts their eyes And love each other helplessly stupidly beautifully. They each get exactly one life And every day they remember … Continue reading →

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What Would Dashiell Hammett Do?

Posted on August 6, 2013 by Julie Goldberg

In its 2013 summer fiction issue, The New Yorker magazine ran a Dashiell Hammett story called “An Inch and a Half of Glory” written in the 1920s, but previously unpublished. Parked at the station, waiting for my daughter’s train, I … Continue reading →

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