Julie Vick: Writing Mom Jokes

How did motherhood change your creative practice?

It definitely limited the amount of time I had to work on writing but made me more motivated to write.

I think back now on all the free time I didn’t realize I had before kids and it seems like I should have been getting a ton done. But the reality was that pre-kids I would often spend a lot of time before writing doing some very important thing like arranging the items on my desk. 

After having my first kid I took a couple of years off of writing but when I wanted to write again it was in a different way than I had pre-kids. I knew I only had these short pockets of time so I had to be more efficient. And I found that I could get a lot done over time if I worked on things in small chunks of time. 

I started writing more humor pieces and then wrote a book proposal and eventually the book and although it would be nice if I just went to a cabin in the woods alone for months at a time to do all this, the reality involved me chipping away in small bits of time. 

When do you feel most creative?

I think when I feel inspired by an idea and want to grab any time I can to work on it. A lot of writing is revision, which is harder for me. But the initial feeling when I have a good idea or I’ve figured out a way to solve a problem with a piece is when I feel the most creative.

What’s your favorite super easy creative practice to do when you’re looking for fresh ideas?

This is a little specific to humor writing but I think it can be applied to other types of writing. I keep a running list of humor format possibilities in a document and add to it whenever I encounter a new format that could work for humor. 

Then when I get an idea that I think I want to write a humor piece about I often pull out the list of formats to brainstorm different structure possibilities. The first format that springs to mind for me isn’t always the best one, so doing some pre-brainstorming to think about the possibilities can often open up new ones.

I also have a list of potential joke formats in the Notes app on my phone I consult it sometimes to help with writing funny social media posts. I think having these structures helps me jumpstart things faster and gives me ideas when I’m feeling unsure about what approach to take.

How can we support and encourage each other more?

I think envy is hard for a lot of people but seems particularly hard for writers in the age of social media (I channeled these feelings into this humor piece a while back). 

I heard another writer say that when she is feeling down about her own writing for whatever reason she tries to do something nice for another writer – share a piece, write a review, etc. And I think that is a great way to channel some of the feelings that come with writing into support.

I also have regular Zoom or sometimes in-person meetups with other writers and I always find them encouraging and a good way to support and connect with others. I think getting outside ourselves to just talk and share ideas can be so helpful. 

What’s a dream project for you?

I have a comedy writing dream to work in a TV writer's room or for SNL. However, I’ve read enough comedy writer memoirs to know that the reality of these jobs is often stressful so this one may be better left in the realm of dreamland. 

Still, if a showrunner in need of a comedic middle-aged mom voice is reading this, feel free to get in touch!

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Julie Vick has written for New Yorker Daily Shouts, Parents magazine, Real Simple, and McSweeney’s Internet Tendency; and most importantly, one of her tweets once appeared in In Touch Weekly. She is the author of Babies Don’t Make Small Talk (So Why Should I?) and writes a Substack about humor and writing called Humor Me. She lives in Colorado with her husband and two boys who are 9 and 11.  

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Hi! I’m Heidi. Writer. Editor. Mother. I’m interviewing 100 creative mothers, because I believe the more we see other mothers making beauty and meaning in small moments, the more we will be inspired to make our own kind of art, whatever that may look like during this intense season of life. Support the project by sharing with a friend.