Mindfell

Dr Julie Carter

 

Writer

on Becoming a Writer

I was born and bred in Sunderland in the North-East of England into a family who did not value education. I often praise the City Council whose progressive policies transformed my life. At thirteen I went on a residential to Derwent Hill Outdoor Centre which was a life-defining week. 

At sixteen the Council gave me a living expenses grant making it possible for me to go into sixth form.Fascinated by biology I then completed a degree in genetics and, until my late twenties, taught science and outdoor education before training in Medicine.

For me studying science was an education where questioning was essential, but by comparision Medical School was mere training where questioning was not allowed. But I enjoyed the human connections which medicine made possible and remained a dligent doctor working in emergency care and general practice for a couple of decades before concentrating my efforts on drug-free ways to improve emotional health and overall wellbeing. Questions remained- and grew.

And so I began to write, as a means of exploration and adventuring and seeking. Not the same method as science but the same kind of motives.

I now live in the Lake District and where I enjoy climbing, runnning, kayaking, swimming and growing herbs and food in our garden and allotment. I have been an English and British Fellrunning champion in my age group and in 2019 I became the first woman to complete an extended version of the Bob Graham Round involving 55 summits at age 55. For me outdoor persuits are not just external events or achievements they are a path of discovery, where the outer life and inner life can fully amalgamate. Being 'out there' allows me to fully inhabit the 'in here', and this mergance is the wellspring for my writing.

About Julie Carter Mindfell

I write because I have always known that the essence of life, of what gives us joy and allows us to survive our sorrows, and what makes us tick, is difficult to talk about in everyday language. Through my own life, and through my work as a doctor, I also know that the language of science is sometimes of little help in finding meaning. And it feels important to find the words, because discovering them helps me interact with the world on a much deeper level.

What I write is most often described as ‘creative non-fiction’, although I work across different writing genres, including poetry, essay, theatre and film.

Published Books

Running the Red Line – a true and compelling story dealing with how to extend one’s boundaries in sport and life.

Is It Serious? - a collection of poetry and short works in five chapters: family, love, science, medicine and wild things.

Click on the titles above for details including buying options. Both are also available as e books via Amazon.

Upcoming Works

'The Script - A Tale of DNA, Destiny and Determination' - a narrative non-fiction book on the theme of inheritance, which tells the story of my own running heritage and takes me on a very long run. More details to follow and publication will be in Setember 2023.

The 'Dreamtime Fellrunner',  my one-woman theatre show which has been supported by Arts Council England, Thetare By The Lake Keswick, Wordsworth Grasmere and Lancaster University was performed at the beginning of June and recived fantastic feedback. It is now going into a fnal phase of development ready for a tour in 2024.  

Articles and essays

My experimental essay, 'The Scafells - a Place of Highest Honour' was published in Saraband's North Country anthology in October 2022, currently shortlisted for Lakeland Book of the Year. .

My work has been published in an eclectic mix of Journals including: British Medical Journal, Human Givens Journal, the Cosmology and Arts magazine ‘Until the Starts Burn Out’, Fellrunner magazine, Runners Radar, Scottish Mountaineering Club Journal and Pinnacle Club Journal.

Collaborations

I don't want to be a lonley writer and I especially love working with those in other creative genres. My poem ‘Everyday Magic’ was set to classical music by the composer Ella Jarmin-Pinto and my film ‘I Am A Fellrunner’, co-directed by Jessie Leong, has won laurels in nine film festivals and seems to have taken on a life of its own. Currently I am working with the theatre director Daniel Bye on the Dreamtime Fellrunner project and with the filmaker Tony Stephenson and songwriter and musician Alison Scott on a new film about Borrowdale.