Letter to a Discouraged Writer
Dear discouraged writer,
For a moment, put away your pen. Forget your ambitions. Think about your favorite books… Continue reading Letter to a Discouraged Writer
Song of Ona
Check out my staff feature flash fiction in the June 2018 issue of Splickety Magazine! Continue reading Song of Ona
To the Despairing Artist
Many lessons can be drawn from Andersen’s “The Psyche”. The one that most impressed itself upon my heart as a writer is the enduring quality of our work. Continue reading To the Despairing Artist
The Importance of Reading Earnest(ly)
Writing is a craft we should seek to hone all our lives, and our blades are sharpened whenever we read (or reread) quality stories. What, then, shall we read? Continue reading The Importance of Reading Earnest(ly)
The Science of Storytelling
The lovely Anna Haber at The Story Scientist featured me to ramble about the science behind the indelible impression stories leave on us. Continue reading The Science of Storytelling
The Field of Imagination: Thomas Jefferson on Fiction
“We are therefore wisely framed to be as warmly interested for a fictitious as for a real personage. The field of imagination is thus laid open to our use and lessons may be formed to illustrate and carry home to the heart every moral rule of life.” Continue reading The Field of Imagination: Thomas Jefferson on Fiction
A Brief Emergence from the Writer Den
Given that I’m currently in a frenzy preparing for a writers conference (and not at all panicky (not at all)), I’m dashing out of my hermit hole to toss you a brief post about the merits of writers conferences as this week’s food for thought before darting back into the dungeon of my own to-do list. Continue reading A Brief Emergence from the Writer Den
Victory (Partly)
I bring to you in my sleep-deprivation only a short and hurried post this week, for I have just returned from conquest. A month ago I mentioned a little deadline I had imposed upon myself. That deadline was February 7. And I, dear reader, have emerged victorious. Continue reading Victory (Partly)
Does Fiction Give Us Unrealistic Expectations?
Does compelling fiction augment reality? On the contrary, I would argue, it compresses reality, so that we can begin to comprehend its vastness within the scope of our limited perspective. Continue reading Does Fiction Give Us Unrealistic Expectations?
Olivia Hofer 