Literary Birthday – 31 January – Olivie Blake

Happy Birthday, Olivie Blake, born 31 January 1989.

Olivie Blake Quotes

1. Writing is like any skill: the act of doing it gets easier every time. Even, or perhaps especially, the elusive idea-having part. (Olivie Blake’s Blog)
2. I am a “reformed pantser“, as some people like to call it, in that I have had to learn how to provide some constraints in order to reconcile some repeated issues I was having. (Olivie Blake’s Blog)
3. The level of research you put in depends on what you’re writing, but I always like to pay close attention to sensory research: how things smell, sound, or feel vs. how they work. (Olivie Blake’s Blog)
4. I often say I need to meditate for a bit after I’ve had an initial idea. For me, this is usually a process of a few days (sometimes weeks) of letting something simmer in the back of my head until I get a feel for the atmosphere I’d like to write. (Olivie Blake’s Blog)
5. Most often I am trying to determine the texture, mood, or sensation of reading the story I’d like to tell. This is in some ways a characterization exercise, sometimes a voice or pacing exercise. This is how I decide how the story should be told. Is it distant third person? Is it first person from an unreliable narrator. (Olivie Blake’s Blog)
6. I approach characterization as the foundation of everything in any story, even though it’s more like one point of an equilateral triangle. Characterization determines everything that happens in the plot, but it is also determined by the context of setting. (Olivie Blake’s Blog)
7. One of the most important parts of designing a character is establishing an anchor for consistency: the root of who they are, how they think, what they love. Characters grow and change throughout the narrative, but there is something at the core of who they are that must always remain predictable, believable, and consistent. (Olivie Blake’s Blog)

For more advice visit Olivie Blake’s Blog

Olivie Blake (the pen name of Alexene Farol Follmuth) is the New York Times bestselling American author of speculative fiction for adults. Her books include The Atlas Six trilogy, Alone with You in the Ether, Masters of Death, the short story collection Januaries, and her most recent novel, Girl Dinner. Amazon Studios announced they will be collaborating with Brightstar Productions and Blake to produce The Atlas Six novel into a television series. With Little Chmura, she is the co-creator of the graphic series Clara and the Devil. As Alexene Farol Follmuth, she is also the author of the young adult novels My Mechanical Romance and Twelfth Knight. Prior to being a full time writer, Blake obtained a master’s degree in Urban Planning and worked at a public defender’s office while attending law school. Follow her on Instagram and Tumblr and visit her website.

Source for image: Author’s Press Kit

by Amanda Patterson

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