weathered things

We’ve all gotten to the point in our writing where we start to wonder if we should really continue. We wonder if our story is good enough, if it has a good plot, if it really should be written. And once in a while, we lose interest in our stories. You stop and close the document, and that is never touched again. But sometimes, when you feel this way and want to quit, you also feel that your story should be written—but you don’t know how you can continue. I’ve been there plenty of times. I started writing when I was 11, and I am currently 16. I cannot tell you how many random documents I have on my hard drive that are unfinished books. Some of them are second attempts, but I scrapped those as well. I have plans for a few books, and a few of them are the same plots of my previous ones. I am currently working on a story that I love and I can’t wait to share with you guys, but for those of you who need some help in this aspect, here you go. Whether you’re uninspired, unmotiv...

This is a poem that I wrote for two of my characters in my series. They are technically the villains, but I loved them too much to not share this. Originally, I wrote it for my creative writing class, but it will appear in the third book of my series. Upon a rocky ocean cliff, A black wolf was chained That lifted her large black muzzle To drink while it rained On the sandy shores far below Her anguished cries were heard By a troubled, dangerous snake Who her pained cries had stirred He slithered up that steep, sharp cliff Till he wished to fall off But when he made it to the top He saw the black beast cough She was sickly and broken down Her ribs showed through her skin And scars marred that lovely face That was now so very thin She could not fight or run or howl For those who had chained her Had left her defenseless Bound in chains that tore her fur She was not dangerous to him And the little snake saw So he untied the t...

As you already know by the title, this is going to be about my experiences at the Minneapolis Young Writer's Workshop. It took place on June 14-16 in the year of 2016. It is the very first Minneapolis Young Writer's Workshop, and I am so glad I heard about it from my Literature teacher. First off, I learned SO much. I learned a ton of aspects in writing and stuff that I can add or change to make my writing better. And I got to meet so many awesome people and make awesome writing friends. I am sure we are going to keep in touch, and I'm so excited to continue talking to them. I also got to meet some amazing authors whose books are ABSOLUTELY amazing! I got to meet Ally Condie, Jennifer Neilsen, Jonathan Freisen, Jacqueline West, Jay Asher, and Serena Chase. I will link their websites at the end of this. They were so fantastic, and their books are so amazing, and I cannot stress how amazingly kind and helpful and kind they all were. I...

When I write, I don't usually think about all the stuff Lit teachers try and glean from books. Yes, I have themes, yes I have symbols, but I don't write my story to get a point across like Lit teachers try to do. If you do get something out of what I write, that's brilliant and I'm glad you saw that. But what I mainly think is "is this good enough to stand the test of time?" "Is there a certain line that I wrote that people will get tattoos of and paint into murals and make art of?" I don't want to be read in a class, that's not my main goal (although if that happens I will be very honored). My goal is to be remembered. I want people to be inspired, I want to change people by what I write and I want them to make art because of what I wrote. I don't want them to just look at what I wrote and try to decipher the subtext. I want to inspire and change lives. I want to have what I write stick in someone's head and have them go ...

No one knew why That sweet girl at the diner Ran into the surf. It seemed like she had seen Something worth chasing. An appealing dream, A deadly fantasy. To her, they were the same - A way out of her Regular Boring Everyday life ~Olivia Ann

*TO EXPLAIN THE LABEL AND HOPEFULLY THE TITLE* I have a ton of thoughts when I go to bed at night, and sometimes they're stupid, sometimes they're interesting so... yeah enjoy the musings of my brain. Okay, time to be honest: I hate writing. And it's not because of editing, like everyone suspects. No. It's because that at one point that book - that series - that I have dedicated so much of my life to will be done, and I won't be able to spend time with these characters that I love. All that will be gone. Yes, the books will still exist, but the characters will be living in my head, dormant, and they'll pop up every once and a while and say "hey, Olivia, you should really write a thing" and I have to say no, because I'm working on a different story. Then when that new story is done, I'll have more characters hiding in my head, being brought out by little things in normal life that remind me of them. And yet, I love writing and I don't...

Hello everyone, and welcome to my blog! These are just going to be some random things I come across in my daily life. It will include some stuff on my travels (if I ever get around to traveling), my writing journey, and other times just things that are on my mind or that I want to talk about. Anyways, let me explain why I call my blog “Weathered Things.” Outside, there is the atmosphere, where all the weather that effects earth is formed. Thunder, lightning, rain, hail, wind, you name it. It effects everything on the earth. And I absolutely love the rustic, distressed look that chipping paint and crumbling brick gives furniture and old houses. It adds character, and a realistic feel that I don’t get from the world these days. Everything seems to be perfect, clean, and flawless. I honestly don’t understand why everyone likes it like that. Nothing seems natural. Don’t get me wrong, I love things to be clean. But flawless? I need flaws. Flaws are what gives things character and per...