Kelsey OlesenJun 7, 20218 minWhy I'm Obsessed with Raya and the Last DragonI watched Disney's newest animated feature, Raya and the Last Dragon, last Friday. And yesterday. And then I've been listening to the...
By Kelsey OlesenMay 27, 20209 minHow to Be Productive The thing to know about Productivity is that it will always be faced by Resistance. By "the Fear" of success, by impostor syndrome, by...
By Kelsey OlesenNov 16, 20196 minHow to Fix “Star Wars: The Force Awakens”The destruction of the Republic is planned as a side note to the ongoing conflict of the First Order hunting Finn and Rey for the map to Luk
Kelsey OlesenJun 7, 20194 minSave the World: Recommend Books!We don't need to be the heroes out to save the world to make a difference in it. There's no dragon to fight in a battle you make up
Kelsey OlesenAug 31, 20182 minFavoritism is a Slippery SlopeWhen you tell someone that you like to read (as all writers should, and usually do), their first response is usually somewhere along the...
Kelsey OlesenJun 22, 20185 minThe Confidence ProblemI've been told for most of my life that I am a strong, confident young woman. This is not true. If I appear strong, it is because I am...
Kelsey OlesenApr 6, 20184 minGetting Rid of Cultural Appropriation in Your Life & WritingI am sharing this story with you, no matter how embarrassing and shameful, because I believe that all of us have something, large or small,
Kelsey OlesenFeb 16, 20185 minThe Unexpected Problem of Student Loans, PART 2What is the goal of college? Is it to create well-rounded, thoughtful adults? To teach youthful teenagers the responsibilities and sorrows o
Kelsey OlesenJan 12, 20187 min2017 Roundup: Characters of the YearOne of my New Years resolutions for 2018 is not to pick favorites anymore, so instead of declaring which of these vastly different books was
Kelsey OlesenDec 21, 201711 minStar Wars, Disney, & the Death of Creativity: What Writers Can Learn from The Last JediThe Last Jedi had a lot of great things going for it, including a wonderfully diverse cast of main characters, a female protagonist, and sev
Kelsey OlesenDec 1, 20175 minAuthor Update: Failures, Ventures, and AccomplishmentsNovember has been a busy month! Rather than a regular blog post this week, though I have several in progress, I thought I'd give a quick...
Kelsey OlesenNov 3, 20175 minBooks You Should Be Reading: Thorn by Intisar KhananiHello all! I have a few blog posts in process, but this week I want to talk about something I'm really excited about: One of my favorite...
Kelsey OlesenSep 29, 201713 minHow to Change Your Life in 5 Key AreasIn the last few years, I have made many huge changes in my life. Some of them were difficult, but some we far worse agonizing over the...
Kelsey OlesenSep 22, 20176 minCreating a New World: A Defense of Children's Literature and Diverse BooksNo matter what their ethnicity, children can learn about a real world full of diverse life experiences through diverse representation in the
Kelsey OlesenSep 8, 20176 minGet Obsessed with Your StoryIt is difficult to know when to put off laundry one more day so that you can get that chapter down that's been rattling around inside yo
Kelsey OlesenSep 1, 20178 minWriting Tips: Revising vs. Editing, or How to Revise the Sh*t Out of Your NovelQuite literally two days before I was scheduled to start revisions, I thought of a new aspect to my main character which would completely ch
Kelsey OlesenJul 21, 20173 minThe Fear of Being AverageGrowing up, you are constantly told how special you are, how you can do anything, be anything, and possibly touch the moon if you jump...
Kelsey OlesenJul 7, 20174 minHow to be The WitchWhen most people think of a witch, they imagine wicked old witches who eat children and put curses on people. A witch is the shadow...
Kelsey OlesenJun 23, 20172 minInspiration for Writers (and Everyone Else Too)These are the things which help me to "just keep swimming" and writing my heart out. Hopefully one of them will be inspirational f
Kelsey OlesenMay 19, 20175 minThe Unexpected Problem of Federal Student LoansThis week I am going to talk about something I find highly embarrassing, but which too many of us deal with to ignore. Student Loans....