We were lucky to catch up with Alexandria Hulslander recently and have shared our conversation below.
Alexandria, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Can you talk to us about how you learned to do what you do?
I started my writing journey in middle school when a friend introduced me to fanfiction. I thought, “hey I can do that,” and gave it a shot. I had never written a story before, but I had plenty of ideas and figured the only way to learn was to do. I started hand writing, yes hand writing, in a composition book during classes and lunches to get all these ideas out of my head. It was a good introduction to writing and eventually I moved to writing on a computer, though it was still for my own practice. I read a lot as well, both fanfiction and books, learning different ways to write scenes, characters, and plot. Eventually I started posting my fanfiction online and wondered if I could write for a career. Going to a school that frowned upon and shamed creativity, it was hard to learn to write creatively and I continued learning through practice and reading. Thankfully, my parents were supportive of my desire to write and helped me find a college where I could study Creative Writing properly. I attended the University of Arizona where I took as many writing classes as I could to hone in my skills and learn from other writers. My writing skills developed greatly over those 4 years and I came out with a few short stories that have been or are getting published! Though I have found my voice in my writing, I know that I am still learning as I go and developing my creative abilities.
Alexandria, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
I am a creative writer and content creator currently working as a Digital Literacy Coordinator teaching technology classes. I got into writing through fanfiction over 10 years ago and currently working on writing original short stories for publication, fanfiction for my fellow creative fans out there, and run a personal blog as a general creative writing outlet. On my blog I post game reviews, discussions on relevant topics, and short stories. Because of my blog I got into content creation on social media to promote my works, and started posting book reviews, unboxing videos, and other fun content for my fellow fans out there! I do all these things because they make me happy and are fun ways to share creativity. I have always believed that people should write for themselves, not others, because the best works of creativity are ones that the creators want to make, not the ones they feel like they need to make. I write my stories for myself as the intended audience, and am proud of the work I’ve done so far. I am lucky enough to hold a full-time job that allows me to pursue my creative ventures at my own pace, but I hope my creativity will become a stable income one day so I can spend more time working on my writing and one day starting a publishing company as I’ve always wanted to do!
Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative?
I think non-creatives struggle to understand why I want to be a creative in the first place. Working on writing and getting published requires a lot of time and dedication, generally on top of working to pay bills and other things that come up in life. It’s not an easy journey and not everyone is able to make a career out of it. But for me, it is more than a hobby, it is a creative outlet for the chaos in my head. I struggle with ADHD and writing allows me to get some of the noise in my head out somewhere that’s enjoyable and creative. It gives me something fun to focus on and share with others. Unlike many, I cannot sit in a office day-to-day doing the same work without an outlet of some sort, and I don’t want to be stuck in that type of environment forever. Writing opens up so many doors of opportunity to chase different career paths, different hobbies, different adventures! My journey is always changing as a creative, and I feel bad for those who don’t take advantage of different opportunities in fear of failure. It does not matter if you’re writing, crafting, drawing, etc. for yourself or for others, chase those hobbies and dreams and have fun with life!
What can society do to ensure an environment that’s helpful to artists and creatives?
Society can start by acknowledging creatives as actual work, instead of the false belief that creativity isn’t a “real” job. If there were no writers, there would be no books. If there were no artists, there would be no art. If there were no creatives, the world would be bland. Individuals, schools, and companies still shun creativity, but for what reason? There is no reason! In high school I was told that if I couldn’t figure math out and stop writing I would fail, so I wrote out of spite because that made sense to me and I knew that my stories could one day put a smile on someone’s face. In college I decided against pursuing a masters because they didn’t consider genre writing to be “real” writing, as if the works of Tolkien are not real writing? In the workplace and job hunting my degree is creative writing doesn’t qualify me for technical or grant writing because creative writing isn’t considered a “real” skill. At every turn society tries to shut us down, and it is through each other that we keep going. If society supported creatives, imagine how far we could go.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://writinguntilragnarok.com/
- Instagram: @selenelaufey @untilwriting @gohan_the_supersaiyan_pug
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexandriahulslander/
- Twitter: @SeleneLaufey
- Youtube: Thriving Until Ragnarok https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCYKgs6hdqu5DJOAJKvGXaqA