We recently connected with Oliver Seneca and have shared our conversation below.

Oliver, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Learning the craft is often a unique journey from every creative – we’d love to hear about your journey and if knowing what you know now, you would have done anything differently to speed up the learning process.

I learned to write from reading great authors. Stephen King. Dean Koontz. Michael Koryta. My initial process was to emulate their styles and find my voice along the way. The problem for me was that I was so inspired to create my own stories, that I rushed a lot of things. Scenes. Character development. Even editing. I could’ve sped up the learning process had I slowed down and paid more attention to the finer details.

The most essential skills for writing would be discipline and consistency. Try to maintain a schedule. Write so many words a day. Set goals. For me, that’s the only way to complete a manuscript. I have to focus. That way, obstacles like writer’s block or getting distracted by other ideas can be overcome.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I’m a writer of books, short stories, and poetry. I mainly write in the horror genre, but some of my projects lean into straight literary fiction without any scary or supernatural elements.

I wouldn’t have gotten started writing books if my older brother, Rich, hadn’t introduced me to Stephen King’s work. Growing up, I wasn’t much of a reader and never dreamed of becoming a writer. But that all changed in my early twenties when my brother suggested I check out a book called The Long Walk by Richard Bachman (Stephen King’s pen name). I was so blown away by the story that not only did it open the floodgates for taking in all genres of literature, but it inspired me to craft stories of my own, hoping to replicate just a fraction of the compelling imagery found in The Long Walk.

Luckily for me, as time went on, I found publishers who believed in my spooky little stories and put them out into the world. Even though I feel late to the party when it comes to reading and writing, I’m so grateful to be able to put my ideas on the page for readers to (hopefully) connect with the stories and characters. And I owe it all to my brother.

I’d say I’m most proud of my most recent book, Shaded Grove. No disrespect to my first two novels, but I believe Shaded Grove has the tightest writing and the best imagery of any long-form story I’ve written so far.

What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?

My mission is to tell the best story I can and express my ideas as vividly as possible. I always have an underlying tone or message to my books, but the bottom line is that they’re entertaining to the reader. Enjoyment is my number one priority.

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

The most rewarding aspect of writing is having someone (other than a friend or family member) connect with my work. There’s a lot of my life and emotions involved in my writing, and I’m always deeply touched when a total stranger reaches out to me to say that they could relate to a certain relationship or character I wrote.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.olivercseneca.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/olivercseneca/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/olivercseneca
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@OliverCSeneca