Meet Hollis Wakefield

We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Hollis Wakefield. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Hollis below.

Hi Hollis, really happy you were able to join us today and we’re looking forward to sharing your story and insights with our readers. Let’s start with the heart of it all – purpose. How did you find your purpose?

As a young student in high school, I had no clue what I wanted to “do with my life” after I graduated. The pressure put on young people- teens or adults- to figure out what they plan to do with their life is intense. As teachers, my parents, and other adults in my life continued to ask what I wanted to do with myself, the more overwhelmed I became. How could I know, at age fifteen, what I wanted my purpose in life to be?

Cue the 2020 Quarantine.

I was stuck in the house with no place to go. With a sudden need to entertain myself, I began to write stories. I drafted my first novel in six weeks, then- despite my fears it would be terrible- sent it to a friend. My friend loved it and asked for more. With that encouragement, I sent the book to my father for him to read as well.

The novel wasn’t a masterpiece. (It was a Star Wars Rogue One fanfiction that I’ll certainly never publish.) But after reading the first three chapters, my father came to me with tears in his eyes and said, “God gave you a gift.” He didn’t mean that I was a prodigy, nor did he mean my writing was perfect.

But my father saw something in me, a passion for writing and creative storytelling, that could only have been placed there by God.

That realization changed everything for me.

As someone raised in a Christian household, I entered a personal relationship with God at a young age. I knew all along that I wanted to dedicated everything I did to Him… but what would I do for Him, exactly?

Now, I knew. I wanted to write.

God had given me a passion for stories. That passion came with the responsibility to intentionally cultivate my skills and use them for the God who had already done so much for me.

Thanks to someone calling out the talents they saw in me, and thanks to the God who placed those talents there in the first place, I had a purpose.

Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?

I write young adult fantasy stories that combine the thoughtfulness of classic literature with the fast-paced action of modern adventures.

As a teenager, I struggled to find fantasy stories that enthralled me– ones full of exciting twists and fast-paced action, but with deeper messages than the simple, cliche lessons I’d read a hundred times before. Frustrated, I gave up on modern novels.

For several years, I buried myself in classic literature instead. The deep, thoughtful messages of books like Dracula or The Count of Monte Cristo were what I was looking for, but with my shorter modern attention span, the stories dragged at times. Unsatisfied with being stuck choosing between exciting stories with cliche messages and meaningful stories that sometimes dragged, I began writing the stories I couldn’t find, in hopes of sharing them with others who felt as I did.

Most recently, I published my short story, The Rose-Tinted Glasses, in an anthology called Voices of The Future: Stories of Whimsy and Warriors. The anthology features twelve stories from rising young creatives. This year, I will begin pitching my full-length novels to agents and editors. People can follow along with my journey by joining my monthly newsletter.

Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?

A quality that took me from a fifteen-year old high schooler finding her purpose to a published author continuing to pursue her career was: Teachability. One of the most valuable things I did for myself was to intentionally listen to the voices of people who knew me well and people who knew more than I did. People who knew me were able to give me direction during times when I needed to make tough decisions. People who knew more than I did were able to take my passion for storytelling and give it legs to stand on. Learning to listen to others and genuinely accept their input helped me pursue a writing career faster and healthier than if I had done it alone.

A skill that aided me in my journey was goal-setting. The ability to take large dreams, turn them into tangible milestones, and break those milestones into step-by-step goals helped me pursue things in a timely manner and see my progress. I attended The Author Conservatory college alternative after high school. Whenever I had another novel to write, I would break the massive 80,000-word goal down into bite-sized chunks per week, even per day. That enabled me to stay on track and finish four novels and one short story within two and a half years.

An area of knowledge that impacted my writing journey was learning of the Dunning-Kruger effect. Not everyone loves graphs, and as a writer, I’m not partial to them either. But seeing the competence versus confidence journey mapped out entirely changed my perspective on learning. I was able to identify when I became over-confident (and therefore harder to teach), and I was able to encourage myself when I hit a low place, feeling like I hadn’t learned nearly enough. Understanding how little I know was key to growing as a writer and as a person.

To folks who are early in their journey, I encourage you to develop all three of these areas. Realistically, you won’t master them. Neither will I. It’s a lifelong process.

The key to developing all three of these areas is recognizing how far you have to go and set a realistic plan in place to get there. Don’t criticize yourself for slow growth. Listen to others. Understand that you have a lot to learn. And then faithfully, consistently apply yourself to learning through stepping-stone goals.

What is the number one obstacle or challenge you are currently facing and what are you doing to try to resolve or overcome this challenge?

The number one obstacle I’m facing today is ironically similar to the obstacle I faced as a fifteen-year old in high school. At age fifteen, I wondered, “What will I do with my life?” At age twenty as a fresh graduate of The Author Conservatory, I wonder, “I know I want to write, but how will I continue doing that as a career?”

Often, the questions we wrestle with in life pop up again and again. For me, it’s finding my place in the world, now as a young professional. Thankfully, through my experience uncovering my passion for storytelling, the strategy to overcome this challenge is quite simple. And the answer is the same.

I’m finding trusted people who know me and can show me opportunities that they see being a good fit for me. And I’m leaning into the God who brought me this far already, all the way through The Author Conservatory program, and trusting that He will continue to show me the way.

My current plan after graduating is to begin pitching my novels to agents and publishers, intentionally invest in my small business (Hollis Lee Virtual Assistance), and take up a job in the writing industry. These things fall in line with the inclinations other people see in me, and with the exciting opportunities God has placed in my path.

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