Today we’d like to introduce you to Stephanie Johnson.
Hi Stephanie, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I’m a former ESL and Spanish teacher but had always wanted to be a writer. I was fortunate to have the opportunity to take some creative writing classes at City College of San Francisco as well as UCLA Extension. This has led to opportunities to be published and to work at a literary magazine called Novel Slices. It’s rare to be able to follow your passion, and I am glad that I am able to do so.
We all face challenges, but looking back, would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
It’s hard to make a full-time living in the arts, especially if you haven’t got connections or if the opportunities come up later in life. Unfortunately, once you feel that passion to create burning inside of you, it’s not something that’s easy to walk away from. I also found that many of the people around me, though supportive, have not really understood what I am doing and why I feel like I have to do it. I strongly feel that art belongs to everyone and that we’ve had a lot of our creative impulses squashed by the struggles of modern living. Maybe someone will see something that I’m writing or a story that we’ve published in Novel Slices and will be encouraged to pick up a pen or a brush themselves and step through the magic door.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I’m very proud of being a part of Novel Slices; we’ve been publishing novel excepts by emerging artists for a few years now. A few of our contest participants have been picked up and published, and I love that we’ve been able to give these writers a chance to get their stories in front of a larger audience. The publishing environment has changed so much in recent decades that it seems like emerging writers have no place to get their name out, it’s very exciting to be a part of an organization that can help writers reach their goals.
When I’m not doing work for Novel Slices, I spend time on poetry, collage, and writing speculative fiction. Each of these has their own special attractions, and I’d recommend to anyone that they explore different forms of artistic expression, even if you only have a few minutes. All it takes to get hooked is a pen and a piece of paper and the intention to create.
The crisis has affected us all in different ways. How has it affected you, and any important lessons or epiphanies you can share with us?
You don’t need a jam-packed social calendar to have fun. Sometimes you miss the most important things when you are travelling a million miles an hour.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.novelslices.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/stephaniejohnsonpoetry/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephaniejohnson34/
