Daniel A. Olivas
/How did you become a writer?
I took quite a circuitous route to becoming a writer. My parents made certain their five children had access to books even when money was tight which meant we all had library cards. Trips to the library were magical, and I remember that at a young age, I dreamed of seeing my own books in the shelves. My late father worked in a factory and had dreams of being a writer, but he received nothing but rejections, so he destroyed everything and focused on getting a college education and improving the lives of his family. Perhaps that’s why I majored in English literature but did not go on to get an MFA. Rather, I went to law school and became a practicing lawyer which I am to this day. But at the age of 39, my wife had the fifth of what would be seven miscarriages. I was not dealing with my grief very well even as I helped my wife and our young son with theirs. So, I started to write myself out of that grief. The result was a novella that was based on my grandparents’ migration from Mexico to Los Angeles in the 1920s. After that was published by a small press, I couldn’t stop writing. And 24 years later, and I have written ten books, edited two anthologies, and have had plays produced for the stage and in readings. I guess I am living my father’s dream of being a published writer.
Name your writing influences (writers, books, teachers, etc.).
First and foremost, my parents—Michael and Elizabeth Olivas—laid the foundation for me to become a writer because they emphasized the importance of education and also shared with us their love of books, film and theater. I had many wonderful English teachers throughout high school and college, too many to name. Because I attended high school and college during the 1970s and early 1980s, the required reading lists included the usual suspects—all wonderful writers like Hemingway, Fitzgerald, Woolf, etc.—but not many writers of color. When I started to write fiction as an adult, I immersed myself in reading a more diverse list of writers including Rudolfo Anaya, Sandra Cisneros, Maya Angelou, Amy Tan, and others. They gave me permission, if you will, to express fully my cultural touchstones in my writing.
When and where do you write?
Because my “day job” is very intense (though extremely fulfilling), I have to cobble together whatever free time I have to write. So, that means taking time to write in the evenings, on weekends, during vacations and holidays. Because my wife and I are teleworking these days, she has full use of our office, and I work at the dining room table on a laptop. That has become where I also write creatively since our home office is filled with my wife’s work. I can write anywhere. I am not a fussy writer. I write because I must. I have no choice in the matter.
What are you working on now?
I have a new short-story collection that is going through peer review with a wonderful university press. I am always working on interviews with Latinx authors for various publications such as the Los Angeles Review of Books, Latino Book Review, The Millions, Alta Journal, and La Bloga, to name a few. And I have a full-length play that will be produced for a staged reading this fall with the Garry Marshall Theatre, so I will be working with a director and actors as we rehearse it. There’s always something in the works!
Have you ever suffered from writer’s block?
Nope. I don’t understand the concept of writer’s block. I have so little free time, I am like a starved man who finds a morsel of food when an hour or two opens up for me to write. If I need to take a break from working on a particular piece to think about it, that’s fine. I just work on something else. But that’s not writer’s block. That’s simply the process of writing.
What’s the best writing advice you’ve ever received?
Support other writers if you can. If you are selfish, don’t expect other writers to support you.
What’s your advice to new writers?
Tell your story because if you don’t, someone else will, and they will get it wrong.
Daniel A. Olivas is a fiction writer, poet, playwright, editor, and book critic. He is the author of ten books including How to Date a Flying Mexican: New and Collected Stories (University of Nevada Press, 2022), The King of Lighting Fixtures: Stories (University of Arizona Press, 2017), and Crossing the Border: Collected Poems (Pact Press, 2017). Olivas has written on literature and culture for the New York Times, Alta Journal, Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Review of Books, and The Guardian. Olivas earned his degree in English literature from Stanford University, and law degree from UCLA. By day, he is a senior attorney with the California Department of Justice specializing in land use, environmental enforcement, and affordable housing. He makes his home in Southern California with his wife, and they have an adult son. Twitter: @olivasdan.
