The Spotlight
Sam Ekstedt
Have you ever heard that if you can dream it, you can create it? Sam Ekstedt is turning her vibrant imagination into compelling stories, inviting readers to journey through her uniquely crafted worlds.
Since childhood, Sam has had a natural inclination for storytelling. What began as simple stories soon evolved into her own DIY fantasy manuscript, created at eight years old and complete with cover art drawn by a friend, bound with plastic rings. After trying to decide between different career ideas, Sam realized she could turn her love for writing into a full-time career as it felt like it was what she was destined for. “An inspiration is my 10-year-old brother who loves storytelling,” Sam recalled, she believes there is a lack of representation of kind and good male characters in media, so by creating stories with this in mind, she can give him an image that he can be inspired by. Her brother also wishes to be an actor and writer himself, so she brings him to various theater shows to allow him to become inspired and excited by the art of writing. Sam hopes to help him build the confidence he needs to pursue a career in writing and acting, using the connections she will establish in the writing industry
Recently, Sam Ekstedt embarked on writing two books: a novel and a children's storybook. The children’s book started with a creative essay she wrote for a class. The essay consisted of a personal story about how a significant experience inspires growth within an individual. When her mother read it, she immediately saw its potential and shared it with her friends, who praised the story's charm and creativity, even making its way to people Sam had never met before. This positive feedback inspired her mother to suggest that Sam expand the essay into a children's book, which has now become a central focus of her work.
As she began condensing her essay into smaller segments, Sam Ekstedt started shaping it into an engaging storybook with a strong central theme revolving around sexism. Mental health and self and community acceptance are also common themes she uses throughout her various forms of work. She also mentioned that a challenging part of storytelling for children is tackling more mature subjects like sexism and making it more suitable for children. “One of the hardest parts is taking high school vocabulary and breaking it down to be more suitable for children, but the visuals are the fun part,” Sam mentioned. “You also have to take something that flows as one piece, like an essay, and chop it down to flow page by page without being too long of a story but still keeping the right pace and intrigue present.”
When continuing the writing process, Sam realized there was a lot she didn’t know about the publishing process, and did extensive research. As for the art aspect, she began writing without prior knowledge of digital art, only ever having done traditional art. To grow and improve her skills, she watched YouTube videos, and Instagram reels, and studied the artwork of others. When learning expressions, “I even practiced facial expressions in the mirror to see the different facial lines and angles,” Sam recalled.
Sam’s imagination isn’t being expressed only in the form of a children’s book, she is also in the process of writing a celestial horror novel. Starting in 2018, she began the process of writing a novel revolving around a monster apocalypse, inspired by stories from the Magnus Archives, Love and Monsters, and other similar stories. While fictional, Sam decided to write her novel with some realism in mind and has been doing extensive research ensuring that details like injuries and their side effects are depicted accurately. For instance, Sam delves into medical literature to describe injuries with precision, determining how long a person might survive after a specific wound and how their body would react over time. These details also help Sam learn more about various medical topics.
Being a first-time writer has brought her a few challenges. Sam claims that the writing process will become more difficult once she reaches the publication aspect. There are two types of publishing: traditional–going to a publishing house and pitching the book idea for it to then be published–and self–a similar process but done solo and all financial burden is on the individual who will have to do everything, but receives a lot of money. Sam plans to self-publish her novel but is struggling with marketing and self-confidence. “There’s a feeling of unapproachability that comes from seeing other people's fantastic finished projects and feeling not good enough or that it's something impossible for someone my age. What I've found, and what's helped a lot, is that the key to creating something like that is just starting. Creating a plan and starting,” she remarked.
If there's one thing Sam wishes people understood about writing, it's that storytelling doesn't always get the respect it deserves. She believes the abundance of movie sequels and remakes is a symptom of a broader issue: a lack of fresh, original stories from larger companies. Often, large production companies reuse their old content to make “new” stories, but these stories lack a sense of soul to them. These same companies are creating unjust working circumstances for their writers, pushing them to produce new, copious content quickly, leading to the recent WGA Strike as well as many past forms of speaking out due to frustration.
However, these challenges aren't stopping Sam from sharing her stories. For her, writing is a joy, a space for creativity, and an opportunity for growth. As she puts it, “a lot of writing is just learning, and it's even an excuse to learn.” Despite the obstacles, Sam remains committed to her craft, embracing writing as a journey of discovery and imagination.
