Octavia Butler Didn't Like Lauren Olamina

Writing Parable of the Sower transformed not only Lauren Olamina, but Butler herself

When Octavia E. Butler sat down to write Parable of the Sower, she didn’t like her protagonist.

It’s a startling confession, especially for those of us who like to see Lauren Olamina as one of Butler’s most enduring and prophetic figures. But tucked within Butler’s handwritten archive is a note that reveals the tension at the heart of her writing process: