Mackenzie

@mackenziewrites.bsky.social

50 Followers 91 Following

Writing my third (unpublished) novel; seeking bookish community. In love with speculative fiction of all kinds!

Cover of Parade of Horribles by Matt Dinniman. Depicts Carl riding on the roof of a fast food truck driven by Princess Donut.
Photo of a tropical fruit smoothie with whipped cream on top
Book cover of The Dead Take the A Train. Black background with the main image a Statue of Liberty bisected by a screaming head whose mouth is full of tentacles and rows of tiny needle-like teeth.
An index card rests on a sketchbook. The sketchbook has a sticker that depicts an upset goose and says “all of my systems are nervous.” The index card says: writing desk reminders. Because it is fun, I worry that it doesn’t matter. Write anyway.
A post-it note that says Writing Desk Reminders: bad art still matters. It makes the world better because EVERYONE should be allowed to embrace their creativity. Also, it’s just a first draft.
Screenshot of podcast called Creative Pep Talk. This episode is called A Message for the Sensitive Creatives who are Struggling Right Now.
Walking through a snowy landscape. On all sides, crows perch in the trees and call loudly.
I have spent the last two days mapping out my “follow Frodo’s journey to Mordor” walking challenge. (It will take me 2.5 years). Now I am jazzed to re-read and annotate the books with my new transparent post it’s so I can tell my friends fun facts while we walk.
A snow-covered landscape
Photo of a book cover. “Daily Rituals: how artists work,” by Mason Currey
A screenshot of my StoryGraph profile, showing a book called Ghost Talkers
A book cover of “the woman who fooled the world: Belle Gibson’s cancer con and the darkness at the heart of the wellness industry.”
As blocked creatives, we like to pretend that a year or even several years is a long, long time. Our ego plays this little trick to keep us from getting started. Instead of allowing ourselves a creative journey, we focus on the length of the trip. “It’s such a long way,” we tell ourselves. It may be, but each day is just one more day with some motion in it, and that motion toward a goal is very enjoyable.
A pie chart: Barnes and noble 8%, library 35%, kazoo books 8%, thriftbooks 13%, podcast 35%
A book cover. “Together in a Sudden Strangeness: America’s poets respond to the pandemic,” edited by Alice Quinn
A mess of gingerbread house components staged in the middle of a sign that says “it’s fourth quarter… we don’t have time for this.”
In November, Mackenzie read 20 books, 5,942 pages. Highest rated books Redshirts, The Art of Slow Writing, The Wild Robot Escapes. Average time to finish a book, 8 days.