Mackenzie Littledale's blog is about whatever might be on her mind, poetry, random thoughts, philosophy and goings-on in South Florida. She has bipolar but seems to be living well enough with it by taking her meds. Repped by Serendipity Literary.
Twitter: @mackenzielitt13
Facebook: @mackenzielittledalewriter
I used to order grande French Roast or Italian Roast, until I started saving money by buying the grinds and brewing at home.
2. What does your workstation look like?
I don't work in an office. It looks an awful lot like a place to relax. Can't say more, but I bust my ass there.
3. Favorite food?
Cheeseburger medium rare. Homemade salad (I do make a kick ass salad). Lasagna is near the top of the list.
4. Favorite author?
Absolute favorite of all time is Ken Follette's historical fiction!
5. What do you think of open relationships?
I'm sure they work for some, but I secretly harbor the wish to be a man's one and only.
6. What is your favorite video game?
I used to dig Centipede and Galaga
7. Guilty Pleasure Food?
I don't feel guilty about chocolate
8. Favorite movie?
The Harry Potter series, Memoirs of a Geisha, and The Matrix Trilogy are in my top 5.
9. Favorite book?
For personal development: 7 Habits of Highly Effective People
For entertainment: Pillars of the Earth
10. Twitter or Instagram?
Twitter! What's Instagram?
11. Desktop or laptop?
Laptop
12. Best advice you’ve ever received?
Take it all in stride (Thank you Scott)
They can't eat you (Thank you Woody)
13. What project are you working on right now?
Nothing. Work is all consuming. In Sept, I'll go over my beta readers' notes and see what changes my manuscript calls for. I have a secret career-related project, and notes for two short stories. I have feedback on an essay, so I'll go through that to tighten it up and seek publishing in literary journals.
14. Favorite color?
Purple, and red, and black.
15. Did you get good grades in school?
Up until high school
16. Dream job?
That's part of my secret career related project. That plus fiction writing.
17. Play any sports?
Does typing at my laptop count?
18. Do you have a degree?
No
19. Nationality?
USA
20. What is your favorite kind of blog post?
I've enjoyed topics on taking care of mental health, ongoing stories, tips on writing craft. It has to be real, either heartfelt or thoughtful
21. What do you like to collect?
books, coffee mugs and magnets
22. Describe yourself in three words?
Short, fat, philosophical
23. If you were a rapper what would your stage name be?
Lost in Thought or maybe Mental Maze
24. Who is the last person you DMed?
(HI JOAN) Mackenzie Littledale! Here’s a shout out to Mack!
Last DM in Twitter was to Diego Lomax when I started drafting this. Now, Phebe Lawson
25. What’s on top of your wish list right now?
To move into an apartment with a yard and a washer/dryer.
26. Sorting house?
Gryffindor
27. How many tattoos do you have?
Zero
28. What are you most grateful for this year?
So grateful to have money for the food I enjoy, to provide a home for myself and my cat, a super busy promo period at work that I can count on, an upcoming vacation to Atlanta, making new friends on Twitter, feedback from beta readers (overall so far "great manuscript")
29. What’s the best thing that’s happened to you this month?
I took myself and my mom for a little mini spa day and the look on her face was priceless.
30. What’s the best thing that’s happened to you today?
I have the day off work. I went to a different therapist and the session was really good. I actually woke up rested this morning.
31. What’s the best thing ever?
Chocolate, cats, purple and falling in love.
32. Favorite season?
Fall, but I'm not up north anymore.
33. Favorite holiday?
Thanksgiving. It's nice to hear what people are thankful for, and gratitude heals all wounds.
34. What fictional character do you relate to the most?
Hermione Granger. My hair is kind of wild and bushy, and I never hesitated to put my hand up first if I thought I knew the answer to a question. It was refreshing to see a super smart female in a position to help out and not be ridiculed for braininess.
35. Do you like surprises?
Only pleasant surprises.
36. What’s the biggest surprise you’ve ever had?
When my niece announced she was pregnant.
37. Which surprise made you cry.
I can't remember the last time I cried. I'm gonna have to say the ending of Avengers: Infinity Wars
Plus, there are some inspirational moments on Twitter, like a writer named a character after me. That touched me deeply.
38. What’s the best surprise you’ve given someone else?
I took my mom for her first facial and she couldn't get over how pleasant it feels to be pampered and treated like royalty. Honoring the divine feminine in ourselves is the best gift I could give any woman.
39. Do you like muffins?
Sure
40. Do you cook often?
Never. Hate it.
41. What’s your favourite dessert?
The one I can get my hands on fastest!
42. Is there a dessert you don’t like?
Anything with cooked raisins.
43. Cake or pie?
I want both.
44. What’s your least favorite food?
I won't eat off a plate that has anchovies on it
Really Joan? I like sardines.
45. What’s your favorite condiment?
Mayonaise
46. It’s 4am on a random Saturday. What are you eating?
Reese's peanut butter cups
47. If you could teach a college class, what would it be called?
I'm actually creating a course (not college level) for newbies in my profession. Beyond that, it's a secret writing project
48. Best animated film?
Inside Out
49. What has a guy said or done to impress you?
Hmm. Some punk tried to pick me up with potato chips in his mouth. It left a negative impression.
50. Best thing to do on a first date?
Dinner and movies. I'd probably marry someone who took me to a Rage Room or jet skiing on a first date.
51. Worst thing to do on a first date?
Rest his hands on my legs like we know each other like that
52. What’s the best pick up line?
I've been enjoying your writing and I'd like to take you out, anywhere you'd like to go.
53. Best comic book character?
I'm not a fan of comic books
.
54. Name three things which can always be found in your purse.
Whatever's in there is breaking my shoulder. It feels like gold bullion and I'd love to get my hands on it.
55. Favorite drink?
Non alcoholic: water, peach iced tea, Coke
Alcoholic: Cosmopolitan, Moscato, Bacardi and Coke, pina colada.
56. If you could play a historical character in a movie who would it be?
Michelle Obama
57. Kittens or puppies?
Why choose?
58. Favorite sushi roll?
Salmon roll, no avocado
59. What lipstick do you use?
L'Oreal
60. What foundation do you use?
None
61. Blow dry or air dry?
I let the salon work that out
62. Who is your fashion icon?
I haven't paid attention in ages!
63. Favorite Disney character?
Riley in Inside Out
64. What are you doing tomorrow?
Writing my daily vss365, Bravewrite and vsspoem on Twitter, then working
65. Movie you laughed the hardest through?
The Hangover and Super Bad.
66. Movie that made you cry?
Immortal Beloved
67. If you could sing a duet with anybody, who would you choose?
I'd spare the world that disaster
68. If your life was a song what would the title be?
For several months, I was so freaking stressed out that the only way I could calm down enough to fall asleep was to imagine winning Powerball. The jackpot was outrageous and imagining what I'd do with the wins was fun. A bit too much fun.
Remember the Mirror of Aristed in the first Harry Potter? Yeah, man, I'd just sit and stare and waste away the rest of my life with my fantasy jackpot.
I imagined winning every single night at bedtime until I wrote down what I'd do.
Did you know that 80% of lottery winners worldwide file bankruptcy within 5 years of winning? It's true! Google it, but wait until after you finish reading this, if you don't mind.
I don't want my loved ones (or myself) to wind up on that list of poor bastards, so I decided, if I win, my favored beneficiaries have to learn how to manage their finances. At the time, the jackpot hovered around $1 billion 💰🤑, so I can only imagine my loved ones turning into money leeches (not how I want their behavior toward me to become). Let's face it, if I had a virtually unlimited source of funds to tap, I'd tap it. So would they.
In my bedtime imaginings, I devised a weekend party with my loved ones, and at the end of one night, I'd sit them down in a conference room. The first go-round, I'd give them all a token amount, like $5,000. They would have to follow my rules for one year, and if they do, I'd double the money to $10,000. If they don't follow all the rules, I'd cut the money in half to $2500.
After the first year, I'd give them a new goal, with the same rules. At the end of year two, I'd double the money again to $20,000. Again, if they break a rule, the money gets cut in half.
Anyone who reaches $640,000 would get the added optional rule of sharing their money, and the rules, with someone they trust. However, if the new person breaks a rule, both of them get their stipend cut in half. If all of them follow the rules, I'd double their money to $1.28 million.
See how wealth and knowledge can multiply?
What are the rules?
Save 10%,
Contribute the maximum amount allowed by law to a retirement account,
Don't ask me for an additional nickel.
Seriously, those are the only rules.
And they're so simple and so unforgiving that I bet not everyone would follow them.
Why did I even write this post? Because someone on twitter asked a question that made me remember. Her open-invitation question was "What's an ethical way to give away $5 million?"
Comments welcome. Feel free to argue with me.
Thanks for jogging my memory Dr. Tara!
Be well and have a magical day!
Mackenzie
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Follow me on Twitter @mackenzielitt13
Even more than writing itself, what gives me deliriously supreme satisfaction is helping writers tap into their strength to overcome writers block. Writers block is a bitch, and that is the damn truth.
Writers block feels more like being locked inside a mausoleum. Hey, I'm not dead! I don't belong in here! I'm alive! I'm alive!
Sports champions tell us our only real competition is yesterday's version of our best self.
We have to outwit and out-maneuver our inner demons almost daily. This should really be easy for writers because demons speak our language. We taught it to them.
We empower them with an endless bank of images that scare the living daylights out of us.
We stock their vocabulary arsenal with the exact phrases that shut us down and force us into hiding.
Our fearful demons say we're not good enough, we're stupid, we're boring, no one loves us or what we do or what we have to say. What can we do?
We fight back. Just about every word has an opposite, so we fight their fire with water. We fight their fear with bravery. We fight their hate with love. We fight their apathy with feeling. We fight their barbed words with reassurance.
You see where this is going, yes?
At the very least, doubt the voice of doubt. When self doubt says, "You don't know what you're doing. Nobody is gonna read your shit. There are better books on the bookstore shelves. Who are you to compete?" Doubt that right back. "What if I figure out what I'm doing? What if I find a blog or book or PDF from a writer who's been in this same position? What if 1000 people want to read exactly what I write? Maybe there are better books, but better is subjective. (Seriously even Stephen King has detractors, right?) What if somebody is going to think my book is better? I want to compete! Maybe I'm a white belt now, but if I just keep at it, I can reach green and brown and black. Maybe my first attempt won't win, but I'm gonna cross that damn finish line."
Tap into a superhero's fortitude and superpowers, and imagine those powers as your own. The Arts provide so many shining examples of protagonists (realistic or futuristic, your choice).
Writers do this in words. We must become pain. We must inflict pain on FEAR. The bogeyman better hear me coming and run like hell. We must become verbally muscular to develop resilience.
Is life really assaulting us or is life throwing too many situations at once? When we're begging to know why life is "doing this to me", it creates a way forward to change to the question to "Why is life doing this for me?"
Life hands out shit and gold. It isn't evenly dispersed. Gold is rare. Shit is common. However, even in the right hands, shit can be transformed into manure and fertilizer and keep the planet fertile and healthy.
Do not be stopped. Not here. Not now. Feel alone? Call a friend. Feel like being alone, decline the invitations. Do whatever you need to get through this moment and keep your eyes on the prize.
I am on writing hiatus because work is kicking my ass, but the promotion period at work is coming to a close at month end, and Writerly Mackenzie will have ample time and inspiration to hit the laptop with a vengeance. With a fucking VENGEANCE.
The topic was writing is supposed to be hard as fuck. If it were easy, the reward would mean nothing. Typing "the end" would feel like any other day, any other occasion. Wrestling with self doubt, jinx, doom, and inner critic makes finding confidence feel like the special occasion it is. Digging deep inside your mind, imagination and the dictionary makes crafting the perfect sentence feel like victory! It IS victory.
Dear writer, all art is partially self-portrait, so that superhero and protagonist in your story is tapping into your inner - what? Fortitude, cleverness, resilience, insight, wisdom, patience? You have inner something. The only way to develop it is to USE it.
What DO you have going for you? What ARE you good at?
Tap THAT.
There are so many virtues to choose from. Can you be patient with yourself as the ideas percolate in your cranium? Can you write 10 poems in a day while your manuscript sits it out a couple innings? Do you see 50 variations of green in a park? Can you write about that? Are you resilient, fast, strong, tenacious, resourceful, funny, thoughtful, persuasive? You can tap into anything inside you to keep going. And, honest to God, if you can't find what you need within yourself right now, reach out to a friend who encourages you. Cry it out.
I'll leave you with this: When you're tired, rest. But do not quit. Do not fucking quit.
Make your OWN day magical today. Why not? You deserve to encourage yourself, too.
Dammit, I'm all emotional right now.
I'm gonna cross that finish line too.
