Makitia Thompson's Blog, page 7

Why Reading Is the Ultimate Creative Conspiracy

 

The Perfect Books to Spark Deep Dialogue

Let’s be honest: books are magic spells we willingly fall under, only to emerge hours (or days) later questioning life, love, time, morality, and whether that character really needed to die. (Still not over it, George R. R. Martin.)

But more than escapism, books spark dialogue. The juicy kind. The kind that ends friendships over a plot twist, inspires 2 a.m. texts like “Did you finish the last chapter?!”, or leads to full-blown debates in the group chat over who was right, who was wrong, and what it means to be human.

As a writer, I believe reading is a non-negotiable part of the journey. You can’t write without reading—well, you can, but it’s like baking without ever having tasted cake. Books feed your brain, challenge your style, and stretch your perspective. They make your writing better. Your dialogue richer. Your characters messier (in a good way). And best of all, book debates get the creative juices flowing like nothing else.

So let’s dive into a few books—some beloved bestsellers, some lesser-known gems, and yes, a few of my own—that are guaranteed to light a fire under your literary soul and get people talking.

Popular Books That Stir the Pot (and the Soul):

📘 The Midnight Library by Matt Haig
This one has people asking: If you could live all the lives you never chose, would you? Or would you spiral under the weight of infinite possibilities? Existentialism, meet your book club.

📕 The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett
Family secrets, identity, race, and duality—this novel packs so much into every page. It's the kind of book that makes you want to dissect every decision the characters make and ask, “What would I have done?”

📗 Circe by Madeline Miller
Greek mythology through a feminist lens. Beautiful, devastating, and perfect for arguing over who really gets to be the hero.

Books That Deserve a Louder Megaphone:

📙 The Death of Vivek Oji by Akwaeke Emezi
Haunting, emotional, and deeply original. It explores grief, gender identity, and the masks we wear to survive. Not nearly enough people are talking about this book—but they should be.

📘 Long Division by Kiese Laymon
Time travel, racism, Southern Black culture, and layered storytelling? Yes, please. Complex and chaotic in the best way.

📕 The Seep by Chana Porter
Aliens, identity, queer love, and the unravelling of humanity. This strange, beautiful little book will either make you clutch it to your chest or fling it across the room—and that’s the sign of a conversation starter.

My Books (Yes, I Went There—but With Good Reason):

🖤 The Killer Across the Street
This one dives into the secrets hiding in plain sight—behind white picket fences and in the lives of women who survive monsters in plain clothes. People debate whether the killer’s charm was real or performance, and how much of ourselves we sacrifice to stay safe.

🩸 Criminal Plague
If you’ve ever wondered what justice looks like in a collapsing world, or whether morality can survive when survival is on the line, this book’s for you. Readers have argued over which character “broke first”—and who had the right to.

🎭 Dying in the Spotlight
Fame, lies, and a deadly unravelling. This one brings out all the Did they deserve it? and Was it worth it? kinds of questions that writers (and readers) love to chew on.

Why It All Matters

Reading—really reading—isn’t passive. It’s a full-contact creative sport. You argue with the author. You empathise with characters you’d never befriend in real life. You yell at the pages. And most importantly, you grow.

If you’re an aspiring writer, read more. Read widely. Read things that make you uncomfortable. Read what you wish you’d written. Read books you hate and figure out why. Then steal like an artist (ethically, of course).

So go ahead—pick up something new. Start a dialogue. Start a debate. Start a draft. Let the books you read become your writing mentors, your muses, and your conspirators.

Because behind every great story is a bookshelf full of better ones.

Write the book you want to read

 

Let’s get one thing straight: if you’re writing a book just because you think it’ll sell, you might as well try assembling IKEA furniture with your forehead. Sure, you might end up with something resembling a bookshelf, but you’ll also be covered in emotional splinters and confusion, wondering why you started this in the first place.

Here’s the thing no one tells you loud enough: the best book you’ll ever write is the one you want to read. Not the one you think some imaginary publishing executive in a velvet robe and monocle will buy. Not the one that “feels hot right now.” (Spoiler alert: by the time you finish writing it, that trend will be deader than disco.)

I get it. We all dream of the big stuff—movie deals, Oprah’s Book Club, a surprise call from Reese Witherspoon asking if she can play your protagonist even though the character is a 17-year-old lizard. And yes, success and recognition are sweet. I’m not going to pretend they’re not. But I promise you: there is something way sweeter.

Writing something that feels like you.

That weird little story idea you’ve carried in your heart for years? That genre mashup that makes no sense to anyone but you? That character who speaks in riddles and probably steals forks? That’s where your magic is.

When you write what you love—whether it’s haunted train stations, sarcastic ghosts, or insane space operas—your voice shines through. Your weirdness, your heart, your passion. Readers might not even know why they’re obsessed with your book, but they’ll feel it. That spark. That love. That audacity to write something real.

And listen, even if it never becomes a bestseller or makes it to Target shelves sandwiched between celebrity memoirs and candle-scented cookbooks—you’ll still have something nobody can take from you: a story you believed in enough to finish.

That’s success too. Maybe an even bigger kind.

So please, for the love of all things caffeinated, stop writing what you think people want. Write what you want. Be reckless with your imagination. Be bold with your voice. Be apologetically obsessed with your own ideas. You’re not just a writer—you’re a world-builder, a character therapist, a plot acrobat.

Write your heart out. Even if your heart is yelling, “Give me a pirate romance where all the pirates are cats.”

Because the world doesn’t need more of the same.

It needs you.

Is writing a good career?

 

Is Writing a Good Career? (Don’t Ask Me, But Also… Ask Me)

So here’s the thing—I probably shouldn’t be writing this post.

I mean, I’m at the very beginning of my writing career. Like, toe-in-the-pool, still-reading-the-instruction-manual levels of beginning. I don’t have a bestselling book (yet). I’m not writing this from a cozy cabin in the mountains with a mug of tea and three book deals in my inbox. I’m sitting here, likely overthinking every sentence, wondering if I should be writing at all today.

But here I am. And maybe you’re here too. So let’s figure this out together.

“Is writing a good career?” is one of those questions that sounds simple until you actually try to answer it. Like, define “good.” Good for your soul? Good for your bank account? Good for your mental health? (Trick question. That one’s a war zone.)

Honestly? Writing can be beautiful and brutal in the same breath. There’s the thrill of finishing a chapter, the spark of a new idea, the rush of seeing your name on a page. But there’s also the days where words feel like wet socks, and nothing sounds right, and you wonder if your cat could write better dialogue than you.

Still… we keep going.

I think writing is a good career if you are good with it not being simple. If you can love the process more than the product, or at least try to. If you can make peace with the fact that sometimes you’ll write things no one reads, and sometimes people will read things and not get it—and that’s still okay.

It’s not glamorous, and it’s rarely stable. But writing gives you a way to exist louder. To tell the stories that keep you up at night. To maybe, just maybe, nudge someone else forward by sharing your barely-figured-out thoughts, like I’m doing right now.

This isn’t advice. I’m not qualified to give that. This is just me talking to the void (hi, void), hoping someone else out there is asking the same question and feels a little less alone knowing they’re not the only one wondering what the heck they’re doing.

So... is writing a good career?

I don’t know.

But I know I’m still showing up. I know something inside me lights up when I write. And if you’re here, reading this, maybe something lights up in you too.

MInds In Design

 

Explore Minds In Design

Minds In Design

My Mind, Your Mind, and All Minds In Design

Company Description:

Minds In Design is a creative publishing house and storytelling hub founded by author Makitia Thompson. I specialise in fictional autobiographies and immersive, interview-style narratives that explore the lives of characters who are as chaotic, compelling, and human as reality itself.

Every story is a window into the soul of imagination — a place where raw emotion, sharp introspection, and creative daring collide. My signature storytelling style blends the unfiltered honesty of journalistic interviews with the deeply personal reflections of fictional memoirs, offering readers both unbiased insights and emotionally charged perspectives. Through this dual lens, readers experience not just the facts of a life — but the truth of how it felt to live it.

At Minds In Design, I believe stories are not just written — they are lived, felt, and remembered. My murder mysteries, fictional interviews, and emotionally-driven autobiographies are crafted to entertain, challenge, and inspire — delivering hours of meaningful escapism with originality on every page.

Whether you’re flipping through a psychological puzzle or witnessing the rise, fall, and redemption of a character’s life, you’ll discover passion-driven tales that turn imagination into something real.

What You’ll Find:

Bold, fictional autobiographies written with depth, soul, and surprising humanity

Inventive interview-style novels told through the voices of sharp, compelling journalists

Twisted, layered murder mysteries that keep you guessing and emotionally invested

Kindle Unlimited availability and reader-first pricing — because great stories should be accessible to all

My Mission:
To bring imagination to life and create immense entertainment through each publication.

Story Theme:
Life gives you pain. It is your duty to give it purpose.

Procrastination can benefit your book

 

Maybe procrastination isn't the best word for it, I admit it does sound a bit discouraging. What I mean by procrastination benefiting your book is taking time away from your book to improve your writing. I often find myself staring at my computer screen and not being able to write anything, I end up just sitting in my chair thinking about writing but not actually doing it. I've also found that being away from my book, computer, notebook and anything else that might allow me to write down my ideas helps me to create a story. Trying really hard to write your book and create something worth reading makes my work harder to do. Daydreaming and dreaming in general gives life to your story. You put yourself in the story and write it through images in your mind and emotions rather than just words. Living in your story will give it flare when you finally go back to writing it, so maybe it isn't best to think of it as procrastination. I only say procrastination because you're not writing, not because you're doing something that's harming your work ethic. You can think of it as a break. Sitting around and technically doing nothing can actually do a whole lot more for your book than forcing yourself to write can. Pushing the words out rather than letting them flow takes life out of your story. All of this just goes back to me saying that you have to be in love with your story and know your characters like you've met them in the real world, as you've been friends for years. Sometimes it can be so hard to write a novel or short story when you're pushing yourself too much. It can be the absolute best thing for your book to just leave it alone for a few days, maybe a week or two and live with your story. Maybe you already knew this, I'm sure if you're a writer yourself you've most likely figured this out through your own trial and error. I just wanted to reassure anybody who was feeling discouraged about their projects and let you know that procrastinating doesn't have to be a bad thing. 

April book sale!!!

 You can find my books on Amazon.com using my name, Makitia Thompson and on audible. You're also able to find my stories by searching for the individual book name on Amazon and audible. The books provided below are the ones on sale for April. Every book shown is an Ebook on sale for 0.99 

The Choosing to Remember series is on sale from April 19th to April 26th. 

Criminal Plague: https://a.co/d/6OF1er7

Caged Pride: https://a.co/d/177iLxX

Dying in the Spotlight: https://a.co/d/2IaWkho

The Through Tainted Eyes series is on sale from April 15th to April 22nd.

Alternate Endings: https://a.co/d/67LsfNo

Criminal Behaviour: https://a.co/d/0nuPHPa

All hail Simon: https://a.co/d/fnsFtji

Should you write a certain amount of books a year?

 

Absolutely not. I tried that last year in my first professional writing year and it just stressed me out. I was writing books and feeling like I was so far behind everybody else, as if it was a competition. I kept trying to force myself to write each book in 6 weeks or less and now that I think about it, a deadline like that doesn't make any sense. Google was telling me that I should write 6 books a year and then it said don't write more than 4 books a year, a couple articles told me to focus on one or two books a year. Every day I was trying to follow someone else's plan for writing, when the books were my own. Like I said, it was very stressful. Whenever I didn't meet that ridiculous deadline I set, I'd feel this massive wave of failure and eventually tried to rush the book out. Which obviously takes from the quality of any book. After failing a few more times while trying to live up to my own terrible standards, I came to the realisation that quantity means nothing when every book isn't worth reading past page 65. I stopped writing completely for about two months and spent my time figuring out what my proper next steps needed to be. After spending time away from writing and regrouping, I began to find my footing. I still wanted to work with deadlines just to make sure that I was being productive, but I chose deadlines that gave more flexibility. I tasked myself to finish a chapter a month and with that much time available I actually finished two chapters a month. Which led to me to decide that I'd dedicate three months to each book, so that I didn't feel rushed to finish anything. My system works for me and allows me to work on a project without feeling immense amounts of pressure. I can focus on the quality of a book and still manage quantity at the same time. It's also helpful to task yourself with writing 500 words a day or 5000 words a week, whatever fits you and your schedule. I'm sure you already knew that it wasn't a good idea to try and pump out book after book, it is very obviously a bad idea. Still I wanted to share my trial and error pertaining to how many books you should write a year. The number should come from you and fit your work ethic. Don't feel like you absolutely have to write 3 to 6 books a year. Some people can do ten books a year, other people dedicate a year to one book and both options are fine if it's your choice. Setting unreasonable deadlines takes away from your work and will affect your growth as a writer. Thank you for reading this post, it's yet another one of my rambles that I just had to get out. I do hope that I gave you something from this post and made your writing journey a tad bit easier. 

Best series for inspiration

 

Sons of anarchy - I've found that this show is perfect for coming with stories focused on violence. When you're trying to create a character whose life has been very hectic and who has often made terrible choices. Sons of Anarchy offers plenty of ideas. Seeing all of the gruesome deaths helped to better describe death in a book. I'm able to give it the necessary dramatics and all of the goriness to make it seem like you're right there. 

Prison break - This show helps me to think of characters that are very intelligent and can see what most often people look over. The show is great for sparking ideas when creating characters centered on being con artists or lives in their own reality as they're too far ahead for the one they're in. 

Desperate housewives - The perfect show for sparking ideas when you're trying to create a series and or a book with the perspective of multiple characters. It gives you a good idea on how you should go about writing a book that gives multiple characters a chance to tell their side of a story. I've also found that the show has a lot of story lines that were forgotten and not expanded on, which can give you something to build on.

Scandal - A great show for creating criminals and seemingly good characters who are terrible people in their hidden life. Scandal can teach you how to come up with a villain you can't help but love. It's also a good show for creating strong characters. Whether they're good, bad, both, or indifferent. The show will give you good pointers on how to direct a strong character and how to create strong background characters to support the story. 

Scream queens - I love this show, it's absolutely ridiculous and funny from start to finish. I'm much better at creating a story with heartbreak, rather than with comedy. Scream Queens has shown me how to incorporate comedy into a serious story and how to just write a ridiculous story worth reading. I also find that it offers a good example of a soap opera, in a far less dramatic way. It's a great show for writing younger characters who might not be mature an or chose not to see the seriousness of a situation. 

Brothers and sisters - The show offers ideas on how you might go about writing a book that focuses on the derailment of a family. It gives you a good idea on how you might go about having the family drama spill out, you'll see how you can drag out the drama without going on forever and creating a boring story. There's also a lot of secrets that come out in the show and you'll see the best way to go about having your character hide their secrets. 

I'd just like to make it very clear that you should only be using these shows for inspiration. If a certain story line gets your attention, you should be writing your own story from scratch while only using that story line as a reference. It's ok to see a forgotten story line and decide that it should be expanded on. But the expansion should be entirely your idea and no part of your story should align with the one in a show. These shows are just good for getting the creative juices flowing. This isn't one of my usual posts, but I just wanted to offer help to those who might be experiencing writers block and also to people who experience it often. I appreciate you reading my post and taking a look at my blog, Thank you. 

First or Third person?

 

When creating stories I often throw around the idea of writing from a different perspective. I wrote my first novel in the third person and it took me a long time to finish the story compared to books I've written recently. After finishing that novel and moving onto another story I wrote from a first person perspective, I realised what my problem was. I can't connect with my characters while writing for the character.  While writing in third person, I'd often come up with a scene that made sense to the story, but wouldn't pull the reader in. I was too far away from the character and in turn pulled myself away from the story. Writing from a third person perspective is like giving someone an air hug, while a first person perspective is more of a long embrace full of affection. I felt like I limited myself by writing in the third person and left a lot of the character out of the story. So I finished plotting my next story, then wrote a scene in both first and third person. The story made sense in the third person, but it felt real in the first person. I wrote as my character and unlocked the potential of my story by doing so. Every emotion my character was meant to feel, was now an emotion of mine. She was no longer just giving an insight on her day to day life, I was right there with her while she was doing everything. Writing in the first person allows me to get lost in my story, as if I'm recollecting my own experience. later down the line I wrote a short story in the third person and it worked amazingly. It's a murder mystery and I found that the third person is great for a story that has multiple characters involved. It allows you to give everybody a side in the story without having to waste time going back and forth between characters. I'm sure all of this is something you've already known for some time now. I guess it's fairly obvious which perspective works best with whatever story. It wasn't obvious to me, I've always done far better through trial and error. I just felt the need to share my experience using different POV's and provide a simple explanation on how different they are when it comes to connecting. Neither perspective or worse or better than the other. One just happens to fit a story far better than the other. There is no mandatory way to write a book and you should always write in the way that suits you. I'd like to end this by expressing my appreciation for you reading my nonsense post. I had yet another opinion that I didn't want to keep contained. I am very appreciative of your time. 

How long does it take to finish a book?

 

Per usual, I was scaring myself by going on google and searching up how everybody else is an author. What kind of books they're writing,how they write those books, how long it "should" take to write said books and whatever else. In the beginning of my writing journey I followed the lead of other authors, successful and looking to succeed. So many authors would say that it took them more than six months to write a book they considered to be good and others said it was at least 2 years before they finished one book. Which led me to believe that the path to writing a good book would have to take me at least a few months. So I spent 5 months creating and writing my first book, which is almost complete garbage if you ask me. I enjoyed writing the book and I still love the character, but I wasted too much time trying to write a book like someone else did. I was too focused on matching my author's journey with some strangers. Fooling myself into believing that writing for a certain amount of time would ensure a good book. It sounds stupid, because it is and I should've known better than attempt to mimic someone else. But I was so eager to have my first book be the one, that I didn't actually write anything worth reading. I just spent a whole lot of time writing nonsense. What I'm trying to get at is, there's no time limit or minimum amount of time when writing a book. Writing a book in two weeks most likely doesn't happen quite that often. Regardless, writing your book in two weeks doesn't mean it'll be great and it doesn't mean the book can't be enjoyable. Masterpieces have been made in no time and the same can be said for things considered worthless. It takes me somewhere between 4-8 weeks to write a book. Then it takes me somewhere between 3-7 months to write another. I've learned to just write and allow the story time to grow properly, however long that may be. Don't scare yourself into thinking that your 3 month book can't be as good as or better than a 2 year book. It's the quality of the story and the author that matters most in the end.