Designed Thoughts

🎤Telling the Truth in Fiction: An Honest Lie Worth Living
Part I: The Truth Beneath the Fiction I used to believe that fiction was the safest way to tell the truth - that if I just changed the names, rewrote the setting, or disguised my emotions beneath a metaphor, no one would ever really know what I was saying. But what I didn’t realize back then was that the story always knew. The story always finds you out. There’s something almost defiant about the way truth hides in fiction. It’s like a ghost refusing to be forgotten, haunting every sentence... Read more...
🧩The Unromantic Truth About Writing: Why Passion Isn’t Enough
Why Passion Just Isn’t Enough By Makitia Thompson 1. The Myth of the “Passionate Writer” There’s a strange illusion that follows writers like an unwanted pet: the belief that passion alone fuels great work. You’ve probably seen it in every inspirational quote slapped onto an Instagram gradient background, “Write with your heart, and the world will listen.” Cute, right? But here’s the problem: most people forget that passion doesn’t automatically translate to skill, structure, or emotional endurance. Passion is the spark, not the fire. You can’t warm a room with sparks... Read more...
Nostalgia & Reimagined Myths: Why We Keep Returning to the Stories That Already Own Us
Introduction: The Myth of Originality Let’s start with a harsh truth that no one really wants to admit: originality is overrated. There it is. No take-backs. Somewhere right now, a literary purist just fainted into a pile of their self-published novellas, whispering, “but… but… the sacred spark of creation!” Listen, here’s the deal-every story you’re reading today, writing today, or even thinking about writing today has roots in something older. Much older. We’re talking myths, folklore, bedtime stories, religious texts, and probably a campfire tale someone once told to scare a... Read more...
📝What’s Hot in Books Right Now & How You Can Ride the Wave (Without Losing Your Voice)
Let’s be brutally honest: publishing trends come and go faster than your favorite character gets killed off in a George R.R. Martin novel. One year it’s vampires that sparkle; the next it’s morally gray fae who brood. Self-help suddenly becomes “mindset manifesting,” dark romance takes over TikTok, and then boom-someone’s indie poetry book about coffee and heartbreak becomes a New York Times bestseller. It’s a lot. And if you’re an author trying to figure out how to keep your work relevant without selling your soul (or your prose), it feels like standing in... Read more...
🔥2025 Publishing Trends Every Author Should Know + Actionable Tips
Introduction: The State of Storytelling in 2025 Publishing is a beast that never stops mutating. Just when you think you’ve figured out the industry - bam! A new trend kicks down the door, BookTok births a genre you didn’t know existed, or Amazon tweaks its algorithms like a digital overlord toying with our sanity. As authors, we walk this strange tightrope: stay authentic to our voices, but also remain relevant to readers who are living, breathing, and buying books in this moment. And 2025 is…well, let’s just say it’s not a quiet... Read more...
🔪How to Write Killers That Haunt Readers
Introduction: Why Your Killer Should Keep Readers Awake at Night Let’s start with some honesty. Most “scary” stories aren’t scary. They’re laughable. You know the type: blood fountains, masked villains doing gymnastics with machetes, jump scares shoved onto the page like someone screaming “BOO!” into your ear. It’s cheap. It’s boring. And worse, it’s forgettable. But here’s the truth: when you’re writing about killers, realistic killers, the ones who make readers shut their blinds at 3 a.m. You can’t rely on gore or flashy tricks. You have to dig deeper.... Read more...
🌀The Art of Rambling: Why Storytelling Needs to Wander
Go On A Ramble With Makitia Let’s start with a confession: I love to ramble. Not in the “grandma telling you about 1974 when all you asked about was the soup” kind of way (though honestly, grandma might be onto something). I mean the kind of rambling that stories need to feel alive. The kind of meandering that makes characters less like chess pieces and more like people you could accidentally get stuck behind in line at the grocery store, half-annoyed, half-fascinated, wondering if they’ll keep talking about the price... Read more...