So today, I have a very exciting post that I have been waiting for with giddy excitement - an interview with Mackenzie Hendricks!!! I've known Kenzie for a while now, but it's not until we both joined Author that I really started to get to know her.
And this interview just... wow XD I love it so much and can not wait to share it with you.
First, though, I have to announce that the anthology that she's in, Tell Me You Love Me, releases in just a few weeks on February 14th, Valentine's Day!! It's a super sweet collection of all sorts of different stories that point to God-honoring relationships and a love that reflects His. (And you can pre-order it, or order it depending on when you read this, here!)
I had the honor of reading one of the advance reader copies of it and it was so so good, and now, we get to hear from one of the authors, Mackenzie herself!!
The Interview
First of all, tell us a little bit about yourself and how you first got into writing!
Hey! I am Mackenzie and I am a 16 year-old young author. I am homeschooled and have been writing for maybe five-six years. I only started taking my writing seriously about two-three years ago when I joined the Young Writer’s Workshop (highly recommended, btw ;)). As a kid, I devoured books and when some friends in my co-op started writing stories, I wanted to try my own! I wrote cringy little stories on and off for years, but in 2020, I finished my first novel! Besides reading and writing, I love swimming, baking, listening/watching K-Pop and K-Dramas, and exercising.
Ahhhh, I love all your hobbies and that you like K-pop! So so fun! And yes, I would highly recommend The Young Writer's Workshop as well!
Were there any books or other authors that inspired you to get into writing? Or perhaps a mentor in your life? And who has been one of your biggest cheerleaders along this writing and storytelling journey?
Hmm, The Penderwicks series really inspired me to write because one of the characters was a writer at a young age! Percy Jackson and Keeper of the Lost Cities both really inspired me for some projects I worked on (We’ll pretend that my first novel wasn’t basically a rewrite of Keeper hahaha). My biggest cheerleaders have been my parents, and one of my best friends who I met on YWW!
Awww that's so awesome - The Penderwicks was one of my favorites when I was younger. (Well, the first one was at least!) And having parents that support you is such a blessing - as well as having supportive friends! YWWs gave me so so many of those!
Were you ever discouraged, or had a lot of setbacks in writing… and just didn’t want to keep going? How did you push through that and find the strength to keep going?
Ooof, this is hard, lol. In 2021, I took SO many writing breaks. Nothing worked and I kept restarting projects over and over and over. I’m trying to remember HOW to continue on still, XP, but first off, let God guide your journey. You do not, and cannot, do it all by yourself. Trust in God and He will carry you through those dry seasons and setbacks!
However, when I was going through that rough writing season a couple years ago, I ended up trying a totally new genre. It was supposed to be novella length and *hopefully* get me back into my writing groove but it did SO much more than that. It was super cringy, Hallmark-y, and shall never see the light of day, but it showed me that I love contemporary stories and that maybe that genre was better for me than fantasy/dystopian, which I had been struggling with. I finished that story, nearly double the length I expected and now, I’ve written many contemporary stories (including Until You Call Me Yours!)
So don’t be afraid to try new things when you are struggling, remember to take breaks, and trust in God’s timing and process! <3333
Amen!! Yes, yes, and yes girl! Love all of that!
Do you have any specific places you would go to to find inspiration and encouragement? And what would be your biggest encouragement for writers feeling uninspired and encouraged?
Obviously, besides asking God for inspiration and words and going to His word for encouragement, I get very inspired by music and Pinterest. I am a very visual person, and I typically write with my character's face claim pulled up, since pictures give me SO many ideas. That’s why my Pinterest boards are so big, because I need lots of photos so I can write different scenes with various emotions. And music is another really big factor of inspiration for writing—I’ve written lots of stories/snippets inspired by my favorite songs.
My biggest encouragement when feeling uninspired is to stop forcing yourself to get ideas. Instead of listening to music to get ideas, listen to enjoy it; instead of reading books for inspiration, read books to enjoy and get lost in. Go outside, take a walk, and observe the world. You cannot write a good story without living your own story ;) After all…some of the best ideas sometimes come from the most random moments in life.
Oh wow - that last little tidbit is gold! I heard Andrew Petersen talking about that in an interview/office hours for Author, and yes - so true!
Ok, now I would love to hear a little more about the anthology you’re in, Tell Me You Love Me! What made you decide to be a part of that anthology, instead of something else?
A bunch of people on YWW were asking for feedback on stories that they were submitting to this anthology and I wanted to join the trend I guess, XD. I ended writing the first draft in ONE day and did a bunch of rewrites on it since it was an absolute mess.
Oh wow! That's awesome! More specifically, what inspired you to write your story, Until You Call Me Yours?
My inspiration for Until You Call Me Yours, came from my love of swimming, my recent discovery of the contemporary genre, and watching too many Hallmark movies. I got the very basic character ideas for Weston and Saige when I saw a Christian couple on Instagram, haha. Everything just came into place after that.
Ahhaha I love that!!! Ok, so Until You Call Me Yours (which I love the title of, just gotta say XD) has such beautiful characters and a really strong theme, and deals with some heavy topics like death. Was there something or someone specifically that brought this message and story into your heart?
Awww, that makes me soo happy to hear! I lost my grandfather a couple years ago and as I was writing that story, one thing that was heavy on my heart was the fact that he wouldn’t be here to see me grow. He wouldn’t get to see me enter my first relationship, or see me publish a book, if that’s what God has in store for me. As a writer, the theme comes as I write the story and I don’t typically spend a bunch of time planning it out ahead of time, and this story was no exception.
When the characters lose this person (not gonna give spoilers ;)), they have to grapple with the fact that he isn’t going to be there to see them grow and change as they get older. That’s something I’ve had to deal with and I guess it naturally came out in this story! <3
Oh wow, what a beautiful message - and you conveyed it so well. There are so many people out there going through the same thing, and your writing is going to be such an encouragement to them.
Now, if you could sum up your mission for Until You Call Me Yours in one sentence, and your writing in general, what would it be?
My mission for Until You Call Me Yours, and my writing in general, is to point to God’s love, life, and hope. The stories I write tackle hard things (like death in Until You Call Me Yours), but I always want to show that there is hope, and light, in the darkness that overwhelms this world.
Ahhh I love that - and I adore Until You Call Me Yours. (And because contemporary is my favorite genre, it was one of my favorites in the anthology!!) But now let’s talk a bit more about you. If you could go back two or three years, and tell your younger writing self one thing, what would you tell her? And why?
Oh my, I would tell myself to lean into God more and let Him guide my life and my writing more. Pretty simple, but I never let God into my writing as much as I should’ve and it’s still something I am working on. But seriously, inviting the Lord into your writing career and your routines, really does boost everything about writing!
Ahhh yes - amen again!! It's so important to remember that everything we do, whether ordinary or extraordinary, is for the Lord. And living every moment and day with Him is such a beautiful, amazing way to live.
On another note, what is one of the hardest parts of drafting for you, and how do you power through and just get it done? We all know that writing is far from easy - but what sparks your fire and gives you the drive to keep going?
One of the hardest things about drafting… is knowing you have to go back and fix it all later, lol. That makes me lose inspiration, so that’s when I have to remind myself, it can’t be perfect the first round and get motivated to continue on. Pinterest boards and music really inspire me to keep going when I’m struggling to feel like sitting down to write. If I’m struggling to write, I’ll pull up a character's faceclaim and turn on some good music and usually that gets a spark going for me! If I am able to access my original source of inspiration (a movie, a music video, etc), I will go to that and it really motivates me to write!
Agh yes - I feel that. I'm drafting right now and knowing that I'm going to have to go back through and edit everything is, like you said, kind of exhausting sometimes! But I keep reminding myself that yes, it can't be perfect the first round... and you just got to write!
What would be your advice on resting and giving yourself a break as you’re drafting - and do you ever run into burn out? What is your advice on avoiding that and allowing yourself to fall in love with your story again?
Hmm, well to avoid burnout, don’t work on your draft all day long (especially during school breaks). I used to do this in the summer and it really burnt me out. Recently, I've been leaving my evenings (after 6 PM) free of work. This is the time I can watch movies, read a book, or enjoy some K-Pop content (hehe) and recharge after a long day.
If you don’t intentionally take the time to relax and wind down, and only write and work on things all day, you are going to burn out—it’s inevitable. Sometimes I have to remind myself that taking breaks will strengthen my first draft because I’m taking care of my health.
For me, taking time away from your projects, even if it’s just the evening, and letting people read snippets, really helps me fall in love with my story and want to come back every day to write!
(And remember—it’s not bad to take breaks—the Bible instructs us to actually ;))
YES! It's not bad to take breaks! Don't forget that!
And now, for our final question, what is one thing you wish you had known before you started writing Until You Call Me Yours? What would you tell authors who are starting a book, or who are wanting to start a book?
Honestly, there is nothing I wish I had known. Writing a new story is such an adventure and sometimes the mysteries that come along with it are truly the best parts of writing a story <33 I would tell them just write. Whether it’s fanfiction, a rewrite of your favorite book, or something completely original, just write.
Don’t compare yourself and just enjoy this new phase of writing a story. And when you finish, be sure to celebrate, because finishing a story (even if it’s a short story) it’s so amazing, and it deserves recognition and celebration!
Ahhhhhh, such beautiful, amazing wisdom! Kenzie has such a heart for writing and others authors and just... thank you so much for sharing your insight and experience with us! If you want to thank her yourself, check out her Instagram page - she's got some really epic stuff on there!!
Kenzie's Bio
Mackenzie Hendricks is a young author who lives in Arizona. She has loved reading and writing since she was little and firmly believes that stories can change the world. She is a student at the Author Converstorary, where she is learning to turn her passion for beautiful words into a career. On top of writing and reading good books, she also enjoys baking muffins, watching K-dramas (or Hallmark movies), and listening to K-Pop. Through contemporary and magical realism stories, Mackenzie hopes to impact the world with words that glorify and honor her Lord.
You can find her on INSTAGRAM!!
Next Week...
Ahhhh I had so much fun talking about this with Kenzie... so much fun that next week, you'll be getting another interview with an author from this anthology whose story isn't contemporary, but is just as fun and exciting!
So don't miss out on that! And, don't miss out on getting this super fun collection of cute stories here on Amazon.
Praying for you all, and don't forget to do everything for the Lord. Go out today and live and love for Him. He is with us, He cares about us, and He desperately loves you.