As part of the workshops presented by Authorpalooza, “Panel on Diversity: How do you do it right?”, is a part of the education available for writers during the conference.
Mack Little will be one of the panelists for this event, which will take place on Saturday, October 7, 2023.
From her press bio: Mack Little holds an undergraduate in English Literature from the University of Dubuque, Iowa, and a Masters of Information Science from the University of North Texas. Born in Conyers, GA, Mack has gone on to live, as a University Student in Seville, Spain, and, as a soldier, in Wurzburg, Germany. Her studies and career have taken her all over the United States. Mack is the Membership Director of the Houston Writer’s Guild. While Progenie is her first novel, she co-authored “Disaster Planning: a How-toDo-It Manual”, published by Neal Schuman. She has also authored several articles for professional library journals.”
Viral Hare was given the opportunity to conduct pre-conference interviews by email for Authorpalooza. The first half of the interview is questions asked directly to the author the second half is shown as linked questions, were directed to all of the panelists.
Questions are in bold.
As someone who has an IT background and has taught how to research items to medical professionals, does the analytical side of your brain ever impose itself upon the fantastic worlds you build in your novels?
I don’t believe the analytical side of my brain could exist separately from the fantastic in any of my occupations. When I’m building apps I use a great deal of creativity to bend code to my will. No customer ever wants out-of-the-box solutions. So, as in my writing I research coding that come close to what I need, then insert the bits that are useful to form a functioning customized app. Then I really have to tap into my creativity to design a visually pleasing and intuitive interface.
Teaching research using electronic research requires a great deal of analysis and creativity. Search features of database requires a foundation of building Boolean requests. That means building an equation. The creativity comes in when we plug the search terms into the equation. And teaching people to use electronic resources, you have to expect technical difficulties such as internet outages. The class must go on so I have to have creative ways to teach around the electronic issues.
The analytical is just as important as the creative when writing. When writing I start with the character. I write a character history I have an idea who the character is and life events that make up their story. Then I have to fit that in specific points in history. So my research helps me to determine the time and place of my character’s existence. Once I have time and place, I expand my search to find significant events or events that would affect my character. During this process, new characters are born and I repeat the process.
In the act of writing, I do separate the fantastical from the analytical somewhat. Initially, I write the story longhand, writing what pops into my head no matter how outrageous. When I type up my notes, I research, shape the language and the narrative into a logical and coherent structure.
With the novels you’ve written, I understand they lead more toward fantastical romance, historical fiction, and even horror, what are some of the influences and experiences that feed your works?
My love of horror developed when I was very young before I could even read. My mom would read me bible stories and they were terrifying and thrilling they were my introduction to horror. From then on I always gravitated to stories with heightened suspense, stories that provoke reactions of sharp disgust, sho,ck, anger, and fear. Fantasy and magic allowed me to experience a world not bound by realism. It was a freedom I enjoyed when reality became too uncomfortable. I could escape to worlds of adventure and action. I didn’t discover my love of history until I wrote my first novel. It was then I saw how much of history had been omitted from my education and how the Western scholars had distorted history—particularly African history. I was so fascinated by what I learn, I felt I needed to include it in my stories.
With the years of instruction you’ve done, as well as your time in the military, and your travels, is it hard not to bring people or personalities you’ve met into your novels, or does it help give you a template for creating diverse characters?
It’s not something I fight against. Like people, my characters are formed by their personal history. So, they don’t really resemble anyone I have known. However, I do draw on personal experience and what I have observed in other people to create authentic relationships and reactions to events.
Linked Questions
How would advise a new writer to process filtering their personal point of view or experience into their writing?
Your characters should be individuals unto themselves but use your personal experience to make them authentic. If you have an axe to grind or some trauma to process through your writing…well, I suppose that’s your choice. Some readers might find it helpful. Other readers, like me, find it off-putting. While all my characters—even the evil ones–tap into different aspects of my personality, trauma, and perspective, it only snippets of code mixed in with snippets of other peoples coding to make the characters that are more authentic.
Writers often use the phrase finding or sharing my voice, but does personal experience or points from someone’s life give one different ways to interpret that voice?
I’ve always thought of “finding my voice” in terms of narrative, writing descriptions, and character’s pov. My voice tends to mix the lyrical and profane. When reading my story, you may find passages lyrical only to be jarred by a gritty passage. When I write sex scenes as expression of love and healing, they tend to read as cringey and real.
With social media and digital connection overtaking so many aspects of life and streaming video is constant easy access to entertainment, why do you believe the written word is as important as ever for communicating ideas?
There is only so much depth that film can reach. So much of the story is visualized and interpreted for you. With a book, you are a participant in the creation of characters and setting and the interpretation of story. Reading allows you to become immersed. It allows you to empathize.
Authorpalooaza will take place:
Friday, October 6 – Sunday, October 8, 2023
Hilton Houston Plaza Medical Center Hotel
6633 Travis Street I Houston, TX 77030
