71. Writing with Dyslexia, an Interview with Author Mitzi Ocasio

In this week's episode, Suzy sits down with Author and fellow Podcast Host, Mitzi of Mitzi's Let's Think About It to talk about her journey to building her business, and writing four children's books. She has amazing goals, and they dive into the challenges she has faced and overcome when it comes to being a creative with dyslexia.  

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Transcript

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Welcome to Show. Don't Tell Writing with me, Suzy Vidori, where I teach you the tried and true secrets to writing fiction nonfiction that are gonna wow your readers broken down step by step. We're gonna explore writing techniques. I'm gonna show you a glimpse behind the scenes of successful writers' careers that you wouldn't have access to otherwise. And I'm also gonna coach writers live on their pages so that you can learn and transform your own storytelling. Whether you're just starting out, you're drafting your first book, you're editing, or you're currently rewriting that book, or maybe even your 10th book, this show's gonna help you unlock the writing skills that you didn't even know you needed, but you definitely do. I'm so looking forward to helping you get your amazing ideas from your mind onto your pages in an exciting way for both you and your readers, so that you can achieve your wildest writing dreams, and you're gonna also have some fun doing it. Let's dive in. And today I welcome to the show Mitzi Ocasio, and I was actually a guest on her show recently. She's the host of Mitzi. Let's think about it. We talked about thinking about writing a book and it's a really cool show, but it's not gonna air until 2026. That's how popular her podcast is. And so I just knew after hearing her speak about her own journey, she shared that she is a dyslexic writer. She's got all this really cool things on her platform, like she's got a podcast and a blog, and she writes books. She's got children's books. She actually shares with us this episode that her goal is to create and publish a hundred children's books and a hundred novels. The lady is unstoppable, and so I just knew that you were gonna love her on this show. She's really inspiring and I know you're gonna enjoy this. So here's her bio. Mitzi is an avid advocate for holistic wellbeing and a host of the Mitzi, let's think about it podcast. In her podcast, she delves into topics such as mental health, mindfulness, and personal development, exploring the wonders of challenges of living a healthy, balanced life. Mitzi's. Also a self-published author right now she's got four children's books out, and she firmly believes that by encouraging children to think differently and more consciously, she can steer the future toward positive trajectory. She's a strong advocate for the power of our thoughts and the words we choose as they ultimately shape our lives. And when she's not engrossed in her podcast or pending children's stories, mitzi's a mother to two young boys under four years old as well as a dog, a cat, and a couple of fish. Mitzi tries to inspire others, and I, I think you're gonna agree that truly succeeds not only to think, but to tap into critical thinking so others' perspectives can transform their lives into something they never considered before. You're gonna go away, hopefully from this podcast today, feeling really inspired and whatever your challenges or whatever those limiting beliefs are that you're telling yourself why you can't do this or shouldn't do it, or why you're thinking a little bit small. Oh, we prepared to shed those today. Let's dive in. Welcome to the show, Mitzi Ocasio. Hi Mitzi. So glad to see you now on my show. I went on your show and now you're coming on my show. Welcome. Thank you so much for having me. I had a Such a pleasure speaking to you on my show, and now that I have the pleasure to be on your show, it's just yay. Let's reunite and do this all over again. Yeah, exactly. I just knew that my listeners were gonna love meeting you because like me, they are inspired by people who are just doing their thing. And one of the real goals for this show when I started it, was to show writers behind the scenes of how everybody comes to writing.'cause I think there's a really cookie cutter version that we have in our brains of how people come to be a writer. We try to replicate that, but the truth is, and this is true with so many people that I speak to, being a creative means you get to be creative about how you got here and how you do your thing. Absolutely. I agree with you. And I think the problem with the creativity, it's stumps people. You know what I mean? Like I'm currently working with somebody who I'm helping get their creative style because they've been so technical for so long that I'm just like, you're making it harder than what it has to be. It's freedom. Like you have so much freedom to create life, to destroy life, create worlds to do anything like this is your playground. And like for those people who like Minecraft and Roblox, this is what you're doing, but in a book with words. And it's amazing because you can do so much. Like why not? Why not get into creative writing? So. I think it's something that I think everybody should do. Everyone needs to write. Everybody has a story they should share. Absolutely. Absolutely. And I know that if you're listening to this podcast, you know you have a story that you need to share. You might not be sure quite how yet, or it might not be what you want. So let's talk to Mitzi about what she's up to, because I just love, love, love all the things that you're doing. You have such an interesting platform actually. You've got children's books, you've got your podcast, you've got a blog. All come about for you? This like full conglomerate of creative things that have become your platform. How did that happen? Oh, that's interesting. Like I started slow because I want so, and I still want so much like I have goals. My goal is before I die to publish a hundred children's books and a hundred novels. And I only got four children's books and I'm still working on my novel that's been working on for four years now. But, oh, that's my goal, my long-term goal. But I knew that I needed to get my foot out the door. I needed to let people know who I am. Like, hello, Mrs. Ear, I'm worth listening to. So I started my website and I'm a quote queen. I love quotes. I, because I feel like that helps people think, helps people like consider things that they never did in a different way, in a different manner. Allowing your mind to be open. So I started with quotes and I started with my blogs and just sharing my thoughts on certain topics and ideas and perspectives of all sorts, from taboos to randomness of life and everything in between. And then I took a halt on my blogs. And then I started doing my podcasting. And in between my podcasting I wrote my first children's book about recycling and water and the importance of that.'cause I think water is so important and just what a way to help children think about how they utilize water. You know what I mean? That is so important.'cause once I started realizing how much water we use and how much water this and that everyone actually needs, it made me more conscientious about, huh? Do people really think about this? You know what I mean? So I think it was a, as was a great stepping stone to start with that. And then my sister, when she got my book, she was like, Mitzi, you should do a second book with a granddaughter. Like how cool would that be? So she was my inspiration for my second book, and then my dog. He was so goofy about how he loved eggs. Like I'm telling you, my dog, he used to just a dog who eat, eat eggs. I love it. Yeah, yeah. Used to love it. So then I did it inspired by him and I was gonna do a whole trilogy with him, but then he died and then it broke my heart and every time I like opened the other books, it just was just like, man, it's so hard to just even do it because I would have tears. I would just think of it like all my poor Ontario. So then I got my fourth book, my last book that just ran out called Job Fair for Angels, and that was inspired by my father-in-law who recently passed away. And it's basically about how. What if that concept of what if I live by that? What if, what if once we pass and we're in angels, if there is a job we have to go through another formality of work, being an angel. And so I considered what if we had these different options and I put him in there and he became this protector angel. And it's a lovely book, but that's how I went. And like I just knew. That I wanted to share part of me with the world, and I think, and I told myself that I'm not doing it to get famous. I'm not doing it to be known. I'm doing it for one single person. If I can help one single person and that person affects the other people in their lives, then I'm okay. I'm at peace knowing that I made my mark in this world. So for me, not the celebrity status, it's for me, it's about one person. And I've had a few people tell me like, wow, this has changed me. This has, has helped me evolve and helped me open my mind. So I know that I'm doing the right thing. Yeah, you're absolutely, and I, you're doing your thing and that is always the right thing. And I, before, before we hit record on this podcast, we were chit chatting and I was sharing with Mitzi that I just put in her first name and all the things came up and I was like, wow, you're like Madonna or Alanis or one of those first thing people because you are out there and you're sharing and you're not worrying about it. There's so much to unpack there. A hundred novels and a hundred children's books, I mean. I've had people on the podcast before that are going for a hundred rejections. If you wanna listen to a hundred rejections, go check out Liz Bradley with a hundred Rejections, a different episode on the podcast, but a hundred novels and a hundred books, and yet you have this grand idea for what your platform will be one day, but you're doing it now. You've created Mitzi, so you may not be going for the celeb, but you might be there on the eye of the other beholder. Because for me, I think I myself of just some person that I'm trying, I went out doing this. With the idea that it's like a grassland, it's very high grass, and I'm gonna clear the way to make my mark, and I don't care how long it takes, but I'm gonna do it. And then the people behind me, they're gonna be able to walk, they'll be able to see, they'll be able to have the path already set so they'll know what to do. So for me, I'm just clearing out the grassland, just clearing it out and hoping that it works and hoping that it helps somebody one day. So that's how I say it. Oh my gosh. I ensure that the listeners, I got chills when you were just saying that and ensure that the listeners can understand why I had to have her here on the podcast. And one thing that also came up when we were talking about clearing the way for others, you had shared that you are a dyslexic writer. Yeah. And that you were, you discovered that you were dyslexic and you're writing, and I just think that is so inspiring and thank you for coming on the show and being willing to talk about your experience. We just wanna ask, what does it mean to you when you say that I have dyslexia, I'm a writer. What does that mean to you? To be honest, I think it just makes me see the way that I operate words differently because words are so tricky. Oh my goodness. Words are so tricky. And I always knew I had issues like the word back and black. Oh, they bo, they always intertangled. Where And were all those bothers me, angel and angle. Oh my goodness, how those irk me. They always trip me up and even numbers, numbers trip me up as well. So it has been like a consistent thing that. If I want it, I'm gonna figure out a way to do it. You know what I mean? And I realized at a very young age, school was never made a big deal. I moved around a lot. Like I went to five different grade schools, seven different middle two schools, and I went to three schools and then I didn't even go to a school for whole entire quarter. School was just like, Ugh. So I'm glad you already know what it is when you don't go to school a lot or you went to multiple schools like the, you have this sense of doubt of, am I even smart or enough to even grasp this concept. And you're always, you're always behind or you're ahead or you're not in the right place. It's actually the one of the reasons that I write young adults, because there's only two stories in the world, right? Somebody goes on the journey or somebody new comes to town and I was always the new kid coming to town, moving from somewhere else and being Mission outta water. So for those of us who don't have dyslexia, what does it feel like? So you're saying they might mix up, we call it usables in the editing world, but homophones is the technical term. So you're saying you just don't see the difference, or how did this sort of, when you were younger and you didn't know what was happening, what was your first indication that your experience with reading and writing wasn't the same as those sitting around you? It's always happened when. People when we had to read out loud, and then it was time to come to me, like I would prepare myself, okay, this is what, okay, and this is what, okay, so now I have to do it. And then even when it was my turn to read, I still messed it up and I had to do those things where you had to block it out. Because if not, I would jump to different areas or the words would just change and it would just be so frustrating to me because I feel like I couldn't concentrate. Like I couldn't concentrate on the words, or I would read the words, but they wouldn't retain in me. And that's the reason why I doubted this path. You know what I mean? I doubted the fact of why would I even want to write?'cause a part of me always knew, ah, I always wanted to write. But then I, and another part of me was like. Why writing is about to be dead. You know what I mean? That's how I convinced myself writing is gonna be dead. Oh my God. We can un unpack. We can unpack that too. I don't think writing is ever gonna be dead, but that's just maybe me. Yeah. But I wish that the listeners could see the video and we don't release the video, but it's Mitzi actually showing when she says I had to block it out, showing with her hands that I think you probably took a piece of paper or something. Yeah. And like actually just isolate the one word or the one phrase that you could read and physically change it. Okay, so that was your experience. So did you read, much like you didn't like reading out loud, but did you read like for Pfizer or you just were like, this is not like a cat? To be honest, I did not like to read at all because of that. Just reading out loud and just having to read history and all these other things that science and all this stuff for school, it was already frustrating. So when it came to English class. And it was time to read stories. It was bothersome until one day I met a teacher that was my teacher, that was like, you have to read this, Mitzi. I'm not going to allow you to pass this up. Because I would always, I was always end up moving without a doubt. I would've moving. So then teachers would be like, all right, then who cares if you're gonna be moving in a couple days, couple weeks anyways, and don't worry about the criteria. I had one teacher, he will not let me get bypass. And I was so upset because I'm like, everybody else did. Why do you? And he did not let me bypass. So then he made me read this book, and it was a book about this, these kids or this village that were colorblind. They couldn't see color and. He didn't realize that he was like in a dome like area where outside of that dome you could see color, but inside this dome where their village or their area was living in, the city was living in that you just could not identify color. And it wasn't until he, he got to a certain point and seen a glimpse of color that changed his world. And then after that point, we moved and I didn't, I wasn't able to finish the book, but that book right there, I was able to see it and made me question. What if I couldn't see color? And then it made me value color. It made me value my site. It made me realize there are people who are color buying and made me see things differently where I was like, if this author that I have no idea whose name is, or even the title of the book anymore, but made me think. Just about life differently and walk differently with life. Then who's to say that I can't be that person? You know what I mean? Who's to say that I can't bestow that onto somebody else with my writing? So it gave me hope that I can probably possibly do that as well. So I think that's what changed me, because after that book, it got me into wanting to read different books, but I had to realize that. I had to read accordingly to how I can perceive it and retain it. So I had to use that blocking me mechanism when it came to reading. You know what I mean? I had to use different papers. I had to use sticky notes. I had to be on it because if not, I would lose my place or lose my train of thought, or just lose the whole entire concept of what was going on in the book. And then once I, every time I would do that, it would help me focus and help me retain the information. And I realized that, wow. Authors are amazing. You know what I mean? Like all these authors who write, oh, we are the movie, allow exactly. Like they allow people to see life in a different way. It's like a movie in your mind. And once I realized I had the movie in my mind and how I seen it, it changed my whole entire perspective of writing where I was like. I can do this. And it was weird because once I finally believed it in myself, that writing is not dead. Writing is so alive and that we actually need writing for movies. We need writing to inspire the next series that you're gonna binge watch the next movies that you're gonna wanna watch over and over again, years to come once it's already out. And it's like I realized that I can make that mark that one day, maybe one of my books could be a movie. And I mean, maybe one of my books could be something more that can help somebody. So I realized like this was how it's gonna be, but I didn't know how to start. And then one day I was at the gas station and some lady randomly, I'm telling you randomly, she stopped me. She was just like, Hey, you should start writing. And I looked around, I was like, what? What? You don't even know me. Who are you? And I was like, that's God, that's right there. God's telling me, using us empty mess now. But then after that, a year later, I was just like, I'm gonna just do it. I didn't have a laptop, I didn't have an iPad, I didn't have anything. I only had notebooks and a paper. A paper and pen, and I did it old school style. Like I still have the notebook of the first draft of my novel that I'm still working on, and it just brings me so much joy when I see it and I look at that pile in the corner and I'm just like, and because I just finished working on a piece of it this morning, and I was just like, I'm so proud of where this book is have gone. Because when it airs. It doesn't matter if it's the bestseller, it matters if that one person who reads it and they are able to see what I wrote, and if they're able to see and have that visualization in their mind, then I done my job. That's how I see it. Absolutely. Well, there's so much I wanna address there. Okay. Challenge number one, challenge to our listeners out there right now. If you have any idea what book Mitzi is talking about from her childhood, would you let us know because she would love to find it. And give the writer credit. And maybe they're still alive. Maybe you'd like to meet them, right? Maybe you have them on your show. Can you imagine You're the reason I write, if you have any idea where that color Dome or Colorless dome is and who wrote it, please drop it in the, in the comments on the show. Mitzi, I just as you were talking, it's interesting, and I don't know if you've thought of this before, but all I could think was what unlock this for you was this one book that said. Wait, maybe people don't see color the same way. Maybe I don't see color the same way that other people see it. And did you realize that's a metaphor for I don't read the same way? My experience with reading is not the same as other people. I did not. And so you said it right now, but that's a true, that's a good point to think about because I don't really consider it that way because it's been a constant struggle for me. It's like a hereditary, you know my, I just spoke to my sister yesterday who said that? She now has to get her daughter evaluated because they think that she may have dyslexia too, because she's having the same similarities as we all do. So for me and my family, the struggle with reading is so common that we never really talked about it as an issue. We just talked about it as, yeah, reading sucks. It's hard, it's a difficult thing. But that was pretty much it. And when I started writing and actually started writing my children's books. My, my family just thought it was, that was crazy. What, like, how are you doing this? How are you making this? Why? Doing something that's so hard. Exactly. Like you could be doing anything else. You have done other things like why do this? And I'm just like, I don't know. It just feels right and then for some reason it just gives me peace. And I think if you absolutely do, it's like you can get it out. Okay. So you're talking about mentioning that your niece is gonna get evaluated nowadays there are. Quite a lot of support in schools for that. But if you were moving around a lot, was it something that teacher identified or how did it all come about? So you're struggling with reading Who noticed it first and who helped you with that, or who gave you the word dyslexia? Nobody did. It wasn't. I was in my adult life. Wow. I was talking to my roommate. I was living in Florida at the time, and I was talking to my roommate and we were discussing possibly writing and how I should start writing, and then sh and then she had me write out, and then she's, let's see. You may have dyslexia. I was just like, wow. Well, what do you mean? And I, 'cause the taboo of being diagnosed was there as well. You know what I mean? I didn't wanna have a diagnose of anything. But then she's like, miss, it's not a bad thing. It can actually help you so that you can continue to adjust so that you know how to use it. And then you realize that it's not. Hinder, it's actually could be used as a superpower because now you can move differently, act differently, receive things differently, and then when people reject you or don't understand you, then you can have an explanation for it. You know what I mean? And it's that understanding because a lot of the times I've encountered, a lot of teachers just dismissed me. You know what I mean? It was the new, and I was gonna leave again, and I was always moving and moving. They didn't have the, they didn't have the time and, and then teachers, so right now I live in Alberta, Canada, and right now our teachers are on strike and they're on strike. And so my kids are kicking around the house, which is very throwback to the pandemic teachers these days in many areas in the world, don't have the supports, or at least in North America, don't have the supports. And so I can see where it's, huh. And there are some amazing teachers out there, and if they had the time. But as you were floating in and out of classrooms, I could imagine that it would be missed. Yeah, most definitely it was missed. Do you still know that roommate? Yeah, I do know her. Athena, shut out. You girl. Thank you Athena. Alright, thank you Athena for seeing that. So you talk about they had to do this, you're blocking out pages or using sticky notes. How did you figure that out? If you were, you had this difference, like this way that you had to act differently and you figured it out and nobody helped you and nobody gave you those strategies because how did you figure that out? Because I realized that my issue was that I kept on jumping or I kept on moving, like my eyes would see the words, but then I would see the words under and then I would became confused of where I would be reading or where the words would be. Because it was like, it's like they would be moving without moving. You know what I mean? I know that's a weird thing to say, but it That's how it was for me. No, but to share it. Share it with us.'cause we'd love to know this is what writing can unlock in people, but also sharing what does that. Feel like, what does that look like? So the, I've heard it say like the letters are dancing or switching places. I don't know if that's what you experienced. Yeah, that's basically, it's basically it. So it's like, it's confusing because it's like, what am I actually reading? What is actually coming to me that I'm supposed to be reading? I realize that it would work when, because I was in a speech class. When I was very young because I, when I was really young, we lived in the East coast and I had a very strong East Coast New York accent, and I know you, I grew up in, I went to elementary school in Boston and then I moved back to Canada and they were like, you talk funny. Yes, yes. A lot of time, but I do, I bet I did. I wish I had recordings or video of that time with Susie, with my boss, Tony and Ax accent. I'm sure it was horrific. No, Suzy, you are my person. You understand me upside down. Like something. He'll try to place my accent and I'm like, good luck. Good luck. Charlie. I You can hear 'cause you still have a little tang with it. I still have, yeah, I have a little tang with it too, but I don't, but because I'm from like Wisconsin and I'm in the Midwest, it's like people are, they look at me like, why do you say orange instead of orange? Or little words like that. So what happened for you? What changed in your life? Okay, so your roommate is, Hey, you might have dyslexia, and you're like, no. But then she was astute enough to explain to you that it might be your superpower. What changed in your life beyond that? Once you were given that idea? I don't know whether you went down a formal path or informal path. It doesn't matter. You knew once you start researching it, you're like, all right, this is what's happening. And brain, you were like, this is it. What changed for you and how did that. What, what physically changed in your life, you're saying then you were like, okay, maybe I can do this. But also, what did you do differently? Anything? Um, my frame of mind. I had to change my, the way that I thought about it. You know what I mean? Mm-hmm. I think that's, and that's what opened the door with my, with all that I have with my business and my platform is all about thinking because. Once I changed my frame of mind, it changed the way that I thought about it and the way that I seen it. Come on. I said it earlier, I thought writing was dead. And then I realized writing is never, will never die. You know what I mean? Writing will never die. It is our form of immortality. You know what I mean? Yeah. It really worried about, yeah, people are worried about AI taking over whatever. And I can tell you I had, sometimes I'm getting queries with people that say, Hey, I, yeah, I wrote an AI generated thing. Would you edit it? And why? I'm sure it's perfect. It's ai, but it probably has no soul. So unless what you want me to do is go in and put humanity into your writing, there's nothing I can do for it. Like his, it'll be so flat and boring. I'm like, that is not what I wanna work on. Exactly. And I think it's gonna be a long time, if ever before that could ever be replaced because it is, it's humanity on a, it is. It really is. Uh, people can see the difference because AI really takes away the soul, takes away the humanity, takes away the emotions. I'm an emotional human being. Oh girl, I am emotional. So because of that, I realized like I have to take what people have stated about me that has been wrong. And allowed it to be my truth and allow it to be my reality. You know what I mean? I can't shun myself because other people shun me. And I realized that I'm not here for everybody. I'm here for a select few people. So when I do things, when I post a podcast, when I post a blog. When I post my books out, I know it's not for the world, it's for those select few people. And I think that's what changes the way people move with me is because they realize that I'm not doing it for fame and fortune. I'm doing it for those few people who actually see me and recognize me. You know what I mean? And they wanna be, I do I really know what you mean. So it's like it's a real thing, like people really have to change the way that they think. And once I changed the way that I thought about writing, thought about myself as a human being and realized that this wasn't wrong, I actually Low-Key did remember that book. So I guess it does come in without even realizing it because I was just like, that guy never knew. He was in a place full of color. You know what I mean? He never knew he was in a place full of color. He never knew that was an issue until he seen color. Like I never knew my issue was an issue until I was around other people that realized that it was an issue. So because of that, I, that's when I accepted the fact that I'm not made for everybody. It's okay that I'm not made for everybody because if I was made for everybody, then it would be a pretty exhausting job trying to keep everybody happy. I realize I have to just make myself happy and whoever's happy with the things that I produce out into the world, then I'm happy with that. And I think a lot of people have to move in that type of manner because those trolls are out there. They're there just to poke you and knock you down and see if their words can attack you and hit in your soul. But then we have to remember like it's has nothing to do with us. It has a lot to do with them. So once we change our way of thinking, then we can move in a different manner that's more authentic. So then that's when I started writing my book and it was going in one direction out of like pain. And then I went through this heartbreak, this breakup. Then I was just like, Ooh, this hurts me so bad that I feel like I should put it in there. Maybe it'll help somebody else. Yeah. And then that's where my novel started. But then I was like, man, this novel's gonna take a really long time, but I already wanna start writing. So then that's when I went into the children's books.'cause I realized all I really have to do is find an illustrator. I can't really draw, but if I can find an illustrator, then I'll be okay. And it was right about COVID time where everybody was doing their discounts because everybody was broke. So I got lucky and I got, I did my, I got my illustrations for my first book for like $500. Amazing. And I got myself amazing publishing. Amazing. For another $500, I only dropped a thousand dollars for my first book, and now that I'm still producing books, I'm still seeing like how much of a big difference it could cost. You know what I mean? It cost, because my first publishing company that I went through now. The same package that I was only 500 when IF when I first started in 2020. Now it's at 20,000, like 15,000, 10,000. And I'm just saying, and I mean there's, that's, I'm sorry, but that's a scam. Like it doesn't cost $20,000 to put on a book unless they're putting, and there are legitimate. Hybrid publishers out there that do charge. So if you're new to the publishing industry and listening, there are traditional publishers who don't charge you, but then you get lesser of the, of the royalties. But there's also quite a vetting process to get through, and not everybody has that opportunity. Then there's self-publishing, which you can do all yourself, where you could hire people to help you with. And then there's this hybrid publishing model. But yeah, be really careful about those high ticket ones. Some of them are legit where they have a huge marketing force behind them, but a lot of them are just out to take your money. Yeah. Good words of warning. Okay, so can you tell us just before we get into the quick fire questions at the end of the podcast here, which see, oh, what are those? Oh gosh, what's coming? But can you just tell us a little bit about the novel? You said that it started out one way and it ended up another way. What kind of novel are you writing? I would say it's like a romance. It's a romance. It's called disgrace. And it's basically, you have to find the disgrace amongst each and every character. And that's the theme of my novels. My novels are one word, title, and you have to find that word amongst the characters. Yeah, and I love that. So that file for my novels, because I think it really helps people think and not get caught up on the storyline because people get so focused on one thing and they forget the bigger picture and then they miss it, and then it's, what's the point? It's, that's why I have all of my quotes on my website as anonymous because people get so stuck on who said what. And if they don't like whoever said it, then they're not going to allow the words to emanate in them and change them. Create something that they actually need. So that's why I, I do my, my, my novels in that form because it's, I don't want you to get stuck on the rock that's in front of you. I want you to know that you can step over that rock and see all the great potential that if you keep on walking forward. That's an interesting thought. If you're posting only anonymous quotes because we don't know who said it or they said it anonymously, then that makes a lot of sense. I just love that you have all these disparate to your platform. Yet, it's all about thinking, right? You're the host of Mitzi. Let's think about it. We talked about, let's think about writing a book. That's why I was on your podcast. But let's think about it. And you're just, you're able to put everything under that one umbrella and it all makes so much sense, really sparked, and people can follow you for your whole journey. Okay, you ready for quick fire? I'm ready for it. So we're not quite done the first novel, full length novel, but how long has it taken you so far from the idea till now? From, I started writing, uh, around like mid 2018 to now. So a few years now? Yeah. Yeah. Seven years. Seven years. Okay. And that is an answer I get a lot. Okay. What was your first big break where you were like, okay, I can do this creative life thing. This is me. I'm gonna do it. What was your first big break? What do you mean by my first big break? Because I don't think I've gotten that yet. You know what I mean? Yeah. Okay. Question. I've gotten that. I just feel like I'm just doing it, so I don't know what you mean by first break. Break, okay. Usually, yeah, like first big break, I guess. The moment. What was the moment where you were like, oh my gosh, I'm doing this, or You haven't reached it yet? Oh, we can, yeah. Okay. I can do this. I can be creative. I could create this platform, this multimedia, because that's what it is. It's in different mediums and you're getting at it from different ways. You've got four books out. You've got, you're attacking it all. What was the moment or that sort of aha. That happened. I don't have one. That's okay. Maybe it's still to come. No, I think I did have one, and I think it happened last year when I, to be honest, I think it happened this year because I think it was that aha moment I'm doing it. When I actually got scheduled, I'm like, I'm already scheduled out into next year. My podcast is, and yeah, literally a year fully booked out next year, and I think that was that aha moment where I'm like, oh my goodness, I'm literally doing it. People are actually. Liking what I am I'm doing and people wanna be part of what I wanna contribute out into the world. And I'm not, I'm not paying for anybody to be on my show.'cause I had a PR person was like, you are not paying for your guests. That's weird. I'm like, I'm sorry. Are you supposed to? And he is like, I've dealt with a lot of podcasters who do. And I'm like, I've never paid for a single soul. So they've just all been coming to me. Lovely. And I think that was a real thing. And then I also think when I posted my, one of, one of my blogs. A long time ago when I first started doing my blogs, like I got over a hundred thousand views on one of them. It blew my mind because I'm just like, all I'm doing is just sharing my thoughts and allowing the what ifs and allowing the contradiction of life, the hypocrisy of life to, to display itself so that people can really consider like, how am I being a hypocrite? How am I doing this in a contradictive way? Like how am I moving to thinking more authentically? Yeah. And I think that really blew my mind because I'm just like, I don't know anybody. You know what I mean? Like I didn't tell anybody about what I was doing. Like I started my platform. Without sharing with my community, without what? Sharing with my family, my friends, or anybody, like I was doing this solo creeping in and just be like, I'm doing this, I'm doing this. I'm doing all of this on the side. And my people would be like, oh, Missy, how was your day? What do you did this weekend? I'll be like, oh, nothing. Just with the kids, or, oh, nothing. You know what I mean? I play it off, I'll downplay. Like I wouldn't really downplay what I do. And if it's, if you don't know this side of my business, then you don't know what I'm actually doing. I think that's why a lot of I, I can relate to that a lot and I don't downplay it necessarily, but I think when I meet people in my own community and they ask me what I do, and I say, I'm a writer, or I'm an editor, or I'm a book coach, and they go, oh, that's nice. And they have an idea of what that means, that I'm a starving artist that don't have any, and sometimes I take the time to explain, Hey, I have this whole. This whole community of writers doing their thing and like I bring people together and I speak at conferences and I do all these other things, but these people aren't actually that interested in the glossary space. Yeah. Okay. So what is your best advice for writers who are just starting out, what do you wish that you'd known when you started this whole journey? Just do it. Just do it. Don't allow fear to implement in your mind making you think, oh, it needs to look like this, or It needs to sound like this, or you need to have once upon a time, or you need to have the whole backstory before. No. I think we get stuck on the logistics or what it should look like and how it should appear without actually doing it. It's like putting on clothes. We just need to put 'em on so we're not naked and we go out and we just do it. And I think, I love that when it comes to writing, we do it. You know what I mean? And it's like fashion. Like I know fashion. Like I know how to dress myself. I know how to look good. But when it comes to somebody else, if they're gonna see it as fashion or if they're gonna like it, then that's a choice. That's very selective. And I realize that life is very subjective. So it's very selective and it's very specific for each person. And when it comes to our writing, we have to go about it in that manner. And not everybody's gonna like your book and it's okay. And I think that's what I think a lot of people who are listening, especially those people who know it in their heart. That they have a story worth sharing is to remember. It's not for everybody. It's for you. And that one single person that's out there that may see that book, may read that book, may hold that book. And finally find somebody that sees and knows that you're alive and they've experienced your pain. They felt through your, the contradictions of life. They felt anything and everything that's in between. Even if it's fantasy, even in the fantasy realm, I do not care. Especially I would say, if it's fantasy. I mean exactly. Like you can just so much, you can make it so relatable and so seen and so real that it's like why not? Why not do it? You know what I mean? Yeah, absolutely. Just do it. Just do it. Credit to Nike. Yeah. Great. So where can we find you, Mitzi? I'm sure that our listeners are gonna wanna go find all the things that you do. Where can we find you? Yes, I am on mitzi thinking.com. Mitzi spelled MITZ. I know Y know E at the end. Just M-I-T-Z-I keep it simple. I know a lot of people just have issues just. Saying my name to spelling my name, Mitzi's, my short name I hear you, is my nickname. I keep it simple because my first name, people wouldn't say, be able to say it anyway. So Mitzi's simple enough. So Mitzi Think Inc. And on my website you find my socials so that if you wanna follow me and see what I post, I share everything. I share my quotes, share my blogs, I share my podcasts, I share clips, I share so much of life just so that people can continue on thinking because if we can change the way that we think, then we can change the world around us. Oh, thank you so much for sharing your experience with our listeners today, Mattie. Thank you for having me. This was such a pleasure to talk and res about writing and life. Ah, this was such a joy. And yes, we are gonna have to hook up when you are in town. Awesome. Awesome. Thanks for tuning in to show. No. Tell writing with me, Suzy Vidori. Help me continue to bring you the straight goods for that book you're writing or planning to write. Please consider subscribing to this podcast and leaving a review on Apple Podcast, Spotify, or wherever else you're listening. Also, visit susie vidori.com/newsletter to hop on my weekly inspired writing newsletter list where you'll stay in. Fired and be the first to know about upcoming training events and writing courses that happen in my community. If you're feeling brave, check the show notes and send us a page of your writing that isn't quite where you want it to be yet for our show to tell page review episodes. Remember that book and your writing is going to open doors that you haven't even thought of yet, and I can't wait to help you make it the absolute best. You're feeling called to write that book. Keep going, and I'm gonna be. Right here cheering you on. See you again next week.