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Episode 92 - Uncanny Horror · Saved as Draft

0:00
SPEAKER_00: Hello everyone, and welcome to episode 92 of the Save Just Draft podcast.
0:05
SPEAKER_00: Today we're discussing uncanny horror in all its forms,
0:09
SPEAKER_00: and I'll be taking a look at week 3 of the second Indulgence Writing Challenge.
0:13
SPEAKER_02: Which is still ongoing, Bradley.
0:16
SPEAKER_00: Yes, Lord Devereaux.
0:17
SPEAKER_00: We have nearly 20 prompts out right now with more to come.
0:21
SPEAKER_00: All remain open until November 7th, so you've got plenty of time to get your entries in.
0:26
SPEAKER_00: My guests and I hunger.
0:29
SPEAKER_00: Bring forth your offerings.
0:32
SPEAKER_00: You heard it straight from the man himself.
0:34
SPEAKER_00: In the meantime, let's get into today's episode.
0:37
[music]
0:54
SPEAKER_00: Welcome back everyone to episode 92.
0:57
SPEAKER_00: Really excited to dive into everything this week, but first, a few housekeeping items.
1:01
SPEAKER_00: Wanted to start by shouting out the amazing fundraiser stream that we did recently
1:05
SPEAKER_00: with the Indie Inc. Fund,
1:07
SPEAKER_00: where I helped co-host to raise awareness around what's happening with our friend
1:11
SPEAKER_00: and fellow writer Mary Ellen Brady.
1:13
SPEAKER_00: I'll leave links to that recording in the show notes,
1:15
SPEAKER_00: as well as a link to donate if you are able.
1:17
SPEAKER_00: But remember, even just sharing really helps.
1:21
SPEAKER_00: Secondly,
1:21
SPEAKER_00: wanted to shout out the live poetry reading that I did earlier this week
1:25
SPEAKER_00: with Stefan Pasek.
1:26
SPEAKER_00: We each took turns reading poems and we got through 10 of them during our two hour live stream.
1:31
SPEAKER_00: I went on to write a poem of my own inspired by everything that we read as well.
1:34
SPEAKER_00: I'll leave links to that recorded.
1:36
SPEAKER_00: And my poem in the show notes too.
1:38
SPEAKER_00: Our next one is in November, so keep an eye out for when we open submissions.
1:42
SPEAKER_00: Last but not least,
1:43
SPEAKER_00: wanted to shout out my friends Ariadna Pautina,
1:46
SPEAKER_00: Graeme Brandham, and Johanna C. Eshwald.
1:48
SPEAKER_00: We had a real fun writing chat earlier on Discord.
1:51
SPEAKER_00: We
1:57
SPEAKER_00: were just hanging out and chatting.
1:59
SPEAKER_00: We talked about everything from Daylight Savings Time
2:01
SPEAKER_00: to video games like Assassin's Creed to TV shows like Brooklyn Nine-Nine.
2:05
SPEAKER_00: It was just a really fun, creative hangout.
2:08
SPEAKER_00: We all got to kind of get to know each other,
2:09
SPEAKER_00: and it was the first time I think all of us had spoken together,
2:12
SPEAKER_00: so that was a lot of fun too.
2:13
SPEAKER_00: Hoping to do that again, and shout out to Johanna again for making the space for that.
2:17
SPEAKER_00: Alright, that's it for housekeeping this week.
2:20
SPEAKER_00: Next, we'll take a look at this week's Community Spotlight.
2:25
[music]
2:39
SPEAKER_00: This week, our community spotlight is on Jennifer Jorgensen.
2:42
SPEAKER_00: Jennifer publishes both fiction and essays on Substack here.
2:46
SPEAKER_00: Her bio promises stories that creep,
2:48
SPEAKER_00: essays that cut, and commentary that doesn't blink when the world unravels.
2:53
SPEAKER_00: I myself first discovered her work because she submitted a story to one
2:57
SPEAKER_00: of my power-up prompts a while back, actually last year.
3:00
SPEAKER_00: She has since submitted many other stories for my prompts,
3:03
SPEAKER_00: and somehow, every single time, she manages to completely surpass my expectations.
3:09
SPEAKER_00: If you browse her library of work,
3:11
SPEAKER_00: you'll find stories that will make you laugh,
3:13
SPEAKER_00: cry, question your existence, and everything in between.
3:16
SPEAKER_00: She's a tour de force and one of the best writers that I've read for sure.
3:21
SPEAKER_00: She's also very active in the community.
3:23
SPEAKER_00: Jennifer's always supporting others,
3:24
SPEAKER_00: restacking different work,
3:26
SPEAKER_00: and of course making me aware of fun opportunities to further engage with
3:30
SPEAKER_00: the community.
3:30
SPEAKER_00: So I...
3:31
SPEAKER_00: Really appreciate all that she does.
3:33
SPEAKER_00: And you can also find her over in Mill Creek as well,
3:36
SPEAKER_00: alongside of a ton of other authors that are having fun in Mary Ellen Brady's world.
3:40
SPEAKER_00: Yet another example of how this author is really just involved in the community.
3:44
SPEAKER_00: And like I said,
3:45
SPEAKER_00: when it comes to being a great writer and a great person,
3:47
SPEAKER_00: Jennifer checks all the boxes and then some.
3:50
SPEAKER_00: She's someone I consider a dear friend and someone I'm honored to recommend
3:53
SPEAKER_00: to you all listening right now.
3:55
SPEAKER_00: So please.
3:56
SPEAKER_00: Check the show notes,
3:57
SPEAKER_00: and make sure you subscribe,
3:58
SPEAKER_00: because I promise you're not going to want to miss a single thing
4:01
SPEAKER_00: that Jennifer posts.
4:03
SPEAKER_00: Alright, and now, let's dive into this week's writing discussion.
4:07
SPEAKER_00: But first, a quick word from our sponsor.
4:10
SPEAKER_00: Today's episode of the Saved as Draft podcast is sponsored by the Uncanny Mask Company.
4:16
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4:26
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4:34
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4:39
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5:30
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5:51
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5:55
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6:00
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6:01
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6:02
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6:08
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6:13
SPEAKER_00: Alright, and we're back.
6:15
SPEAKER_00: This week's writing discussion was all about uncanny horror, which can encompass a few things.
6:20
SPEAKER_00: For starters,
6:21
SPEAKER_00: there's the uncanny valley,
6:23
SPEAKER_00: the idea that things which look human but aren't can cause a deep sense of unease
6:28
SPEAKER_00: or primal fear within us.
6:30
SPEAKER_00: Also in this category are doppelgangers and imposters,
6:33
SPEAKER_00: things that steal our faces, our voices, our bodies, etc.
6:38
SPEAKER_00: And lastly,
6:39
SPEAKER_00: I would also argue that uncanny horror covers familiar spaces that are twisted
6:43
SPEAKER_00: into something unsettling.
6:44
SPEAKER_00: Think like The Backrooms, if you're a fan of that lore or the recent movie.
6:48
SPEAKER_00: So yeah, this week I want to talk about uncanny horror.
6:51
SPEAKER_00: I'll start with my thoughts here and then I'll jump into your responses
6:54
SPEAKER_00: from this week's subscriber chat thread.
6:57
SPEAKER_00: Remember you can find that thread every Wednesday on Substack if you'd like
7:00
SPEAKER_00: to participate.
7:02
SPEAKER_00: So yeah, let me start off with some of my thoughts here.
7:05
SPEAKER_00: I've been a fan of uncanny horror for a really long time.
7:08
SPEAKER_00: Honestly,
7:09
SPEAKER_00: I'm trying to think where it all started for me,
7:11
SPEAKER_00: but it's one of those things where,
7:13
SPEAKER_00: you know,
7:13
SPEAKER_00: I've always been a fan of like,
7:14
SPEAKER_00: you know,
7:15
SPEAKER_00: creature features and like,
7:16
SPEAKER_00: you know, interesting kind of visuals and cosmic horror and stuff like that.
7:21
SPEAKER_00: When it comes to uncanny horror,
7:22
SPEAKER_00: I have to give credit to some of the greatest analog horror series that have emerged
7:28
SPEAKER_00: on YouTube, for example.
7:30
SPEAKER_00: So you have things like Local 58.
7:33
SPEAKER_00: You have things like Gemini Home Entertainment.
7:36
SPEAKER_00: Backrooms, of course, the Mandela catalog.
7:39
SPEAKER_00: The list goes on and on.
7:41
SPEAKER_00: There's so many and I love that kind of stuff.
7:43
SPEAKER_00: I love analog horror in general.
7:45
SPEAKER_00: But what really unsettles me is this idea of like the imposter or the doppelganger.
7:50
SPEAKER_00: Or the Skinwalker.
7:51
SPEAKER_00: Things like that.
7:52
SPEAKER_00: Where there are these creatures that look almost human.
7:56
SPEAKER_00: That maybe even take our own faces, for example.
7:59
SPEAKER_00: But it's not us, right?
8:01
SPEAKER_00: And I've explored that in some of my horror stories in the past.
8:05
SPEAKER_00: The first one that comes to mind was an old piece of mine called Reaping the Whirlwind.
8:10
SPEAKER_00: In which part one is a news broadcast that kind of goes into some of that elements of horror.
8:15
SPEAKER_00: But yeah, something that really stuck with me.
8:18
SPEAKER_00: I can't think of...
8:20
SPEAKER_00: Precisely the source of where this came from.
8:22
SPEAKER_00: I'll have to look it up.
8:35
SPEAKER_00: They argued that it could date back to the origins of our species and that there was
8:40
SPEAKER_00: a time perhaps prehistorically where humans encountered a predator
8:46
SPEAKER_00: that could look like us but wasn't quite right.
8:49
SPEAKER_00: And so we developed this innate sort of primal sense of fear for things
8:53
SPEAKER_00: that look like that because we have in fact...
8:55
SPEAKER_00: So yeah, when you combine that with, you know,
9:11
SPEAKER_00: Stuff like analog horror or liminal spaces.
9:14
SPEAKER_00: This idea that things that are familiar and should be comforting can be twisted
9:18
SPEAKER_00: into something that causes a deep sense of dread and unease.
9:22
SPEAKER_00: I mean, that is just, I love that.
9:24
SPEAKER_00: I think that's really cool.
9:26
SPEAKER_00: And it really unsettles me in a very unique way that other types of horror don't.
9:33
SPEAKER_00: Like I said, it's a completely unique sensation and emotion that it brings out of me.
9:39
SPEAKER_00: But yeah,
9:39
SPEAKER_00: that's why I wanted to talk about it this week,
9:41
SPEAKER_00: because like I said,
9:41
SPEAKER_00: I consume a lot of what I would consider uncanny horror,
9:44
SPEAKER_00: and I really wanted to know what you all think of the topic.
9:47
SPEAKER_00: So with that, let me go ahead and jump into
9:50
SPEAKER_01: your responses this week.
9:52
SPEAKER_00: Okay, first up,
9:53
SPEAKER_00: Mariella says,
9:54
SPEAKER_00: I haven't written a lot of the scarier stuff,
9:57
SPEAKER_00: though this year I've read some of the genre.
9:59
SPEAKER_00: I think this is a fascinating trope,
10:01
SPEAKER_00: especially because it's quite relevant to some things we're seeing in
10:04
SPEAKER_00: the world today.
10:05
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I think this brings up a really good point here for a number of reasons.
10:09
SPEAKER_00: You know,
10:09
SPEAKER_00: in reference to things we're seeing in the world today,
10:12
SPEAKER_00: I think that a lot of the AI generated stuff falls into this category,
10:16
SPEAKER_00: even if it's not intentionally horror,
10:18
SPEAKER_00: because as we all know,
10:19
SPEAKER_00: you know, The AI kind of generated videos and stuff like that.
10:23
SPEAKER_00: There's always this uncanniness to them.
10:25
SPEAKER_00: Like the humans,
10:26
SPEAKER_00: for example,
10:27
SPEAKER_00: there's like this unsettling sort of element where it's like you see it and part
10:32
SPEAKER_00: of your brain kind of reacts in a strong way, or at least mine does.
10:37
SPEAKER_00: And I think that's a result of that uncanny factor coming in where it's like,
10:41
SPEAKER_00: You know,
10:41
SPEAKER_00: this is meant to look like a person,
10:42
SPEAKER_00: supposed to move and act and speak like a person,
10:45
SPEAKER_00: but the face isn't quite right and the voice isn't quite right.
10:48
SPEAKER_00: And again, even though it's not horror, it still hits me in a similar fashion.
10:53
SPEAKER_00: It kind of triggers this, again,
10:54
SPEAKER_00: like a primal part of my brain that's like, wait a second, this isn't quite right.
10:59
SPEAKER_00: So I really like Mariela's response there and great to hear that you're getting into this.
11:03
SPEAKER_00: The genre, I hope you enjoy everything you've read so far.
11:06
SPEAKER_00: And if you check out any of my stuff, I'd love to know what you think.
11:09
SPEAKER_00: But yeah, definitely some really cool stuff happening in the genre.
11:12
SPEAKER_00: Like I said, especially with A24's Backrooms film that they did with Kane Pixels.
11:18
SPEAKER_00: I really enjoyed that one.
11:19
SPEAKER_00: And it's exciting to see sort of like liminal space horror
11:22
SPEAKER_00: and uncanny horror finding some time in the mainstream spotlight.
11:25
SPEAKER_00: So really cool stuff.
11:26
SPEAKER_00: Great first response here.
11:28
SPEAKER_00: Next up, Fritz Fallin says,
11:47
SPEAKER_00: I like a good story revolving around the idea of a doppelganger or possession,
11:51
SPEAKER_00: especially if it flips a character into a 180.
11:54
SPEAKER_00: It's like how I grew up watching the Terminator films,
11:56
SPEAKER_00: and I'd always known Arnold as the good guy Terminator.
11:59
SPEAKER_00: Sure, I'd seen T1 and knew he was the bad guy too,
12:02
SPEAKER_00: but color me shocked when I learned that the initial cinema trailers
12:05
SPEAKER_00: for T2 didn't reveal Arnold as the good guy,
12:08
SPEAKER_00: and that the scene in the mall where he tells John to get down is supposed to be
12:11
SPEAKER_00: a huge twist.
12:13
SPEAKER_00: Ha ha ha.
12:32
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, no, Fritz is spot on here.
12:33
SPEAKER_00: I really like the reference to Terminator because as someone
12:36
SPEAKER_00: who also watched those movies growing up,
12:39
SPEAKER_00: Arnold's character is a perfect example of kind of the uncanny done in like a sci-fi
12:43
SPEAKER_00: and sometimes comedic way with some of his lines.
12:46
SPEAKER_00: I did not know that story there about the trailers not revealing that Arnold was
12:50
SPEAKER_00: the good guy in Terminator 2,
12:52
SPEAKER_00: but I know that was a big change up from his character in the first film.
12:56
SPEAKER_00: So that's really interesting and good marketing on their part.
12:58
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
12:59
SPEAKER_00: But again, a great response here from Fritz.
13:02
SPEAKER_00: And I got to check out that entry from the Second Indulgence Mirror.
13:05
SPEAKER_00: I don't think I've read that one yet.
13:07
SPEAKER_00: But I love that Fritz has already been trying out some of this uncanny sort
13:10
SPEAKER_00: of horror elements in his story.
13:13
SPEAKER_00: So that's really interesting.
13:14
SPEAKER_00: Next up,
13:15
SPEAKER_00: Mina Howell says,
13:16
SPEAKER_00: That kind of stuff definitely scares me the further we go along this timeline.
13:20
SPEAKER_00: And she has a laughing sweaty face emoji.
13:22
SPEAKER_00: I agree with that.
13:24
SPEAKER_00: She says,
13:24
SPEAKER_00: I don't write it because of a certain run-in with a cryptid that scared me too much
13:28
SPEAKER_00: to ever find comfort in things like that.
13:30
SPEAKER_00: And obviously,
13:32
SPEAKER_00: I told Mina,
13:33
SPEAKER_00: I was like, hey, if you want to share, I'd love to know what happened there.
13:36
SPEAKER_00: And she said that she didn't really want to talk about it publicly, which is totally fine.
13:40
SPEAKER_00: But yeah, definitely has my curiosity peaked.
13:43
SPEAKER_00: And it also calls to mind...
13:46
SPEAKER_00: I was listening to a podcast about that topic a while ago.
14:00
SPEAKER_00: I can absolutely see how that would kind of turn you away from ever wanting to write
14:05
SPEAKER_00: about it, even fictionally.
14:05
SPEAKER_00: Because it's one of those things where it feels almost like if you talk about it,
14:09
SPEAKER_00: you invite it in.
14:29
SPEAKER_00: And again, totally understandable.
14:31
SPEAKER_00: But shout out to Mina for the response there.
14:34
SPEAKER_00: And again,
14:34
SPEAKER_00: another mention of how this is very relevant to our current timeline for a lot
14:38
SPEAKER_00: of reasons.
14:39
SPEAKER_00: Like I said, AI was the example I used earlier, but there's definitely more examples.
14:43
SPEAKER_00: All right, next up, J.M.
14:45
SPEAKER_00: Gooding says, Yeah,
14:47
SPEAKER_00: so there might be an upcoming story with that kind of thing in it that I don't want
14:50
SPEAKER_00: to spoil.
14:50
SPEAKER_00: Besides, it's for Dreadtober, so you'll have to wait until the 29th.
14:54
SPEAKER_00: Shout out to Derek and Dreadtober.
14:55
SPEAKER_00: That was an awesome event that he ran.
14:57
SPEAKER_00: But I generally, J.M.
14:59
SPEAKER_00: Gooding says, I generally don't do it unless the story guides me to do it.
15:02
SPEAKER_00: I flirted with the idea of a creepy beta unit,
15:05
SPEAKER_00: shout out to The Last Starfighter, for the ARG prompt, but decided not to go there.
15:10
SPEAKER_00: But...
15:11
SPEAKER_00: Since you say that the topic covers horror that takes familiar spaces
15:14
SPEAKER_00: and twists them into something unsettling, yeah, I do that a lot.
15:17
SPEAKER_00: So no to imposters and such, but yes to imposters spaces.
15:22
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I do think that,
15:24
SPEAKER_00: and I'd be curious to hear people's thoughts in the comments here,
15:26
SPEAKER_00: but I do think that uncanny horror does include not only characters
15:30
SPEAKER_00: and like imposters of characters, but definitely spaces as well.
15:34
SPEAKER_00: I think liminal horror has shown us that you You can create that same level
15:38
SPEAKER_00: of uncanny sort of unsettled feeling by taking a recognizable space and twisting it
15:44
SPEAKER_00: in some way, right?
15:46
SPEAKER_00: And yeah, I can only imagine with J.M.
15:48
SPEAKER_00: Gooding,
15:48
SPEAKER_00: I know his work has done that before,
15:50
SPEAKER_00: and I can only imagine what he'll do in the future.
15:53
SPEAKER_00: His horror is truly exceptional.
15:55
SPEAKER_00: Definitely check it out if you haven't yet.
15:57
SPEAKER_00: I really love reading all of his stuff, especially the folklore horror that he does.
16:02
SPEAKER_00: But yeah,
16:03
SPEAKER_00: I trust his opinion when it comes to Uncanny Horror because he knows how to unsettle
16:08
SPEAKER_00: the reader in all kinds of different ways, that way included.
16:12
SPEAKER_00: All right,
16:12
SPEAKER_00: next up,
16:13
SPEAKER_00: BentButTrue comments, just wrote two stories for the challenge along this line.
16:17
SPEAKER_00: So that's fantastic.
16:18
SPEAKER_00: I'll need to track those down as well.
16:20
SPEAKER_00: And again,
16:21
SPEAKER_00: if you're a fan of uncanny horror like me,
16:22
SPEAKER_00: go check out what BentButTrue's got going on.
16:24
SPEAKER_00: He does really great stuff as well.
16:26
SPEAKER_00: All right, and our final response this week is from MRRJack's Tales of Pictavia, who says...
16:32
SPEAKER_00: EIF, a beauty and makeup brand, have started using the Uncanny Valley in their advertising.
16:37
SPEAKER_00: So it's a mainstream concept now, I guess.
16:40
SPEAKER_00: I feel it is kind of genius advertising,
16:42
SPEAKER_00: but what does it say about society when brands that are meant to sell aspirational
16:46
SPEAKER_00: and sometimes unattainable beauty stand out by saying,
16:50
SPEAKER_00: don't worry, with us you can look normal.
16:52
SPEAKER_00: Who decides what is uncanny?
16:55
SPEAKER_00: See, that is a really good response.
16:57
SPEAKER_00: And I would love to see what others say about this because I did not know
17:00
SPEAKER_00: about this makeup brand and what they're doing with that.
17:03
SPEAKER_00: It's, yeah, it starts to get into murky territory, right?
17:06
SPEAKER_00: Because I feel like uncanniness is extremely subjective.
17:11
SPEAKER_00: Like you've seen a lot of different ways of doing it.
17:13
SPEAKER_00: And I know I've brought up the back rooms multiple times here,
17:15
SPEAKER_00: but it's the most recent example that I can think of.
17:17
SPEAKER_00: In that movie,
17:18
SPEAKER_00: I'll try to avoid spoilers,
17:19
SPEAKER_00: but in that movie,
17:20
SPEAKER_00: there are these entities in In the back rooms known as still lives
17:25
SPEAKER_00: or still life characters and they are essentially kind of copies of real people
17:31
SPEAKER_00: but they're not quite right and in the back rooms this is portrayed very obviously
17:36
SPEAKER_00: through the characters.
17:37
SPEAKER_00: And again, we're talking about fiction and horror here.
17:40
SPEAKER_00: When we talk about advertising and stuff like that,
18:02
SPEAKER_00: I, you know,
18:02
SPEAKER_00: there's already some problematic elements with the kind of beauty
18:06
SPEAKER_00: and makeup industry.
18:07
SPEAKER_00: Again, as this last response here said,
18:11
SPEAKER_00: they're selling aspirational, sometimes unattainable beauty standards.
18:15
SPEAKER_00: Now they're trying to say, okay, well, with us, we can make you look more human.
18:19
SPEAKER_00: Like, I...
18:20
SPEAKER_00: I don't know.
18:21
SPEAKER_00: I don't know.
18:21
SPEAKER_00: It's one of those things where that industry,
18:23
SPEAKER_00: in my opinion, has always played into people's insecurities.
18:27
SPEAKER_00: And I feel like this is just another way of them doing that.
18:30
SPEAKER_00: But on a more deeper existential level, it doesn't feel right if I'm being honest.
18:34
SPEAKER_00: And yeah, I think it's up to the individual, when it comes to fiction at least.
18:38
SPEAKER_00: It's up to the individual to decide what uncanny means and what that looks like.
18:43
SPEAKER_00: Um, I,
18:44
SPEAKER_00: I hesitate to say that we should pull that concept into the real world in the sense
18:48
SPEAKER_00: of like trying to use it to like set standards of again,
18:51
SPEAKER_00: like beauty or makeup or stuff like that.
18:53
SPEAKER_00: That seems like a slippery slope to me, but that's just my two cents.
18:56
SPEAKER_00: Um, a fantastic response though.
18:57
SPEAKER_00: And I really appreciate,
18:58
SPEAKER_00: um, uh, them bringing that up here because it is a very relevant example.
19:03
SPEAKER_00: Um, and again, feel free to continue the conversation in my subscriber chat.
19:07
SPEAKER_00: I will, uh, We'll see you next time.
19:24
SPEAKER_00: As always, just again, I wanted to say thank you to everyone for your amazing input each week.
19:29
SPEAKER_00: I know I kind of jump around when it comes to topics.
19:32
SPEAKER_00: This month, of course, I'm doing a lot of horror stuff, given that it's October.
19:36
SPEAKER_00: But you always show up and you always bring really interesting perspectives,
19:39
SPEAKER_00: and I truly, truly appreciate it.
19:41
SPEAKER_00: All right.
19:41
SPEAKER_00: Well, that's it for our writing discussion this week.
19:44
SPEAKER_00: Next up,
19:45
SPEAKER_00: we'll dive into a look at the week three leaderboards for
19:49
SPEAKER_00: the second Indulgence challenge.
19:51
SPEAKER_00: But first,
19:51
SPEAKER_00: I want to go ahead and check in with Lord Devereaux and the others
19:53
SPEAKER_00: to see how things are going.
19:55
SPEAKER_00: Huh.
19:55
SPEAKER_00: It's kind of quiet in here.
19:57
SPEAKER_00: Almost like the energy is quieted down a bit.
19:59
SPEAKER_00: Is everything okay?
20:00
SPEAKER_02: Lord Devereaux.
20:02
SPEAKER_02: The main courses have slowed,
20:04
SPEAKER_02: but fortunately,
20:05
SPEAKER_02: the majority of the guests find themselves in what you humans call a food coma.
20:13
SPEAKER_00: Not to worry!
20:14
SPEAKER_00: Jaden is releasing episode three of Into the Gateway.
20:17
SPEAKER_00: If I'm not mistaken, it's out right now.
20:20
SPEAKER_00: I'm going to play it for them when they wake up.
20:22
SPEAKER_00: Oh, hey, Fintan, that episode turned out so good.
20:25
SPEAKER_00: You've been doing awesome work over there with Jaden.
20:27
SPEAKER_00: Yes, well, Jaden knows how to make me sound good, that's for sure.
20:33
SPEAKER_00: Bradley, there you are.
20:35
SPEAKER_00: Look, I finally made something.
20:38
SPEAKER_00: Oh, nice, Arnold.
20:39
SPEAKER_00: Let me guess, your famous lemon cookies.
20:43
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, with extra protein.
20:46
SPEAKER_00: Okay, I'll give one a shot.
20:47
SPEAKER_00: Let's see here.
20:48
SPEAKER_00: Um.
20:54
SPEAKER_00: Oh, they're great.
21:01
SPEAKER_00: Hey, wait a second.
21:01
SPEAKER_00: What's Gollum doing over there?
21:04
SPEAKER_02: Yes, precious.
21:07
SPEAKER_02: Nice and sleepy.
21:10
SPEAKER_00: All the precious scissors will be ours.
21:17
SPEAKER_00: Hey, wait a second, I think he's stealing everyone's rings while they're unconscious.
21:22
SPEAKER_00: Guys, you can't do that.
21:24
SPEAKER_00: Why not?
21:26
SPEAKER_00: They don't need system.
21:28
SPEAKER_00: Okay, and you do?
21:30
SPEAKER_00: Stinky little hobbitses, always getting in our
21:34
SPEAKER_02: ways.
21:38
SPEAKER_00: All right,
21:40
SPEAKER_00: I'm getting back to the podcast,
21:41
SPEAKER_00: but Lord Devereaux,
21:42
SPEAKER_00: I'm sure we'll get some new entries rolling in before the guests wake up,
21:44
SPEAKER_00: so don't worry about it.
21:46
SPEAKER_02: Let us hope for all of your sakes that you are correct.
21:50
SPEAKER_02: A hungry story eater is quite a terrifying sight.
21:55
SPEAKER_00: Yes, yes, he's right, you know.
21:58
SPEAKER_00: Don't worry, we've got it under control.
22:00
SPEAKER_00: Just keep Gollum from stealing any more of the guests' jewelry.
22:04
SPEAKER_00: Stinky little harbuses.
22:07
SPEAKER_00: I've got my eye on you.
22:09
SPEAKER_00: All right, and we're back.
22:11
SPEAKER_00: Before we dive into the highlights from week three of
22:13
SPEAKER_00: the second indulgence challenge,
22:15
SPEAKER_00: I'm going to take a look at three stories from this week's shoutouts thread
22:18
SPEAKER_00: in my subscriber chat.
22:20
SPEAKER_00: I picked these at random,
22:21
SPEAKER_00: but I've also encouraged folks to share pitches to help their links stand out.
22:25
SPEAKER_00: I will, of course, take these into account when I'm selecting them each week.
22:29
SPEAKER_00: And remember,
22:30
SPEAKER_00: this thread on Substack opens every Tuesday,
22:32
SPEAKER_00: so make sure to stop by and share links to your latest work.
22:35
SPEAKER_00: All right, let's dive in and see what we got this week.
22:37
SPEAKER_00: First up is The Little Dead by Wendy Russell.
22:41
SPEAKER_00: So here's Wendy's pitch.
22:43
SPEAKER_00: A tiny skeleton in a cough medicine bottle,
22:45
SPEAKER_00: decades of marriage, and an ending that might just break your heart.
22:50
SPEAKER_00: Sorry in advance, purple heart emoji.
22:54
SPEAKER_00: I love this pitch because it's quick,
22:55
SPEAKER_00: it offers some key details,
22:57
SPEAKER_00: and it's got a little humor in there with that apology of the end.
22:59
SPEAKER_00: It sets expectations perfectly.
23:02
SPEAKER_00: And right away, I can tell how this piece was inspired.
23:05
SPEAKER_00: The featured image here,
23:07
SPEAKER_00: when you open the post,
23:08
SPEAKER_00: is Inktober Day 3 from Thomas Cargan,
23:11
SPEAKER_00: who is seriously, seriously, one of the best artists I've ever seen.
23:15
SPEAKER_00: And I'm not just saying that because he drew me a while back, but he did.
23:19
SPEAKER_00: Wendy also got a fellow Substack author by the name of TRT to read this one,
23:23
SPEAKER_00: so there's some nice collaboration going on here.
23:26
SPEAKER_00: It seems Wendy asked for help because she herself couldn't finish the audio.
23:30
SPEAKER_00: That alone got me nervous to read this one.
23:33
SPEAKER_00: And through the magic of podcasting,
23:35
SPEAKER_00: I paused to go read the story and come back here to write the rest of this shoutout.
23:39
SPEAKER_00: So for you, only seconds have passed, but for me, well, my heart's in pieces on the floor.
23:44
SPEAKER_00: So let's talk about it.
23:45
SPEAKER_00: Let me start by saying...
23:47
SPEAKER_00: That Wendy's apology was indeed justified.
23:49
SPEAKER_00: This one hits like one of J.M.
23:51
SPEAKER_00: Gooding's emotional stories, and if you know his work, then you know that means it was crushing.
23:56
SPEAKER_00: The concept here,
23:57
SPEAKER_00: based on the art,
23:58
SPEAKER_00: is someone who has kept the body of a loved one in miniature form known as
24:03
SPEAKER_00: the Little Dead.
24:04
SPEAKER_00: This allows them to sort of keep them around in a way.
24:07
SPEAKER_00: The story hints at this being more than a formality as well,
24:11
SPEAKER_00: because there's moments when it feels like the spirit of
24:13
SPEAKER_00: the loved one is still there.
24:15
SPEAKER_00: This, of course,
24:16
SPEAKER_00: allows Wendy to pull on memories of the two lovers in this story
24:19
SPEAKER_00: when they were both alive.
24:21
SPEAKER_00: It's a story about holding on to something that's already gone.
24:24
SPEAKER_00: The tiny skeleton in a bottle is a metaphor for how our protagonist,
24:28
SPEAKER_00: Elspeth, can't let her husband go.
24:31
SPEAKER_00: It's, um, it's rough.
24:34
SPEAKER_00: The more I talk about it, the more I'm feeling tears welling up in my eyes again.
24:38
SPEAKER_00: It's times like these that I'm really glad this isn't a video podcast.
24:42
SPEAKER_00: I don't want to spoil the ending here,
24:44
SPEAKER_00: but one thing I'll say is that Wendy never relishes in the sadness at any point in
24:48
SPEAKER_00: the story.
24:49
SPEAKER_00: There's a purpose for the pain here.
24:52
SPEAKER_00: There's growth for Elspeth, an arc that she follows through the stages of grief.
24:58
SPEAKER_00: And I think by the end,
24:59
SPEAKER_00: we all learn that sometimes in order to heal ourselves and others,
25:03
SPEAKER_00: we have to go through the pain.
25:05
SPEAKER_00: And I think this story is proof of why such things are necessary.
25:10
SPEAKER_00: It doesn't mean at the end of the day that it doesn't hurt,
25:12
SPEAKER_00: but there is a reason here to dive into this grief,
25:15
SPEAKER_00: and honestly it's amazing that Thomas' art inspired such a powerful story.
25:20
SPEAKER_00: And now let's see if I can get through this excerpt and keep it together.
25:24
SPEAKER_00: The days had shortened.
25:26
SPEAKER_00: By late afternoon,
25:27
SPEAKER_00: the light was already withdrawing from the valley,
25:29
SPEAKER_00: leaving the house in shadow while there was still gold on the tops of the trees.
25:35
SPEAKER_00: Elspeth brought in enough wood for the night,
25:37
SPEAKER_00: swept the hearth,
25:39
SPEAKER_00: and made a pot of soup that lasted three suppers,
25:41
SPEAKER_00: because she had never quite learned how to cook for one.
25:45
SPEAKER_00: Edwin stayed in her pocket.
25:47
SPEAKER_00: Sometimes her hand went there and closed around him through the cloth.
25:51
SPEAKER_00: That night she put the bottle beside the stove.
25:55
SPEAKER_00: Yes, I know you don't feel it anymore, she said.
25:59
SPEAKER_00: The rest of the sentence would not come.
26:02
SPEAKER_00: She sat down.
26:03
SPEAKER_00: For a long while she watched the flames move behind the iron grate,
26:08
SPEAKER_00: listening to the old house settle around her.
26:12
SPEAKER_00: There had been another night,
26:13
SPEAKER_00: long before Edwin became small enough to fit inside a bottle,
26:17
SPEAKER_00: when she had sat beside a different fire and held his hand beneath the blankets.
26:22
SPEAKER_00: His fingers had already begun to cool.
26:25
SPEAKER_02: Don't leave me yet,
26:27
SPEAKER_00: she had whispered.
26:28
SPEAKER_00: His eyes had stayed closed, but his fingers tightened weakly around hers.
26:34
SPEAKER_00: All right.
26:35
SPEAKER_00: Elspeth reached for the bottle.
26:38
SPEAKER_01: Oh, Edwin.
26:40
SPEAKER_00: She carried him upstairs and climbed into bed with her stockings still on,
26:44
SPEAKER_00: then lay beneath the blankets with the bottle against her chest.
26:48
SPEAKER_02: I don't know who I'll talk to.
26:51
SPEAKER_00: She hadn't meant to say it.
26:53
SPEAKER_00: There were other things she had meant to say,
26:54
SPEAKER_00: things about being grateful and having had more years than most people were given,
26:59
SPEAKER_00: but they seemed terribly grand now that the moment had come.
27:03
SPEAKER_00: Edwin had always hated grand declarations anyway.
27:07
SPEAKER_00: Who am I supposed to tell when the first frost comes?
27:11
SPEAKER_00: Something inside the bottle made the faintest sound.
27:14
SPEAKER_00: Elspeth closed her eyes.
27:16
SPEAKER_02: I know.
27:18
SPEAKER_00: She slept with him in her hand.
27:22
SPEAKER_00: Wow, we need to stop cutting onions before I record the podcast.
27:26
SPEAKER_00: Where did I put those tissues?
27:28
SPEAKER_00: Ahem.
27:29
SPEAKER_00: Alright,
27:30
SPEAKER_00: Wendy also shared some backstory with me this week about the inspiration for
27:34
SPEAKER_00: the character names in this piece.
27:35
SPEAKER_00: She said,
27:36
SPEAKER_00: The rest of the writing was too blurred out by my rain-soaked windblown hair,
27:40
SPEAKER_00: but something about those names stuck.
27:42
SPEAKER_00: Then when Thomas shared this wee drawing, the names returned with this tale.
27:58
SPEAKER_00: Wow, what a wonderful backstory there.
28:00
SPEAKER_00: And yeah, wow, somebody's cutting onions again.
28:02
SPEAKER_00: We got to really get this under control.
28:05
SPEAKER_00: All right, let's move on to the next shout out.
28:08
SPEAKER_00: Second this week is an essay, actually.
28:11
SPEAKER_00: We don't get these very often, so I was excited to talk about this one.
28:14
SPEAKER_00: It's entitled Why I Write and Read by Tardenheimer.
28:18
SPEAKER_00: Total side note, but I love how this profile has a tardigrade as their profile picture.
28:22
SPEAKER_00: I definitely approve.
28:24
SPEAKER_00: This essay here, though, is essentially a tour of this author's creative journey.
28:28
SPEAKER_00: What drew them to writing and what made them who they are.
28:31
SPEAKER_00: I honestly think every author should do one of these at some point
28:34
SPEAKER_00: because it gives us really cool insight into the artist behind the art.
28:37
SPEAKER_00: And in my mind, that's how you stand out in today's crowded online world.
28:43
SPEAKER_00: If you can get people invested in your story, then you can get them invested in your work.
28:48
SPEAKER_00: And your story is unique because it's your own.
28:50
SPEAKER_00: It's your journey.
28:52
SPEAKER_00: What's fun about these kind of pieces too is spotting the similarities
28:54
SPEAKER_00: between myself and other writers.
28:56
SPEAKER_00: For example,
28:57
SPEAKER_00: the author mentions Stephen King's book on writing a few times,
29:01
SPEAKER_00: which is something I read early in my creative journey and it's a book I recommend
29:04
SPEAKER_00: that all writers read.
29:06
SPEAKER_00: This essay also dives into discovery writing or pantsing as some of you may know it.
29:11
SPEAKER_00: I myself am a serial pantser.
29:12
SPEAKER_00: I very rarely go into a story with everything fully mapped out.
29:16
SPEAKER_00: I like to have an idea, a direction, but then I just run with it.
29:20
SPEAKER_00: I let the story come to me like a long-lost memory is how I describe it.
29:24
SPEAKER_00: So it's really cool to see how Tardenheimer describes that approach here
29:27
SPEAKER_00: with their own discovery writing.
29:29
SPEAKER_00: And like I said, this is the kind of essay that I think more writers should be doing.
29:33
SPEAKER_00: So if you want a good example of how this looks in action, take a look here.
29:36
SPEAKER_00: It's really great.
29:37
SPEAKER_00: We got a link in the show notes.
29:38
SPEAKER_00: But for now, let's check out an excerpt.
29:41
SPEAKER_00: I like to write about the mundane and boring that then becomes fantastical.
29:45
SPEAKER_00: There's something so fascinating about the repetition of everyday life
29:49
SPEAKER_00: that can become a fable if we squint really hard at it.
29:52
SPEAKER_00: Writing to me is like a really strong daydreaming,
29:55
SPEAKER_00: and that daydream is sometimes when you're doing mundane things
29:58
SPEAKER_00: and you let your mind drift.
29:59
SPEAKER_00: It wasn't up until I read Stephen King's On Writing that I realized
30:02
SPEAKER_00: that there's no shame in discovery writing.
30:05
SPEAKER_00: Raymond Carver did it too.
30:06
SPEAKER_00: He felt something akin to shame with writing.
30:09
SPEAKER_00: I get it.
30:10
SPEAKER_00: The industry tells us, do yourself a favor and outline.
30:12
SPEAKER_00: It makes things easier for yourself.
30:14
SPEAKER_00: But what if we don't and simply just write?
30:17
SPEAKER_00: It becomes a part of our natural process.
30:20
SPEAKER_00: I see every book or story as the first day of school.
30:23
SPEAKER_00: The anxiety when you get there,
30:24
SPEAKER_00: but then the excitement of meeting everyone and also the anxiety you feel
30:28
SPEAKER_00: about how others will perceive you and then joy if you did manage to make a friend
30:32
SPEAKER_00: or two on your first day.
30:33
SPEAKER_00: Some of the most fantastical stories start with something mundane and boring.
30:37
SPEAKER_00: Master and Margarita starts off with two characters debating over a cafe,
30:41
SPEAKER_00: and then Woland runs in and joins them.
30:44
SPEAKER_00: Harry Potter starts on an empty street.
30:46
SPEAKER_00: The Dark Tower starts with a man chasing another man to the desert.
30:49
SPEAKER_00: Kafka on the Shore starts with a boy who wants to run away from home.
30:53
SPEAKER_00: You see where I'm going with this?
30:54
SPEAKER_00: Try it out.
30:55
SPEAKER_00: See where the story takes you.
30:58
SPEAKER_00: Fantastic advice there from Tardenheimer, and a very well-written essay.
31:01
SPEAKER_00: Remember to check the show notes for a link to all these,
31:03
SPEAKER_00: and like I said, if you haven't done one of these yourself, I'd love to read it.
31:08
SPEAKER_00: Third this week is Streetlights Flash Fiction by Emerald City Ghosts.
31:14
SPEAKER_00: If you're not familiar with this horror magazine on Substack, please check them out.
31:18
SPEAKER_00: I have had the absolute honor of being featured in one of their issues with
31:21
SPEAKER_00: a piece I wrote,
31:23
SPEAKER_00: and they often do challenges and submissions and other types of events.
31:26
SPEAKER_00: So right here,
31:48
SPEAKER_00: The pitch offers up a lot of intrigue and a personal connection to the author,
31:52
SPEAKER_00: which I really enjoyed.
31:53
SPEAKER_00: I myself have written a few things and read plenty of others that are inspired
31:56
SPEAKER_00: by something that seems mundane like we heard about with our last shoutout,
32:00
SPEAKER_00: but it ultimately carries a deeper meaning.
32:02
SPEAKER_00: To most people, a streetlight is just that, a light.
32:05
SPEAKER_00: But for some who look at it every day through their kitchen window in this example,
32:09
SPEAKER_00: it becomes more than that.
32:11
SPEAKER_00: I love that as a concept for a flash fiction piece.
32:13
SPEAKER_00: So let's talk about this one.
32:15
SPEAKER_00: Right off the bat here, I gotta shout out the writing.
32:18
SPEAKER_00: The writing style and the prose has this beautiful poetic flow
32:22
SPEAKER_00: that makes it feel ethereal and sort of melancholy
32:25
SPEAKER_00: without ever actually saying those exact words.
32:29
SPEAKER_00: The very structure of the piece and the way that it's written gives off
32:32
SPEAKER_00: a very unique atmosphere,
32:33
SPEAKER_00: and then you get the setting itself, which is this fog-covered rainy street.
32:38
SPEAKER_00: Adding the description of the spirit or woman here,
32:41
SPEAKER_00: and that part as well,
32:42
SPEAKER_00: just it all comes together to create this beautifully constructed work of art
32:46
SPEAKER_00: through words.
32:47
SPEAKER_00: It's one of those pieces where the mystery and horror are there,
32:50
SPEAKER_00: of course,
32:51
SPEAKER_00: but they're presented in a way that feels welcoming,
32:54
SPEAKER_00: like the story's almost trying to lure you in with its siren song.
32:57
SPEAKER_00: I just really love the way that this one read.
33:00
SPEAKER_00: Let's check out an excerpt.
33:02
SPEAKER_00: When she was alive, she was light and shadow and cloud all at once.
33:07
SPEAKER_00: She was the sun and stars and all kinds of weather wrapped into one.
33:12
SPEAKER_00: I loved her and I was never sure.
33:15
SPEAKER_00: She's different now.
33:16
SPEAKER_00: I can't see her face.
33:18
SPEAKER_00: Her features are smudged, obscured and undefined by the torrents of rain.
33:23
SPEAKER_00: Something tells me that even if this was the clearest,
33:26
SPEAKER_00: sunniest day in all of history, she would still be a woman without a face.
33:31
SPEAKER_00: Now she stands at the edge of the streetlight,
33:34
SPEAKER_00: where the golden rays cut through the night and create sharp lines on the sidewalk.
33:39
SPEAKER_00: She's the heroine in a detective novel,
33:41
SPEAKER_00: the vampire in the city streets,
33:44
SPEAKER_00: and the actress on the silver screen in the Slowly,
33:53
SPEAKER_00: she raises a hand.
33:55
SPEAKER_00: She points into the street.
33:56
SPEAKER_00: She looks to the place where the lights converge,
33:59
SPEAKER_00: where the traffic light hangs above the intersection.
34:01
SPEAKER_00: Good golly, Miss Molly.
34:03
SPEAKER_00: Wow, that was amazing.
34:28
SPEAKER_00: Definitely.
34:30
SPEAKER_00: Please, please, please give this one a read alongside all the shoutouts this week.
34:33
SPEAKER_00: Remember, you'll find links to everything in the show notes.
34:36
SPEAKER_00: And of course,
34:36
SPEAKER_00: speaking of links,
34:38
SPEAKER_00: let's dive right in next to week three of
34:41
SPEAKER_00: the second Indulgence Horror Writing Challenge with our top stories.
34:45
[music]
35:05
SPEAKER_00: All right, and we're back.
35:07
SPEAKER_00: Week three of the challenge was main courses.
35:09
SPEAKER_00: These are our prompts with a bit more meat on their bones and a higher recommended word count.
35:14
SPEAKER_00: But keep in mind,
35:15
SPEAKER_00: the prompts are open all month,
35:16
SPEAKER_00: so if you're still trying to get to some of these,
35:18
SPEAKER_00: you have until November 7th to submit anything for the entire challenge.
35:22
SPEAKER_00: For now, though,
35:23
SPEAKER_00: let's take a look at the top stories from week three,
35:26
SPEAKER_00: including a look at the unranked bracket and a few wild card stories
35:29
SPEAKER_00: of my own choosing.
35:31
SPEAKER_00: Starting with the lightweight bracket,
35:33
SPEAKER_00: in third place on the lightweight leaderboard for week three with a score
35:37
SPEAKER_00: of four points, it's Void Claim by Maven B. Wilds.
35:43
SPEAKER_00: This was for the prompt about being dead for 11 minutes
35:46
SPEAKER_00: and something following you back when you're revived.
35:48
SPEAKER_00: Maven published this one on October 17th,
35:51
SPEAKER_00: and again,
35:52
SPEAKER_00: it's a great reminder to folks that the prompts are open all month,
35:54
SPEAKER_00: so even if it's been several days since the prompt came out,
35:57
SPEAKER_00: Still finish your entry and get it submitted because it can be covered on
36:00
SPEAKER_00: the show here and obviously it counts for the challenge.
36:03
SPEAKER_00: Now what I love about this one is how Maven throws us right into the action.
36:08
SPEAKER_00: Our protagonist is confused,
36:10
SPEAKER_00: disoriented, scared,
36:11
SPEAKER_00: and it's clear early on that they're being hit with a defibrillator as
36:14
SPEAKER_00: the story goes on because those actual electric zaps manifest in the story
36:19
SPEAKER_00: and I love that foreshadowing.
36:21
SPEAKER_00: The way Maven drifts between the waking world and this place between life
36:24
SPEAKER_00: and death is wonderful.
36:26
SPEAKER_00: It's that push and pull that gives this story a really unique and powerful sense of pacing.
36:31
SPEAKER_00: And it all builds to a chilling conclusion.
36:35
SPEAKER_00: It's fantastic stuff.
36:36
SPEAKER_00: And once again, congrats to Maven on making the week three leaderboard here.
36:40
SPEAKER_00: This is a great, great entry.
36:42
SPEAKER_00: In second place on the lightweight leaderboard bracket with a score of eight points,
36:47
SPEAKER_00: it's In Before the Main Event by Fritz Fallen.
36:53
SPEAKER_00: This is a story for one of the bonus prompts, which I love to see.
36:57
SPEAKER_00: And I gotta say, Fritz really went all out with this piece.
37:00
SPEAKER_00: Not only does he do a ton of really cool stuff with rhyming and some interjections
37:04
SPEAKER_00: of poetry into the story,
37:06
SPEAKER_00: but he also dives deep into Lord Devereaux's lore in ways
37:09
SPEAKER_00: that not even I have explored.
37:12
SPEAKER_00: The result is a very engaging story in more ways than one.
37:15
SPEAKER_00: And I gotta say, I really like the way that he handled Lord Devereaux's lore here as well.
37:20
SPEAKER_00: In fact, he's actually right here.
37:22
SPEAKER_00: Let me ask him real quick.
37:23
SPEAKER_00: Hey, Lord Devereaux, did you read, or I guess devour, Fritz Fallen's story from October 20th?
37:32
SPEAKER_02: Ah, yes.
37:33
SPEAKER_02: It was a sumptuous delight.
37:35
SPEAKER_02: Why do you ask?
37:38
SPEAKER_00: Well, I was wondering, the backstory that he put in there, is that right?
37:41
SPEAKER_00: About your previous names and your connection to history?
37:48
SPEAKER_02: Wouldn't you like to know?
37:49
SPEAKER_00: Uh, yeah, I would.
37:53
SPEAKER_00: Is it true?
37:55
SPEAKER_00: Bradley, I must return to my guests, but I will
37:58
SPEAKER_02: leave you with this.
37:59
SPEAKER_02: The flavors in Fritz's story were all exceptional.
38:07
SPEAKER_00: Oh, man, I hate it when he gets all cryptic like that.
38:10
SPEAKER_00: All right, well,
38:11
SPEAKER_00: I'm starting to think that Fritz was on to something with this story,
38:13
SPEAKER_00: so definitely check it out.
38:15
SPEAKER_00: You'll find a link in the show notes.
38:17
SPEAKER_00: And congrats to Fritz again for making the Week 3 Lightweight Leaderboard.
38:22
SPEAKER_00: All right,
38:23
SPEAKER_00: and in first place on the Week 3 Lightweight Leaderboard with a score of 10 points,
38:28
SPEAKER_00: it's Chapter 1, A Feast of the Masses by Alexander Aviles.
38:36
SPEAKER_00: This piece is for Day Eleven's prompt, entitled The Maw of Munchies.
38:40
SPEAKER_00: And this, of course, was a fun horror comedy prompt that J.M.
38:43
SPEAKER_00: Gooding wrote, if I recall correctly.
38:46
SPEAKER_00: Alexander immediately takes this prompt and runs with it here,
38:49
SPEAKER_00: setting up a story about sinkholes swallowing restaurants across America and beyond,
38:54
SPEAKER_00: to the point where it even causes food shortages.
38:57
SPEAKER_00: He goes on to describe an apocalyptic scenario with an actually really profound takeaway.
39:03
SPEAKER_00: This is not at all what I expected when I was reading this prompt
39:06
SPEAKER_00: or any stories related to it,
39:08
SPEAKER_00: but I gotta say that kind
39:09
SPEAKER_00: of creativity is exactly why I love doing challenges like this.
39:13
SPEAKER_00: Alexander did something really unique with this one,
39:15
SPEAKER_00: and I totally agree that it should be first place on
39:18
SPEAKER_00: the Week 3 Lightweight Leaderboard, so congratulations to him again.
39:22
SPEAKER_00: In third place on the Week 3 Middleweight Leaderboard, with a score of 7 points, it's...
39:28
SPEAKER_00: Please Forget Me by Daniel Coates.
39:31
SPEAKER_00: So this is Daniel's first entry into the challenge, and wow, this is a very good place to start.
39:37
SPEAKER_00: This was for prompt number 16,
39:39
SPEAKER_00: which asked for a story or poem about an immortal being seeking to finally know
39:43
SPEAKER_00: the peace of death.
39:45
SPEAKER_00: In this story, Daniel shatters the fourth wall right off the bat.
39:49
SPEAKER_00: By having the protagonist speak to us directly,
39:52
SPEAKER_00: they are pleading with the reader to help us end their life.
39:55
SPEAKER_00: And despite this being a story, you do have the power to grant their wish.
40:00
SPEAKER_00: It's a really cool concept.
40:02
SPEAKER_00: I don't want to spoil the ending here because I really want you to read it.
40:05
SPEAKER_00: I mean, seriously, just pause the show if you want.
40:07
SPEAKER_00: I mean, check the show notes, head on over, give it a read, come back.
40:10
SPEAKER_00: I mean, I'll wait.
40:11
SPEAKER_00: It's seriously that good.
40:13
SPEAKER_00: Okay, did you read it?
40:14
SPEAKER_00: Right?
40:15
SPEAKER_00: Right?
40:17
SPEAKER_00: Man, what a killer take on the prompt.
40:19
SPEAKER_00: Congratulations again to Daniel for making the middleweight leaderboard here in week three.
40:23
SPEAKER_00: In second place on the week three middleweight leaderboard with a score
40:26
SPEAKER_00: of 15 points, it's One Step at a Time by Richard Pack.
40:32
SPEAKER_00: Those who have listened to the show here know that I'm a huge fan
40:35
SPEAKER_00: of Richard's world building skills and his work.
40:38
SPEAKER_00: And this piece is another example of that.
40:40
SPEAKER_00: Here, he does the worldbuilding through the use of stunning imagery.
40:43
SPEAKER_00: There's a line early on that says,
40:45
SPEAKER_00: Now the buildings were hardly more than suggestions in the dirt,
40:49
SPEAKER_00: reduced back to so much carbon.
40:51
SPEAKER_00: Like, damn!
40:52
SPEAKER_00: That's a great line,
40:54
SPEAKER_00: and it illustrates the scope of the immortal character's lifespan in
40:59
SPEAKER_00: a single sentence.
41:00
SPEAKER_00: And I have to shout out the ending here as well.
41:02
SPEAKER_00: I don't want to spoil it, of course, but I love that final reveal.
41:04
SPEAKER_00: It just ties everything together perfectly and it adds a lot of weight to
41:08
SPEAKER_00: the conversations that led up to it.
41:10
SPEAKER_00: So again,
41:11
SPEAKER_00: an excellent story here and well-deserving of second place on
41:15
SPEAKER_00: the middleweight leaderboard.
41:16
SPEAKER_00: And finally,
41:17
SPEAKER_00: in first place on the middleweight leaderboard with a score of 16 points,
41:21
SPEAKER_00: it's Calderwick by Rebe.
41:25
SPEAKER_00: And Rebecca just can't stop winning this month and I am here for it.
41:28
SPEAKER_00: This piece is for the haunted house prompt where everything in the haunted house is real.
41:33
SPEAKER_00: And I love the way that Rebecca sets up the history of the haunted house here
41:36
SPEAKER_00: and how it attracts the kinds of things that make up nightmares.
41:39
SPEAKER_00: Twisting that into an attraction makes a ton of sense and it offers
41:43
SPEAKER_00: the perfect setup for our prompt.
41:45
SPEAKER_00: With this story, we also get to see things from the POV of the person in charge.
41:49
SPEAKER_00: So as things start to go wrong,
41:51
SPEAKER_00: this person's trying to keep the illusion intact and
41:53
SPEAKER_00: that suspense works really well here.
41:56
SPEAKER_00: What works even better is how the story uses these elements to build
41:59
SPEAKER_00: that tension It leads to an ending that is perfectly haunting,
42:02
SPEAKER_00: one that once more reminds us why we should all be fans of this author's work.
42:05
SPEAKER_00: This is a masterclass in horror storytelling,
42:07
SPEAKER_00: and a very,
42:07
SPEAKER_00: very fitting story for first place on the Week 3 Middleweight Leaderboard.
42:28
SPEAKER_00: And last but not least, let's check out the heavyweight leaderboard.
42:31
SPEAKER_00: Coming in at third place with a score of 22 points,
42:35
SPEAKER_00: it's The Maw of Civic Responsibility by Bent But True.
42:39
SPEAKER_00: Now what I love about this story here is that it was also written for the 11th prompt that J.M.
42:43
SPEAKER_00: Gooding did about the sinkhole in a Taco Bell parking lot.
42:47
SPEAKER_00: And much like our other story for this prompt I mentioned earlier,
42:49
SPEAKER_00: this one just goes all in on that idea,
42:52
SPEAKER_00: regardless of how ridiculous the concept may be.
42:54
SPEAKER_00: And what's even more interesting here is how Bent But True turns the concept into
42:59
SPEAKER_00: a commentary on the sheer absurdity of politics and local government.
43:03
SPEAKER_00: Leave it to my friend Victor to find a deeper takeaway and a prompt about Taco Bell.
43:07
SPEAKER_00: This was very fun to read, though.
43:09
SPEAKER_00: It has that right balance.
43:11
SPEAKER_00: It's got sarcasm, satire, and a meaningful message that left me feeling satisfied by the end.
43:16
SPEAKER_00: It's also just really fun to see Victor's humor come through in this one.
43:20
SPEAKER_00: So again, a fantastic story for third place.
43:22
SPEAKER_00: This is a continuation of Sarah's first bonus prompt piece entitled The Guests
43:26
SPEAKER_00: at Blackburn Hall.
43:26
SPEAKER_00: So be sure to check out that one as well so you're not lost here.
43:44
SPEAKER_00: It's also awesome to see an example of an ongoing story for the challenge here,
43:48
SPEAKER_00: and I gotta say,
43:49
SPEAKER_00: I'm once more awestruck by Sarah's glorious prose and writing style.
43:54
SPEAKER_00: The way that she establishes atmosphere in her work is second to none.
43:57
SPEAKER_00: Lord Devereaux has never been this elegant,
44:00
SPEAKER_00: and I'm probably pretty sure that he loved reading this one for that reason alone.
44:06
SPEAKER_02: Bradley, I'm still here, and I can confirm that you are correct.
44:12
SPEAKER_02: Sarah's writing captures my good side, as you humans often say.
44:17
SPEAKER_02: It is rich in both flavor and detail.
44:22
SPEAKER_00: Oh, hey, Lord Devereaux.
44:24
SPEAKER_00: Well, I'm glad you approve of it, but I was curious.
44:27
SPEAKER_00: You put on a play in this story at one point, and you mentioned that it's an old custom.
44:32
SPEAKER_00: I've never heard you talk about it.
44:33
SPEAKER_02: That is because the mystery is still afoot, Bradley.
44:36
SPEAKER_02: Should you wish to know more, you must continue reading Sarah's series.
44:43
SPEAKER_00: Right.
44:43
SPEAKER_00: No, that makes sense.
44:44
SPEAKER_00: But, I mean,
44:45
SPEAKER_00: I'm the guy in charge of all this,
44:48
SPEAKER_00: so I feel like I should have the answers, you know?
44:49
SPEAKER_00: I mean, I also created you.
44:52
SPEAKER_02: Ah, yes.
44:53
SPEAKER_02: Spoken with the true hubris of a writer.
44:57
SPEAKER_02: You did not create me, Bradley.
45:00
SPEAKER_02: I simply made my presence known to you.
45:03
SPEAKER_02: And I have chosen Sarah as the person to deliver this tale to the world.
45:09
SPEAKER_02: That is all you need to know.
45:11
SPEAKER_00: Wow, okay, alright then.
45:13
SPEAKER_00: Uh, well, hey, at least the story's in good hands.
45:16
SPEAKER_00: And hey, if you're curious, find a link to this one in the show notes.
45:20
SPEAKER_00: Sarah includes a link to part one in this post as well if you need to catch up.
45:24
SPEAKER_00: Congrats to Sarah for the second place on the Heavyweight Leaderboard this week.
45:28
SPEAKER_00: And finally,
45:29
SPEAKER_00: in first place on the Week 3 Heavyweight Leaderboard with a score of 79 points,
45:35
SPEAKER_00: it's Ghost Rider by Gary L. Taylor.
45:39
SPEAKER_00: This is a poem for the prompt about an author who dates a fan and then things go awry.
45:43
SPEAKER_00: The title here actually carries several meanings as well by the end.
45:48
SPEAKER_00: Not only does it refer to the person the author is dating in the piece,
45:51
SPEAKER_00: of course,
45:51
SPEAKER_00: but it has a more literal meaning too by the time you reach the conclusion.
45:55
SPEAKER_00: It's a very clever take on the prompt.
45:57
SPEAKER_00: And as always, I love Gary's rhyme structure and poetic flow.
46:02
SPEAKER_00: His work truly never disappoints.
46:04
SPEAKER_00: And that I have
46:05
SPEAKER_00: to assume is why it also has once again topped our heavyweight leaderboard this week
46:09
SPEAKER_00: because Gary just does quality work every single time.
46:13
SPEAKER_00: And it's a very well-deserved win.
46:14
SPEAKER_00: So nice job, Gary.
46:16
SPEAKER_00: Looking forward to seeing if you continue the streak in week four.
46:20
SPEAKER_00: Alright,
46:21
SPEAKER_00: now I've got a couple of unranked stories before I cap things off
46:24
SPEAKER_00: with my wildcard picks.
46:26
SPEAKER_00: We don't have a lot of unranked submissions from this week,
46:28
SPEAKER_00: so I'm just going to have two here instead of three.
46:30
SPEAKER_00: First up in our unranked shoutouts is Judicial Edits by Gregory Blair.
46:36
SPEAKER_00: And for those unaware,
46:36
SPEAKER_00: Gregory is a true master when it comes to setting up a compelling mystery in
46:40
SPEAKER_00: a short story format.
46:42
SPEAKER_00: He's done this time and time again with my prompts, and I'm blown away every time.
46:46
SPEAKER_00: For this piece,
46:47
SPEAKER_00: he wrote something for the prompt about the famous author who ends up dating a fan.
46:50
SPEAKER_00: As you can expect,
46:51
SPEAKER_00: things don't go well,
46:53
SPEAKER_00: but Gregory very cleverly adds another layer to the fan's motivation here by the end
46:58
SPEAKER_00: that I didn't see coming.
47:00
SPEAKER_00: And like any great twist, it makes sense in retrospect.
47:04
SPEAKER_00: Gregory, my friend, you've done it again, so please, everyone, check this out.
47:07
SPEAKER_00: You'll find a link in the show notes.
47:09
SPEAKER_00: Our second unranked story this week is I'm Not Paid to Monitor the Parking Lot,
47:13
SPEAKER_00: Pal, by Leron Haywood.
47:16
SPEAKER_00: This was for the prompt about the sinkhole in the Taco Bell parking lot,
47:19
SPEAKER_00: and as always, I had to know how my challenge co-host approached this one.
47:24
SPEAKER_00: Liron's humor is so well executed in their stories.
47:27
SPEAKER_00: It's sharp,
47:28
SPEAKER_00: it's witty,
47:29
SPEAKER_00: it's just the right level of dry where it ends up being charming instead
47:32
SPEAKER_00: of repetitive or grating.
47:34
SPEAKER_00: Here we have a protagonist who's running the local fast food establishment and
47:37
SPEAKER_00: an officer who's arrived to investigate the rumors about the sinkhole in
47:41
SPEAKER_00: the parking lot.
47:42
SPEAKER_00: Apparently the next closest fast food place is a while away, so people keep coming anyway.
47:47
SPEAKER_00: But there's been reports that the sinkhole is taking and stealing food from people.
47:51
SPEAKER_00: It's also talking as well,
47:53
SPEAKER_00: and it hasn't eaten anyone yet,
47:54
SPEAKER_00: but the officer is here to get to the bottom of things.
47:57
SPEAKER_00: Much like Bent But True's story earlier in the episode,
48:00
SPEAKER_00: Leron's characters are interested in just doing their job and not getting blamed
48:04
SPEAKER_00: for anything that isn't their fault.
48:05
SPEAKER_00: The officer,
48:06
SPEAKER_00: at one point,
48:07
SPEAKER_00: tries to convince the protagonist to give him the food for free,
48:09
SPEAKER_00: saying that he's obstructing the investigation if not,
48:12
SPEAKER_00: and our protagonist is simply not having it.
48:15
SPEAKER_00: The biting humor here works really well,
48:17
SPEAKER_00: and as always,
48:18
SPEAKER_00: Leron leaves us with a satisfying conclusion that I think fits the vibe of
48:22
SPEAKER_00: the story here perfectly.
48:23
SPEAKER_00: It's a lot of fun as always,
48:24
SPEAKER_00: so please,
48:25
SPEAKER_00: show this story some love,
48:27
SPEAKER_00: head on over to my co-hosts,
48:28
SPEAKER_00: Substack,
48:29
SPEAKER_00: you'll find the link in the show notes, check this one out, it's really, really fun.
48:33
SPEAKER_00: Alright, and to wrap things up here, a few wildcard stories before I wrap up the segment.
48:38
SPEAKER_00: These were randomly selected from the challenge entries as a whole and have yet to be featured.
48:44
SPEAKER_00: First up is Another Kind of Demon by Daria.
48:48
SPEAKER_00: This is for the day one prompt,
48:49
SPEAKER_00: but was submitted on October 9th, which explains why I missed it somehow.
48:53
SPEAKER_00: This one is super good though.
48:54
SPEAKER_00: Daria subverts the prompt here by having demons as the protagonist,
48:59
SPEAKER_00: and the demons are trying to summon the most fierce creature from Earth,
49:02
SPEAKER_00: which turns out is a goose.
49:06
SPEAKER_00: But let me tell you, geese can be scary, as Daria shows here.
49:09
SPEAKER_00: Hilarity ensues as the demons get more than they bargained for,
49:12
SPEAKER_00: but by the end, they're quite happy with their decision.
49:15
SPEAKER_00: I could see this being a whole series.
49:16
SPEAKER_00: Seriously, it was really, really fun.
49:18
SPEAKER_00: Great work from Daria.
49:19
SPEAKER_00: Our second wildcard, Pit.
49:22
SPEAKER_00: Now, I love what Mercedes has been doing here recently, by the way.
49:28
SPEAKER_00: She's posting her stories on Substack with a link in the post over to the full story
49:33
SPEAKER_00: on her WordPress.
49:34
SPEAKER_00: It's just a really smart way to drive traffic to your personal site,
49:37
SPEAKER_00: and the marketing person in me had to comment on how smart that is.
49:41
SPEAKER_00: But let's talk about the story.
49:43
SPEAKER_00: Mercedes wrote this one for the prompt about a childhood memory becoming a nightmare.
49:46
SPEAKER_00: In this case,
49:47
SPEAKER_00: she writes about a grandfather clock that the protagonist believes housed some sort
49:52
SPEAKER_00: of vampire when they were a kid.
49:54
SPEAKER_00: Now the protagonist is older and they've inherited the clock,
49:57
SPEAKER_00: but it seems their childhood theory
49:59
SPEAKER_01: wasn't far
49:59
SPEAKER_00: off.
50:00
SPEAKER_00: Now, I won't spoil things,
50:02
SPEAKER_00: but I love this little flash fiction piece, and those final moments are killer.
50:05
SPEAKER_00: Really great work.
50:07
SPEAKER_00: Finally, our third wildcard pick this week is Futures Yet to Come by Victoria Mueska-Burich.
50:14
SPEAKER_00: This is a really fun period piece centered around the famous author Charles Dickens,
50:20
SPEAKER_00: and it seems to imply early on that one of his fans has come back in time
50:23
SPEAKER_00: to meet him somehow.
50:24
SPEAKER_00: I love all these twists and turns here.
50:26
SPEAKER_00: Victoria did a really good job with the details of the 1800s setting.
50:31
SPEAKER_00: You got the clothing, the manner of speaking.
50:32
SPEAKER_00: It all feels very authentic to the time period.
50:35
SPEAKER_00: It feels like it could have been a lost journal entry of Dickens himself recounting
50:40
SPEAKER_00: a memory that he knows no one will ever believe.
50:42
SPEAKER_00: Victoria has done several really good pieces for the challenge here
50:45
SPEAKER_00: and this is another one that shows just the full scope of what this writer can do.
50:49
SPEAKER_00: Remember to check the show notes for links to all of these including
50:52
SPEAKER_00: the final week three leaderboard as well.
50:54
SPEAKER_00: And now, let's wrap things up with a look at next week on Substack.
51:15
SPEAKER_00: It's going to be fun.
51:16
SPEAKER_00: So hopefully we'll be able to keep you on your toes,
51:18
SPEAKER_00: which is something I try to do with all of my challenges.
51:21
SPEAKER_00: Also coming this week,
51:22
SPEAKER_00: of course,
51:22
SPEAKER_00: on Monday is the next episode of Dream Drafts,
51:25
SPEAKER_00: my secondary podcast where I offer guided meditation.
51:32
SPEAKER_00: I may have a guest person on the show.
51:35
SPEAKER_00: I won't say who.
51:36
SPEAKER_00: I'll let that be a surprise.
51:37
SPEAKER_00: But I do have someone else who is experienced with doing guided meditation
51:42
SPEAKER_00: who has graciously offered to record something so stay tuned for that.
51:45
SPEAKER_00: But either way, Dream Draft's on Monday.
51:48
SPEAKER_00: This coming week,
51:50
SPEAKER_00: I'm also going to try to get back into the Devine story that I announced a little
51:53
SPEAKER_00: while back,
51:55
SPEAKER_00: starring some of the Eleuthian Titans,
51:57
SPEAKER_00: and of course,
51:57
SPEAKER_00: revealing the origins of the Varak Horde, which is a major element of Devine lore.
52:03
SPEAKER_00: I really want to get this one done.
52:04
SPEAKER_00: I've just been struggling to get around to it on top of everything else.
52:07
SPEAKER_00: And then,
52:08
SPEAKER_00: of course,
52:08
SPEAKER_00: there's my novel,
52:09
SPEAKER_00: Need to get back on that before Happy Nielsen catches wind that I've been slacking.
52:13
SPEAKER_00: I'm very surprised that she hasn't come at me yet.
52:15
SPEAKER_00: If she listens to the podcast here, I will be well and truly screwed.
52:19
SPEAKER_00: But yes, I'm trying to get back to that.
52:23
SPEAKER_00: On a quick side note,
52:24
SPEAKER_00: I wanted to say I have a weekly writing group that I'm part of,
52:27
SPEAKER_00: and my friend Daniel Coates is part of that group.
52:30
SPEAKER_00: And we were chatting earlier this week about,
52:32
SPEAKER_00: you know,
52:33
SPEAKER_00: I was saying that this time last year for the Saved His Draft podcast,
52:37
SPEAKER_00: you could I would expect a guest interview every single week,
52:40
SPEAKER_00: but it seems like lately I've been struggling so much to make that happen,
52:44
SPEAKER_00: and I just can't understand why.
52:45
SPEAKER_00: Obviously,
52:47
SPEAKER_00: if I really stop and think about it,
52:49
SPEAKER_00: life has gotten really tough this year,
52:51
SPEAKER_00: a lot of stuff going on, a lot of stress, and that's part of it.
52:55
SPEAKER_00: It's just crazy to think about how I still have 24 hours in any given day,
52:59
SPEAKER_00: but I somehow feel like I have less time.
53:02
SPEAKER_00: Daniel, he made a really good point.
53:04
SPEAKER_00: He said,
53:05
SPEAKER_00: The world is crazy right now,
53:06
SPEAKER_00: and a lot of things are going on, and a lot of people are struggling.
53:10
SPEAKER_00: Everyone is struggling.
53:11
SPEAKER_00: He was saying,
53:12
SPEAKER_00: the fact that you're able to maintain anything consistently is a miracle
53:17
SPEAKER_00: with how tough things are.
53:19
SPEAKER_00: And I really appreciated that perspective.
53:21
SPEAKER_00: So I wanted to share it with all of you because,
53:23
SPEAKER_00: yeah, at the end of the day, there's always more that we could be doing.
53:26
SPEAKER_00: There's more that we want to be doing.
53:28
SPEAKER_00: But just showing up, doing what you can, it really is enough.
53:32
SPEAKER_00: And sometimes, in my case at least, I need to hear somebody else tell me that.
53:36
SPEAKER_00: So shout out to my friend Daniel for that really, really good advice.
53:39
SPEAKER_00: It's definitely helped me a lot this week as I try to catch up with things
53:43
SPEAKER_00: and get back on track and hit a standard that I know is borderline impossible,
53:47
SPEAKER_00: but I'm not going to stop trying.
53:50
SPEAKER_00: All right.
53:50
SPEAKER_00: But yeah, that's an update on that side of things.
53:53
SPEAKER_00: Of course, as far as interviews go, I do want to bring those back and I will.
53:57
SPEAKER_00: Most likely what will happen next is I'll start trying to line up
54:00
SPEAKER_00: the winner interviews from the last challenge, Smogus Story Horde back in August.
54:06
SPEAKER_00: So look forward to that.
54:07
SPEAKER_00: And if you are one of those winners, please stay tuned for a DM from me.
54:11
SPEAKER_00: We can do a recorded interview or a written one like I did for Gary L.
54:14
SPEAKER_00: Taylor after Halls of Pandemonium, whatever works.
54:17
SPEAKER_00: So yeah, stay tuned for more news on that.
54:20
SPEAKER_00: Alright, but yeah, that's all I've got for you guys this week.
54:24
SPEAKER_00: I had some technical issues with my microphone here,
54:26
SPEAKER_00: so this is probably coming out later than I would like,
54:28
SPEAKER_00: but yeah, I hope you all enjoyed it.
54:31
SPEAKER_00: If you made it this far, thank you as always for listening.
54:33
SPEAKER_00: I really appreciate it.
54:34
SPEAKER_00: We're almost 100 episodes into this show,
54:39
SPEAKER_00: and come hell or high water, it's come out every week, and I do that because...
54:43
SPEAKER_00: There are so many of you who tune in and who just genuinely really enjoy what I do here.
54:49
SPEAKER_00: And I really, really, really, really appreciate it.
54:51
SPEAKER_00: So thank you to all of you.
54:53
SPEAKER_00: Thank you for listening.
54:54
SPEAKER_00: And I hope you all have an amazing and productive week of writing, my friends.
54:58
SPEAKER_00: This is Bradley Ramsey signing off.
55:00
[music]
55:18
SPEAKER_02: Bradley,
55:19
SPEAKER_02: why did you not inform me that you were having a conversation
55:23
SPEAKER_02: with your fellow writers in this Discord realm?
55:29
SPEAKER_00: What are you talking about?
55:30
SPEAKER_00: Oh, you mean the meetup earlier today with Johanna, Graeme, and Ariadna.
55:35
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, it was just a virtual writer meetup thing.
55:37
SPEAKER_00: And also, Lord Devereaux, Discord's an app, not a realm.
55:41
SPEAKER_02: Regardless,
55:43
SPEAKER_02: I would have liked to thank
55:44
SPEAKER_02: them for their
55:45
SPEAKER_00: contributions to creativity and my diet
55:49
SPEAKER_00: at large.
55:51
SPEAKER_00: Well, I'm sure they would appreciate that.
55:53
SPEAKER_00: How about this?
55:53
SPEAKER_00: I'll invite you to the next one, okay?
55:56
SPEAKER_00: Ooh, Bradley, can I come too?
56:00
SPEAKER_01: Bradley, you had better invite me as well.
56:03
SPEAKER_01: They all know who I am.
56:05
SPEAKER_01: Hey, wait, I'm coming too.
56:08
SPEAKER_02: I'll bring cookies.
56:10
SPEAKER_02: We wants to chats us with our Writer Friendses.
56:15
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, they're cool.
56:18
SPEAKER_00: Hey, don't forget us.
56:19
SPEAKER_00: We want to come too.
56:21
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, Bradley, you always forget us.
56:24
SPEAKER_00: Hey, maybe I can show up and do some networking.
56:27
SPEAKER_00: I'll find a few new clients.
56:30
SPEAKER_00: Okay, you know what?
56:30
SPEAKER_00: No, that's enough.
56:31
SPEAKER_00: That's going to be the craziest call ever.
56:33
SPEAKER_00: And my God, there are too many of you.