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Episode 89: Instilling Fear in Your Readers · Saved as Draft

0:00
SPEAKER_02: Hello everyone, and welcome to episode 89 of the Saved as Draft podcast.
0:05
SPEAKER_01: Bradley, tell them about the challenge.
0:09
SPEAKER_02: I will, Lord Devereaux, but let me get into the show first.
0:13
SPEAKER_01: They may possibly depart by then.
0:15
SPEAKER_01: Tell them now.
0:16
SPEAKER_01: Fine.
0:19
SPEAKER_02: For those unaware,
0:19
SPEAKER_02: this year's big horror writing challenge,
0:22
SPEAKER_02: A Feast of Fiction, The Second Indulgence, is happening right now on Substack.
0:28
SPEAKER_02: Join us for daily horror writing prompts all month, Monday through Friday.
0:32
SPEAKER_02: There, how was that?
0:34
SPEAKER_02: That will
0:34
[music]
0:52
SPEAKER_02: Hello everyone, and welcome back to the Saved as Draft podcast.
0:57
SPEAKER_02: The second Indulgence Horror Writing Challenge,
0:58
SPEAKER_02: as I said in the intro,
1:00
SPEAKER_02: is officially live, and we've already seen a ton of entries coming in.
1:04
SPEAKER_02: Thank you to everyone who has entered,
1:06
SPEAKER_02: and if you're curious to join,
1:07
SPEAKER_02: I'll leave a link to the Week 1 directory in the show notes,
1:10
SPEAKER_02: because remember,
1:11
SPEAKER_02: the prompts are open all month,
1:13
SPEAKER_02: including a bonus week at the beginning of November,
1:15
SPEAKER_02: so there's plenty of time to get caught up or to jump right into the latest prompt.
1:19
SPEAKER_02: And as always with these challenges lately,
1:21
SPEAKER_02: we have prompts Monday through Friday,
1:23
SPEAKER_02: meaning that weekends are a time to rest or catch up if you'd like.
1:27
SPEAKER_02: Now, speaking of the challenge,
1:28
SPEAKER_02: unlike past challenges,
1:30
SPEAKER_02: I'm going to keep the podcast here focused on our usual areas this week.
1:33
SPEAKER_02: So the structure is not going to change like it has in the past.
1:37
SPEAKER_02: We'll start with our community spotlight on this episode,
1:39
SPEAKER_02: and then we'll dive into our writing discussion on how you all instill fear
1:43
SPEAKER_02: into your readers.
1:44
SPEAKER_02: And I, of course, will share my thoughts as well.
1:47
SPEAKER_02: After that,
1:47
SPEAKER_02: we'll check in with Lord Devereaux and get a few highlights from the challenge
1:50
SPEAKER_02: so far based on some of the early entries.
1:53
SPEAKER_02: Starting next week, I'll be looking at the top stories alongside our regular shoutouts as well.
1:58
SPEAKER_02: Once that's done,
1:59
SPEAKER_02: we'll round things off this week with a look at our weekly shoutouts
2:02
SPEAKER_02: with some brand new pitches and, of course, a look at next week on Substack.
2:06
SPEAKER_02: So, a standard episode as always.
2:09
SPEAKER_02: Let's get into it with our community spotlight.
2:11
[music]
2:27
SPEAKER_02: Alright,
2:27
SPEAKER_02: this week's community spotlight is Science Fiction Stories,
2:32
SPEAKER_02: a publication run by Nick J. Taylor.
2:35
SPEAKER_02: Nick is a science fiction writer, musician, and cat lover.
2:39
SPEAKER_02: According to their bio, they also have no problem with toasters.
2:42
SPEAKER_02: Good to know.
2:43
SPEAKER_02: On this publication,
2:44
SPEAKER_02: you'll find a wide range of standalone science fiction stories,
2:48
SPEAKER_02: as well as a few different series to sink your teeth into.
2:51
SPEAKER_02: Nick's latest is The Emerald Crescent,
2:54
SPEAKER_02: a seven-part sci-fi fiction drama and part seven Kevin came out just a few days ago
2:59
SPEAKER_02: as of this recording, so it's ready in full for you to check out.
3:02
SPEAKER_02: From what I've read, the science fiction writing on display here is excellent.
3:06
SPEAKER_02: It's detailed, rich with lore, and wonderfully paced.
3:10
SPEAKER_02: If you enjoy science fiction in all its forms, this is an easy writer to recommend.
3:16
SPEAKER_02: Find a link to their profile in the show notes.
3:18
SPEAKER_02: And thank you, Nick, for being a part of this community.
3:21
SPEAKER_02: Next up,
3:22
SPEAKER_02: we'll dive into this week's writing discussion,
3:24
SPEAKER_02: but first, a quick word from this week's sponsor.
3:27
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4:54
SPEAKER_02: Alright, it's time for our weekly writing discussion.
4:58
SPEAKER_02: This week, I asked you all how you instill fear into your readers.
5:02
SPEAKER_02: I'm excited to dive into your responses,
5:03
SPEAKER_02: but first,
5:04
SPEAKER_02: I'll take a few minutes here to talk about how I approach my own horror writing.
5:08
SPEAKER_02: So what's interesting is that when I started Substack,
5:11
SPEAKER_02: and for the last several years I would say, I've diversified a lot in my writing.
5:16
SPEAKER_02: I always considered myself a horror writer for a very long time.
5:20
SPEAKER_02: I was a big fan of R.L.
5:22
SPEAKER_02: Stine, Stephen King, H.P.
5:23
SPEAKER_02: Lovecraft, so many horror authors that I read growing up.
5:29
SPEAKER_02: But as I got on Substack, I really saw the value in diversifying and trying other genres.
5:34
SPEAKER_02: And obviously several years before joining Substack,
5:36
SPEAKER_02: I started developing Devine, which is of course a fantasy and sci-fi universe.
5:41
SPEAKER_02: And that has become a lot bigger than I ever expected.
5:43
SPEAKER_02: That was just kind of a fun side project for me.
5:45
SPEAKER_02: And now it's become, you know, a lot, a lot bigger.
5:48
SPEAKER_02: But that being said, I'm still a horror writer at heart, I would say.
5:52
SPEAKER_02: I, of course, have a connected horror universe called the Synaptic Sprawl.
5:55
SPEAKER_02: I actually posted a story today,
5:57
SPEAKER_02: as of this recording,
5:59
SPEAKER_02: that is set in that universe,
6:01
SPEAKER_02: and it is my response to day one's prompt for the second Indulgence Challenge.
6:05
SPEAKER_02: It's also audio-focused.
6:07
SPEAKER_02: It's a pretty cool concept involving the transcript of a 911 call.
6:11
SPEAKER_02: So if you check it out, let me know what you think.
6:14
SPEAKER_02: That being said, my horror combines a few things.
6:18
SPEAKER_02: It's very inspired by cosmic horror and H.P.
6:20
SPEAKER_02: Lovecraft, who is famous for the quote about the fear of the unknown, right?
6:25
SPEAKER_02: He refers to it as the strongest and greatest fear of mankind.
6:28
SPEAKER_02: And yeah, it's true.
6:30
SPEAKER_02: The reason why horror works in a lot of cases is because we don't know everything.
6:34
SPEAKER_02: It's, for example,
6:35
SPEAKER_02: why creature features are so good,
6:37
SPEAKER_02: because you often don't get to see the full monster,
6:40
SPEAKER_02: and then once you do, a lot of that fear goes away, right?
6:42
SPEAKER_02: But not knowing what it looks like, the unknown.
6:46
SPEAKER_02: That's what creates fear.
6:47
SPEAKER_02: That's what creates tension.
6:49
SPEAKER_02: And so I use that in a few different ways in my stories.
6:51
SPEAKER_02: I try to, again,
6:52
SPEAKER_02: with like a cosmic horror style that I adopt,
6:56
SPEAKER_02: I try to create threats that are just impossible to wrap your mind around.
7:01
SPEAKER_02: And if you try, you will go insane.
7:03
SPEAKER_02: And so not only is it the fear of the unknown,
7:05
SPEAKER_02: it's the fear of what will happen if you try to even understand, right?
7:09
SPEAKER_02: And so that creates tension and that creates fear.
7:12
SPEAKER_02: Now in addition to that as kind of a core central theme,
7:15
SPEAKER_02: what I also like to do as a horror writer is...
7:19
SPEAKER_02: I like to bring a more edgy kind of tone and style to my horror.
7:25
SPEAKER_02: So for example,
7:26
SPEAKER_02: like Devine,
7:26
SPEAKER_02: my fantasy stuff,
7:27
SPEAKER_02: my more kind of poetry and stuff like that,
7:30
SPEAKER_02: I don't use a lot of strong language over there.
7:33
SPEAKER_02: And like when I'm doing audio for those kind of things,
7:35
SPEAKER_02: there's very rarely a ton of yelling unless it's a very emotionally charged scene.
7:40
SPEAKER_02: Now switch over to my horror,
7:41
SPEAKER_02: especially the piece that I posted today,
7:43
SPEAKER_02: there's a lot of cursing, there's a lot of yelling, there's a lot of extremes.
7:48
SPEAKER_02: And I do that because I want you as the reader or listener to get that adrenaline rush.
7:53
SPEAKER_02: I want you to kind of have that fight or flight response inside your own body
7:58
SPEAKER_02: where you're like, oh my gosh, what's going on?
8:00
SPEAKER_02: Like, should I run?
8:02
SPEAKER_02: Like, am I in danger?
8:04
SPEAKER_02: Those kind of feelings.
8:05
SPEAKER_02: I want to instill that by bringing a certain intensity right off the bat.
8:09
SPEAKER_02: So I pair that with the fear of the unknown.
8:12
SPEAKER_02: So you're in flight or fight response and you don't know what's going on.
8:17
SPEAKER_02: That's a powerful combination.
8:19
SPEAKER_02: Not to say that my horror is the most scary thing ever,
8:22
SPEAKER_02: but I think it does create the intensity.
8:26
SPEAKER_02: So that's my thoughts,
8:27
SPEAKER_02: but let's dive in and see what you all had to say this week
8:30
SPEAKER_02: in our weekly writing discussion.
8:32
SPEAKER_02: Keep in mind, this thread goes live every Wednesday in my subscriber chat.
8:37
SPEAKER_02: I recently made the decision to leave my subscriber chat open to only new threads
8:41
SPEAKER_02: from paid subscribers.
8:43
SPEAKER_02: And that is, of course, a way for me to control the flow of content.
8:47
SPEAKER_02: And it's going to be,
8:49
SPEAKER_02: you know,
8:49
SPEAKER_02: hopefully a little bit better for you to find threads like my weekly stuff
8:52
SPEAKER_02: and challenge threads.
8:54
SPEAKER_02: That being said,
8:55
SPEAKER_02: I am going to also find ways to open up self-promo threads
8:58
SPEAKER_02: where anyone can drop links to anything because I am obviously very focused on
9:03
SPEAKER_02: the community space that that provides.
9:06
SPEAKER_02: But yeah,
9:07
SPEAKER_02: so if you're trying to start a thread or drop some new links in the subscriber chat
9:12
SPEAKER_02: and you can't, that's why.
9:13
SPEAKER_02: Just a new policy of mine.
9:15
SPEAKER_02: There will be opportunities to still share your stuff, though.
9:17
SPEAKER_02: And like I said,
9:18
SPEAKER_02: this way you'll be able to find things like the Wednesday writing discussion thread
9:22
SPEAKER_02: a little easier, ideally.
9:23
SPEAKER_02: But anyway,
9:24
SPEAKER_02: every Wednesday I post a new topic,
9:25
SPEAKER_02: and the idea is that if you share your response,
9:28
SPEAKER_02: I will take the time to read it on the show.
9:30
SPEAKER_02: So, like I said, our topic this week is instilling fear into your readers.
9:34
SPEAKER_02: Let's dive right into it.
9:35
SPEAKER_02: First off,
9:36
SPEAKER_02: Mary Ellen Brady says,
9:37
SPEAKER_02: I always think of a movie I love or a writer and try to emulate them until I get it.
9:41
SPEAKER_02: Poe and I are old friends now, and I love Vincent Price.
9:58
SPEAKER_02: So that is where my horror vibe tends to lean with a little science just for fun.
10:04
SPEAKER_02: Great response from Mary Ellen.
10:05
SPEAKER_02: I was really happy to see her in the chat here because last year's horror challenge
10:09
SPEAKER_02: of mine was indeed the first indulgence and that was when she herself decided
10:13
SPEAKER_02: to try her hand at horror and I remember just loving everything she was writing
10:17
SPEAKER_02: and I was like how is it that this you know incredible fantasy kind
10:21
SPEAKER_02: of cozy author can somehow also write some of the scariest stuff I've ever read.
10:26
SPEAKER_02: But she is.
10:27
SPEAKER_02: She's a very good horror writer.
10:29
SPEAKER_02: And I love how she discovered it through the challenge last year.
10:33
SPEAKER_02: So yeah, great, great answer.
10:34
SPEAKER_02: And I like how Mary Ellen also tries to emulate,
10:36
SPEAKER_02: at least as a starting point,
10:38
SPEAKER_02: emulate other things that have inspired her or other people that have inspired her.
10:41
SPEAKER_02: There is nothing wrong with that.
10:43
SPEAKER_02: Inspiration is meant to be shared.
10:45
SPEAKER_02: So I think that's a great response.
10:47
SPEAKER_02: Second this week in our discussion is Jennifer Jorgensen, who says, Love this topic.
10:52
SPEAKER_02: I try to focus on physical reactions, atmospheric imagery and pacing.
10:57
SPEAKER_02: For physical reactions,
10:58
SPEAKER_02: can I put the reader into the moment
11:00
SPEAKER_02: and make them feel whatever my character is feeling?
11:02
SPEAKER_02: This can be especially effective in first person POV.
11:05
SPEAKER_02: Is the hair rising on the back of the character's neck?
11:07
SPEAKER_02: Is the heart racing and pulse pounding?
11:10
SPEAKER_02: Are they breathing faster or heavier?
11:12
SPEAKER_02: For atmospheric imagery,
11:13
SPEAKER_02: what is the space the character is in sound like, smell like or feel like?
11:18
SPEAKER_02: Sound and scent work best for me personally.
11:20
SPEAKER_02: The Writer's Journey.
11:44
SPEAKER_02: And then you can do a lot to build tension with how you pace it on the page.
11:48
SPEAKER_02: If you normally write with longer paragraphs,
11:50
SPEAKER_02: for example,
11:50
SPEAKER_02: adding short punchy lines to emphasize something can really stand out and make
11:54
SPEAKER_02: the moment feel important.
11:56
SPEAKER_02: As an example,
11:57
SPEAKER_02: I recently wrote a scene where a character is preparing to attack,
12:00
SPEAKER_02: and I included three single sentence paragraphs that showed them preparing,
12:04
SPEAKER_02: waiting, then springing.
12:06
SPEAKER_02: Then I moved back into longer paragraphs for the actual attack.
12:10
SPEAKER_02: That can be super effective when used sparingly and well.
12:13
SPEAKER_02: Hopefully I used it well.
12:16
SPEAKER_02: All right, phenomenal answer from Jennifer this week.
12:19
SPEAKER_02: So many good tips in there that I completely agree with.
12:23
SPEAKER_02: I love the focus areas.
12:24
SPEAKER_02: I love the attention to pacing.
12:27
SPEAKER_02: And I have to shout out the idea here of changing the writings
12:31
SPEAKER_02: So like she was saying,
12:33
SPEAKER_02: have some standalone paragraphs,
12:35
SPEAKER_02: some short sentences that really emphasize the tension of the moment.
12:40
SPEAKER_02: I actually gave another writer on here on Substack that same feedback about one
12:44
SPEAKER_02: of their pieces when they were asking me for what could be improved.
12:48
SPEAKER_02: And yes, I think that is an incredible way to build tension.
12:52
SPEAKER_02: We as writers,
12:53
SPEAKER_02: we have to think about not only the words themselves and how they fit together,
12:56
SPEAKER_02: but how the structure of the story can inform an emotional reaction.
13:02
SPEAKER_02: And Jennifer creates that beautifully with this example here.
13:05
SPEAKER_02: And I know she's done it really well in her work because I've read tons of her work.
13:08
SPEAKER_02: And I got to find out which one this one is that she mentioned recently.
13:12
SPEAKER_02: Obviously, yeah.
13:13
SPEAKER_02: I've got a lot to read these days,
13:15
SPEAKER_02: but yes,
13:15
SPEAKER_02: Jennifer does great work,
13:17
SPEAKER_02: and yeah,
13:18
SPEAKER_02: I can only imagine she used that technique very,
13:20
SPEAKER_02: very well, and a great, great answer again.
13:23
SPEAKER_02: Next up, D.D.
13:24
SPEAKER_02: Wise says, I'm just a beginner, so excuse my basic response.
13:29
SPEAKER_02: I think putting a character I like in peril that is hard to understand at first.
13:33
SPEAKER_02: So yeah, that's actually a really great response.
13:35
SPEAKER_02: I think this plays into what I was saying before the discussion here.
13:39
SPEAKER_02: It's that fear of the unknown, right?
13:40
SPEAKER_02: They said the character is in peril and it's hard to understand at first.
13:44
SPEAKER_02: If you can make the reader just as confused as the character
13:47
SPEAKER_02: where they're asking themselves, okay, what's going on?
13:49
SPEAKER_02: Are they actually in danger?
13:50
SPEAKER_02: What's happening, right?
13:52
SPEAKER_02: If you create that tension right at the beginning, you can get an emotional reaction.
13:57
SPEAKER_02: So having your character start off in peril is not only a great hook, Beautiful.
14:00
SPEAKER_02: Love it.
14:00
SPEAKER_02: Great answer.
14:01
SPEAKER_02: Next up, Dan Gummer says, Also,
14:23
SPEAKER_02: Yes, yes, yes.
14:23
SPEAKER_02: Phenomenal answer from Dan.
14:24
SPEAKER_02: Love these answers so far.
14:43
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, so even though Dan's new to horror,
14:45
SPEAKER_02: he clearly has a very good instinct for it because there's a Stephen King quote,
14:50
SPEAKER_02: I think it is,
14:50
SPEAKER_02: where he said that visual descriptions,
14:53
SPEAKER_02: I'm paraphrasing here,
14:54
SPEAKER_02: but he says the visual descriptions should start in the mind of the writer
14:57
SPEAKER_02: and finish in the mind of the reader.
15:00
SPEAKER_02: And that's basically saying the same thing.
15:01
SPEAKER_02: It's giving enough detail to plant the seeds in the reader's mind to kind
15:06
SPEAKER_02: of trigger their imagination and let them fill in the gaps because what they come up
15:10
SPEAKER_02: with will be specific to them and you...
15:13
SPEAKER_02: You will never be able to come up with something that specific on your own.
15:16
SPEAKER_02: So if you create the environment for it,
15:18
SPEAKER_02: They will fill in the gaps in their own mind,
15:20
SPEAKER_02: and they'll be ten times scarier as a result.
15:22
SPEAKER_02: Fantastic.
15:23
SPEAKER_02: And also, of course, Dan mirrors Jennifer's response about these shorter, punchy paragraphs.
15:28
SPEAKER_02: We've discussed that already, but yes, absolutely.
15:31
SPEAKER_02: I like to do that myself.
15:32
SPEAKER_02: I think it works great.
15:34
SPEAKER_02: All right, next up, J.M.
15:36
SPEAKER_02: Gooding says, Absolutely not.
15:38
SPEAKER_02: I do not write horror.
15:39
SPEAKER_02: In fact, I find the horror genre repugnant and trite.
15:43
SPEAKER_02: And then he follows up by saying, Oh, you're serious.
15:45
SPEAKER_02: Okay, but I still feel like I don't write horror.
15:48
SPEAKER_02: So he goes on to say that to me horror isn't scary.
15:51
SPEAKER_02: Jump scares are hard to put into writing and I feel like they're cheap in movies.
15:54
SPEAKER_02: Supernatural slashers don't scare me.
15:56
SPEAKER_02: I usually find them boring.
15:57
SPEAKER_02: So I'm not really interested in performing scary for the reader.
16:00
SPEAKER_02: I'd rather tell them what happens and let them decide if it's fear.
16:04
SPEAKER_02: Most of my horror,
16:05
SPEAKER_02: in quotes,
16:06
SPEAKER_02: comes from taking a premise and injecting it into someone's reality
16:09
SPEAKER_02: and watching what happens.
16:10
SPEAKER_02: And I think maybe that's why some people think I'm good at it.
16:13
SPEAKER_02: I'm not trying to see how much gore I can fit into a paragraph or invent
16:16
SPEAKER_02: a cool supernatural thing.
16:18
SPEAKER_02: I'm trying to tell a story about when that thing invades an ordinary situation.
16:22
SPEAKER_02: So I don't really instill fear in my readers.
16:24
SPEAKER_02: I try to make a horrible thing credible enough that it can coexist with the ordinary.
16:28
SPEAKER_02: Whatever you feel about that is between you and your nervous system.
16:33
SPEAKER_02: Man, that's got to be like a top 10 response.
16:35
SPEAKER_02: I love that so much.
16:37
SPEAKER_02: He subverts expectations at the beginning,
16:39
SPEAKER_02: and then he gets into some really awesome takeaways here.
16:42
SPEAKER_02: And yeah, as a big fan of J.M.
16:44
SPEAKER_02: Gooding's horror,
16:45
SPEAKER_02: I would say that it's definitely one of those things where he's not trying
16:48
SPEAKER_02: to do jump scares, like he said.
16:50
SPEAKER_02: He's not trying to go for shock value,
16:51
SPEAKER_02: although I want to say some of his more recent stories sound like they lean
16:55
SPEAKER_02: towards more gory stories.
16:58
SPEAKER_02: But in general, J.M.
16:59
SPEAKER_02: Goody doesn't really go for the traditional scare factors.
17:03
SPEAKER_02: It's more he's creating a situation,
17:06
SPEAKER_02: like he says, where the horror can exist alongside the ordinary.
17:09
SPEAKER_02: And that's the kind of stuff where...
17:12
SPEAKER_02: In the back of your mind,
17:13
SPEAKER_02: you're going to start thinking as you're reading it,
17:14
SPEAKER_02: wait a second, this could happen.
17:17
SPEAKER_02: And then once it becomes possible, then it becomes scary, right?
17:21
SPEAKER_02: And so what he does,
17:22
SPEAKER_02: for example,
17:23
SPEAKER_02: is he's done some really great work with folklore,
17:26
SPEAKER_02: where he will do historical He works it into the story and into the setting in such
17:28
SPEAKER_02: an organic way that you will find yourself thinking,
17:30
SPEAKER_02: you know what, this could actually happen.
17:50
SPEAKER_02: And the second that that door is opened, fear will shortly follow.
17:54
SPEAKER_02: So I love that.
17:55
SPEAKER_02: And I love the note about between you and your nervous system at the end.
17:58
SPEAKER_02: Another great answer there.
18:00
SPEAKER_02: J.M.
18:00
SPEAKER_02: Gooding always showing up each week.
18:01
SPEAKER_02: And shout out, of course, to J.M.
18:03
SPEAKER_02: Gooding for helping me out with the challenge this month.
18:05
SPEAKER_02: Him and Leron Haywood assisting with the second indulgence.
18:08
SPEAKER_02: And our platform scriptorum that we used for all the challenges was built by J.M.
18:13
SPEAKER_02: Gooding himself.
18:13
SPEAKER_02: So please, a round of applause from my friend here.
18:17
SPEAKER_02: All right.
18:18
SPEAKER_02: Next up, BeastlyBeing says...
18:22
SPEAKER_02: She says,
18:51
SPEAKER_02: And she put in a laugh emoji at the end.
18:54
SPEAKER_02: So this is a really, really good response.
18:56
SPEAKER_02: Something that I didn't mention but absolutely plays a role
18:59
SPEAKER_02: in my horror is there are themes of trauma,
19:02
SPEAKER_02: and I will put my own trauma into my horror,
19:04
SPEAKER_02: but I do explore trauma as a concept at a greater level in my horror,
19:09
SPEAKER_02: Where a lot of characters,
19:10
SPEAKER_02: they've been through some stuff before the beginning of my stories.
19:14
SPEAKER_02: And that absolutely plays a role in how the horror affects them or how it's tailored
19:19
SPEAKER_02: to them and what they've been through.
19:20
SPEAKER_02: Because as Beastly being said here, it's very effective.
19:24
SPEAKER_02: Especially when you're betrayed by someone that you're supposed to be able to trust, right?
19:28
SPEAKER_02: That is terrifying.
19:29
SPEAKER_02: Full stop, right?
19:32
SPEAKER_02: I have to call out this one line too in her response where she says,
19:35
SPEAKER_02: the scariest thing that could happen
19:36
SPEAKER_02: to me would probably be experiencing again what I've barely survived in the past.
19:41
SPEAKER_02: Wow.
19:42
SPEAKER_02: That right there, that line, that's why trauma works so well as horror.
19:47
SPEAKER_02: And it's tough because nobody wants to relive those things, right?
19:51
SPEAKER_02: But I would say that at least in my experience,
19:53
SPEAKER_02: I can only speak for myself,
19:54
SPEAKER_02: of course,
19:55
SPEAKER_02: but in my I experience putting similar situations in my stories to what I've been
20:01
SPEAKER_02: through and then watching the characters overcome it and potentially even heal
20:05
SPEAKER_02: from it.
20:06
SPEAKER_02: Yes, they'll face more horror as it goes on,
20:07
SPEAKER_02: but that little slice of victory, it can be therapeutic.
20:11
SPEAKER_02: It really can.
20:12
SPEAKER_02: Not that I'm saying that that's going to work for everybody, right?
20:15
SPEAKER_02: But it is a good point and it does bring up a good point about how trauma
20:19
SPEAKER_02: in general can be very effective as a horror element.
20:22
SPEAKER_02: So thank you, Beastly Bean, for that amazing response.
20:25
SPEAKER_02: All right.
20:26
SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
20:26
SPEAKER_02: And so next up in our chat here,
20:28
SPEAKER_02: MN Strawn,
20:29
SPEAKER_02: who Mary Ellen referenced,
20:31
SPEAKER_02: actually came into the chat here and said, thank you for the shout out, Mary Ellen.
20:35
SPEAKER_02: And then she went on to say, I also agree with Jennifer.
20:37
SPEAKER_02: I think the setting makes it a huge difference in horror and
20:40
SPEAKER_02: And creating visceral imagery is my go-to.
20:42
SPEAKER_02: I also rely on a lot of first-person POVs.
20:45
SPEAKER_02: I think there are so many different ways to write horror that it really is up to
20:47
SPEAKER_02: the writer in which direction they take it.
20:50
SPEAKER_02: There are so many sub-genres that you could take any genre and give it
20:53
SPEAKER_02: a horror twist,
20:54
SPEAKER_01: which is why I think it's so fun to write.
20:56
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, fantastic response there from M.N.
20:59
SPEAKER_02: Strown.
21:01
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, I have read this author's work before.
21:03
SPEAKER_02: She does amazing horror.
21:05
SPEAKER_02: She also has hosted several horror challenges.
21:07
SPEAKER_02: I don't know if she has one going on off the top of my head right now.
21:09
SPEAKER_02: But yeah, she does really great work.
21:11
SPEAKER_02: But her horror is excellent.
21:12
SPEAKER_02: It's inspired some of mine as well.
21:15
SPEAKER_02: So yeah, if you get a chance to check it out, I would highly recommend her work.
21:26
SPEAKER_02: First person POV and then kind of leaving it up to the writer as far as
21:31
SPEAKER_02: which direction they take it.
21:32
SPEAKER_02: And then of course calling out the subgenres because there are a lot
21:36
SPEAKER_02: of horror subgenres and I myself am a big fan of mashing horror
21:40
SPEAKER_02: into other genres like sci-fi for example.
21:42
SPEAKER_02: That's like peanut butter and jelly.
21:43
SPEAKER_02: They go together perfectly, right?
21:45
SPEAKER_02: So yeah, fantastic response there.
21:47
SPEAKER_02: Let's check out our next response here.
21:49
SPEAKER_02: Next up is Hazel Allen, who says, And yes, Hazel brings up a great point here.
21:54
SPEAKER_02: I have to highly recommend The Midnight Collective as well.
21:56
SPEAKER_02: It was a fantastic series.
22:10
SPEAKER_02: And that series did do a really good job of keeping things unpredictable.
22:15
SPEAKER_02: If you can keep the reader guessing, you can keep them engaged, right?
22:19
SPEAKER_02: And the more engaged they are, the more the fear will hit.
22:22
SPEAKER_02: So yes, great, great suggestion there.
22:24
SPEAKER_02: Keeping things unpredictable.
22:26
SPEAKER_02: Love that.
22:27
SPEAKER_02: Alright,
22:28
SPEAKER_02: and last but not least,
22:29
SPEAKER_02: my friend J.
22:29
SPEAKER_02: Allen Winchester says,
22:31
SPEAKER_02: When I think of horror,
22:32
SPEAKER_02: I think of things that nearly broke me and see what my imagination created from
22:35
SPEAKER_02: the emotions that bubbled up.
22:37
SPEAKER_02: I've written dark moments for sure, but I'm not sure I'm a horror writer exactly.
22:41
SPEAKER_02: I've been told my mythology stuff is terrifying,
22:44
SPEAKER_02: so I guess I just take in the chaos of nature differently.
22:47
SPEAKER_02: I'm a big believer in duality and the balance between chaos and structure.
22:51
SPEAKER_02: Chaos can be both inspiring and harrowing at the same time,
22:54
SPEAKER_02: but the same can be said of structure,
22:56
SPEAKER_02: as it reels in chaos, but too rigid can crush growth without a thought.
23:00
SPEAKER_02: I guess that's how I look at fear.
23:02
SPEAKER_02: It can come from a place of survival, oppression, longing, or even need.
23:06
SPEAKER_02: It makes the reader question what fear can really be,
23:09
SPEAKER_02: and I try to place them in the perspective of the characters facing that kind
23:12
SPEAKER_02: of reality shift.
23:13
SPEAKER_02: He says,
23:28
SPEAKER_02: I took all the fears and uncertainty of losing the only real home I'd ever attached
23:31
SPEAKER_02: to,
23:31
SPEAKER_02: my dad was on the other coast and I felt abandoned,
23:33
SPEAKER_02: my new neighbors rallied against me when I was attacked,
23:35
SPEAKER_02: and I felt no one seemed to care that my sanity was unraveling.
23:59
SPEAKER_02: All of those emotions birth Dodecateon.
24:02
SPEAKER_02: So when the characters are lost,
24:03
SPEAKER_02: terrified,
24:03
SPEAKER_02: or enraged,
24:04
SPEAKER_02: they channel raw emotions I have felt,
24:07
SPEAKER_02: pain that I have endured, and burdens I wish I could give away.
24:10
SPEAKER_02: If those things make people shudder, then that's my flavor of horror.
24:15
SPEAKER_02: Beautiful response, as always, from my friend Jaden.
24:18
SPEAKER_02: I love, I just love his responses every single week.
24:21
SPEAKER_02: And yeah,
24:21
SPEAKER_02: this mirrors a bit of what we saw with Beastly Bing's response, right,
24:24
SPEAKER_02: where Jaden is using prior experience,
24:27
SPEAKER_02: prior trauma, and bringing that into the characters.
24:30
SPEAKER_02: And sort of creating similar story beats with that.
24:32
SPEAKER_02: And again, that's powerful because it's coming from a place of experience.
24:36
SPEAKER_02: So what you're sharing, you're sharing in such a way that only you can do.
24:40
SPEAKER_02: And that's something I've said a lot before is how storytellers and writers,
24:44
SPEAKER_02: we always worry about people stealing our ideas or that our stuff's going
24:47
SPEAKER_02: to be too much like something else.
24:49
SPEAKER_02: But I don't think that's the case.
24:51
SPEAKER_02: I think that you can only tell the stories that you tell your way
24:55
SPEAKER_02: and no one else can tell them that exact same way.
24:57
SPEAKER_02: Doesn't matter if the themes overlap, doesn't matter if it's similar to something else.
25:01
SPEAKER_02: If anything,
25:02
SPEAKER_02: you writing something that's similar to something that's popular is a good thing
25:05
SPEAKER_02: because then people who like that other thing will look at what you did,
25:08
SPEAKER_02: they'll see those similarities,
25:09
SPEAKER_02: and they'll want to check out what you're doing, right?
25:12
SPEAKER_02: So this is just a friendly reminder,
25:14
SPEAKER_02: off topic a little bit,
25:15
SPEAKER_02: but a friendly reminder that if It's okay to tell stories how you want to tell them
25:21
SPEAKER_02: because that is what you bring to the table as a writer, right?
25:24
SPEAKER_02: And that certainly applies to horror as well,
25:26
SPEAKER_02: especially when you're channeling very real,
25:30
SPEAKER_02: very tangible fear that you yourself have felt, right?
25:35
SPEAKER_02: And again, it can be therapeutic, putting that into your stories.
25:38
SPEAKER_02: You don't have to, obviously.
25:39
SPEAKER_02: I'm not saying it's right for everybody, but it can be therapeutic.
25:43
SPEAKER_02: So that's my final thoughts there.
25:45
SPEAKER_02: But yeah, just incredible responses this week.
25:47
SPEAKER_02: I love these writing discussions.
25:48
SPEAKER_02: Like I said, we're gonna keep these going all month and going forward.
25:51
SPEAKER_02: I'm not gonna stop them during the challenge like I normally would.
25:53
SPEAKER_02: They're just too valuable.
25:55
SPEAKER_02: And so yeah, we're gonna keep it going.
25:56
SPEAKER_02: Keep this party going.
25:58
SPEAKER_02: But thank you again to everybody who contributed.
26:00
SPEAKER_02: I really appreciate some of the more vulnerable answers that we got.
26:04
SPEAKER_02: And yeah, just showing up as you always do, as yourselves, as your authentic selves.
26:09
SPEAKER_02: It really means a lot.
26:10
SPEAKER_02: So thank you for the responses.
26:11
SPEAKER_02: I love reading them.
26:14
SPEAKER_02: But yeah, let's jump into the second half of the episode here.
26:17
SPEAKER_02: We're going to get into some of the community-focused stuff now.
26:20
SPEAKER_02: And before we do that,
26:22
SPEAKER_02: I'd like to go ahead and check in with Lord Devereaux
26:24
SPEAKER_02: to see how things are shaping up with
26:25
SPEAKER_02: the second Indulgence Horror Writing Challenge.
26:30
[music]
26:48
SPEAKER_02: Hey, Lord Devereaux.
26:49
SPEAKER_02: Wanted to take a break from the podcast to see... Oh, wow.
26:52
SPEAKER_02: Looks like a lot of people have already shown up.
26:54
SPEAKER_02: Well, maybe not people.
26:56
SPEAKER_02: I've never seen creatures like this.
26:57
SPEAKER_01: You may refer to them as story eaters, Bradley.
27:02
SPEAKER_01: They hail from pandemonium.
27:04
SPEAKER_02: Oh, wow.
27:05
SPEAKER_02: That's cool.
27:06
SPEAKER_02: So how are they liking the soup and salad stories so far?
27:09
SPEAKER_02: We've gotten a bunch of entries.
27:11
SPEAKER_01: Your community has once again delivered delectable creative cuisine.
27:17
SPEAKER_01: But it seems their appetites have grown in the time since we last joined in shared revelry.
27:23
SPEAKER_02: I see.
27:24
SPEAKER_02: So basically you're saying they're still hungry.
27:27
SPEAKER_02: Yes, Bradley.
27:29
SPEAKER_02: They are still hungry.
27:32
SPEAKER_02: Oh, watch out, on your left!
27:34
SPEAKER_02: Oh, hey, Fintan.
27:35
SPEAKER_02: Wow, you're helping serve stories for the guests?
27:37
SPEAKER_02: Ha ha ha, of course.
27:40
SPEAKER_02: You might say that I have a little pep in my step lately.
27:44
SPEAKER_02: Let me guess,
27:45
SPEAKER_02: is this because you're getting to hang out with Jay the Solar Demiurge in the new
27:48
SPEAKER_02: Into the Gateway series from JL and Winchester?
27:51
SPEAKER_02: Ha ha, you are correct, my friend.
27:54
SPEAKER_02: Well, I'm glad you're having fun, Fintan.
27:56
SPEAKER_02: Alright, where are the others?
27:57
SPEAKER_02: I wanted to say hi.
27:59
SPEAKER_02: Oh, check in the kitchen.
28:00
SPEAKER_02: Arnold is making food for our non-story eating guests.
28:05
SPEAKER_02: Oh, okay, great, thanks.
28:07
SPEAKER_02: Hey, knock knock, how's everyone doing?
28:10
SPEAKER_02: Who's there?
28:11
SPEAKER_02: Tell me, now!
28:14
SPEAKER_02: It's just me, Arnold.
28:17
SPEAKER_02: Oh, Bradley, have you seen my sous chefs?
28:21
SPEAKER_02: I need more lemon peel, now!
28:25
SPEAKER_02: Uh, I'll see if I can find them.
28:28
SPEAKER_02: Okay, and what did he say?
28:29
SPEAKER_02: Okay, guys, just take a deep breath.
28:30
SPEAKER_02: Cooking is a lot like writing.
28:30
SPEAKER_02: You just need to trust your instincts and go with the flow.
28:35
SPEAKER_02: Let Arnold handle the exact measurements and that kind of stuff.
28:40
SPEAKER_02: He might know what he's doing.
28:56
SPEAKER_01: Will he measure the pressures?
29:00
SPEAKER_02: Uh, sure, yeah, probably.
29:03
SPEAKER_02: Good, good.
29:06
SPEAKER_02: Not like those stinky little hobbitses.
29:14
SPEAKER_02: Okay, well, I'm gonna leave you to it.
29:16
SPEAKER_02: I need to get back to the podcast.
29:18
SPEAKER_02: All right, everyone.
29:19
SPEAKER_02: Before we get into our weekly shoutouts this week,
29:22
SPEAKER_02: I want to take a second to thank you all once again for all
29:24
SPEAKER_02: the amazing entries thus far in the second Indulgence Writing Challenge.
29:28
SPEAKER_02: We started, of course, on October 1st.
29:30
SPEAKER_02: We've only had two prompts as of this recording, and already we're going to get started.
29:33
SPEAKER_02: We have passed right by 20 entries.
29:36
SPEAKER_02: That is incredible.
29:38
SPEAKER_02: That's right up there with some of our highest performing challenges.
29:41
SPEAKER_02: And I'm just so excited to see what you guys think because as the challenge goes on
29:45
SPEAKER_02: and we get into the subsequent weeks,
29:46
SPEAKER_02: the prompts are going to get more complex,
29:49
SPEAKER_02: more involved, and we'll give you a higher recommended word count as a result.
29:53
SPEAKER_02: But you're doing such great work so far with these nice and simple soup and salad prompts.
29:58
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, so starting next week, I will do more structured shoutouts for these.
30:03
SPEAKER_02: Obviously,
30:03
SPEAKER_02: we've only had the challenge going on for two days,
30:06
SPEAKER_02: so if you'll bear with me one more week,
30:08
SPEAKER_02: I'll get something more organized set up by next week,
30:10
SPEAKER_02: and we'll take a deeper look at some of the top stories in the challenge.
30:13
SPEAKER_02: But in the meantime,
30:15
SPEAKER_02: wanted to just shout out a couple of amazing stories from these first couple
30:19
SPEAKER_02: of days here.
30:20
SPEAKER_02: Right off the bat,
30:21
SPEAKER_02: literally minutes after I posted the first prompt,
30:23
SPEAKER_02: we got a poem,
30:25
SPEAKER_02: excuse me,
30:25
SPEAKER_02: no, it was an actual story, from Hazel Allen called The Man Inside the Portal.
30:30
SPEAKER_02: And it's a real fun little microfiction, but it's got some great atmosphere and tension.
30:35
SPEAKER_02: And over the course of that same day,
30:36
SPEAKER_02: we got a story called Ritual from Victoria Muska Birch, which is also fantastic.
30:44
SPEAKER_02: And then right after that,
30:45
SPEAKER_02: we got Opening by Rebecca Watson,
30:47
SPEAKER_02: followed by Chapter One Chimera from Alexander Aviles.
30:53
SPEAKER_02: And the list keeps going.
30:54
SPEAKER_02: We have, I think, over 15 stories just for Day One Alone.
30:58
SPEAKER_02: We saw some returning players from prior challenges like Gregory Blair.
31:03
SPEAKER_02: J.M.
31:03
SPEAKER_02: Gooding, of course, submitted something.
31:04
SPEAKER_02: Gary L. Taylor is back again.
31:06
SPEAKER_02: My friend Bent But True.
31:09
SPEAKER_02: And I have to also give a special shout out real quick to a brand new writer by the name...
31:13
SPEAKER_02: Thank you.
31:28
SPEAKER_02: Thank you again to Maven for jumping right in and just showing up to Substack,
31:33
SPEAKER_02: getting into the community, and really diving in feet first for the challenge here.
31:36
SPEAKER_02: I really,
31:37
SPEAKER_02: really appreciate your support,
31:38
SPEAKER_02: and it's great to see a brand new writer in our community like that,
31:41
SPEAKER_02: just getting right into the challenge.
31:44
SPEAKER_02: We've got work from Every Root,
31:45
SPEAKER_02: Every Thorn,
31:46
SPEAKER_02: Richard Pack,
31:47
SPEAKER_02: Beastly Bean,
31:48
SPEAKER_02: of course,
31:49
SPEAKER_02: Terrifying Tales,
31:50
SPEAKER_02: Jonathan Vance,
31:51
SPEAKER_02: Leron Haywood, and a few other names as well, like Wilhelmina Owings.
31:56
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, just a ton of people in this list so far.
31:59
SPEAKER_02: Day 2's been great.
32:00
SPEAKER_02: We have a bunch of entries for that one already.
32:03
SPEAKER_02: Of course,
32:03
SPEAKER_02: some returning people like Hazel and Rebecca,
32:05
SPEAKER_02: as well as Alexander, Gregory, Bent But True, Every Root, Every Thorn, and J.M.
32:09
SPEAKER_02: Gooding.
32:10
SPEAKER_02: So we're seeing already people coming in every day so far.
32:14
SPEAKER_02: I mean, this is what it's all about.
32:16
SPEAKER_02: I love this.
32:18
SPEAKER_02: I think I said this in a prior episode, but I joined Substack.
32:22
SPEAKER_02: And I really wanted to find community.
32:24
SPEAKER_02: And then when I found it,
32:24
SPEAKER_02: the next thing I wanted to do was try and have some fun hosting writing events,
32:27
SPEAKER_02: because I've always wanted to attend some of those myself.
32:31
SPEAKER_02: And that,
32:31
SPEAKER_02: of course,
32:32
SPEAKER_02: started with Flash Fiction last year,
32:34
SPEAKER_02: Flash Fiction February,
32:35
SPEAKER_02: a few follow-up challenges, and then, of course, the first Indulgence last October.
32:39
SPEAKER_02: So it just feels really cool to be back here again October,
32:44
SPEAKER_02: one year later with the second Indulgence.
32:46
SPEAKER_02: And it's just, it's blowing up.
32:48
SPEAKER_02: And I just, I really, really appreciate all of you.
32:50
SPEAKER_02: It makes me so happy to see all this creativity, to see all this excitement.
32:56
SPEAKER_02: And yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
32:57
SPEAKER_02: So obviously as I'm recording here on Friday, we're not doing any prompts over the weekends.
33:02
SPEAKER_02: So our next prompt will be coming at you on Monday after this podcast comes out.
33:07
SPEAKER_02: And that will of course be technically day three of the challenge
33:10
SPEAKER_02: since we're taking weekends off.
33:12
SPEAKER_02: I'm going to figure out a way to number these where it won't be confusing.
33:14
SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
33:15
SPEAKER_02: But in any case, thank you again sincerely for all the support so far.
33:20
SPEAKER_02: And now let's go ahead and dive into our weekly shoutouts
33:25
SPEAKER_02: from my Tuesday subscriber chat thread.
33:27
SPEAKER_02: All right.
33:27
SPEAKER_02: So as you know,
33:28
SPEAKER_02: every Tuesday in my subscriber chat,
33:30
SPEAKER_02: I open a podcast shoutouts thread where you can share links to your work.
33:33
SPEAKER_02: Now, what I did in the past is I would pick five at random,
33:37
SPEAKER_02: talk about each one, read an excerpt, and that would be that.
33:41
SPEAKER_02: We're still doing that,
33:42
SPEAKER_02: but I I wanted to have some more fun with it, and I wanted to make it more valuable.
33:45
SPEAKER_02: So what I've been doing the last couple of weeks is I've been asking everyone
33:49
SPEAKER_02: to not only share your links, but to pitch the story or poem or article to me.
33:54
SPEAKER_02: Tell me what it's about.
33:54
SPEAKER_02: Tell me why I should read it.
33:56
SPEAKER_02: And I'm picking the I haven't gotten a lot of feedback one way or the other on this.
34:03
SPEAKER_02: I think a few people have said they like it, but I would love to know.
34:05
SPEAKER_02: So please, in the show comments, let me know.
34:08
SPEAKER_02: Do you like this or do you want it to go back to being just random?
34:10
SPEAKER_02: I'm totally fine either way, but thought I would ask.
34:13
SPEAKER_02: So yeah, every Tuesday in my subscriber chat, you have a chance to do this.
34:16
SPEAKER_02: I'm going to keep up with the pitching kind of concept until I'm told
34:19
SPEAKER_02: that it's not helpful because I think it is and pitching your stories is hard.
34:24
SPEAKER_02: So it's good to practice.
34:26
SPEAKER_02: All right.
34:27
SPEAKER_02: All that out of the way,
34:27
SPEAKER_02: here are our top pitches this week for my Tuesday podcast, Shoutouts Thread.
34:32
SPEAKER_02: Up first this week is Will I Be Okay by Hazel Allen.
34:37
SPEAKER_02: So Hazel's piece didn't get featured last week.
34:40
SPEAKER_02: They did get a honorable mention, but this week they tried a different approach.
34:43
SPEAKER_02: In fact, they had two.
34:45
SPEAKER_02: And I gotta say, I appreciate that.
34:47
SPEAKER_02: The first was a joke they posted in my subscriber chat where they said,
34:50
SPEAKER_02: Seriously,
34:51
SPEAKER_02: Bradley,
34:52
SPEAKER_02: you want me to submit another piece after you rejected mine last time
34:54
SPEAKER_02: to continue feeding this one-sided toxic relationship each week
34:58
SPEAKER_02: until you give me one grain of recognition?
35:00
SPEAKER_02: And then they say, I'm down.
35:02
SPEAKER_02: Here's my most recent poem.
35:04
SPEAKER_02: Oh, I love it.
35:07
SPEAKER_02: That was funny.
35:09
SPEAKER_02: And it got a good laugh out of me, as you can tell.
35:11
SPEAKER_02: Now, as a follow-up, Hazel also pitched me a mini poem based on the poem that they provided.
35:16
SPEAKER_02: And the mini poem reads, When sleep fails to arrive, Late within, where do you go?
35:22
SPEAKER_02: The midnight hour, taunting, Forcing a tantalizing question, Wondering, will I be okay?
35:29
SPEAKER_02: Now that is really creative.
35:30
SPEAKER_02: It's like how I sometimes do short stories to get people into my larger works.
35:34
SPEAKER_02: The takeaway here,
35:35
SPEAKER_02: of course,
35:35
SPEAKER_02: is that comedy and creativity should go hand in hand when you're figuring out how
35:39
SPEAKER_02: to pitch your work to agents, to readers, and to the internet as a whole.
35:43
SPEAKER_02: Have fun with it.
35:44
SPEAKER_02: Try new things.
35:45
SPEAKER_02: You'll be surprised what you get out of the most unique ideas that you have.
35:49
SPEAKER_02: And like in this case, we have two great examples.
35:51
SPEAKER_02: Now, let's check out an excerpt from the full piece, which is titled, Will I Be Okay?
35:58
SPEAKER_02: Don't let me sleep.
35:59
SPEAKER_02: I don't feel like sleeping.
36:01
SPEAKER_02: Don't let me think.
36:02
SPEAKER_02: Please, I beg it of you.
36:05
SPEAKER_02: I don't want to dream anymore.
36:07
SPEAKER_02: To stare at a wall, eyes frozen, without heart, nothing.
36:13
SPEAKER_02: I'm lost in a galaxy inside my head,
36:16
SPEAKER_02: and I see the ones I love becoming in truth, the cards which hold my decline.
36:22
SPEAKER_02: I'm lost inside my head, and I don't want to know how it ends, nor how tomorrow starts.
36:29
SPEAKER_02: Today will leave, yet yesterday will remain.
36:35
SPEAKER_02: Beautiful, beautiful work there from one of my favorite poets in the game.
36:38
SPEAKER_02: Fantastic stuff.
36:40
SPEAKER_02: Next up this week is Chapter 2, Survival of the Fittest by Alexander Aviles.
36:46
SPEAKER_02: This is a follow-up to last week's power-up prompt entry that I thoroughly enjoyed,
36:50
SPEAKER_02: so I was excited to read this one.
36:52
SPEAKER_02: Now, something that I appreciate about Alexander's pitch here, too,
36:55
SPEAKER_02: is that he said he wanted to get me the link while I was still ahead
36:59
SPEAKER_02: of my podcast planning,
37:01
SPEAKER_02: and he did indeed share the link right after I opened the thread.
37:04
SPEAKER_02: I appreciate that level of consideration,
37:06
SPEAKER_02: and it teaches us all something important about pitching your work.
37:09
SPEAKER_02: It's important to consider who you're pitching to and how you can make it as easy
37:14
SPEAKER_02: for them to read as possible.
37:15
SPEAKER_02: This means if you're pitching an agent, you follow all their guidelines for queries.
37:19
SPEAKER_02: If you're on social media,
37:20
SPEAKER_02: it means keeping things short since people are often in a hurry and have
37:23
SPEAKER_02: a short attention span.
37:25
SPEAKER_02: And if you're submitting work to a podcast like mine,
37:27
SPEAKER_02: submitting your links quickly and efficiently when the thread opens is a way
37:31
SPEAKER_02: to take your audience into consideration.
37:33
SPEAKER_02: So again, shout out to Alexander for that.
37:35
SPEAKER_02: I really appreciate it.
37:36
SPEAKER_02: And yeah,
37:37
SPEAKER_02: let's check out an excerpt from this piece,
37:39
SPEAKER_02: which again is a continuation of their story from last week's Power Up prompt.
37:43
SPEAKER_02: On the 35th day of capture,
37:45
SPEAKER_02: Ulster and Lebor awoke first to screaming from inside their obsidian cage on
37:49
SPEAKER_02: the cliff.
37:50
SPEAKER_02: It took seconds to identify who caused the commotion.
37:54
SPEAKER_02: The man who had slapped Lebor on the day they were trapped was attempting to shove
37:58
SPEAKER_02: a woman through the gap in the cage wall, face first.
38:01
SPEAKER_02: Her ears were already dangling at the side of her jaw as the force with which
38:05
SPEAKER_02: the man pushed her became apparent.
38:07
SPEAKER_02: He gripped her entire neck in his hands and proceeded to shove diagonally through the crack.
38:12
SPEAKER_02: The cracks in the cage on the cliff were much larger than the slits on the wall of
38:16
SPEAKER_02: the cage in the ravine, yet no Ferbolg would ever be able to fit through either.
38:22
SPEAKER_02: He's delusional!
38:23
SPEAKER_02: Help her!
38:25
SPEAKER_02: Agnes shouted, having followed suit and waking up to the cry.
38:29
SPEAKER_02: Lebor leapt first, bounding over still-sleeping bodies to try and tackle the culprit.
38:34
SPEAKER_02: The man kicked the approaching Lebor square in the chest, sending him onto his back.
38:38
SPEAKER_02: Lebor landed hard on a couple of knights nestled together on the ground.
38:42
SPEAKER_02: They awoke, stood, and drew weapons in rapid succession, gauging the area for danger.
38:48
SPEAKER_02: Ulster started to approach, but one of them stuck his arm out.
38:51
SPEAKER_02: The three knights walked over and commanded the man to stop.
38:54
SPEAKER_02: The man faced them, tears on his face, eyes bloodshot.
38:59
SPEAKER_02: We need to get out of here!
39:00
SPEAKER_02: This is the only way!
39:02
SPEAKER_02: Oh, yeah.
39:03
SPEAKER_02: That's good stuff.
39:04
SPEAKER_02: Really, really good.
39:05
SPEAKER_02: Be sure to catch up on this series.
39:07
SPEAKER_02: It's a fantastic premise.
39:09
SPEAKER_02: The worldbuilding is amazing.
39:10
SPEAKER_02: The lore is really cool.
39:11
SPEAKER_02: And as you can see, the action is tense and really engaging.
39:14
SPEAKER_02: So great work there from Alexander.
39:16
SPEAKER_02: Next up...
39:17
SPEAKER_02: We have a story entitled The Halls Return to Sender by BentButTrue.
39:23
SPEAKER_02: Now, BentButTrue included this link and simply said, shameless self-promo.
39:28
SPEAKER_02: And I know that's not a huge pitch,
39:29
SPEAKER_02: but I want to highlight some of his work this week in general.
39:32
SPEAKER_02: Because Ben Puttrue is a huge supporter of last year's First Indulgence Challenge.
39:36
SPEAKER_02: Going so far as to work with other members of the community to publish an anthology
39:40
SPEAKER_02: of stories from the event on Amazon.
39:43
SPEAKER_02: If you're interested, you can get a copy still.
39:45
SPEAKER_02: It's literally called The First Indulgence, A Tasting Menu of Terror.
39:49
SPEAKER_02: And it features art from members of the community as well.
39:51
SPEAKER_02: I'll drop a link to it in the show notes.
39:53
SPEAKER_02: But let's talk about Victor's story here.
39:55
SPEAKER_02: He has a little introduction in the story
39:56
SPEAKER_02: that I think actually doubles really nicely as a pitch.
39:59
SPEAKER_02: So I'm going to read that as our excerpt.
40:01
SPEAKER_02: So here's a little preview of Return to Sender.
40:05
SPEAKER_02: Some things disappear suddenly.
40:07
SPEAKER_02: Others break, get lost, or are carried away in ways we understand only afterward.
40:13
SPEAKER_02: But what if they came back first?
40:15
SPEAKER_02: Marianne Vale has been married for 31 years.
40:18
SPEAKER_02: Her life is ordinary, comfortable, familiar in all the ways that make ordinary life matter.
40:24
SPEAKER_02: Then, a package appears on her porch.
40:27
SPEAKER_02: Inside is something she already owns.
40:30
SPEAKER_02: A few days later, the original is gone.
40:33
SPEAKER_02: Then, another package arrives.
40:36
SPEAKER_02: And another.
40:37
SPEAKER_02: At first, Marianne thinks they are replacements.
40:40
SPEAKER_02: Then she begins to understand that the packages are something else entirely.
40:46
SPEAKER_02: And that's very intriguing, am I right?
40:47
SPEAKER_02: Victor does a great job with pacing, mystery, and intrigue.
40:50
SPEAKER_02: And this little intro here before you get into the story is a phenomenal pitch,
40:54
SPEAKER_02: which is why I wanted to read it.
40:55
SPEAKER_02: So be sure to check out his work.
40:57
SPEAKER_02: And when he submits entries into this year's challenge,
40:59
SPEAKER_02: read those too, because I promise they're going to be really good.
41:03
SPEAKER_02: All right, next up.
41:05
SPEAKER_02: Is 2009, by Drown the Thought.
41:08
SPEAKER_02: And our pitch here comes from Beastly Being,
41:10
SPEAKER_02: who shared the link and said,
41:11
SPEAKER_02: Now I love this,
41:12
SPEAKER_02: because not only is it a great pitch,
41:13
SPEAKER_02: it gets all the right information across that makes this artist and author unique,
41:16
SPEAKER_02: and this is an example of one author promoting another
41:20
SPEAKER_02: because they truly love their work.
41:32
SPEAKER_02: That is the kind of support that I love to see.
41:34
SPEAKER_02: That's the level of community that I'm trying to achieve.
41:36
SPEAKER_02: And I'm actually familiar with this author because they used to go by
41:39
SPEAKER_02: the screen name Lila Cave Park on Substack.
41:43
SPEAKER_02: And I read several of their poems on my monthly live streams with Stefan Pasek.
41:47
SPEAKER_02: I'm a huge fan of their art as well.
41:48
SPEAKER_02: So yeah, I'm with Beastly Bing.
41:50
SPEAKER_02: This person needs more recognition.
41:51
SPEAKER_02: 100%.
41:53
SPEAKER_02: So let's check out an excerpt from 2009 by Drown the Thought.
41:57
SPEAKER_02: I think of my life in chapters.
41:59
SPEAKER_02: The different people.
42:01
SPEAKER_02: I latched onto at the time.
42:03
SPEAKER_02: Two of those chapters, both began in fall.
42:07
SPEAKER_02: Two people, I would make mean everything.
42:11
SPEAKER_02: Because for a few moments, that's what they made me.
42:15
SPEAKER_02: Dear, and the headlights, what an honor.
42:19
SPEAKER_02: You thought something I loved was good enough.
42:23
SPEAKER_02: Bright eyes suffered a different fate.
42:27
SPEAKER_02: Luckily, I found my way back again.
42:30
SPEAKER_02: And I mean, yeah, beautiful, beautiful work.
42:32
SPEAKER_02: Please check that out.
42:33
SPEAKER_02: It's amazing.
42:33
SPEAKER_02: There's narration.
42:35
SPEAKER_02: There's art.
42:35
SPEAKER_02: I mean, it's the whole package every single time that this author posts.
42:38
SPEAKER_02: It's amazing.
42:40
SPEAKER_02: All right.
42:41
SPEAKER_02: Last up this week is While I Am Still Here by Sara Da Encarnacio.
42:47
SPEAKER_02: Here is Sara's pitch.
42:48
SPEAKER_02: Hi, Bradley.
42:49
SPEAKER_02: I'd like to submit this one, While I'm Still Here, a monologue.
42:52
SPEAKER_02: I'm sharing this because it asks a question I rarely see asked from the artist's side.
42:57
SPEAKER_02: Why are we so often better at honoring artists once they are safely
43:00
SPEAKER_02: beyond needing anything from us?
43:03
SPEAKER_02: It is spoken by an aging artist who has spent a lifetime giving pieces of herself to
43:08
SPEAKER_02: an audience,
43:09
SPEAKER_02: and who asks for neither immortality nor pity,
43:11
SPEAKER_02: only to be seen while she is still here.
43:14
SPEAKER_02: I also turn the monologue into an original song,
43:16
SPEAKER_02: so the piece eventually becomes the very thing it is talking about,
43:20
SPEAKER_02: one voice asking someone, somewhere, to listen.
43:24
SPEAKER_02: Now this is a beautiful pitch and it works really well because
43:27
SPEAKER_02: the emotion here is vivid and genuine.
43:30
SPEAKER_02: It gives us insight into the piece while also connecting with us on a deep and human level.
43:36
SPEAKER_02: It provides something relatable,
43:38
SPEAKER_02: something that will have us all nodding our heads as you're reading or listening.
43:41
SPEAKER_02: And that's powerful stuff.
43:43
SPEAKER_02: If you can get someone to agree with you on any level, they will relate with you and your work.
43:49
SPEAKER_02: And at that point, you will have their full attention.
43:51
SPEAKER_02: That's how a great pitch works.
43:54
SPEAKER_02: And if you want to bring about that emotion,
43:56
SPEAKER_02: that relatability, look to Sarah's picture that was wonderfully written.
44:00
SPEAKER_02: And speaking of things that are wonderfully written,
44:02
SPEAKER_02: let's check out an excerpt here from Sarah's piece.
44:05
SPEAKER_02: Look at me while I'm still here.
44:07
SPEAKER_02: While my voice reaches you without an archive around it,
44:10
SPEAKER_02: without a date in brackets,
44:12
SPEAKER_02: without some tender young scholar explaining that in
44:15
SPEAKER_02: the final years I had become reclusive,
44:18
SPEAKER_02: difficult, poor,
44:20
SPEAKER_02: as though poverty were an eccentricity and silence a room I had chosen for its view.
44:26
SPEAKER_02: Look at me now, while I can still answer when you call my name.
44:30
SPEAKER_02: Because later you will say that you love me,
44:33
SPEAKER_02: and perhaps you will,
44:34
SPEAKER_02: perhaps you already do,
44:35
SPEAKER_02: but love is a word the public uses very beautifully when
44:38
SPEAKER_02: the artist can no longer ask what it meant.
44:42
SPEAKER_02: You have taken me home so many times without knowing it.
44:45
SPEAKER_02: I was folded into the book beneath your arm.
44:47
SPEAKER_02: Pressed into the record turning under the needle,
44:50
SPEAKER_02: hidden in the sentence you repeated to someone who thought it was yours.
44:54
SPEAKER_02: And I went willingly,
44:55
SPEAKER_02: I assure you,
44:57
SPEAKER_02: because this was the bargain before it became a business,
45:00
SPEAKER_02: before the ticket,
45:00
SPEAKER_02: before the contract,
45:02
SPEAKER_02: before the little arithmetic of copies and seats and names printed high enough on
45:06
SPEAKER_02: the poster to be seen from the street.
45:09
SPEAKER_02: I would make something from the part of life that had no language,
45:13
SPEAKER_02: and you would recognize yourself in it.
45:15
SPEAKER_02: And for one hour, neither of us would be alone.
45:20
SPEAKER_02: It was a beautiful bargain.
45:22
SPEAKER_02: Do not imagine I have forgotten that.
45:25
SPEAKER_02: Damn, I got chills reading that.
45:27
SPEAKER_02: Truly amazing work from Sarah there.
45:29
SPEAKER_02: Please check that out.
45:29
SPEAKER_02: It's a beautiful piece.
45:31
SPEAKER_02: And an even more beautiful pitch.
45:32
SPEAKER_02: Amazing, amazing, amazing.
45:34
SPEAKER_02: Next week,
45:35
SPEAKER_02: I'll dive deeper into some of the top stories from week one of
45:37
SPEAKER_02: the second Indulgence Challenge.
45:39
SPEAKER_02: And I'll also do a few shoutouts like this with the pitches as well.
45:42
SPEAKER_02: We'll find a balance going into October here because I feel like the format works well.
45:46
SPEAKER_02: But again, let me know in the comments what you think.
45:49
SPEAKER_02: I want you to be able to practice your skills as writers and obviously take value
45:52
SPEAKER_02: from listening to me yap.
45:54
SPEAKER_02: So that's what I'm trying to do here.
45:57
SPEAKER_01: All right, my friends, let's close out this episode with a look at next week on Substack.
46:02
SPEAKER_02: All right, my friends, next week is pretty cut and dry.
46:05
SPEAKER_02: We're going right into the challenge again, starting Monday.
46:09
SPEAKER_02: Week one will continue all the way to Friday.
46:11
SPEAKER_02: And at some point next week,
46:12
SPEAKER_02: you will be getting a bonus prompt that gives you an opportunity
46:16
SPEAKER_02: to continue your story from the afternoon.
46:19
SPEAKER_02: So again,
46:22
SPEAKER_02: that aperitif prompt is open like every other prompt all the way to the end
46:25
SPEAKER_02: the month if you want to go back and start your series there.
46:28
SPEAKER_02: But stay tuned for that bonus prompt sometime this coming week.
46:32
SPEAKER_02: And of course,
46:33
SPEAKER_02: these will still be soup and salad prompts,
46:34
SPEAKER_02: meaning they're simple and more attuned to micro or flash fiction.
46:38
SPEAKER_02: Next week,
46:39
SPEAKER_02: the following week,
46:40
SPEAKER_02: we'll start up on our appetizer prompts where we add another layer of complexity.
46:45
SPEAKER_02: Something else that I wanted
46:45
SPEAKER_02: to say too this coming week is my friend James Nethery is going to
46:48
SPEAKER_02: in town visiting.
46:50
SPEAKER_02: And so next week's episode of the podcast,
46:52
SPEAKER_02: for the first time ever, if he's willing to do it, will feature a co-host.
46:57
SPEAKER_02: I want to try this format with my friend James while he's here because it'll be easy to record.
47:03
SPEAKER_02: And I'm thinking about doing this with other writers and having guests come on that way.
47:07
SPEAKER_02: So not just interviews, but really hosting the show alongside me, right?
47:11
SPEAKER_02: Imagine having another writer chiming in during the writing discussion.
47:14
SPEAKER_02: Imagine having another writer sharing their thoughts on the shout outs.
47:17
SPEAKER_02: It's not going to be easy to do.
47:19
SPEAKER_02: Logistically, it's going to be a nightmare, but I think it's a cool idea.
47:22
SPEAKER_02: So we'll see how it goes.
47:23
SPEAKER_02: I'd love to get your thoughts on it next week if that does indeed happen.
47:26
SPEAKER_02: He's a good sport, so I'm pretty sure he'll want to join.
47:29
SPEAKER_02: And of course,
47:30
SPEAKER_02: this coming Monday,
47:31
SPEAKER_02: my Dream Drafts podcast will continue like normal,
47:33
SPEAKER_02: even though we have the challenge going on.
47:35
SPEAKER_02: So you will get a new episode of that Mindfulness and Meditation podcast on Monday.
47:40
SPEAKER_02: Starring, of course, me, but chill me, so chill Bradley.
47:45
SPEAKER_02: And on a quick side note,
47:46
SPEAKER_02: I wanted to say that podcast has indeed surpassed 1,000 downloads after,
47:50
SPEAKER_02: I think, 12 or 13 episodes.
47:52
SPEAKER_02: So thank you for that.
47:53
SPEAKER_02: It's a very exciting milestone, and I really appreciate everyone tuning in.
47:56
SPEAKER_02: That one's a bit of a passion project of mine, so it does mean a lot.
48:00
SPEAKER_02: In addition to those things next week,
48:01
SPEAKER_02: I'll be working behind the scenes on the next big Devine tale that I'm writing,
48:05
SPEAKER_02: which will of course be a standalone piece.
48:07
SPEAKER_02: I'm also going to try to get back into my novel.
48:09
SPEAKER_02: I don't want to take too much time away from that.
48:11
SPEAKER_02: It's just been a lot in real life lately.
48:14
SPEAKER_02: But once the So I'm going to try to finish up the novel and get back to Order of
48:18
SPEAKER_02: the Pawn so I can give you some consistent progress with that Devine series.
48:31
SPEAKER_02: And once again,
48:32
SPEAKER_02: before I wrap up here,
48:33
SPEAKER_02: just wanted to ask you all if you could please check out my story
48:36
SPEAKER_02: for day one's second indulgence prompt.
48:38
SPEAKER_02: It's about four minutes if you want to read through it or listen to the audio.
48:42
SPEAKER_02: It's just over four minutes and it's pretty cool.
48:44
SPEAKER_02: I'm pretty proud of it.
48:45
SPEAKER_02: I would love to know what you think.
48:47
SPEAKER_02: But seriously, thank you again, everyone.
48:48
SPEAKER_02: You guys are amazing.
48:49
SPEAKER_02: Seriously, all of you are amazing.
48:51
SPEAKER_02: Not only as creatives, but as human beings, right?
48:53
SPEAKER_02: Like I have said this so many times, I'm going to continue saying it so many times.
48:57
SPEAKER_02: I really appreciate you.
48:58
SPEAKER_02: So please,
48:59
SPEAKER_02: let's have a great week and stay tuned,
49:01
SPEAKER_02: like I said,
49:02
SPEAKER_02: for the next second indulgence prompt this Monday, October 5th, around 1230 Eastern.
49:09
SPEAKER_02: And that's all I've got for you this week, my friends.
49:11
SPEAKER_02: Really appreciate you.
49:12
SPEAKER_02: And again, stay safe, have fun, and be creative.
49:15
SPEAKER_02: This is Bradley Ramsey,
49:17
SPEAKER_00: signing off.
49:20
[music]
49:42
SPEAKER_02: Bradley, Bradley, there you are.
49:44
SPEAKER_02: I wanted to ask you something.
49:45
SPEAKER_02: Oh, hey, Fenton, what's up?
49:47
SPEAKER_02: Have you listened to the new series that I'm doing with J. Allen Winchester?
49:51
SPEAKER_02: I really think that we hit it off in that first episode.
49:55
SPEAKER_02: Yes, Fenton, of course.
49:56
SPEAKER_02: I've listened to it several times.
49:58
SPEAKER_02: It's really, really good, honestly.
50:00
SPEAKER_02: Jaden's audio editing is next level.
50:03
SPEAKER_02: I honestly think his work sounds way better than what I do on the podcast
50:06
SPEAKER_02: or anywhere else for that matter.
50:08
SPEAKER_02: The man is very talented when it comes to audio and sound effects and immersion.
50:12
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, it's a fantastic series.
50:15
SPEAKER_02: Yes, well, I also, of course, lended my voice to it, which I'm sure helped.
50:20
SPEAKER_02: Yes, Fenton, you did great.
50:22
SPEAKER_02: Your acting alongside Jay and Archie's acting was amazing.
50:25
SPEAKER_02: Can't wait to see the next episode.
50:27
SPEAKER_02: Well, you won't have to wait very long.
50:29
SPEAKER_02: It's already in production.