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Episode 91 - The Flavors of Horror · Saved as Draft

• 0:00
  SPEAKER_00: Hello everyone, and welcome to episode 91 of the Saved as Draft podcast.
• 0:05
  SPEAKER_00: This week we're talking about the different types of horror,
• 0:08
  SPEAKER_00: and which kinds you all prefer to write.
• 0:10
  SPEAKER_00: I'll also be checking out the top stories from week two of
• 0:13
  SPEAKER_00: the second Indulgence writing challenge.
• 0:16
  SPEAKER_00: Anything else to add before we get started, Lord Devereaux?
• 0:19
  SPEAKER_01: I look forward to the writing discussion, in particular.
• 0:24
  SPEAKER_01: Me too.
• 0:25
  SPEAKER_00: Let's get into it.
• 0:26
  [music]
• 0:43
  SPEAKER_00: Hello everyone and thank you so much for being here again this week.
• 0:46
  SPEAKER_00: I also wanted to say thank you for all the awesome feedback on last week's episode
• 0:51
  SPEAKER_00: with our first ever co-host.
• 0:53
  SPEAKER_00: I'll be sure to incorporate that feedback into future co-hosted episodes of
• 0:56
  SPEAKER_00: which I do have some planned.
• 0:59
  SPEAKER_00: So please look forward to that.
• 1:00
  SPEAKER_00: This week's episode is back to our usual structure though.
• 1:03
  SPEAKER_00: I'll be looking at the writing discussion this week on the different flavors
• 1:07
  SPEAKER_00: of horror before we shift things over to our shoutouts and top stories from week two
• 1:12
  SPEAKER_00: of the second Indulgible.
• 1:13
  SPEAKER_00: And before we dive in,
• 1:14
  SPEAKER_00: I wanted to also say,
• 1:16
  SPEAKER_00: if you haven't had a chance, check out the Indie Inc. Fund's latest live stream.
• 1:21
  SPEAKER_00: Definitely go over there, subscribe, because they do great work.
• 1:23
  SPEAKER_00: But take a look at that.
• 1:24
  SPEAKER_00: I was actually on it right before recording the podcast here tonight.
• 1:28
  SPEAKER_00: It was a fantastic stream all day.
• 1:30
  SPEAKER_00: Raising awareness and fundraising for our friend Mary Ellen Brady who needs our help right now.
• 1:37
  SPEAKER_00: We were having other writers come on and do guest readings and talking
• 1:42
  SPEAKER_00: about how they met Mary Ellen.
• 1:44
  SPEAKER_00: It was just a wonderful celebration.
• 1:45
  SPEAKER_00: All right,
• 1:45
  SPEAKER_00: let's get into this week's episode by starting with a look
• 1:47
  SPEAKER_00: at our community spotlight.
• 2:10
  [music]
• 2:25
  SPEAKER_00: Alright, and our community spotlight this week is on the Circus Dragon.
• 2:30
  SPEAKER_00: This is an artist and writer who I've known for the majority of my time here on Substack.
• 2:34
  SPEAKER_00: She's also the artist behind all of the art that you see used in my writing challenges.
• 2:39
  SPEAKER_00: Lord Devereaux's often featured in the challenge prompt images,
• 2:42
  SPEAKER_00: and you guessed it, she drew him as well.
• 2:45
  SPEAKER_00: Earlier this year,
• 2:45
  SPEAKER_00: I hosted an entire challenge called Smogus' Story Horde,
• 2:49
  SPEAKER_00: which featured prompts all month composed of Circus Dragon's art pieces.
• 2:54
  SPEAKER_00: Seriously,
• 2:54
  SPEAKER_00: if you get a chance,
• 2:55
  SPEAKER_00: look back at those prompts because not only are they inspiring,
• 2:59
  SPEAKER_00: but the art is stunning.
• 3:01
  SPEAKER_00: Circus Dragon is one of my favorite artists of all time,
• 3:04
  SPEAKER_00: so I'm really excited for the chance to shout her out this week.
• 3:07
  SPEAKER_00: I'll include some links to some of her work in the show notes, of course.
• 3:10
  SPEAKER_00: But beyond her art, Circus Dragon also tells great stories.
• 3:14
  SPEAKER_00: She offers up true emotion, nuanced characters, and some really inspired concepts.
• 3:20
  SPEAKER_00: Some of the stories she's done for my challenges will live rent-free in my head for
• 3:23
  SPEAKER_00: the rest of my days.
• 3:25
  SPEAKER_00: She's one of the people that I'm most grateful for in this community,
• 3:28
  SPEAKER_00: and someone who not only creates great art, but genuinely supports others as well.
• 3:33
  SPEAKER_00: As of this writing,
• 3:34
  SPEAKER_00: she's just under 500 subscribers,
• 3:36
  SPEAKER_00: so please,
• 3:37
  SPEAKER_00: if you're not already a fan or subscribed,
• 3:39
  SPEAKER_00: head on over,
• 3:40
  SPEAKER_00: check out her stuff, and I promise you will become a fan before you know it.
• 3:43
  SPEAKER_00: Shout out to my friend The Circus Dragon for being an amazing part
• 3:47
  SPEAKER_00: of this community,
• 3:48
  SPEAKER_00: and for helping me bring Lord Devereux to life alongside
• 3:51
  SPEAKER_00: so many other beautiful characters and dragons in her art.
• 3:55
  SPEAKER_00: It's seriously the best stuff I've ever seen.
• 3:57
  SPEAKER_00: It's so good.
• 3:59
  SPEAKER_00: Next, we'll dive into this week's writing discussion, but first, a word from our sponsor.
• 4:05
  SPEAKER_00: Today's episode of the Saved as Draft podcast is sponsored by Bookstack's Halloween giveaway.
• 4:12
  SPEAKER_00: All right, everyone, stay quiet.
• 4:14
  SPEAKER_00: Here he comes.
• 4:16
  SPEAKER_00: Bradley, are you sure this is a good idea?
• 4:19
  SPEAKER_00: As you know, Arnold can be a little jumpy.
• 4:23
  SPEAKER_01: Nonsense.
• 4:24
  SPEAKER_01: This will result in wonderful humor.
• 4:29
  SPEAKER_00: Here she comes, precious.
• 4:33
  SPEAKER_00: Okay.
• 4:34
  SPEAKER_00: Three, two, one.
• 4:37
  SPEAKER_00: Boo!
• 4:40
  SPEAKER_00: Get back!
• 4:41
  SPEAKER_00: Now!
• 4:46
  SPEAKER_00: Arnold, you hit me.
• 4:49
  SPEAKER_00: We were just pranking you.
• 4:51
  SPEAKER_00: I think my nose is bleeding.
• 4:54
  SPEAKER_00: I don't like pranks.
• 4:56
  SPEAKER_00: I'm too jumpy.
• 4:58
  SPEAKER_00: Say, Bradley, what did I tell you?
• 5:00
  SPEAKER_00: Uh-oh.
• 5:02
  SPEAKER_00: Hey, Bradley, are you okay?
• 5:04
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I'm fine.
• 5:07
  SPEAKER_00: Arnold, we were trying to surprise you to tell you about Bookstack's Halloween book giveaway.
• 5:12
  SPEAKER_00: Wait, Bookstack's doing a giveaway?
• 5:16
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I thought you'd like to know.
• 5:20
  SPEAKER_00: Are the prizes potatoes?
• 5:22
  SPEAKER_00: Tell me, tell me now!
• 5:25
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, no, it's actually some really cool ebook bundles,
• 5:29
  SPEAKER_00: and even a paperback copy in one of the bundles if you're a US resident.
• 5:34
  SPEAKER_01: Wait a minute, I'm a US resident!
• 5:39
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I guess you are.
• 5:41
  SPEAKER_00: Alright, how do I enter?
• 5:43
  SPEAKER_00: Tell me, tell me now!
• 5:46
  SPEAKER_00: It's like all of Hazel's giveaways, Arnold.
• 5:50
  SPEAKER_00: You just fill out a simple form, it's completely free.
• 5:54
  SPEAKER_01: There are also ways to get his bonus entries.
• 6:01
  SPEAKER_00: That's amazing.
• 6:03
  SPEAKER_00: All right, I need to enter now.
• 6:06
  SPEAKER_01: Get out of my way.
• 6:08
  SPEAKER_00: All right, and there he goes.
• 6:11
  SPEAKER_00: Well, hopefully this time he'll remember that he needs to fill out the form online,
• 6:14
  SPEAKER_00: like on a computer or phone.
• 6:16
  SPEAKER_00: I guess time will tell.
• 6:19
  SPEAKER_00: Bookstack's Halloween giveaway is open from now until October 25th.
• 6:24
  SPEAKER_00: Check the show notes for a link or head to IndieBookstack.com to learn more.
• 6:33
  SPEAKER_00: All right, and we're back.
• 6:35
  SPEAKER_00: This week's writing discussion was all about the different types of horror
• 6:38
  SPEAKER_00: that exist in the world and which ones you all find the most scary.
• 6:42
  SPEAKER_00: I also wanted to know which kind of horror you prefer to write as well.
• 6:45
  SPEAKER_00: As expected,
• 6:46
  SPEAKER_00: a lot of the responses focused on human-based horror,
• 6:49
  SPEAKER_00: the kind that could really happen.
• 6:50
  SPEAKER_00: It got me thinking about how I myself write and consume horror,
• 6:54
  SPEAKER_00: so I'll start off by sharing a few of my thoughts here,
• 6:56
  SPEAKER_00: and I've got Lord Devereaux with me too,
• 6:58
  SPEAKER_00: and then we'll dive into the responses from my subscriber chat.
• 7:01
  SPEAKER_00: Remember,
• 7:02
  SPEAKER_00: you can find a new writing discussion thread each week on Wednesday
• 7:05
  SPEAKER_00: in my subscriber chat over on Substack.
• 7:07
  SPEAKER_00: If you take the time to respond, I'll take the time to read your answers on the show here.
• 7:12
  SPEAKER_00: So...
• 7:13
  SPEAKER_00: Here's my thoughts on this week's topic.
• 7:15
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I've been a fan of horror for as long as I can remember.
• 7:19
  SPEAKER_00: I think one of my earliest memories of consuming horror,
• 7:24
  SPEAKER_00: I forget how old I was, but I saw Tim Burton's Sleepy Hollow film.
• 7:28
  SPEAKER_00: The Writer's Journey.
• 7:51
  SPEAKER_00: That was another one where there's a particular scene where Pennywise comes up
• 7:54
  SPEAKER_00: through a shower drain that traumatized me for years when I was a kid.
• 7:58
  SPEAKER_00: Again, these are things I saw probably at too young of an age, but here we are.
• 8:03
  SPEAKER_00: In any case, so that's kind of some of my experiences.
• 8:06
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, cosmic horror is kind of where I've ended up myself, of course.
• 8:09
  SPEAKER_00: I have a connected horror universe called the Synaptic Sprawl that is entirely sort
• 8:13
  SPEAKER_00: of my version of the Cthulhu mythos.
• 8:35
  SPEAKER_00: So that's where I've landed on horror as a writer.
• 8:39
  SPEAKER_00: Something that's interesting that I was thinking about as I reflected
• 8:42
  SPEAKER_00: on this topic is this idea that horror obviously needs to be scary,
• 8:47
  SPEAKER_00: but there's a point where horror goes past being scary and starts
• 8:52
  SPEAKER_00: to become traumatic in the sense that it can trigger past experiences
• 8:58
  SPEAKER_00: and it can elevate your own personal sort of anxiety to a point
• 9:02
  SPEAKER_00: where it's no longer fun.
• 9:04
  SPEAKER_00: And I think there's an interesting discussion that maybe we could do later on that.
• 9:07
  SPEAKER_00: But I was thinking about that because a lot of the answers,
• 9:10
  SPEAKER_00: of course,
• 9:10
  SPEAKER_00: were like,
• 9:10
  SPEAKER_00: well, you know, true crime, serial killers, like stuff that actually happens.
• 9:15
  SPEAKER_00: And I agree, that is very scary.
• 9:18
  SPEAKER_00: You know, humans, as they say, are the real monsters, as we'll get into here.
• 9:22
  SPEAKER_00: But I think there's something to be said about,
• 9:24
  SPEAKER_00: you know,
• 9:24
  SPEAKER_00: there are movies that I have seen plenty over the years where they're
• 9:28
  SPEAKER_00: a little too real.
• 9:30
  SPEAKER_00: They remind me of things that I've been through.
• 9:32
  SPEAKER_00: They trigger sort of a deep-seated anxiety within me.
• 9:37
  SPEAKER_00: And...
• 9:38
  SPEAKER_00: The reason I like horror is because I like to have fun.
• 9:41
  SPEAKER_00: I like to be scared,
• 9:42
  SPEAKER_00: but I like that there's a deep part of me that says this isn't real,
• 9:46
  SPEAKER_00: so I can kind of sit back and enjoy it.
• 9:48
  SPEAKER_00: For example,
• 9:49
  SPEAKER_00: I went to a haunted house here in Roanoke a little while back
• 9:53
  SPEAKER_00: when my friend James was in town, and it was fun.
• 9:56
  SPEAKER_00: It was really fun, and it was scary, right?
• 9:59
  SPEAKER_00: It had really great effects, really nice pacing.
• 10:01
  SPEAKER_00: The actors were incredible.
• 10:04
  SPEAKER_00: And the constant fear of them jumping out at you,
• 10:07
  SPEAKER_00: those jump scares, was scary, but ultimately I didn't feel as if I was in danger.
• 10:13
  SPEAKER_00: And given some of the things that I've been through,
• 10:15
  SPEAKER_00: that's impressive because I very rarely feel safe.
• 10:18
  SPEAKER_00: And they did a really good job of making it feel like a professional sort of production.
• 10:22
  SPEAKER_00: And so I felt safe.
• 10:23
  SPEAKER_00: They had the metal detectors, obviously, when you were going in, stuff like that.
• 10:27
  SPEAKER_00: So yeah, there are Right.
• 10:28
  SPEAKER_00: Right.
• 10:28
  SPEAKER_00: Right.
• 10:28
  SPEAKER_00: Right.
• 10:46
  SPEAKER_00: Content warnings are so important, right?
• 10:49
  SPEAKER_00: Because you don't know if you're going to traumatize somebody.
• 10:51
  SPEAKER_00: You don't know what's going to trigger them.
• 10:53
  SPEAKER_00: So being honest and upfront about it is so important, especially when you're writing horror.
• 10:58
  SPEAKER_00: Because that's why, right?
• 11:00
  SPEAKER_00: You don't want to ever intentionally And obviously,
• 11:02
  SPEAKER_00: once you've given the content warning,
• 11:04
  SPEAKER_00: it's the responsibility of the viewer or reader to understand that content warning
• 11:07
  SPEAKER_00: and decide whether or not it's right for them.
• 11:20
  SPEAKER_00: So yeah, interesting concept to think about there when it comes to horror.
• 11:23
  SPEAKER_00: And I think that's why I myself lean more towards the supernatural monsters,
• 11:29
  SPEAKER_00: cosmic horror, because I do find it scary, but scary in a fun way.
• 11:35
  SPEAKER_00: Obviously,
• 11:35
  SPEAKER_00: it can I
• 11:42
  SPEAKER_00: think there's something to be said about having horror that is fun at
• 11:47
  SPEAKER_00: the end of the day.
• 11:47
  SPEAKER_00: And yeah, obviously we want to scare people, but where is that line, right?
• 11:53
  SPEAKER_00: So that's, again, kind of where my brain went with the topic this week.
• 11:59
  SPEAKER_00: But hey, Lord Devereaux, do you have any thoughts on what you see and what you value in horror?
• 12:07
  SPEAKER_01: Oh yes.
• 12:08
  SPEAKER_01: For me, it's the exquisite number of flavors.
• 12:12
  SPEAKER_01: Horror comes in so many wonderful shades.
• 12:16
  SPEAKER_01: And the writers in your community, they find every nuance and combination possible.
• 12:23
  SPEAKER_01: And for me, horror has become something that I truly believe I will never fully consume.
• 12:29
  SPEAKER_01: For there are always more flavors, more combinations, more exciting experiments
• 12:36
  SPEAKER_00: to devour.
• 12:38
  SPEAKER_00: Very well said, Lord Devereaux.
• 12:39
  SPEAKER_00: That's a good point.
• 12:40
  SPEAKER_00: I think horror is one of those things that also pairs well with a lot of other genres.
• 12:46
  SPEAKER_00: And so that's where you get stuff like horror comedy or sci-fi.
• 12:49
  SPEAKER_00: That's a great point.
• 12:50
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I really enjoy kind of experimenting with those mashups.
• 12:53
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I think that hits the nail on the head.
• 12:56
  SPEAKER_00: What do you think, Lord Devereaux?
• 13:20
  SPEAKER_01: Indeed, we can come up with incredible creatures,
• 13:25
  SPEAKER_01: strange shapes and sizes,
• 13:27
  SPEAKER_01: but ultimately the stories I've heard about your kind reflect true evil.
• 13:34
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, yeah, yeah.
• 13:35
  SPEAKER_00: People are truly capable of terrible, terrible things.
• 13:38
  SPEAKER_00: So great way to start us off there.
• 13:39
  SPEAKER_00: Mina makes a really good point.
• 13:41
  SPEAKER_00: Let's jump into the next one here.
• 13:44
  SPEAKER_00: Mary Ellen Brady says, what scares me?
• 13:47
  SPEAKER_00: The kind of human that uses science as Yeah, it's a really good point.
• 13:53
  SPEAKER_00: Again, it kind of plays off of that humans being the real monsters.
• 14:00
  SPEAKER_00: And especially,
• 14:01
  SPEAKER_00: you know,
• 14:01
  SPEAKER_00: in history,
• 14:02
  SPEAKER_00: obviously,
• 14:02
  SPEAKER_00: there have been examples of this where science was sort of the justification
• 14:06
  SPEAKER_00: for some truly horrendous stuff.
• 14:09
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, again, it plays on that idea that humans are the real monsters.
• 14:12
  SPEAKER_00: Next up, Bent But True says, I'm with Mina on this one.
• 14:16
  SPEAKER_00: Slasher flicks and supernatural horror are fun and they might get a good startle out of me.
• 14:20
  SPEAKER_00: But what really scares the shit out of me is ordinary, everyday people.
• 14:24
  SPEAKER_00: Whether it's cruelty,
• 14:25
  SPEAKER_00: obsession,
• 14:26
  SPEAKER_00: or someone completely losing their grip on reality,
• 14:28
  SPEAKER_00: human beings are capable of some truly horrifying things.
• 14:32
  SPEAKER_00: The scariest monsters don't need masks, claws, or supernatural powers.
• 14:36
  SPEAKER_00: They can look just like the person standing next to you in the grocery store.
• 14:40
  SPEAKER_00: That's the kind of horror that sticks with me,
• 14:41
  SPEAKER_00: because it doesn't stop being possible when the movie ends.
• 14:45
  SPEAKER_00: That actually reminds me, Lord Devereaux, do you shop at the grocery store?
• 14:48
  SPEAKER_01: Well, for me, it's more of the library.
• 14:50
  SPEAKER_00: Oh yeah, that's true.
• 14:52
  SPEAKER_00: Okay.
• 14:53
  SPEAKER_00: Well, great response there from Bent But True.
• 14:55
  SPEAKER_00: Again, kind of expanding on this idea that your neighbor,
• 14:59
  SPEAKER_00: the person you pass by,
• 15:00
  SPEAKER_00: anyone, anywhere, can be something truly horrific and you would never know.
• 15:05
  SPEAKER_00: It's like Bent But True says, the real monsters don't need masks.
• 15:09
  SPEAKER_00: That's a great point there.
• 15:11
  SPEAKER_00: Next up, Anton Anderson says, Tooth pain.
• 15:13
  SPEAKER_00: Put a knife into a character's mouth and I'm sweating from fear.
• 15:17
  SPEAKER_00: Most other things in horror don't scare me at all.
• 15:19
  SPEAKER_00: Monsters, body horror, mutilation, abuse, you name it, I'd read it all before bed.
• 15:24
  SPEAKER_00: But give me teeth and I'm in pain.
• 15:26
  SPEAKER_00: What are your thoughts on teeth and body horror in general, Lord Devereaux?
• 15:31
  SPEAKER_00: Teeth are incredibly sensitive.
• 15:34
  SPEAKER_01: And knowing that someone's teeth are being pulled or damaged
• 15:38
  SPEAKER_01: or tortured can create truly spicy levels of horror flavor that have an impact upon
• 15:46
  SPEAKER_01: the palate.
• 15:48
  SPEAKER_00: That's a good point, yeah.
• 15:49
  SPEAKER_00: No, absolutely.
• 15:50
  SPEAKER_00: It's a very shocking kind of imagery.
• 15:54
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, absolutely.
• 15:54
  SPEAKER_00: Good call out there from Anton.
• 15:57
  SPEAKER_00: Next up, JM Gooding says, Grounded horror wins every time for me.
• 16:02
  SPEAKER_00: I'm actually not a fan of slasher or supernatural slasher
• 16:05
  SPEAKER_00: because I feel like it's just not realistic.
• 16:07
  SPEAKER_00: I guess that's the word I'm fishing for.
• 16:09
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, nothing evil humanity does actually surprises me anymore.
• 16:12
  SPEAKER_00: And I feel like supernatural slashers, Freddy, Michael Myers, Jason, etc.
• 16:17
  SPEAKER_00: are just extensions of humanity.
• 16:19
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, to play off of what J.M.
• 16:19
  SPEAKER_00: Gooding was saying there, I think, um...
• 16:40
  SPEAKER_00: This idea of kind of starting things out with a grounded sort of approach,
• 16:44
  SPEAKER_00: it allows you to get immersed in the world and it gets you invested in it
• 16:48
  SPEAKER_00: and it kind of allows you to put yourself there.
• 16:50
  SPEAKER_00: But then that's what I enjoy too.
• 16:52
  SPEAKER_00: It's when things get shaken up, all of a sudden that normalcy gets flipped on its head.
• 16:56
  SPEAKER_00: I think that's really the key there.
• 16:58
  SPEAKER_00: Do you agree, Lord Devereaux?
• 17:00
  SPEAKER_01: Indeed.
• 17:02
  SPEAKER_01: Normalcy allows the palate to become comfortable,
• 17:05
  SPEAKER_01: and then you introduce new flavors, and this creates exquisite horror.
• 17:12
  SPEAKER_00: Absolutely.
• 17:13
  SPEAKER_00: All right,
• 17:13
  SPEAKER_00: next up, J.
• 17:14
  SPEAKER_00: Allen Winchester says,
• 17:16
  SPEAKER_00: I'm not necessarily afraid of horror,
• 17:18
  SPEAKER_00: but that's mostly due to being desensitized by nightmares as a child.
• 17:21
  SPEAKER_00: There were nights I recall waking up in terror, wondering if the events were real or not.
• 17:26
  SPEAKER_00: My nervous system also reacts to my dream.
• 17:28
  SPEAKER_00: And there have been times I woke up feeling pain or excessive sweat
• 17:31
  SPEAKER_00: in place I had been bled or splattered in blood.
• 17:35
  SPEAKER_00: Then I learned how horror movies are approached in Hollywood back in the early 2000s
• 17:39
  SPEAKER_00: and that just ruined most of the genre in film and TV for me.
• 17:43
  SPEAKER_00: It's not my thing, but I can technically write it.
• 17:46
  SPEAKER_00: When it comes to horror in my entertainment and personal writing,
• 17:48
  SPEAKER_00: I look for monsters, paranormal, and otherworldly energy in my stories.
• 17:52
  SPEAKER_00: Reality already feels crippling most days, so I don't want it in my escapism.
• 17:56
  SPEAKER_00: I've been told that my tastes are strange because mythology and folklore don't frighten me.
• 18:00
  SPEAKER_00: The divine is chaotic and a natural part of the cosmos,
• 18:03
  SPEAKER_00: so why should I sit in fear of it when I could learn to live with it?
• 18:06
  SPEAKER_00: I also don't feel insignificant in the vast expanse of the universe as many do.
• 18:10
  SPEAKER_00: When I look at the stars, I feel connected to them, not dwarfed.
• 18:14
  SPEAKER_00: So when I think of horror outside of monsters and myths,
• 18:17
  SPEAKER_00: I think of the inner shadow of the self.
• 18:19
  SPEAKER_00: I get pretty psychological with it,
• 18:21
  SPEAKER_00: because what hides in the darkest places of the heart is often far too real
• 18:25
  SPEAKER_00: for others to look at.
• 18:26
  SPEAKER_00: The consequence of desiring something
• 18:28
  SPEAKER_00: that does not serve you can destroy everything else,
• 18:31
  SPEAKER_00: leaving you with exactly what you longed for and nothing you need.
• 18:35
  SPEAKER_00: Even something intended for good, given to the undeserving, can end in ruin.
• 18:39
  SPEAKER_00: That's my flavor of horror.
• 18:41
  SPEAKER_00: And the best monsters are just reflections of these things, aren't they?
• 18:45
  SPEAKER_00: Would love to know how the story eater sees my take, J2.
• 18:50
  SPEAKER_00: Well, this is phenomenal.
• 18:51
  SPEAKER_00: As always, Jaden gives us the best, best, best responses here.
• 18:55
  SPEAKER_00: I really like how, again,
• 18:57
  SPEAKER_00: because Jaden has such a unique perspective here,
• 18:59
  SPEAKER_00: given his knowledge and just experience with kind of mythology and folklore.
• 19:03
  SPEAKER_00: And it's one of those things where when you become more familiar with it, it becomes less scary.
• 19:08
  SPEAKER_00: And I like how Jaden framed that here, where,
• 19:10
  SPEAKER_00: you know, some people look up into the stars and feel like they are insignificant.
• 19:14
  SPEAKER_00: And Jaden kind of sees it, sees it differently.
• 19:16
  SPEAKER_00: He feels connected to them, as he said.
• 19:18
  SPEAKER_00: And I really like that.
• 19:20
  SPEAKER_00: That being said,
• 19:21
  SPEAKER_00: I also like how Jaden kind of plays off of sort of,
• 19:24
  SPEAKER_00: you know,
• 19:24
  SPEAKER_00: people are the real monsters here,
• 19:25
  SPEAKER_00: but kind of talking about the shadow of the self, of the inner self.
• 19:30
  SPEAKER_00: Again, just really interesting stuff here.
• 19:34
  SPEAKER_00: And yeah, just a really in-depth response, which I always appreciate.
• 19:39
  SPEAKER_00: Lord Devereaux, what are your thoughts on this?
• 19:42
  SPEAKER_01: Seeing as how I have lived through much of mythology,
• 19:45
  SPEAKER_01: I agree with Jaiden that it's not quite as scary as some would think.
• 19:51
  SPEAKER_01: That being said,
• 19:52
  SPEAKER_01: the idea of diving deep into oneself,
• 19:56
  SPEAKER_01: realizing the horrors lie within, now this is truly a unique form of horror flavor.
• 20:04
  SPEAKER_01: Psychological horror inside the mind,
• 20:08
  SPEAKER_01: looking into the corners that you've Alright, well you heard straight from him.
• 20:13
  SPEAKER_01: Lord Devereaux's a fan.
• 20:16
  SPEAKER_01: Looks like Jaden needs to write more horror.
• 20:26
  SPEAKER_00: But hey, seriously, wanted to shout out Jaden real quick before I move on.
• 20:29
  SPEAKER_00: We've obviously been doing our own series here on Substack called Into the Gateway,
• 20:34
  SPEAKER_00: which is, of course, a divine crossover with his imaginings universe.
• 20:37
  SPEAKER_00: So please, if you get a chance, check out what he's got going on over there.
• 20:41
  SPEAKER_00: This is a fantastic writer.
• 20:42
  SPEAKER_00: And as you can tell by his writing discussion answers each week,
• 20:46
  SPEAKER_00: a very experienced, very knowledgeable, very wise writer.
• 20:49
  SPEAKER_00: So again, please check out Into the Gateway with Jaden and I.
• 20:53
  SPEAKER_00: It is a wonderful series.
• 20:54
  SPEAKER_00: And episode three is coming out very soon.
• 20:56
  SPEAKER_00: Alright, next up, MRR, Jack's Tales of Pictavia says, For me, it's more about what bores me.
• 21:04
  SPEAKER_00: I very rarely write gore.
• 21:06
  SPEAKER_00: I find stories that are trying to find the most gruesome way to kill someone,
• 21:09
  SPEAKER_00: torture someone, or to get as much blood as possible a bit shallow.
• 21:14
  SPEAKER_00: However, put some meaning into horror and use it to talk about real world issues.
• 21:18
  SPEAKER_00: I'm hooked.
• 21:19
  SPEAKER_00: I recently wrote a story about a fairy mound,
• 21:21
  SPEAKER_00: the normal for folklore thing happened, and those guys ended up inside.
• 21:26
  SPEAKER_00: Rather than an evening of dancing and drinking,
• 21:27
  SPEAKER_00: it was a Scotland shop,
• 21:29
  SPEAKER_00: what we call our tourist shops, and they had to work under horrible conditions.
• 21:33
  SPEAKER_00: For me, the dehumanizing demand of the modern workplace is the horror.
• 21:37
  SPEAKER_00: If anyone wants to read some social policy horror,
• 21:40
  SPEAKER_00: I recommend Things We Lost in the Fire by Mariana Enriquez.
• 21:44
  SPEAKER_00: It's top notch.
• 21:46
  SPEAKER_00: Well, awesome.
• 21:46
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you so much for this response here.
• 21:47
  SPEAKER_00: This is great.
• 21:49
  SPEAKER_00: I really like this perspective here about horror that talks about real world issues.
• 21:54
  SPEAKER_00: I'm actually hoping to achieve that a little bit with my novel that I'm working on,
• 21:58
  SPEAKER_00: given its setting and some of its themes about politics and government and And
• 22:04
  SPEAKER_00: the role that we as citizens play and the illusion of control that we have.
• 22:09
  SPEAKER_00: Some of the themes that show up in my cosmic horror novel that I'm working on.
• 22:12
  SPEAKER_00: So I really like, you know, this answer here for that reason.
• 22:16
  SPEAKER_00: I also love that example of the fairy mound and how it twists things into
• 22:20
  SPEAKER_00: the dehumanizing demand of the modern workplace.
• 22:23
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, wow, what a fantastic premise.
• 22:26
  SPEAKER_00: Um, yeah, definitely gonna need to check that one out.
• 22:28
  SPEAKER_00: Really great answer.
• 22:28
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you again.
• 22:30
  SPEAKER_00: Alright,
• 22:30
  SPEAKER_00: so next up, uh,
• 22:31
  SPEAKER_00: Calvin Gerard,
• 22:33
  SPEAKER_00: uh, points to Mina's response at the beginning there, her quote, and says this,
• 22:42
  SPEAKER_00: Also, if and when cosmic slash supernatural otherworldly forces do come
• 22:46
  SPEAKER_00: across most strongly are when the setting and circumstances are already compromised
• 22:51
  SPEAKER_00: in a normal human context.
• 22:53
  SPEAKER_00: Grieving families, broken families, addicted
• 22:59
  SPEAKER_00: Well, fantastic response there from Calvin,
• 23:03
  SPEAKER_00: and this calls back not only to Mina's response, but also J.M.
• 23:06
  SPEAKER_00: Gooding's,
• 23:07
  SPEAKER_00: in the sense that they mention here,
• 23:08
  SPEAKER_00: you know,
• 23:09
  SPEAKER_00: having the human context and how the circumstances are already compromised.
• 23:13
  SPEAKER_00: We're seeing some common threads here that I really like in all these weekly discussions.
• 23:18
  SPEAKER_00: Especially here,
• 23:19
  SPEAKER_00: it's this idea that the pain and the trauma and
• 23:23
  SPEAKER_00: the circumstances create these metaphorical cracks where the evil gets through.
• 23:29
  SPEAKER_00: And I would say that that's something that I definitely try to do with a lot
• 23:32
  SPEAKER_00: of my horror, my synaptic sprawl horror.
• 23:34
  SPEAKER_00: Obviously,
• 23:35
  SPEAKER_00: there's these cosmic forces at play,
• 23:37
  SPEAKER_00: but more often than not,
• 23:39
  SPEAKER_00: they find their way into my stories through people who are broken.
• 23:42
  SPEAKER_00: And so I really like the way Calvin presented that there.
• 23:44
  SPEAKER_00: It's a fantastic answer.
• 23:47
  SPEAKER_00: Next up,
• 23:48
  SPEAKER_00: Jennifer Jorgensen says,
• 23:49
  SPEAKER_00: Serial killers and true crime are just too much like real life.
• 24:02
  SPEAKER_00: They can be really scary,
• 24:03
  SPEAKER_00: but I struggle because it feels too close to what could actually happen and
• 24:07
  SPEAKER_00: that I don't enjoy.
• 24:09
  SPEAKER_00: But because I always have exceptions,
• 24:10
  SPEAKER_00: the exception to this is systemic horror, which I read a lot.
• 24:13
  SPEAKER_00: The horrific processes and systems we create and then blame when they fail have
• 24:18
  SPEAKER_00: so much potential to be terrifying.
• 24:20
  SPEAKER_00: In broad terms, I prefer supernatural and paranormal horror if I can get it.
• 24:23
  SPEAKER_00: I find it the creepiest by far.
• 24:25
  SPEAKER_00: It's got the human factor and the scary unknown,
• 24:27
  SPEAKER_00: but enough logic behind it that I feel I can understand it.
• 24:30
  SPEAKER_00: It's the perfect blend for me.
• 24:33
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, Jennifer brings up some good points here.
• 24:35
  SPEAKER_00: Obviously, I myself, I like writing cosmic horror.
• 24:38
  SPEAKER_00: I love reading cosmic horror,
• 24:40
  SPEAKER_00: but I agree that it can be really frustrating how many questions are remaining by
• 24:44
  SPEAKER_00: the end.
• 24:45
  SPEAKER_00: And I like the mention of the systemic horror here,
• 24:47
  SPEAKER_00: kind of what we got from the answer earlier about the fairy mound.
• 24:52
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, some really good points here and definitely the kind of horror that I also enjoy.
• 24:56
  SPEAKER_00: Again, I'm hoping that my novel will kind of bring up some of that systemic horror.
• 25:00
  SPEAKER_00: Again, I would say it's not an intense focus of the novel,
• 25:05
  SPEAKER_00: but it is a major theme throughout the novel and the trilogy I have planned.
• 25:11
  SPEAKER_00: But I have to agree with Jennifer here at the end as well.
• 25:13
  SPEAKER_00: I prefer supernatural and paranormal horror because, again,
• 25:16
  SPEAKER_00: I think there is a line between fiction and real life when it comes to horror.
• 25:21
  SPEAKER_00: And I think if something feels a little too real
• 25:22
  SPEAKER_00: or too much like something I've been through, it's no longer fun.
• 25:26
  SPEAKER_00: And that's the point where I'm not having a good time anymore.
• 25:29
  SPEAKER_00: And yeah, that's obviously my opinion.
• 25:33
  SPEAKER_00: But it's interesting to see how Jennifer kind of framed it in similar circumstances here.
• 25:38
  SPEAKER_00: So great answer.
• 25:39
  SPEAKER_00: Let's move right along.
• 25:41
  SPEAKER_00: I personally really like the clinical sociopath type horror where the perp is
• 25:44
  SPEAKER_00: so psychologically broken that no one can understand them.
• 25:47
  SPEAKER_00: In my opinion,
• 25:48
  SPEAKER_00: not being able to talk sense into someone or not being able
• 25:51
  SPEAKER_00: to predict their actions is the scariest thing that can happen
• 25:54
  SPEAKER_01: in horror.
• 25:55
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I like this answer a lot here because,
• 25:58
  SPEAKER_00: again, it's the psychological element that's come up a few times.
• 26:02
  SPEAKER_00: And this concept that someone's mind has been traumatized or broken in such a way
• 26:08
  SPEAKER_00: that you can't even wrap your mind around them,
• 26:10
  SPEAKER_00: it starts to get a little bit into cosmic horror there,
• 26:13
  SPEAKER_00: that idea of sanity or lack thereof.
• 26:16
  SPEAKER_00: And so, yeah,
• 26:17
  SPEAKER_00: right here,
• 26:18
  SPEAKER_00: not being able to talk sense into someone or being able to predict their actions,
• 26:21
  SPEAKER_00: that unpredictability, the fear of the unknown, right?
• 26:23
  SPEAKER_00: Aegon brings up some really good points there.
• 26:25
  SPEAKER_00: So it's a great answer.
• 26:27
  SPEAKER_00: Next up,
• 26:27
  SPEAKER_00: Beastly Bing chimes in saying,
• 26:29
  SPEAKER_00: the only movies that scared me have either been documentaries or based on
• 26:33
  SPEAKER_00: a true story.
• 26:33
  SPEAKER_00: And yeah, this comes back to obviously the human-based horror.
• 26:37
  SPEAKER_00: And yes, that can be extremely scary.
• 26:39
  SPEAKER_00: I wholeheartedly agree.
• 26:41
  SPEAKER_00: It's effective for sure.
• 26:43
  SPEAKER_00: Moving on to our next answer,
• 26:45
  SPEAKER_00: The Autumn Star says,
• 26:47
  SPEAKER_00: I find supernatural and paranormal scarier than real people because
• 26:50
  SPEAKER_00: a real person is, under their skin, just another squishy blood bag like me.
• 26:55
  SPEAKER_00: He may have the knife, but at least I have a chance.
• 26:57
  SPEAKER_00: At least I know he can be hurt.
• 26:59
  SPEAKER_00: That may be a delusion born out of being a survivor of assault.
• 27:03
  SPEAKER_00: There is a part of me,
• 27:04
  SPEAKER_00: a cold little iron nail in my heart,
• 27:05
  SPEAKER_00: that whispers, never again, never again, never again.
• 27:10
  SPEAKER_00: I'd die fighting, that much I know.
• 27:12
  SPEAKER_00: However,
• 27:13
  SPEAKER_00: the dead girl on the ceiling,
• 27:14
  SPEAKER_00: the strange,
• 27:15
  SPEAKER_00: sharp-toothed,
• 27:16
  SPEAKER_00: deer-headed skeleton monster in the woods,
• 27:19
  SPEAKER_00: the zombie horde approaching my house, I have no toolkit for these things.
• 27:23
  SPEAKER_00: But I love to read all flavors of horror except body horror,
• 27:26
  SPEAKER_00: I just get squeamish at a certain point.
• 27:28
  SPEAKER_00: Like, Nick Cutter is a genius, but I never ever want to read the troupe again, just nope.
• 27:33
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, great answer here from Autumn Star.
• 27:36
  SPEAKER_00: And again,
• 27:36
  SPEAKER_00: pulling in some of the things that I mentioned myself and why I gravitate towards
• 27:40
  SPEAKER_00: a supernatural and paranormal.
• 27:43
  SPEAKER_00: Because, yeah, I love the point about how when it comes to humans, they can be hurt.
• 27:48
  SPEAKER_00: And obviously it sounds like Autumn Star has been through some traumatic stuff
• 27:51
  SPEAKER_00: in their life as well.
• 27:52
  SPEAKER_00: And that desire,
• 27:55
  SPEAKER_00: that knowledge that they would never allow,
• 27:57
  SPEAKER_00: you know, themselves to kind of go out without a fight, as dark as that may be.
• 28:03
  SPEAKER_00: I understand,
• 28:05
  SPEAKER_00: as someone who's been through some stuff myself,
• 28:06
  SPEAKER_00: I understand that idea that it's like,
• 28:08
  SPEAKER_00: you know,
• 28:09
  SPEAKER_00: you're no longer scared by people because you would do anything and everything
• 28:14
  SPEAKER_00: to never be in that situation again.
• 28:18
  SPEAKER_00: Now, that being said...
• 28:20
  SPEAKER_00: So yeah,
• 28:20
  SPEAKER_00: it's this idea of the fear of the unknown,
• 28:22
  SPEAKER_00: the monster,
• 28:23
  SPEAKER_00: the thing that you can't quite wrap your head around,
• 28:25
  SPEAKER_00: the thing that you don't have a toolkit for, as Autumnstar said.
• 28:29
  SPEAKER_00: I love that phrasing.
• 28:30
  SPEAKER_00: I have no toolkit for these things.
• 28:32
  SPEAKER_00: That, I think, you know, the helplessness of it is effective horror in my mind.
• 28:37
  SPEAKER_00: So a really, really nice answer there, and I appreciate Autumnstar sharing.
• 28:41
  SPEAKER_00: That was really good.
• 28:43
  SPEAKER_00: Finally, E.H.
• 28:44
  SPEAKER_00: Lau says,
• 28:45
  SPEAKER_00: Half jokingly,
• 28:46
  SPEAKER_00: I just want to say I don't agree with your question's wording
• 28:48
  SPEAKER_00: which conflates what type of horror I prefer and what type of horror I find scarier.
• 28:53
  SPEAKER_00: Because I prefer supernatural creature horror the most and that's because I find it
• 28:57
  SPEAKER_00: the Side note to Bradley,
• 28:57
  SPEAKER_00: if you do choose to read this answer,
• 28:59
  SPEAKER_00: I look forward to seeing how you read the emojis.
• 29:26
  SPEAKER_00: Well, let's see.
• 29:27
  SPEAKER_00: Up top there,
• 29:28
  SPEAKER_00: after the what types of horror I find scary,
• 29:30
  SPEAKER_00: we have a laughing emoji, kind of a level one laughing emoji, right?
• 29:33
  SPEAKER_00: It's like there's like three levels, with the third one being the rolling and crying.
• 29:36
  SPEAKER_00: So this is level one.
• 29:39
  SPEAKER_00: The part where he said...
• 29:41
  SPEAKER_00: The real monsters are human and that's way too real.
• 29:43
  SPEAKER_00: We've got the hands on the face screaming emoji.
• 29:45
  SPEAKER_00: Definitely appropriate there.
• 29:48
  SPEAKER_00: And then another level one laugh emoji after the joke
• 29:51
  SPEAKER_00: about cosmic horror causing existential crisis.
• 29:55
  SPEAKER_00: And we've got one more level one emoji right there at the bottom laughing with the side note.
• 29:59
  SPEAKER_00: So...
• 30:00
  SPEAKER_00: Sorry I had to kind of circle back and go through the answer there again,
• 30:04
  SPEAKER_00: Edward, but I hope you enjoyed my descriptions of the emojis.
• 30:07
  SPEAKER_00: And again, thank you everyone for the amazing answers in this week's writing discussion.
• 30:10
  SPEAKER_00: I really enjoyed checking out all of your different perspectives on horror,
• 30:14
  SPEAKER_00: and I really appreciate how you all...
• 30:15
  SPEAKER_00: We'll see you next time.
• 30:41
  SPEAKER_00: All right,
• 30:42
  SPEAKER_00: next up,
• 30:42
  SPEAKER_00: we'll take a look at the shoutouts this week,
• 30:44
  SPEAKER_00: as well as stories from week two of the second Indulgence Horror Challenge.
• 30:49
  SPEAKER_00: But first,
• 30:49
  SPEAKER_00: I'd like to take a quick moment to check in
• 30:51
  SPEAKER_00: and see how Lord Devereaux's party is going.
• 30:54
  SPEAKER_00: Hey, Lord Devereaux, thanks again for helping with the writing discussion.
• 30:58
  SPEAKER_01: Of course, Bradley.
• 31:00
  SPEAKER_01: It was a fantastic way to work up my appetite for the main course.
• 31:05
  SPEAKER_01: Speaking of which, let us visit our guests
• 31:09
  SPEAKER_00: in the banquet hall.
• 31:11
  SPEAKER_00: Oh, great, yeah, I'd love to meet everyone.
• 31:13
  SPEAKER_00: Bradley, there you are.
• 31:15
  SPEAKER_00: Have you listened to all the episodes of Into the Gateway yet?
• 31:18
  SPEAKER_00: Yes, Fintan, I'm waiting on episode three.
• 31:22
  SPEAKER_00: Oh, trust me, it will be worth the wait.
• 31:26
  SPEAKER_00: Aye, Fintan, stop slacking off and go see if table four needs more refills.
• 31:31
  SPEAKER_00: Uh-huh, yes, Mr. Assassin Manager, sir.
• 31:34
  SPEAKER_00: Sorry, Bradley, duty calls.
• 31:37
  SPEAKER_00: I still can't believe Fintan's a waiter.
• 31:40
  SPEAKER_00: Ha-ha.
• 31:41
  SPEAKER_00: We are here to Texas as your orders.
• 31:47
  SPEAKER_00: Oh, wow, you're a waiter too.
• 31:49
  SPEAKER_00: Okay, uh, what's on the menu?
• 31:51
  SPEAKER_00: Fishies!
• 31:54
  SPEAKER_00: And stories, I assume?
• 31:56
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, that's true.
• 31:58
  SPEAKER_00: I guess I'll have the fish then.
• 32:00
  SPEAKER_00: Thanks.
• 32:02
  SPEAKER_00: Hey, look, Bradley's here.
• 32:04
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, hey, Bradley, do one of your signature toasts.
• 32:07
  SPEAKER_01: Oh, no, no, no, I don't need to...
• 32:11
  SPEAKER_01: Oh yes, a wonderful idea.
• 32:14
  SPEAKER_01: Cousin, get everyone's attention.
• 32:17
  SPEAKER_01: Yes, of course.
• 32:19
  SPEAKER_01: No, Lord Debra,
• 32:21
  SPEAKER_01: you don't need to- My human friend here,
• 32:25
  SPEAKER_01: and creator of the Second Indulgence Challenge, would like to say a few words.
• 32:31
  SPEAKER_00: Go on, Bradley.
• 32:32
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, okay then.
• 32:35
  SPEAKER_00: Ahem.
• 32:35
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, hello everyone.
• 32:37
  SPEAKER_00: Thanks for being here and enjoying the entries to the challenge so far.
• 32:41
  SPEAKER_00: I, uh, I'll try to keep this brief, but as I often like to say, I'm a man of far too many words.
• 32:46
  SPEAKER_00: Get it?
• 32:47
  SPEAKER_00: Cause I, uh, am a writer?
• 32:49
  SPEAKER_00: Okay.
• 32:50
  SPEAKER_00: Tough crowd.
• 32:50
  SPEAKER_00: Well, maybe I can share a little bit about the stories you're eating.
• 32:54
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, this is a Substack to Table event.
• 32:56
  SPEAKER_00: You know, like Farm to Table.
• 32:59
  SPEAKER_00: Okay, we're gonna stop with the jokes.
• 33:01
  SPEAKER_00: All these stories come from members of the Substack community,
• 33:04
  SPEAKER_00: and they're created using prompts.
• 33:06
  SPEAKER_00: And yeah, I never thought in a million years that I would be hosting an event like this.
• 33:10
  SPEAKER_00: When I joined Substack,
• 33:11
  SPEAKER_00: I just wanted to try and hold myself accountable to finally finish
• 33:14
  SPEAKER_00: a Flash Fiction February challenge for once.
• 33:17
  SPEAKER_00: And that soon grew into what we have here.
• 33:20
  SPEAKER_00: It's humbling to see all the incredible creativity that surrounds me
• 33:24
  SPEAKER_00: on this platform, and every time it just gets better and better.
• 33:27
  SPEAKER_00: These writers are really the best at what they do.
• 33:30
  SPEAKER_00: And don't even get me started on all the work that J.M.
• 33:32
  SPEAKER_00: Gooding and Leron Haywood do to make sure that the scoring
• 33:35
  SPEAKER_00: and submission systems are running smoothly.
• 33:37
  SPEAKER_00: It's insane.
• 33:39
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I love J.M.
• 33:40
  SPEAKER_00: Gooding's stories.
• 33:42
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, we like Leron's work too.
• 33:45
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, they're both way better than Bradley.
• 33:49
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, thanks, I guess?
• 33:50
  SPEAKER_00: Um, it's true, though.
• 33:52
  SPEAKER_00: If you're enjoying the rich, nuanced flavors of these stories, you have my community to thank.
• 33:57
  SPEAKER_00: So, yeah,
• 33:58
  SPEAKER_00: as we head into the main course here,
• 33:59
  SPEAKER_00: I just wanted to say thank you all for being here,
• 34:01
  SPEAKER_00: thank you to everyone who's submitted to the challenge so far, and, uh, bon appetit!
• 34:07
  SPEAKER_00: Okay, yeah, that wasn't half bad.
• 34:08
  SPEAKER_00: I don't think they were really paying attention,
• 34:10
  SPEAKER_00: they didn't laugh at any of my jokes,
• 34:10
  SPEAKER_00: but yeah, I feel like that was a pretty good toast.
• 34:13
  SPEAKER_01: I have seen better toasts, but given how little time you had to prepare, it was adequate.
• 34:22
  SPEAKER_00: What is it with all the backhanded compliments this week?
• 34:25
  SPEAKER_00: Alright, anyway, I gotta get back to the podcast.
• 34:27
  SPEAKER_00: I'll see y'all later.
• 34:28
  SPEAKER_00: Alright, and we're back.
• 34:30
  SPEAKER_00: This week I gathered links from all of your latest work from my subscriber chat.
• 34:33
  SPEAKER_00: Remember, new threads there every Tuesday for standard podcast shoutouts.
• 34:38
  SPEAKER_00: Now, during challenge season here,
• 34:39
  SPEAKER_00: I'll be doing reduced shoutouts,
• 34:41
  SPEAKER_00: and then after October, I'll go back to the normal five each week.
• 34:44
  SPEAKER_00: Another disclaimer for this week is we lost power earlier in the week here,
• 34:49
  SPEAKER_00: and it really did throw off my entire week.
• 34:51
  SPEAKER_00: I tried not to let it, but it did.
• 34:53
  SPEAKER_00: It really did.
• 34:54
  SPEAKER_00: And that's why the podcast here is currently being recorded just before midnight on Saturday.
• 34:59
  SPEAKER_00: Far, far later than I would normally do it.
• 35:02
  SPEAKER_00: So yeah,
• 35:03
  SPEAKER_00: I wanted to get all the shoutouts in this week,
• 35:05
  SPEAKER_00: but unfortunately it's going to be significantly less.
• 35:07
  SPEAKER_00: I was actually only able to write one shoutout from this week's submissions.
• 35:11
  SPEAKER_00: I do apologize for that, but I hope you enjoy it anyway.
• 35:14
  SPEAKER_00: And as soon as that's done,
• 35:16
  SPEAKER_00: We're going to dive right into all of the mini shoutouts I have here for
• 35:20
  SPEAKER_00: the Week 2 Second Indulgence Leaderboard.
• 35:22
  SPEAKER_00: So that is complete, including the wildcards.
• 35:25
  SPEAKER_00: I just unfortunately was not able to get to the standard shoutouts and the excerpts
• 35:29
  SPEAKER_00: that go with them.
• 35:30
  SPEAKER_00: So all that aside, let's do a shoutout here before we get into the Second Indulgence.
• 35:35
  SPEAKER_00: This week I was able to get to a story by Sarah Tinney called Are We There Yet?
• 35:41
  SPEAKER_00: And Sarah's been featured on the show a few times here.
• 35:44
  SPEAKER_00: Every time she shows up though I'm reminded of how she's one of the best flash
• 35:47
  SPEAKER_00: and microfiction authors I've ever read.
• 35:50
  SPEAKER_00: Give her just a few hundred words.
• 35:51
  SPEAKER_00: She'll tell a story that feels rich and complete.
• 35:54
  SPEAKER_00: And that's the case here.
• 35:55
  SPEAKER_00: This one,
• 35:56
  SPEAKER_00: of course,
• 35:56
  SPEAKER_00: as I said,
• 35:56
  SPEAKER_00: is very short,
• 35:57
  SPEAKER_00: but it captures the classic scene of the kids on
• 36:00
  SPEAKER_00: a road trip asking their parents constantly, are we there yet?
• 36:04
  SPEAKER_00: And since it isn't very long at all, I figured I would give the full thing a read here.
• 36:07
  SPEAKER_00: So here is Are We There Yet?
• 36:10
  SPEAKER_00: By Sarah Tinney.
• 36:12
  SPEAKER_01: Are we there yet?
• 36:14
  SPEAKER_00: Steph glanced briefly in the rearview mirror at the curly-haired toddler in
• 36:17
  SPEAKER_00: the car seat before checking the GPS.
• 36:21
  SPEAKER_00: 220 kilometers.
• 36:23
  SPEAKER_00: Not yet.
• 36:24
  SPEAKER_00: We still have a long way to go.
• 36:25
  SPEAKER_00: He frowned.
• 36:27
  SPEAKER_00: I want to go home.
• 36:28
  SPEAKER_00: I want my toys.
• 36:30
  SPEAKER_00: I know, buddy, but we can't get there any faster.
• 36:33
  SPEAKER_00: I'm bored.
• 36:35
  SPEAKER_00: Do you want a snack?
• 36:36
  SPEAKER_00: No.
• 36:38
  SPEAKER_00: What if you try looking out the window?
• 36:39
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe you'll see some birds.
• 36:41
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, birds!
• 36:43
  SPEAKER_00: Steph sighed in relief as he glanced out the window.
• 36:46
  SPEAKER_01: Mommy?
• 36:47
  SPEAKER_00: Yes, buddy?
• 36:48
  SPEAKER_01: Are we there yet?
• 36:50
  SPEAKER_00: Her shoulders slumped as she glanced at the GPS again.
• 36:53
  SPEAKER_00: Two hundred and fifteen kilometers.
• 36:57
  SPEAKER_00: Amazing stuff.
• 36:58
  SPEAKER_00: Like I said,
• 36:58
  SPEAKER_00: next week I'll be back with a full set of shoutouts here,
• 37:00
  SPEAKER_00: barring any other major shakeups or delays in my schedule.
• 37:04
  SPEAKER_00: I appreciate all of you understanding.
• 37:06
  SPEAKER_00: And like I said,
• 37:07
  SPEAKER_00: I have saved all the links this week,
• 37:09
  SPEAKER_00: as I always do, with the help from Mina Howell.
• 37:12
  SPEAKER_00: So I'll make sure to look back to the submissions from last week
• 37:15
  SPEAKER_00: as I gather shoutouts for next week.
• 37:17
  SPEAKER_00: But yeah, in the meantime, let's dive into the second indulgence, week two, Story Leader Boards.
• 37:25
  [music]
• 37:42
  SPEAKER_00: Alright,
• 37:42
  SPEAKER_00: and it is time to take a look at the top stories from week two of
• 37:46
  SPEAKER_00: the Second Indulgence Horror Writing Challenge.
• 37:49
  SPEAKER_00: I threw a little transition music in there because I always associate dubstep with horror.
• 37:52
  SPEAKER_00: That's why a lot of my Synaptic Sprawl stories have dubstep song pairings for that reason.
• 37:56
  SPEAKER_00: I don't know, just something about it feels cosmic to me.
• 37:59
  SPEAKER_00: Anyway, for those unaware,
• 38:01
  SPEAKER_00: this is an ongoing challenge on Substack this month with daily prompts
• 38:05
  SPEAKER_00: that you can find both in my subscriber chat and in the challenge directory posts
• 38:09
  SPEAKER_00: on my publication.
• 38:10
  SPEAKER_00: New this week is we've also rebalanced our scoring brackets to ensure a fair playing field.
• 38:16
  SPEAKER_00: We had very few authors in the middleweight bracket as things currently stood, so J.M.
• 38:21
  SPEAKER_00: Gooding,
• 38:21
  SPEAKER_00: Lee Ron and I discussed it and we've decided to make the middleweight bracket
• 38:24
  SPEAKER_00: for authors This
• 38:30
  SPEAKER_00: rebalance means there are now roughly the same number
• 38:32
  SPEAKER_00: of authors competing in each bracket.
• 38:34
  SPEAKER_00: So if you were in one bracket and you switched to another this week, that is why.
• 38:38
  SPEAKER_00: We always keep an eye on these things to ensure a fair competition.
• 38:42
  SPEAKER_00: I'll be looking at the top three performing stories in each bracket
• 38:45
  SPEAKER_00: from week two here,
• 38:46
  SPEAKER_00: followed by a few selected from our unranked bracket,
• 38:48
  SPEAKER_00: and then a final three stories,
• 38:50
  SPEAKER_00: picked at random, that haven't been featured on the show yet.
• 38:54
  SPEAKER_00: These, of course, will be our wildcard stories this week.
• 38:57
  SPEAKER_00: And yes, if you're counting, that's 15 stories total.
• 39:00
  SPEAKER_00: Not all full shoutouts,
• 39:01
  SPEAKER_00: of course,
• 39:02
  SPEAKER_00: they're more of the mini-style shoutouts,
• 39:03
  SPEAKER_00: but hopefully this makes up for a little bit of a lesser shoutout segment prior
• 39:06
  SPEAKER_00: to this one.
• 39:07
  SPEAKER_00: Let's dive in and see what we got,
• 39:09
  SPEAKER_00: and remember, you'll find links to all of these in the show notes.
• 39:13
  SPEAKER_00: Starting with our lightweight bracket,
• 39:15
  SPEAKER_00: in third place, with a score of five points, it's The Reaper Sows by Fritz Fallin.
• 39:22
  SPEAKER_00: Fritz is a new author in the challenge here, and I've been really enjoying his work so far.
• 39:26
  SPEAKER_00: His last entry on the leaderboard last Last week was more horror comedy,
• 39:30
  SPEAKER_00: but this one about the prompt which involved being dead for 11 minutes shows us
• 39:35
  SPEAKER_00: a more straightforward and psychological approach to his horror.
• 39:38
  SPEAKER_00: What I love about this one is the intensity and the striking imagery.
• 39:42
  SPEAKER_00: There's an excellent pace to the story that never lets up.
• 39:45
  SPEAKER_00: From the moment you begin you're being pushed through various situations and settings.
• 39:49
  SPEAKER_00: It feels like stumbling through a haunted house in the best way possible.
• 39:53
  SPEAKER_00: And it's not until the end that things become clear.
• 39:55
  SPEAKER_00: It leaves us with an ambiguous ending as well that will have you wondering whether
• 39:59
  SPEAKER_00: or not our protagonist truly escaped.
• 40:02
  SPEAKER_00: Congrats to Fritz for placing on the week two leaderboard.
• 40:06
  SPEAKER_00: In second place on the week two lightweight leaderboard with a score of six points,
• 40:10
  SPEAKER_00: it's Split Soul by Victoria Muesca Birch.
• 40:16
  SPEAKER_00: Something really cool about this entry is that it's a prequel to another story
• 40:19
  SPEAKER_00: that Victoria did for the challenge called Seven Minutes in Heaven.
• 40:23
  SPEAKER_00: It's obviously not required to connect any of your stories in the challenge here,
• 40:27
  SPEAKER_00: unless of course you're doing the bonus prompts,
• 40:29
  SPEAKER_00: but I love it when authors get creative like this.
• 40:31
  SPEAKER_00: This story was for prompt number nine,
• 40:34
  SPEAKER_00: which was about meeting someone who claims to know you, but you've never met them.
• 40:38
  SPEAKER_00: I love the way this one led into Victoria's other story.
• 40:40
  SPEAKER_00: It follows the prompt beautifully and it offers up some excellent backstory
• 40:45
  SPEAKER_00: and setup for the story to follow.
• 40:47
  SPEAKER_00: Being able to read this one and then dive right into the next for
• 40:49
  SPEAKER_00: the prior days prompt was a really cool experience.
• 40:52
  SPEAKER_00: And congrats again to Victoria for placing on the lightweight leaderboard this week.
• 40:56
  SPEAKER_00: In first place on the Week 2 Lightweight Leaderboard with a score of 10 points,
• 41:01
  SPEAKER_00: it's Chapter 1, Graves by Alexander Aviles.
• 41:07
  SPEAKER_00: This was for our ARG prompt in Week 2,
• 41:09
  SPEAKER_00: and I gotta say Alexander has once again leveled up with this story.
• 41:13
  SPEAKER_00: The psychological horror on display here is exceptional.
• 41:17
  SPEAKER_00: You can feel the confusion and disorientation of the protagonist as you try
• 41:21
  SPEAKER_00: to piece together what's really going on alongside them.
• 41:24
  SPEAKER_00: Alexander lays down little details and breadcrumbs but it all comes together
• 41:28
  SPEAKER_00: a phenomenal final reveal that feels like one of
• 41:31
  SPEAKER_00: the chilling messages you would read at the end of a horror film.
• 41:33
  SPEAKER_00: I really like this one.
• 41:35
  SPEAKER_00: It's insanely creative and extremely immersive as always.
• 41:39
  SPEAKER_00: A well-deserved first place story for the week's lightweight bracket.
• 41:43
  SPEAKER_00: Congratulations to Alexander.
• 41:45
  SPEAKER_00: Now for the middleweight bracket in third place with a score of four points.
• 41:51
  SPEAKER_00: It's Forget About It by Felix Thornfell.
• 41:55
  SPEAKER_00: This was for the day nine prompt about someone claiming to know you,
• 41:59
  SPEAKER_00: but you can't remember them.
• 42:00
  SPEAKER_00: And once again, with this one, Felix manages to somehow level up.
• 42:04
  SPEAKER_00: As I've said before,
• 42:05
  SPEAKER_00: Felix likes to experiment with concepts and structure in his work,
• 42:09
  SPEAKER_00: but this is one of the most effective forms of this yet.
• 42:12
  SPEAKER_00: He also includes an author's note at the end about the deeper meaning,
• 42:15
  SPEAKER_00: and I love how that completes the experience.
• 42:17
  SPEAKER_00: In this piece,
• 42:18
  SPEAKER_00: a man in Brooklyn is taking a shelter in a diner during a winter storm,
• 42:22
  SPEAKER_00: and he's approached by what he assumes to be a stranger.
• 42:25
  SPEAKER_00: They get to talking, and he gives the man 10 minutes to convince him that they know each other.
• 42:29
  SPEAKER_00: From here, the story is structured around that timer, which is really brilliant.
• 42:33
  SPEAKER_00: The ending is sharp and cerebral,
• 42:36
  SPEAKER_00: while the takeaway sticks with you long after you're finished.
• 42:39
  SPEAKER_00: It's an exquisite piece of horror in that it points to a real-life fear many
• 42:42
  SPEAKER_00: of us have, which is of course the fear of losing connections we value most.
• 42:47
  SPEAKER_00: Congrats to Felix on this amazing entry and placement in
• 42:49
  SPEAKER_00: the middleweight leaderboard this week.
• 42:51
  SPEAKER_00: In second place on the middleweight leaderboard with a score of 12 points,
• 42:55
  SPEAKER_00: it's The First Course by Hazel Allen.
• 42:58
  SPEAKER_00: This one is for one of our bonus prompts and it hilariously shatters the fourth wall.
• 43:03
  SPEAKER_00: Not only that,
• 43:04
  SPEAKER_00: but Hazel brings in characters from the podcast here like Arnold and Lord Devereaux,
• 43:09
  SPEAKER_00: which is amazing.
• 43:11
  SPEAKER_00: I love that.
• 43:12
  SPEAKER_00: The joke here is that Hazel is doing the second bonus prompt before the first,
• 43:16
  SPEAKER_00: but they argue that it's fine because they have a month to catch up
• 43:18
  SPEAKER_00: and they're right.
• 43:20
  SPEAKER_00: I love the nods to other Substack authors in attendance at the party as well.
• 43:24
  SPEAKER_00: Again,
• 43:25
  SPEAKER_00: this is like my favorite kind of fourth wall break as it all feels very personalized
• 43:28
  SPEAKER_00: and intentional and it adds to the story.
• 43:31
  SPEAKER_00: I even get a cameo at the end, but I won't spoil it here.
• 43:34
  SPEAKER_00: This is hilarious and super fun with all the meta-narrative elements,
• 43:38
  SPEAKER_00: and this will make more sense when you read it, but I am indeed proud of you, Hazel.
• 43:42
  SPEAKER_00: Congrats on placing in the Week 2 leaderboard.
• 43:45
  SPEAKER_00: Alright,
• 43:46
  SPEAKER_00: in first place,
• 43:47
  SPEAKER_00: on the middleweight leaderboard bracket this week with a score of 42 points,
• 43:51
  SPEAKER_00: it's The 11 Minutes by Rebe.
• 43:55
  SPEAKER_00: Now, Rebe was in the heavyweight bracket last week,
• 43:58
  SPEAKER_00: I believe,
• 43:58
  SPEAKER_00: but due to the new shifts in subscriber thresholds,
• 44:01
  SPEAKER_00: she's now in the middleweight bracket with her subscriber count.
• 44:04
  SPEAKER_00: So, Rebecca, if you're listening, you're not crazy.
• 44:05
  SPEAKER_00: There was a switch.
• 44:07
  SPEAKER_00: But as I mentioned earlier,
• 44:08
  SPEAKER_00: the threshold for heavyweight authors is now 400 subscribers
• 44:11
  SPEAKER_00: to better balance everything.
• 44:12
  SPEAKER_00: And all that aside,
• 44:13
  SPEAKER_00: this piece from Rebe is one of her signature poems,
• 44:16
  SPEAKER_00: and for that reason, I'm really not surprised at the score here.
• 44:19
  SPEAKER_00: Her poetry, as I said on the Mary Ellen livestream earlier, is truly exceptional.
• 44:24
  SPEAKER_00: And here we have a perfect example of why I enjoy it so much.
• 44:28
  SPEAKER_00: With this one,
• 44:28
  SPEAKER_00: it's the somber,
• 44:30
  SPEAKER_00: reflective tone,
• 44:31
  SPEAKER_00: the rich, beautiful imagery, the deep, aching emotion that runs throughout it.
• 44:36
  SPEAKER_00: It's a piece that beautifully addresses prompt A while also offering a deep gaze
• 44:41
  SPEAKER_00: into the author's soul in the process.
• 44:43
  SPEAKER_00: There are so many good lines here,
• 44:45
  SPEAKER_00: but I think my favorite is the part that says, They call my return a miracle.
• 44:50
  SPEAKER_00: I call it unfinished business with the infinite.
• 44:53
  SPEAKER_00: God.
• 44:54
  SPEAKER_00: I hope I write a line that good one day.
• 44:56
  SPEAKER_00: I seriously do.
• 44:57
  SPEAKER_00: So good.
• 44:58
  SPEAKER_00: This piece truly deserves to be the top spot in
• 45:00
  SPEAKER_00: the middleweight bracket leaderboard, so congratulations to Rebecca.
• 45:03
  SPEAKER_00: Phenomenal work.
• 45:05
  SPEAKER_00: Alright, and now for the heavyweight bracket.
• 45:07
  SPEAKER_00: In third place with a score of 24 points, it's...
• 45:11
  SPEAKER_00: You Told Me Enough by Bent But True.
• 45:14
  SPEAKER_00: So,
• 45:14
  SPEAKER_00: those who participated in last year's first indulgence will recall that Victor was
• 45:18
  SPEAKER_00: the one to beat.
• 45:19
  SPEAKER_00: He had so many amazing stories and a huge score to go along with them.
• 45:23
  SPEAKER_00: And this piece, even thinking back to those pieces last year, this one is one of his best.
• 45:27
  SPEAKER_00: The success here comes from the way that the author lulls the reader into
• 45:31
  SPEAKER_00: a false sense of security.
• 45:33
  SPEAKER_00: For the first part, things feel calm and even contemplative.
• 45:36
  SPEAKER_00: The questions feel innocent.
• 45:38
  SPEAKER_00: The way he takes the time setting the scene and building out the imagery is also exceptional.
• 45:43
  SPEAKER_00: And for a while there,
• 45:44
  SPEAKER_00: I felt like this other thing in the fog with our character was genuinely trying
• 45:47
  SPEAKER_00: to help.
• 45:48
  SPEAKER_00: But then, a switch flips and the tone shifts immediately.
• 45:53
  SPEAKER_00: It's a really cool moment and it introduces a ton of dread.
• 45:56
  SPEAKER_00: I could feel my stomach drop as I was reading.
• 45:59
  SPEAKER_00: I was so happy,
• 46:00
  SPEAKER_00: honestly,
• 46:00
  SPEAKER_00: to see Bent But True on the leaderboard this week,
• 46:02
  SPEAKER_00: and if you're in the heavyweight bracket as well,
• 46:04
  SPEAKER_00: I'm just gonna tell you right now,
• 46:05
  SPEAKER_00: you better watch out, because this author knows how to write high-scoring stories.
• 46:10
  SPEAKER_00: Congrats to my friend Bent But True for making the leaderboard this week.
• 46:13
  SPEAKER_00: Coming in at second place with a score of 58 points,
• 46:16
  SPEAKER_00: it's A Saucer of Milk by Sara Da Encarnacion.
• 46:20
  SPEAKER_00: This was for prompt number nine,
• 46:22
  SPEAKER_00: in which someone approaches you claiming to remember you,
• 46:24
  SPEAKER_00: but you don't remember them.
• 46:26
  SPEAKER_00: We're off the bat here.
• 46:27
  SPEAKER_00: Sarah shows us that she can craft immersive, rich, and gripping atmosphere nearly immediately.
• 46:33
  SPEAKER_00: Her stories always carry this weight,
• 46:35
  SPEAKER_00: like they've been told time and time again,
• 46:37
  SPEAKER_00: and they've had this sort of vintage to them that allows them to achieve a status
• 46:41
  SPEAKER_00: of legend or folklore.
• 46:42
  SPEAKER_00: It really does read like something that's been passed down through time.
• 46:46
  SPEAKER_00: And that feeling comes from the word choice in the dialogue,
• 46:49
  SPEAKER_00: both of which are stylized to give this story a very lived-in feel,
• 46:52
  SPEAKER_00: like it came from the past.
• 46:55
  SPEAKER_00: And it carries a message for the present as well, if that makes sense.
• 46:58
  SPEAKER_00: It's a style wholly unique to this author,
• 47:00
  SPEAKER_00: and I love seeing her work every time for that reason.
• 47:03
  SPEAKER_00: And of course, I have to call out the horror elements here.
• 47:04
  SPEAKER_00: There's a subtle building dread as you read,
• 47:07
  SPEAKER_00: almost as if the story has a secret that it wants to share,
• 47:10
  SPEAKER_00: but it stops just short of telling you all the details.
• 47:13
  SPEAKER_00: Again, wonderful balance here of style and execution.
• 47:16
  SPEAKER_00: Definitely check this one out and congrats again to Sarah for making number two on
• 47:20
  SPEAKER_00: the heavyweight leaderboard this week.
• 47:22
  SPEAKER_00: All right, in first place on the heavyweight leaderboard with a score of 72 points.
• 47:29
  SPEAKER_00: It's When Scares Go Wrong by Gary L. Taylor.
• 47:34
  SPEAKER_00: This is one of Gary's iconic poems,
• 47:36
  SPEAKER_00: and it's for the prompt asking about a story involving a haunted house where
• 47:39
  SPEAKER_00: the scares are all real and something goes wrong on Halloween night.
• 47:42
  SPEAKER_00: Gary takes a fun but decidedly spooky approach to the piece here.
• 47:46
  SPEAKER_00: The rhyme structure in the poem adds a bit of playfulness,
• 47:50
  SPEAKER_00: but the way the poem unravels the truth...
• 47:52
  SPEAKER_00: Brings plenty of dread as it goes on.
• 47:54
  SPEAKER_00: I also love the comments in this piece.
• 47:56
  SPEAKER_00: One person said they wanted to visit the haunted house until they kept reading.
• 48:01
  SPEAKER_00: And yes, it does take a gruesome turn as per the prompt midway through.
• 48:05
  SPEAKER_00: But yeah, great work here from Gary.
• 48:07
  SPEAKER_00: His poetry is serious on another level.
• 48:09
  SPEAKER_00: It's just, it's no wonder he's topping the leaderboard multiple weeks in a row here.
• 48:13
  SPEAKER_00: He did the same thing back in Halls of Pandemonium and it's well-deserved.
• 48:16
  SPEAKER_00: It's great work.
• 48:18
  SPEAKER_00: So yeah, congrats to Gary once more for topping the leaderboard this week.
• 48:21
  SPEAKER_00: Alright, now let's take a look at some stories from the unranked bracket.
• 48:25
  SPEAKER_00: First up is Night of the Monsters by Gregory Blair.
• 48:29
  SPEAKER_00: And once again with this piece,
• 48:30
  SPEAKER_00: Gregory shows off how much complexity and character he can fit into a single story.
• 48:35
  SPEAKER_00: This one begins with the story of a person who's mistreated and ostracized for
• 48:39
  SPEAKER_00: the way they look.
• 48:40
  SPEAKER_00: As time goes on,
• 48:41
  SPEAKER_00: they gather other quote unquote monsters and give them a place to live
• 48:44
  SPEAKER_00: where they won't be mistreated like he was.
• 48:47
  SPEAKER_00: And eventually this includes things like vampires.
• 48:49
  SPEAKER_00: And of course, that happens in this story here as well.
• 48:52
  SPEAKER_00: And it ends on a somber note with a final question of who are the real monsters?
• 49:05
  SPEAKER_00: And I think during our writing discussion, we got a bit into that.
• 49:07
  SPEAKER_00: So I love that this story fits into that theme.
• 49:10
  SPEAKER_00: Great stuff from Gregory Blair.
• 49:12
  SPEAKER_00: I cannot recommend his work enough.
• 49:13
  SPEAKER_00: Please check out what he's got going on.
• 49:15
  SPEAKER_00: Next up on our unranked shoutouts this week, we've got Old Jack by J.M.
• 49:20
  SPEAKER_00: Gooding.
• 49:21
  SPEAKER_00: And J.M.
• 49:21
  SPEAKER_00: Gooding is, of course, one of the co-hosts in the challenge and the creator of Scriptorum.
• 49:25
  SPEAKER_00: So please give him a subscription.
• 49:27
  SPEAKER_00: Say thank you.
• 49:28
  SPEAKER_00: This would not be happening without his help.
• 49:30
  SPEAKER_00: And this is another story for the Haunted House prompt, but for this one, J.M.
• 49:33
  SPEAKER_00: Gooding went with one of those classic haunted hay rides that I remember from when I was a kid.
• 49:38
  SPEAKER_00: The tour takes a bunch of kids through the forest,
• 49:41
  SPEAKER_00: tells them about zombies, witches, and of course, old Jack.
• 49:45
  SPEAKER_00: It's a fun story, but then at the end, we learn that things didn't go exactly as planned.
• 49:49
  SPEAKER_00: We learn about how things used to be before old Jack fed on fear, like he does now.
• 49:55
  SPEAKER_00: It's a very haunting ending and a really nice subversion that I didn't see coming.
• 49:59
  SPEAKER_00: It's another example of why you should never ever skip a JM Gooding story.
• 50:04
  SPEAKER_00: They're all fantastic.
• 50:05
  SPEAKER_00: Last but not least,
• 50:06
  SPEAKER_00: of course,
• 50:07
  SPEAKER_00: our third unranked story shout out this week is Hiding from the Listening Eel
• 50:12
  SPEAKER_00: by Leron Haywood.
• 50:14
  SPEAKER_00: Liron is of course my other co-host in this month's challenge.
• 50:18
  SPEAKER_00: This one takes us back to the prompt about being dead for 11 minutes that I mentioned earlier.
• 50:21
  SPEAKER_00: With this one,
• 50:22
  SPEAKER_00: Liron shows us what happens when something tangible and terrifying follows you back
• 50:27
  SPEAKER_00: from beyond death.
• 50:28
  SPEAKER_00: And this is most likely how I would have approached the prompt myself,
• 50:30
  SPEAKER_00: so Liron's take here had me grinning from ear to ear the entire time.
• 50:34
  SPEAKER_00: I also really love the epilogue at the end,
• 50:36
  SPEAKER_00: showing how it's clear the procedures will continue,
• 50:38
  SPEAKER_00: which means our listening eel friend is going to be well fed.
• 50:43
  SPEAKER_00: Great work here from my co-host Leron.
• 50:45
  SPEAKER_00: Please be sure to check out all these entries to the challenge.
• 50:47
  SPEAKER_00: You'll find links in the show notes.
• 50:49
  SPEAKER_00: Alright,
• 50:50
  SPEAKER_00: last but not least,
• 50:51
  SPEAKER_00: a final three shoutouts selected at random and I focused on stories
• 50:55
  SPEAKER_00: that have not been featured on the show here yet.
• 50:58
  SPEAKER_00: So, So first up I want to shout out All Alone by Mina Howell.
• 51:02
  SPEAKER_00: I read this one earlier this week and I had to include it in the wild cards.
• 51:05
  SPEAKER_00: It's a beautiful poem that truly reminds me what happens when you arrange words
• 51:09
  SPEAKER_00: in such a way that the visuals of the piece are nearly as vibrant as a painting.
• 51:14
  SPEAKER_00: It's one thing to read a story or poem and be able to visualize it,
• 51:17
  SPEAKER_00: but certain rhythms and combinations of poetry really truly leap off the page
• 51:21
  SPEAKER_00: for me just in the way that they appear as words themselves.
• 51:24
  SPEAKER_00: And that was the case with this piece, of course.
• 51:27
  SPEAKER_00: It was just so damn elegant,
• 51:28
  SPEAKER_00: like the whole thing flows so smooth,
• 51:31
  SPEAKER_00: and it pulls you in right as you start reading.
• 51:33
  SPEAKER_00: In my mind, that's the sign of a truly great poem, and Mina does great work in that regard.
• 51:38
  SPEAKER_00: Second wildcard shoutout this week is The Last Minutes of the Rotted Dragon by E.H. Lau.
• 51:44
  SPEAKER_00: So this one I read earlier this week as well, and it's a Devine tale that Edward did.
• 51:49
  SPEAKER_00: This was for the prompt that came out last week, or one of the prompts that came out last week.
• 51:54
  SPEAKER_00: So not technically week two, but I read it in week two, so I'm counting it here.
• 51:58
  SPEAKER_00: And again,
• 52:00
  SPEAKER_00: it's a Devine tale,
• 52:00
  SPEAKER_00: so we have to talk about it,
• 52:01
  SPEAKER_00: not only for my benefit, but for all the Devine fans out there.
• 52:05
  SPEAKER_00: With this one,
• 52:06
  SPEAKER_00: Edward shows us what it's like to be infected by the rot through the eyes of
• 52:10
  SPEAKER_00: a dragon.
• 52:10
  SPEAKER_00: It's a really cool premise,
• 52:12
  SPEAKER_00: great POV execution there,
• 52:14
  SPEAKER_00: and he did a perfect job of telling a divine story that fits in the lore.
• 52:18
  SPEAKER_00: The intensity,
• 52:19
  SPEAKER_00: the way that it happens,
• 52:20
  SPEAKER_00: the emotions, it all matches how I pictured such a scenario playing out in my head.
• 52:25
  SPEAKER_00: So please, if you're a Devine fan, check the link in the show notes for this one.
• 52:28
  SPEAKER_00: You'll really enjoy it.
• 52:29
  SPEAKER_00: It's not very long,
• 52:30
  SPEAKER_00: and I definitely think I'm going to try to borrow this idea in the future of,
• 52:33
  SPEAKER_00: you know,
• 52:33
  SPEAKER_00: telling a story from the POV of not only a dragon,
• 52:35
  SPEAKER_00: but a being that's being infected by the rot, because that's a fascinating concept.
• 52:40
  SPEAKER_00: Alright,
• 52:40
  SPEAKER_00: last but not least,
• 52:41
  SPEAKER_00: our third wildcard story this week is The Darkest Thunder 69 by Genesis McClure,
• 52:47
  SPEAKER_00: aka Every Root, Every Thorn.
• 52:50
  SPEAKER_00: This was for prompt number four,
• 52:51
  SPEAKER_00: which is about the astronaut who brings back something from space.
• 52:54
  SPEAKER_00: And...
• 52:56
  SPEAKER_00: I had to shout out some of this author's work because they always manage
• 52:58
  SPEAKER_00: to do my prompts while setting their stories in their own connected universe.
• 53:02
  SPEAKER_00: And that requires a ton of dedication and creativity, so I really do love to see it.
• 53:07
  SPEAKER_00: I also love the mixture here of horror, fantasy, and comedy.
• 53:10
  SPEAKER_00: We open with the main character playing Skyrim, which makes the gamer in me super happy.
• 53:14
  SPEAKER_00: And of course their gamer tag is the underscore darkest underscore thunder underscore 69, right?
• 53:21
  SPEAKER_00: Which is where the title comes from.
• 53:22
  SPEAKER_00: The package from the prompt is in the basement with him in this story
• 53:26
  SPEAKER_00: and it's constantly yelling at him to open it.
• 53:29
  SPEAKER_00: Things continue to escalate until the ending when the box finally gets cut open
• 53:32
  SPEAKER_00: but what happens next is something I won't spoil
• 53:35
  SPEAKER_00: because it is very interesting how this all plays out and I'm curious
• 53:39
  SPEAKER_00: to see what comes next here.
• 53:40
  SPEAKER_00: But hey, that is our recap of week two of the second indulgence.
• 53:44
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you again, everybody.
• 53:45
  SPEAKER_00: This challenge has been going so, so well.
• 53:48
  SPEAKER_00: Last I checked, we were just at 150 entries already, only on week two.
• 53:52
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, that's incredible.
• 53:53
  SPEAKER_00: So I really appreciate all of you.
• 53:55
  SPEAKER_00: I'm going to wrap things up here with a look at next week on Substack.
• 53:59
  SPEAKER_00: All right, so for this final segment here, pretty cut and dry.
• 54:02
  SPEAKER_00: Obviously,
• 54:02
  SPEAKER_00: this coming week,
• 54:03
  SPEAKER_00: starting Monday,
• 54:04
  SPEAKER_00: we're going to be jumping back into the challenge with our first main course prompt
• 54:08
  SPEAKER_00: on Monday, of course.
• 54:09
  SPEAKER_00: This coming week,
• 54:10
  SPEAKER_00: I'm going to try to get back to working on the Devine story that I started
• 54:12
  SPEAKER_00: for Mina Howell's birthday.
• 54:15
  SPEAKER_00: She's a huge Devine fan,
• 54:16
  SPEAKER_00: and I came up with a really cool idea that I wanted to write involving the character
• 54:20
  SPEAKER_00: that she plays in Order of the Pawn, which is, of course, Fintan's sister.
• 54:24
  SPEAKER_00: So if you're listening,
• 54:25
  SPEAKER_00: Mina, I'm sorry it's taking so long, but I want to work on that one this week.
• 54:29
  SPEAKER_00: Fingers crossed the universe will give me a break.
• 54:33
  SPEAKER_00: This coming week,
• 54:34
  SPEAKER_00: of course,
• 54:34
  SPEAKER_00: as well, Monday,
• 54:35
  SPEAKER_00: we'll have a new episode of Dream Drafts,
• 54:37
  SPEAKER_00: which is my shorter podcast focused on meditation and mindfulness practices
• 54:42
  SPEAKER_00: for writers.
• 54:44
  SPEAKER_00: If you haven't checked it out, please do.
• 54:45
  SPEAKER_00: It's only 10 to 15 minutes per episode.
• 54:47
  SPEAKER_00: It's a great way to just kind of relax and reset, clear your mind.
• 54:51
  SPEAKER_00: I won't say who it is yet,
• 54:53
  SPEAKER_00: but I do have a guest lined up for that show
• 54:57
  SPEAKER_00: who will be bringing their own guided meditation.
• 55:00
  SPEAKER_00: So look forward to that.
• 55:01
  SPEAKER_00: It's going to be really cool to see how that works.
• 55:02
  SPEAKER_00: I want to kind of,
• 55:03
  SPEAKER_00: you know,
• 55:03
  SPEAKER_00: other writers who are experienced with meditation and mindfulness,
• 55:07
  SPEAKER_00: give them an opportunity to come on the show and,
• 55:08
  SPEAKER_00: you know, have them kind of do something surrounding the show's theme that week.
• 55:13
  SPEAKER_00: So stay tuned.
• 55:14
  SPEAKER_00: Got something cool planned there soon.
• 55:16
  SPEAKER_00: Obviously,
• 55:16
  SPEAKER_00: this coming week with the main courses,
• 55:18
  SPEAKER_00: I really want to do another story for the challenge.
• 55:20
  SPEAKER_00: I don't think I did any for week two,
• 55:22
  SPEAKER_00: which really sucks, but I was just, again, really behind this week.
• 55:26
  SPEAKER_00: And so, yeah, I want to jump back in.
• 55:28
  SPEAKER_00: But regardless,
• 55:28
  SPEAKER_00: I'll be reading stuff as always and looking forward
• 55:31
  SPEAKER_00: to recapping week three's main courses next week on the podcast.
• 55:35
  SPEAKER_00: But hey, we're coming up on an hour here before I edit this audio.
• 55:38
  SPEAKER_00: It's already super late.
• 55:39
  SPEAKER_00: We're coming on midnight here.
• 55:41
  SPEAKER_00: I'm going to wrap it up.
• 55:43
  SPEAKER_00: I hope all of you are having a really good time.
• 55:46
  SPEAKER_00: And again, thank you for being here, showing up for the challenge.
• 55:49
  SPEAKER_00: Your work is incredible.
• 55:50
  SPEAKER_00: I know I say it all the time, but it really is.
• 55:51
  SPEAKER_00: I love it.
• 55:53
  SPEAKER_00: And again, yeah, 150 entries so far.
• 55:55
  SPEAKER_00: That is nothing to sneeze at.
• 55:56
  SPEAKER_00: So thank you.
• 55:58
  SPEAKER_00: Lord Devereaux and company are eating good.
• 56:02
  SPEAKER_00: But yeah, that's all I've got for you this week.
• 56:03
  SPEAKER_00: So everyone stay safe, be creative, work on your stuff.
• 56:08
  SPEAKER_00: Don't beat yourself up if you can't.
• 56:10
  SPEAKER_00: Take breaks when you need it.
• 56:11
  SPEAKER_00: And of course, make sure you're drinking water.
• 56:13
  SPEAKER_00: Stay hydrated.
• 56:13
  SPEAKER_00: Okay.
• 56:14
  SPEAKER_00: All right.
• 56:15
  SPEAKER_00: I'm going to head out here.
• 56:16
  SPEAKER_00: I hope you all have the great rest of your weekend.
• 56:18
  SPEAKER_00: And this is Bradley Ramsey signing off.
• 56:21
  [music]
• 56:44
  SPEAKER_00: Hey, Lord Devereaux, question.
• 56:45
  SPEAKER_00: Are all the guests already here?
• 56:46
  SPEAKER_00: Was that everyone that I saw earlier when I did my toast?
• 56:50
  SPEAKER_01: Oh no, we're waiting on one more, actually.
• 56:54
  SPEAKER_01: Oh really?
• 56:54
  SPEAKER_01: Who is it?
• 56:56
  SPEAKER_01: Some sort of cosmic cuttlefish.
• 57:00
  SPEAKER_01: On the invitation, they are SVP'd as Voidy.
• 57:05
  SPEAKER_00: Oh, wow.