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Everything Is Writing Time: How Creative Play Fuels Your Stories · No Mess, No Magic

• Monica Hay: Hello and welcome to the Nomess No Magic Podcast with Monica Hay, a podcast for writers. Today we have Megan Fuentes joining us. Thank you for joining us, Megan. I'm very excited. Megan Fuentes: I'm excited to be here. Monica Hay: Yes. okay. Megan is an author and story coach who teaches writers how to craft the kind of character arcs that makes books compulsively readable. With over a decade of pulling stories apart and reworking them from the inside out, her one-on-one clients describe her as an as eclectic in a brainstorm with a sixth sense for asking the questions that cracks the whole book wide open. I love that. I love this. today We are gonna talk about experimenting with other mediums for refueling your creative practice. This was one of the topics that Megan sent me in advance and I was like, Yes, this topic because I I low key like partially I'm doing this because I'm like I need to learn what to do in order to do other creative mediums. Megan Fuentes: Mm-hmm. Monica Hay: Because like I I'm very like intimidated by other creative mediums for some reason, which is like really silly, but that's just who I am. and I think it's a Megan Fuentes: Selly. That's like you Monica Hay: really good topic. I think it's exciting. Megan Fuentes: That's not silly. That's not silly at all. You have especially if you've you if you've been if you've been involved in writing. Like I've been writing since I was like way a little kid. to like switch your attention to something else when you've when you've become especially when you've become good at the one thing that you do, being you have Monica Hay: Yes. Megan Fuentes: to like have that beginner anxiety all over all over your work and then being like, what if it's not good? It's not gonna be as good as the thing that I know how to do. Monica Hay: yeah, it's also really funny because so I don't know if you know this, Megan. But my parents are both artists. My dad has passed away, but my mom is still an artist. And growing up, it's people would people would think like I would be really good at like doing artist things like painting and drawing and like sketching. And I'm actually like the opposite. And like, I think it's because, it's because, and like RIP, my dad, love him. He was very Virgo. And like very perfectionisty. And I remember when I was like drawing and I might have been like ten years old. I don't remember how old I was. I was I was a bibit, I was young. And he was like critiquing my art. And like I don't think he meant it, you know, to be like, Megan Fuentes: no, of course he didn't need but like Monica Hay: stop making art. But like he was trying to like help me improve my art. And I'm like, I'm fucking 10 years old. So I started I think going in the direction of wanting to write Megan Fuentes: Mm. Monica Hay: because like I didn't want to compete Like I d you know what mean? It's it's interesting. So Megan Fuentes: Yeah, I can't even get Monica Hay: yeah, I don't I don't know why I ended up being that person. My mom is lovely and like would always encourage me to make art, but like I never wanted I wanted my I guess medium to be different from my parents, I guess. So which is really ironic. Megan Fuentes: This this And now you're like, Maybe I try the other mediums now. The I have Monica Hay: Maybe I try the other medium, yes. Megan Fuentes: a similar but different experience. My whole my mom and my dad both are very math and science minded. Very math and science minded. also my mom dances and my brother, who's who's a younger brother, he he both dances and is math and science minded. So like there he's very much the combo of the two of them. I am the writer and that is the only that is like the thing I have been known by my whole life. like and it has been th I think they were at first confused as to how I got there, even though actually it's very easy to see how I got there. Probably in the same like I bet if I like there's a lot of logic and problem solving to storytelling. Just like there's a lot of creative vision and like neat seeing like the the colors and how things are like sitting there, how things are sitting and how things are, you know, how light is casting shadows over things. Like that's also needed in writing. So I don't think it's any surprise that we are descended from our respective parents. Monica Hay: Yep. Megan Fuentes: Yeah. Monica Hay: Yep. For sure. I think well what I what really excited me about this topic is that I think a lot of people see other creative mediums as a distraction from their writing. And Megan Fuentes: Mm-hmm. Monica Hay: I don't I I imagine that's not the case because every time I see somebody doing different types of art, whether they're like painting or crocheting or whatever it might be. They come out of it feeling really inspired to write more and to do all sorts of other stuff with their with their actual writing. And so I'm very curious. Let me I love that these questions I sent you, like, what happened with what what happened with the bullet points? Like Google, Megan Fuentes: I don't Monica Hay: I don't know what it did. Megan Fuentes: It felt very like when I looked at it, I was like, this feels this feels like my brain. This feels like how this it I was, you know, I was writing about I need to like it it felt very I was like, this will be a good interview when I saw that. I was like, this is gonna be good. This not in a like this is gonna be good kind of way, but I was like, this is I have this is a person who is who will understand my brain. I was like Monica Hay: I will. Yes. It's really if yeah, I'm this is hilarious. So okay. What what other creative mediums do you use in your life? I like let's first start with that. What kind of stuff do you like to do in your whether it's writing or something outside of it? Megan Fuentes: Okay. Well obvious you know, obviously there's the writing. I also I make solo journaling RPGs. yeah, No I will not fix this tab slowing my browser. let's see, I make solo journaling RPGs. I I write this'll sound This will sound how it sounds. But I contact my representative my elected officials and representatives because if I'm one of the things that I do because I you know, who can help it is Doom Scroll. And so the way to like get that out of my system while simultaneously like refueling my ability to think straight and my ability to like you know, continue with life as well as to be go back to being in a happier, more creative headspace, is to write representatives. That what else do I do? I bake, not well. We shouldn't say well. my as a matter of fact, what I made yesterday was banana bread made with pancake mix, like complete pancake mix. That is how I make my banana bread. let's see, what else do I do that's creative? I technically have crochet materials. Monica Hay: Mm-hmm. Megan Fuentes: Have I touched them in quite some time? No. But I have I possess those. and I've been known to like bullet journal in the past. I'm you what I am? I'm a big Canva person. Like one Monica Hay: Mm. Megan Fuentes: of the things and not even just like the usual like graphics that we must all we are all forced to to create for the algorithms and whatnot, but like I make my own book covers for like Monica Hay: Yeah. Megan Fuentes: when I'm in a real weird like a headspace where I feel kind of like creatively constipated, I will go like create a different alternative cover for the book and be like, ooh, okay, now I'm now I can write. just just all that. I've got like quotes on this. Well you can't see it 'cause you're you're you're unfortunate you're looking at me unfortunately. But the I'm looking at the when I'm not looking at your lovely face, I have the the what is this? I have bul bulletin board that has like a bunch of like quotes and things. Monica Hay: Love it. Megan Fuentes: and like th those actual the most of the actual graphics are from Pinterest, but like I've arranged them in a way that makes sense to my brain and that's Monica Hay: Yes. Megan Fuentes: a creative thing. So I do lots of like little little jump starty things. I don't have like a whole secondary a whole secondary thing that would be like the second to writing. Do you see what I'm saying? I have like a lot of a Monica Hay: Mm. Yeah. Megan Fuentes: little little stars that make up the constellation of my creativity. And then the bigger Monica Hay: I love that though. Megan Fuentes: of writing. Monica Hay: I love that. Cause it's some ways it's because in my brain, I'm doing the thing where I'm like, I need to find the thing that will be outside the medium that I do. And I don't. Like I can just mess around, like fuck around and find out with all sorts of different types of stuff, it sounds like. And I think that's I I like what you mentioned before of when you try something new and you're like, you know, this writing thing, I was I've been doing it for a minute, so I kinda know what I'm doing. And then suddenly I do this other thing that isn't writing and I'm like, what am I doing? And I'm very curious how you how you overcame that discomfort when you tried new things that weren't writing. Megan Fuentes: Well, for starters, I don't. I don't have I am still very I am still uncomfortable trying new things. As a matter of fact, I have been trying chess. because my boyfriend loves chess and he and I love him. So he wants to play he wants to play chess with me, even though I'm like, I am not. If you know chess, I don't, but someone someone else surely will. And the ELO rating is like how you rate how good of a player you or how how good you are at the game. and he is like eleven hundred, maybe thirteen hundred Elo. So like above a thousand. I am at like I think I w I was at six hundred and I dropped to like five thirty or something like that because I lost a game or two. I'm playing via Duololingo, of course. So I and I tell you I cried. I cried. So there is no way I have figured out the don't have Have emotions while trying new things. I have not figured that out. However, what I do know about myself is that the finishing muscle is so much more important to me. Like what for the first, like I said, I've been writing since I was a kid. So for the first like decade of my writing career, if we want to count fourth grade, the first decade of my writing career, well, actually, it'd be more than a decade, obviously, since fourth grade. I will not do the math here, but s for the first very long I still think I'm twenty in my head, I guess. Monica Hay: Same. Megan Fuentes: for the first for the first very long time of my career, I never finished anything because I Loved I I loved the new the starting a new story thing, but I couldn't get I would get so excited by the new story idea, I would like leave immediately to go work on it instead of finishing anything. And teaching myself how to finish something was so integral to growing as Monica Hay: Mm. Megan Fuentes: a writer and as an as a creative, as an artist, that like I know that it is more important that I finish something than Monica Hay: Mm. Megan Fuentes: it is to be good at it for me. because if I start to break the habit of like, I'm just not gonna finish it, like it's gonna like that that might sweep into the writing and I need to finish my writing because that is the thing that lights me up so much. Like I need to like Monica Hay: Yeah. Megan Fuentes: I must I must do it. That is an important skill for me. So even though I knew I was losing that chess game and all I had left was the king on the board and the king was chasing all the other pieces around and I was not gonna win because you can't win once you have nothing but the king left on the board. I mean maybe you can, but that's certainly not what 500 Elo was gonna figure out. that you know, I didn't resign. I kept on going and then I cried afterwards, and that was fine. And that was fine. Monica Hay: Yeah. It was fine. So you you cry, but you still finish things. Megan Fuentes: Yeah, the finishing is more important. At least I mean if you're really I was having fun while doing it. But if you're really not having a fun time and you're like this is actively like hurting or draining me, then probably I'd step away. but barring that, and that wasn't the case for chess, I was just getting frustrated. I wasn't like act I wasn't not having fun. unfortunately, I will I will be finishing. Stay 11. Monica Hay: Yeah. Yeah. When did you learn how to finish things throughout your creative process? Like how did when did you realize that this was an issue that you weren't finishing, that you needed to change it? Megan Fuentes: I knew immediately because all of my family I in addition to being the writer, I was not I was not smart enough to not tell people. So I told like if I also there was no hiding it. There was no hiding it because as a kid I was not I was not socially adept enough to be like, that's something that we don't do in front of people. No, no, no. But I I I took and anyone who grew up with me will tell you this. I was constantly, like, with a notebook in my hand, with paper in my hand, with a pen in my hand, like constantly. We had I had a s I a like I don't want to say symbol, what's the word for it? A gesture that like if I I'm going to describe it for audio listeners, you're welcome. you're welcome because it's gonna be bad. If you take your hand and you like scribble something midair, like that is, I would start to do that when I had an idea because I I couldn't Monica Hay: Mm. Megan Fuentes: I could not speak because I would lose it. I had to write it down or I wouldn't lose it. So that is how like obvious it was to everyone around me that I was writing. Surely there was a reason I was starting with that. Why did I start talking about why it was so obvious to what was your initial Monica Hay: So everybody knew that you were a writer. You said that you told everybody and that you realized you had to start finishing things. Megan Fuentes: Yes, okay, yes. So I would present stories to everyone and I'd be like, read this 'cause I w or people Leon know, they knew I wasn't shy about it. So my older cousins or or my aunts or my uncles would like, what are you working on? And I'd like, Yeah, read it. I wasn't I wasn't smart enough to be shy. So I I was reading my they would read my things and they'd be like, really cool. I'd love to s read the end of this and then they'd hand it back to me. And you know what? They never did. They never did read the end of anything ever as long as I lived. And they'd ask me about stories at the next gathering, like how what happened to that story? I was like, I stopped working on that the day you asked about it. What are you or the day you Monica Hay: Yeah. Megan Fuentes: read it? What are you talking about? So I always knew. And the thing that changed it for me was I saw in college or maybe senior year of high schenior year high school, I think it was. I saw a call for submissions that ended the next night. So like thirty six hours from there. and it was like Monica Hay: Huh? Megan Fuentes: seven hundred to like seven thousand words, I think was like the the the range Monica Hay: Yeah, the range. Megan Fuentes: words you could of words you could write. 701 words was how long that short story was and it got in to that anthology. Monica Hay: Yeah. Megan Fuentes: yes, it was my first, I think it was my first time ever submitting for an anthology that's like, you know, that adults were doing and not like it was, you know, the kids doing it. It was like an adult doing it. And that was addictive. I was like, ooh, if I finish things, and then I got to hold it in my hands for the first time at the same the same night that my boyfriend also like had his first major his first time leading in a role in theater. So like that synergy, I was crying so bad. So, you know, the the the stars conspired to to make that happen, I think. Also I worked hard, darn it, Monica Hay: I love that. Megan Fuentes: f for those thirty six hours to get that story. Monica Hay: I love that. I love your mug so much. my god. I'm obsessed with this. Megan Fuentes: Thank you. you haven't seen the other side. who knows if you'll be able to see it, but it says it's a cauldron. Monica Hay: MAGIC potion! Megan Fuentes: It's a cauldron and it says magic potion on it. Monica Hay: I'm fucking obsessed with this. Megan Fuentes: Thank you all. Monica Hay: I love this so much. I think, yeah, I think finishing things is its own like actual skill that a lot of us have to find our way to because as an ADHDer myself, you know, it's like it's you know what's actually really ironic is I used to not like to finish things and now a fin the end of a story is actually my favorite part. My least favorite Megan Fuentes: Yeah. Monica Hay: part is middle, which I feel like that's you know can be Megan Fuentes: That's everything. Monica Hay: kind of common because the messy middle. But Megan Fuentes: Yeah. Monica Hay: I really like ending stories because I'm like, yes, I get the closure. And I recently wrote my a short story that I'm actually getting published in just a few weeks by Annthology. I'm very excited. And Megan Fuentes: Congrats. Monica Hay: it felt like one of the reasons I was so excited about thinking about other creative mediums. And yes, it's still writing, but it's not my book. Megan Fuentes: Mm-hmm. Monica Hay: Right. Like it's not the book I'm working on. It's like a short story. And the stakes were so much lower. I was just like, Megan Fuentes: Mm. Monica Hay: Yeah, I'm just writing a little short story and it's just for fun. And like it only took a month. Like I was just like, Yeah, I'm gonna I'm just gonna write this when I can. And it like took a month and then, you know, when I had to revise it, it took like three hours because it was a short story. And this was I was just like, This is amazing. Megan Fuentes: The brain. Monica Hay: Parents are like writing a book. Megan Fuentes: yeah. The zoomies of like I can finish and it's done and it's so quick and I get the satisfaction so quick. It's so good. I am not diagnosed as a DHD, but boy howdy, I'm pretty sure I'm presenting pretty pretty loudly as a DHD. Boy howdy. I grew up in the in The panhandle, essentially, I think. Ta if you would call t I think Tallahassee is you call the panhandle. There people get people get tricky about where things are, but I grew up in Florida, so I c Monica Hay: Yes. I always laugh because people I I grew up in California and people are like, Megan Fuentes: What? Monica Hay: so you grew up in like liberal town. I'm like, No. I grew up in the middle of nowhere in California, which is very red. And everybody I knew, you know, was like well, not everybody I knew. A lot of people from my high school, let's just say, Megan Fuentes: Mm-hmm. Monica Hay: thought that Obama was like secretly some weird like I don't even know exactly what was going on. It was like he's part of some like, you know, conspiracy theories and stuff, like cause his middle name was Hussein. So of course, anyway. Megan Fuentes: No more. Monica Hay: The horror okay. I am very curious because you you mention like what your kind of niche is in with with storytelling and like crafting characters. And so what have other creative mediums helped you with when it comes to your reg your storytelling and your writing? How how has it shaped your storytelling as a writer? Megan Fuentes: Every hobby I pick up or everything that I try, I'm like, what characters are doing this in my brain? Who's doing who's doing this? What's going on? also Monica Hay: That is such a good hack. What? What? I can just Megan Fuentes: Surprise. Monica Hay: give my characters my h my hobbies. Megan Fuentes: Surprise. Yes, that is good. Monica Hay: my god, how did that not? my god. Megan Fuentes: I'm so happy I'm here to witness this. Yes. Monica Hay: I could like if I were to crochet I could just have one of my characters crochet and like this sounds so simple. Megan Fuentes: Yes, and you can feel you can feel the the like the the specific like tendons or the muscles and things that are like holding the knitting needles, you would know which parts of the hand are sore, so you would be able to describe that like, no, that's that's a very big hack. Just that's that's my I I love doing that personally. Monica Hay: my god. Megan Fuentes: but even beyond like the simple things of like being able to describe that well. It's like, okay, well who who is the type of person who does this? Like someone who Monica Hay: Mm-hmm. Megan Fuentes: my mind wants to put baking. Someone who bakes, you know, what is what is what what type of person b makes instead of writing being their whole personality like mine is, what per type of person makes baking their personality or Monica Hay: Mm. Megan Fuentes: what makes it special to someone. Is it, you know, do they have a grandparent that made them that, you know, they Monica Hay: Yeah. Megan Fuentes: eat cookies with every Sunday? Did they were they do they come from food insecurity? And that is, you know, a way Monica Hay: And Megan Fuentes: to like, you know, do they have, you know, these aren't necessarily things I'm saying that I am capable of writing. These are just the things that are coming to my head. You know, do they have Monica Hay: Yeah, yeah, I love this. Megan Fuentes: an eating disorder and disordered eating in the past? And are they, you know, have they worked through that and this is how they like or are they not working through it? just all the different Monica Hay: Yeah. Megan Fuentes: different ways people come to the same task and then you can Monica Hay: Yeah. Megan Fuentes: also use that to like color color the task itself. Like someone who has one kind of past like eating cookies with their grandma on Sunday is gonna have a very different approach to that than someone like me who is going to use pancake mix to get banana bread because her bananas are about to go bad and she needs to eat these bananas because food is expensive. Monica Hay: Love this so much. That is the most neuro spicy response that I'm obsessed with. That's like I that's exactly what I needed to hear. It's exactly. Megan Fuentes: Yeah. Monica Hay: It's like so it's it's so funny because I often when I'm when I'm writing characters, I'll I'll be like, Well, what do I how do I make this person relatable to me? And I'm like, like my last the short story I wrote recently that you can buy and order pre order right now. it's of a business owner and she loses her grandmother, her grandmother grandmother passes away and she inherits her apothecary. And the mo the amount of like female business owner rage that went into the short story. She was just like so healing. And now I'm like, okay, I can't just write all about business owners all the time with rage. I mean, I guess I could, actually. That could be a niche. Megan Fuentes: You can. Monica Hay: I could. But at the same time I want to write other types of stories. But like n this is so funny that now I'm like, my god, I could just go do things and give my characters those exact hobbies. Like I could go my god. Why is this Megan Fuentes: Yeah. Monica Hay: why is this so revolutionary in my brain? Megan Fuentes: You know, the it's funny the things that we don't think that we d that that How do I phrase this? It's funny the things that we don't think of. You know, it's actually an another side hack to that that I will also share with you is to steal, steal your friends and partners stuff too. I have in my book that just came out like May 18th, it's called Defy the Stars. It's by Daphne Pond, which is me. Don't get confused. That one's me also. That it's I like it. I like it very much. I won't talk about it a lot because I'll just babble. But the in that story, the the main character, one of the main characters is a singer. Monica Hay: Mm. Megan Fuentes: And I am not as as stated previously, I'm not a musical person, unfortunately. I don't that's that does not fall into my I am musically stupid. I loved backstory to that, I I love Gar Gardner's theory of multiple intelligences. Monica Hay: Same. Megan Fuentes: there's like different types of intelligence, as you know. musically intelligent. No, I am musically stupid. That's how that that's how it came about. Monica Hay: Yeah. Megan Fuentes: but my boyfriend, incredibly musically intelligent. he He's like a little dan he dances too. He's in he was into musical theater. He can play instruments like nobody's business. and like knows music, like took AP music theory, et cetera, et cetera. so like whenever I was like, dang, I I'm about to write a scene where something or other mentions music. Boyfriend, Mr. Logan, Monica Hay: You ask him. Megan Fuentes: what do we what help? What do I do? And I also use those Monica Hay: Yep. Megan Fuentes: to like different like I think at one point I I say like something or other crescendoed. Like I would put music words into the story Monica Hay: Yeah. Megan Fuentes: as like, you know, you can use it to like color things because that's how that person would think. Like it's it feels so good Monica Hay: I love it. Megan Fuentes: when you do it too. You're like, I'm so clever. I love this for me. Monica Hay: I love this so much. Yeah, I actually I think I have used my with my one of my older books that I wrote that I have not published, lol. I won't go into that story. Megan Fuentes: Yeah. Monica Hay: the grandmother. I have a lot of dead grandmothers in my book. the gr the grandmother was a painter and I would be like, Mom, how do I how would I describe this? And she's very ADHD like me, but she's not diagnosed, because they didn't diagnose. Fucking women back in the 60s. But Megan Fuentes: Perfect. Monica Hay: she would try to describe it and be like, Monica, I'm not good with words. Like I don't like I can explain it and how it feels, you know, but I can't hustle describe it. but yeah, I I feel like that's that's the research that you do with your f your family and friends. You're like, tell me how you experience this so I can put it in a book. And you just steal this. Yes, Megan Fuentes: I need to see all this. Monica Hay: I love this so much. I love how like I I love you. Okay. Megan Fuentes: I love you too. Mm-hmm. Monica Hay: I I have to ask you, what would you tell someone who's think who's listening and thinking like, But I don't wanna do something that will take away from my little writing time that I have? Like what would you tell them about other mediums? Megan Fuentes: Hmm, I'd say first let's assess how your current writing time is going. Because if you if you are like if you s when you sit down at your desk, if you are able to sail through your s I'm gonna everyone everyone's writing is different, so your standard number of words, like a number of words that you're like, this is a medium writing day. This is good. If you're able to sit down and do that all the time, hey, d far be it from me. And those feel natural to you, that feels easy. Just don't what who don't That's fine. You you might be Monica Hay: Yeah. Megan Fuentes: you feel fulfilled. You're you're doing great. You don't need to refuel. Or at least you're not at that point yet. But the when the time comes and it will come for us all. Monica Hay: When the time comes. Megan Fuentes: It will come for us all. You will sit down at that table and that y the whole hour passes and you're like, not one word went down on this paper that I could or Monica Hay: Yeah. Megan Fuentes: screen that I can keep. then then, you know, sh if if you had spent You know, you have a choice for your next hour. Are you going to spend the next hour trying trying to squeeze more milk from that rock? Or are you or cheese from the rock? What's the myth? I won't w what would insert Monica Hay: I don't remember. Megan Fuentes: later. Insquee juice from that rock, whatever the blood from the stone, blood from the whatever whatever the phrase is. You know, are you gonna keep squeezing the rock or are you gonna be like, hmm? Instead I could throw this rock at something and that would do something different. And I, you know, you can use Monica Hay: Yeah. Megan Fuentes: words of that to construct a project later. Monica Hay: Yeah. I funny enough, Amsterdam has a rage room and I might actually go to the rage room. I'm so excited. Like you could just Megan Fuentes: I'd love to I'd love Monica Hay: just break shit. I'm s I'm like stoked. I Megan Fuentes: So good. Monica Hay: love this. See, this that's the thing is I think people when I hear the like, it's gonna be a distraction. Like I'm a couple of months ago I was talking with my membership and I was like, I wrote a short story and it's getting into anthology and I'm so excited about short stories right now and blah blah blah. And like half of the people in that room We're like, I hate short stories, slash I don't read them, I don't know how to write them. They're a distraction. And I like I like convinced them. And I I Megan Fuentes: Mm-hmm. Monica Hay: think this is common because people they're worried that they have limited time, right? They have Megan Fuentes: Mm. Monica Hay: like maybe they're working full time, they have kids, whatever there might be, and they think like, my my time needs to be spent on like the actual work in progress. I don't want to cheat on my work in progress. I mean, I have mistress work in progresses, you know, like your mistress to your mistress. Like if you're wondering what the hell that means, it's like unlimited. projects that you shuffle between. But I I convinced them how incredible short stories are because I have been convinced by another author. And this was actually back during the summit that I hosted that I think you were in you were in that summit, right? Yeah. It was dur in Write Your Own Way. And Megan Fuentes: Okay. Monica Hay: I'd had a topic on short stories. And I remember being so curious when I went to that interview of like, I wonder what she's gonna say about short stories. And by the end of the interview I was like, my God, I have to write short stories. Like I was so ready and now I think I love that you're basically saying that when you're blocked with your writing, like is it gonna be more successful or more productive for you to sit there and like stew in your blockness? Or could you do something else that's creative in a different way? Right? That's kind Megan Fuentes: Yeah. Monica Hay: of what you're saying. And I think it's really powerful for a lot of us to hear this because a lot of us think like I must be productive and get all the words down and like get the outcome and get the result. Which yes, those things matter. But do they Megan Fuentes: Mm. Monica Hay: matter like does it have to happen this writing session that you can't like go read a book that will refill you or go see a play or go like, you know, make a painting or like do a sketch, right? Megan Fuentes: Especially when any of those things could end up in in your next book. I and also not Monica Hay: Yes. Megan Fuentes: only that, but while doing those things, I don't know about you, but anytime I am doing something that is not writing, my mind will whoop drift to writing anyway. Monica Hay: Yeah. Megan Fuentes: Like I'm, you know, you figure everything out while you're doing the dishes and taking the dishes out. Monica Hay: Yep. Megan Fuentes: Not actually doing the dishes. I use the dishwasher because I have ADHD. But the I am I must use the dishwasher. I will not be washing things by hand. you know, while I'm putting things in and out, like that is where your brain drifts to. Monica Hay: Yeah. Megan Fuentes: that also is writing time. So rarely Monica Hay: Yeah. Megan Fuentes: not rarely you're if if you if you s leaves, you know, take away some typing time in order to do something else to refuel, probably during that refueling your brain will start working on all the the Monica Hay: Yep. Megan Fuentes: gobbledygook that's in your head and start to straighten things out. And by the time you sit down at the next time you're like, I got it. Monica Hay: Yep, I love that so much. I think it's so true. What okay, what will you tell someone aka me, who Megan Fuentes: Mm-hmm. Monica Hay: is intimidated by other art forms a little bit. What would you say to them? Slash Megan Fuentes: Intimidated by other Monica Hay: intimidated, slash like it's hard for me to do things I'm bad at. Megan Fuentes: I you know, I feel that. Monica Hay: you like I'm like god 'cause there's there's these art classes in Amsterdam and I'm always like, I wanna sign up, but then I'm I'm like know that I'm gonna get there and I'm not gonna know what the fuck I'm doing and I'm gonna Megan Fuentes: Mm-hmm. Monica Hay: be like, wow, I suck at this and then I'll have to be like, that's okay. Like I don't have to be good at it. But how what would you what would you say to to me slash other people who feel this way? They're like, my God, I'm gonna be so bad at this, whatever it might be. Megan Fuentes: I'd say yeah, you're gonna be bad at it. That is correct. S Monica Hay: Yeah. Megan Fuentes: take take the first of all Let's let's acknowledge, yeah, probably. Now let's let's let's Monica Hay: Yeah. Megan Fuentes: let's sink in. Cause the the fear is that like you maybe will be bad at it. No, just agree that you're gonna be bad at it for starters, okay? Monica Hay: Yes. Megan Fuentes: In fact, make it intentionally bad if you want to. So the first one kind of feels like a throwaway, like a practice session. Do so Monica Hay: Yes. Megan Fuentes: if if that's how you need to approach it. Also, ask literally anyone who looks like they're good at it, and they will start rattling off reasons why they are not good actually. And who this next person next that's standing next to them actually is way better. And then that person will tell you, what are they talking about? I suck. this other person to my left is who's really good at it because they can do this, this, that, and the other. They all think they stop. And also on top of this, I would say, every single person ever, because it's like especially, is your is is hypothetical person concerned more about like the the comparisonitis? Or is it more about like just wanting, like not wanting to hurt your own heart by being bad by breaking and being bad at something. Like which would Monica Hay: Hm. I think just looking stupid feels weird. Yeah. Megan Fuentes: Looking stupid Looking stupid even to yourself or to others. Like every single person in that room has like I'm gonna say something semi gross. Every single person in that room has like vomited and like f had a terrible migra like not necessarily a migraine, but like a terrible headache, has had like their worst day, has painted has screwed up a painting so bad or whatever medium it is that they wanted to, especially the longer that they've been doing it, the more they have screwed up. That is how they got good in the first place, was you screw up and then learn. So if you wanna Monica Hay: Yeah. Yeah. Megan Fuentes: be you wanna have a prayer of being good at something, you must screw up. That is your That is like just put it on, you know, iBullet journal. So like the little box or dot you have on your to-do list, step one, be make a bad painting or what have you today. That is make it your mission to be bad. And then you'll have succeeded. Monica Hay: I love it. I love it. It's funny because I think my my parents are such lovely people. and I they don't and my dad I don't think ever, you know, set out to like make me feel the way that I feel about making art. Like he didn't set out to like, I'm gonna make her be a perfectionist. I don't know why I'm making him sound southern. He was not southern. But like he he didn't set out to do that. He wanted to probably just give me feedback so I could get better, because I think that's just how his brain worked himself. Like he always wanted feedback to get better. But for me, it was like I didn't want to be in competition with my parents. Right. I was like, I want to do the thing that is only mine and that they can't criticize, basically. And I didn't do it really consciously. I think I just ended up being a writer because I loved reading and and writing and stuff like that. But even nowadays, I think you know, going into an art class and things like that, there is this like little voice in my head that says, like, Well, you're the daughter of artists. Like, why are you bad at this? Like there's that strange voice and I'm like, Because I didn't fucking do it. Like I haven't I haven't done it in a in a long time. And that's Megan Fuentes: Mm-hmm. Monica Hay: fine because that's not the medium I chose to do for like all day every day. Right. Megan Fuentes: Yeah. Have you asked anyone, like I you know, you said there are art classes in Amsterdam, so maybe you haven't taken them yet, but have you asked anyone, like the person next to you, like what do you think I'm how how does this look to you? Monica Hay: No, I don't plan to do that at all. Megan Fuentes: I I reckon I reckon if you did that you'd be they'd be like, wow, that's really good. Like I I because our own learns Huh Monica Hay: You don't know Dutch people. Megan, Dutch people are are a different type of person. If I were to ask a Dutch Megan Fuentes: I I'm sorry. Monica Hay: person, they'd be like, That's not very good. They're very honest. Megan Fuentes: I'm unfamiliar with the niche. Good for them. I love I love honesty, TBH. I'm very I'm I too much I love honesty, perhaps some may say. the you know, the good. I th that that might also be something. Sometimes hearing I don't know about you, but I know that sometimes when people say, this isn't that good, I'm like, you wanna bet? You wanna bet it's not that good? I'm going to make you cry with Monica Hay: Yeah. Megan Fuentes: how much you're going to think it's good now. I like that will activate the competition in me. and God help those who activate the competition in me. So I don't I don't know, maybe that could still maybe that could still be heal. I mean it might also be a terrible idea. So d take take. Monica Hay: No, it's fine. I think, yeah, you should you should look up like Dutch comedy and you'll see what I mean. Dutch people. I love you guys. You just are very honest and you don't sugarcoat things a ton. which is very different from how I grew up. But I actually really appreciate how honest they are because like you always know where you're gonna stand with them. Like you don't have to like be concerned and be like, What do they actually think of me? Which is fucking amazing. Okay, I am curious. Megan Fuentes: Mm-hmm. Monica Hay: How do you know when a creative practice is feeling energizing for you versus feeling like an obligation? Megan Fuentes: How do I Monica Hay: Whether it's like, you know, you're talking 'cause you mentioned you really love Canva, you mentioned I think lit R R PGs, right? That's what you mentioned. Megan Fuentes: Yeah, solo I I create solo journaling RPGs. Monica Hay: Yes. And how have you found a way to make it feel exciting rather than something that's like, this is another thing I have to do on my to do list? Megan Fuentes: If I'm standing still or if I'm like, well, not yeah, it has to be standing. I can't be sitting. If I'm sitting the day is gone. If I'm standing still, and I feel like a draw to like if I feel like I should go do this, that that is how I know that it's still it's still something that fuels me. Monica Hay: Mm. Megan Fuentes: Even even like I I experience a lot of I don't want to say writer's block, but I experience a lot of low word count days. But I don't I don't necessarily think that that means the writing is draining me. I think that just means that usually means something else is draining me and I gotta go deal with that. because writing itself does not drain me at all. I'm just easily drained by other bullshit. Monica Hay: Relatable. Megan Fuentes: but how do I know? How do I know that something something is becoming an obligation? I can't even say actively avoiding it because I'll I'll avoid things I want to do. Love Monica Hay: Fair. Megan Fuentes: that for me. This is a tough question because I like the like I said, I I I will avoid things. The easy qu the easy answer is like I'll avoid it, but like I'll avoid things I want to do too. Monica Hay: Yeah. Megan Fuentes: wanting when when it's going well, like those moments where it's going well, still not wanting to be there is a good sign that you're That you're not having fun anymore and that you need to go away. There Monica Hay: Yeah, yeah. Megan Fuentes: are stories where I'm like, this I I have like written things where I'm like, this is I can I can acknowledge that what I'm writing is not the worst thing in the world. That's very high praise. I can acknowledge that it's it's fine, but I s this does not this does not light me up in that very specific way even if it's like a dim spark, you can find that and keep going. But like if I'm not feeling that at all, if I'm not feeling that tether to it, like it's not gonna and I think that's Monica Hay: Yeah. Megan Fuentes: also an individual thing too. Like you need to have that tether. If it's just becoming a box to tick every day. Monica Hay: Right. Megan Fuentes: I've never used to tick before. A box to check is how I say it. If you if you've never if you if it's just becoming a box to check and you're not feeling that sense of like vi you're not vibrating when you're thinking about it, that's that's to Monica Hay: Mm. Yeah. It's funny because I think for me there are definitely days I think I think it for me it depends on my goals. Like the goal of of doing other other mediums of like maybe going to a painting class or something is just to play and to to try other things. But if the goal when I you know, when I when I set out to write the short story that I wrote that's getting published. The goal was like, okay, my, you know, I really need to actually write this on a deadline. And there were yes, it wasn't my novel. So I f I saw it as a different creative medium than I wasn't I was used to, right? But the goal was like, okay, I have to have this many words done by this date. And there were definitely days where I was like, like, I don't wanna. This is annoying. And then I just was like, okay, you're gonna keep doing this because you have a result that you wanna get, because you wanna get published in this anthology. And I would often find that showing up, reminding myself of like this will sound like so silly, but like being like, Okay, Monica, you will get a dopamine hit at the end of this, and it's gonna be amazing. You're gonna feel so good. Like reminding myself of like that future me. future self visualization, I guess, was actually really helpful for some reason. I guess it's so easy for us to get like sucked in by what we call like cheap dopamine, right? Like when you're thinking about Megan Fuentes: Mm-hmm. Monica Hay: like scrolling or something like that. But I was like, Okay, Monica, you're gonna have some really not cheap dopamine in a few weeks and it's gonna be amazing. Megan Fuentes: Hard one dopamine. Monica Hay: Hard one dopamine. Yes. And it's yeah, it just feels good. You know, it just feels good to like to try other things that aren't what you're normally doing. But at the same time, I it was I mean, to be fair, obviously I'd s I've been writing for a long time. But I hadn't I haven't written written that many short stories. Like I've probably only written a few. And I definitely had to be like, how do I how do I do Megan Fuentes: I don't know what's going Monica Hay: How does this work? 'Cause it's very different. It's a very different Megan Fuentes: Mm-hmm. Monica Hay: process from writing a novel. I was like, this is not gonna be an epic, like long story. There's not gonna be this like long like there were certain scenes Megan Fuentes: Right number. Monica Hay: that I wanted to write that I was like, I can't write this because it's not a novel. Like it's it's a short story, you know? Yeah. Megan Fuentes: Yeah. Get in, get out. Monica Hay: Yep. Megan Fuentes: Yeah. Monica Hay: I feel like I just went on a tangent, but whatever. Megan Fuentes: I mean relevant, relevant tangent, relevant tangents. That's great. Monica Hay: Relevant tangent. let's see. Have you ever used another creative medium to reconnect with a project that you are currently stuck on? Megan Fuentes: Yes. my word. This is a very interesting story. or well, it's interesting to me. We'll we'll see. The I was writing Defy the Stars at one I don't remember what point in the story this was. So God who knows. but I was I was really like feeling blah about the whole story. in that story there is a little girl. The main characters like had a I could resist resist telling the full story. But the there is a a little girl in it the main character's daughter. she is five and she draws a picture in the story. she draws a picture of she loves the little mermaid. She draws her pi a picture of her father on land, her mother Monica Hay: Mm. Megan Fuentes: and her as mermaids and her grandparents as sharks. You can you can use this child psychology You can you can you can you can suss that out. You can suss out what was going on there. I love I love I love that character so much. Anyway, so I I s that was what I had and I was really not gonna write that day. Like I was like I'm not I will not be doing that today. so what I did was I took the I think I she uses crayons in the story. I think I had crayons. I think I have crayons or I use colored pencils, I don't remember which, but I like went out into out of the office, went into the living room and I got a sheet of printer paper like she had and the p creative pencils or the colored pencils and I colored I wrote I drew that scene. Did it look like a five year old did it? No. 'Cause I'm an adult woman and I couldn't regress quite that far. But I I made it, you know. Not that I'm a great artist anyway. So I made but I drew I drew that image and I was like, okay, this does feel this feels like something or other. And I tried to draw it like very close to how I described it Monica Hay: Mm. Megan Fuentes: in the story. and that felt That that made me re remembering like why I chose that specific those specific elements of it, like the father in the father in the in the soccer coach shirt that he was in, 'cause that's how that's I love this book. and her mother and hers as mermaids and why she chose, you know, obvi the the the hut it's Rome it's a Romeo and Juliet retelling. So the f Monica Hay: Love it. Megan Fuentes: the father's in blue and the girls the her and her mom are in like red and purple. Well, purple and red respectively, 'cause she's purple and mom's red. And then the sharks, you know, are the grandparents because they're not wanting the their mermaids to leave the ocean and are willing to eat them Monica Hay: Yeah. Megan Fuentes: to to prevent that from happening. that is, you know, like remembering why I chose all of that symbolism was very good at making me want to come back to age. so connecting connecting in Monica Hay: Mm-hmm. Megan Fuentes: that very literal way. is great. I've also like done like collages before. I've like looked for characters faces. I don't do that at the start of the story. I'll do it I mean not always anyway, sometimes I will. other times I'll look at it like later and kind of once if I can like see the person then I might like feel more inclined to care about them I guess. Monica Hay: Mm. Megan Fuentes: and so on and so forth. Like that that's Monica Hay: I love that. I love that because you're you basically made part of your story into like the 3D world. You're like, I'm gonna actually like put this on paper and kind of become one of your characters in a certain way. And I Megan Fuentes: Mm-hmm. Monica Hay: yeah, I think it's really beautiful. Have I ever done that? Have I ever like drawn something that my character drew? I don't remember. I feel like I'm getting memories of being really young doing that, but not like a recent memory. Megan Fuentes: Yeah. I mean that feels I would believe that you did that as, you know, you're young. When you're young, Monica Hay: That's a kid. Megan Fuentes: you have that the the I I believe you I I would easily believe that you did that when when you were young. I also also if you have if you have a character who has the same hobbies as you or you gave a hobby that's very similar to stopping what you're doing and go trying on that hobby and then being like, huh, I wonder what they're thinking while they're doing this. Bam, instant, Monica Hay: Yeah. Megan Fuentes: instant you're back in their heads and you're like, Okay, now I can do this. Monica Hay: I love it. Do you have have you ever had characters that were also solo RPG people? Megan Fuentes: No, that is a very new that is a very new and strange thing that I'm doing on accident. in terms of in terms of like what makes me money, if if we define ourselves, which we shouldn't, because you know, life, society, capitalism, blah blah blah. But if we were to define ourselves but what by what makes us the most money, I am a solo journaling RPG maker, which is very strange. It's very strange. I only started I started doing it You know what's funny is I had ooh okay speaking of different mediums. Okay, this is this all Monica Hay: Yes. Megan Fuentes: it's all connected, it all coming together. Monica Hay: Tell me. Megan Fuentes: I that the my first one that I ever made, Pythia, is about you are the Oracle of Delphi and you are prophecying. and that's like the game. You are you are prophesying and seeing what's coming true and how that affects your relationships with the people who got you the position of the Oracle of Delphi, the other priestesses, the townsfolk, and Apollo himself. Like that is that how you prophecy like affects things. and the reason that even came about is because I had an old, old NanoRimo project about the reincarnation. And don't any of you don't any of you get any ideas because I still want to do this eventually. I'm just kidding, you can take it if you want. But I I wanna do it one day. Just let me let me have this. of the Oracle the Oracle of Delphi being like reincarnated. and so there was there was a story about that, but it was not the the current version that I had, the current NanoRima version I had was not viable, but I still really liked the idea. So what did I do? I I turned it into a different medium and like radically changed it also, but turned it into a different medium and I put it on Etsy and I got a sale and I was like, that's weird. I I don't even know why I put it on Etsy. I just I f I was finished with it and I'm like, this has to go somewhere. So I put it on Etsy because it wasn't big enough for a full book. And then I got a sale and I was like, that was weird. And then the next week I also got a sale and I was like, That was that's two dopamines in a row. I gotta do more. And now I've made one a month, or I've I've released one a month, every day for over a year or every month for over a year. and I Monica Hay: my god. Megan Fuentes: I now I now people buy them. Monica Hay: I'm obsessed with this. Megan Fuentes: Thank you. I don't know why this works, but dang do I does it w the reviews are great on Etsy. I don't know what to tell ya. Monica Hay: So bad. Like I like W will you send me the link to see this on on Etsy? Can this can this be in the show notes? Megan Fuentes: Yes, I will. You absolutely. You can see it in the actually, you know what's funny is I have them I have them in I think one of the links you have, and I'll send it to you anyway in the email. One of them is my Kofi shop link and I have them in Kofi Shop as writing prompt games. It's the same, they are the same because I feel like Monica Hay: Yes. Megan Fuentes: that was more of a better entry level way for writers to to not feel intimidated by the phrase solo journaling RPGs. 'Cause I'm intimidated by the phrase solo journaling RPGs 'cause I don't Monica Hay: Same, yes. Megan Fuentes: It's an a again, it's an accident that I'm able to do this. So I I Monica Hay: This is so funny. So basically it's a writing prompt is what you're what you're creating. Megan Fuentes: Yes. They all they're all kind of different. Like one some are c like some you're solving a mystery, others you're like finding a way back to it. They all have different themes. one of them one of them has a fortune teller as like the mechanism. Like I have like a fortune teller you print out. what's the most recent one? the most recent one is rumor has it. I released it on the seventh yesterday. And that one you it is the the tagline for it is like Lady whistle down, gossip girl, they've got nothing on you. And you are a I love what your face just did. The the what it is. You are you're a gossip columnist, basically. And I I there are like five different templates. So like one is one is like a letterhead, like a fancy letterhead, one is a blog, like a website, one is a text chain, and then a trifold pamphlet and a newspaper column. So you have like an option of like what era, like what setting you're gonna be in. yeah, I really I somehow Monica Hay: my god, I'm obsessed with this. Megan Fuentes: they're the little you can like create scandals with the cards. All of my games need only A die, like a six-sided die. One of them the first one takes a D eight because I didn't know I didn't know any better to be s careful about that. But the first one takes D eight. But the rest of them all take one six-sided die you can steal from a board game and a deck of cards. And then they they are writing prompts and you can get so many stories from them and to jumpstart. Monica Hay: Yeah. Megan Fuentes: That's why I like that's why I like to make them. It's cause they're very they Monica Hay: Yeah. Megan Fuentes: help me see storytelling in a different light. And they also, you know, I'm they're helpful for writers too 'cause you c if you're stuck in a story and you don't want to necessarily cheat by writing a whole other like diving into a whole other world, these are like pre built worlds or pre built scenarios Monica Hay: Yeah. Megan Fuentes: that you can like jump into really quickly and come right back out and go back to your story when you've got enough creative juice Monica Hay: Yeah. Megan Fuentes: in your system to make words go. Monica Hay: And I feel like it's also probably really helping your just your creative imagination burst with ideas all the time because you're always coming up with these things for other people. Right. Like Megan Fuentes: yes. Monica Hay: it's such a lovely way. I know that people who play like Dungeons and Dragons and stuff, like their imaginations are always bursting with awesome storied ideas because they're constantly thinking in those terms. Right. Megan Fuentes: Yeah, engine masters are incredible people. Monica Hay: I wanna I'm going on a writing retreat is it next next week already. my god. and one of the people who's going is a a dungeon master for or I I think he still does some like professional dungeon ma dungeon mastering. If anybody listening to this and is like, what the fuck are you talking about? can you explain what a dungeon master is? Because I don't know the how to ex exactly explain it. Megan Fuentes: Yes. So there is we'll begin at the beginning. There are these games called role playing games. And these are where you are the care you act as the character and you are sitting at a t at least in terms of Dungeons and Dragons, which is where the phrase dungeon master I'm going to say Monica Hay: Yes. Megan Fuentes: comes from. Someone else can correct the history of that later. you know, that's that's that is the game. So in in that role-playing game, Dungeons and Dragons, or many other types, there is a game master or a dungeon master. and they are the ones narrating the story. They're the ones choosing which monster you're going to go up against. They're the ones who are kind of lightly helping curve the story in a particular direction. and the players are the ones who are actually going through the story and they're making choices that can change the the fate of the story. So, like the classic example is you're starting at the tavern, the dungeon master will explain to you what the tavern looks like and the different characters that are s standing around the tavern. and then you as the players get to choose who you're going to talk to and that will spin off and do a quest that you follow. Monica Hay: Yeah. Megan Fuentes: and that's gener until you know, you reach the end of the quest and achieve an objective or you all die. And that is how role-playing games work. And the dungeon master is the one who's more or less narrating and who kind of has like the overworld view of it. Monica Hay: Yeah. Love it. Exactly. And I yes, that's perfect explanation that I did not know because I mean I knew like what it was. I just didn't know the classic ex the tavern explanation. I'd never heard of before. But yes. Megan Fuentes: I d I I love I love the tavern. The opening of the tav I mean that's like a very as it is it in? If you've ever if you've seen the go watch the Dungeons and Dragons movie. It's a good movie and also now I'm at when you're watching that movie, imagine instead of w what's his name? Chris Pine on the screen, it's actually someone sitting in a chair who is saying, Chris next Chris Pine will do this. Roll for inspiration. Or roll for Monica Hay: Yeah. Megan Fuentes: roll for charisma check. Whatever whatever it is. I can't I can't that's never roll for initiative. That's the that's the one that's you roll first because initiative Monica Hay: Love it. Wait, where can I find where I c where can I watch that movie? Do you know? Megan Fuentes: have no earthly clue. I'm gonna get Netflix as a as a as a guess. my phone is on airplay mode lest it be blown up by Mr. Logan asking if he can come home. let me see. Monica Hay: Yeah, you don't have to look. I'm just curious 'cause I being in the Netherlands, like for example, Outlander, the last season just came out and I had to do Megan Fuentes: Yay. Monica Hay: some sleuthing to figure out how I could wash it in the Netherlands because I'm a different country and everything is d just it's you know, and places like to be like, you live in this country, you don't get access to this L O L and I'm like Megan Fuentes: Rude. Very self centered the US is. I can say that I live Monica Hay: I mean, yeah, it's like the same thing as like subsidiary rights with books, right? Like we we're supposed to sell them to other territories and I'm like in a different territory kind of thing. Megan Fuentes: Yeah. Monica Hay: anyway. I love this. do I have any other questions? I'm trying to think. Do you have anything that you want to add to the end of this conversation out of curiosity? Megan Fuentes: Hmm. Monica Hay: Like final last words. What did you say? Megan Fuentes: How to refuel. How to re how to refuel creative energy. I was like saying the words out loud, trying to turn something to the surface. Hmm. Get your get it's sleep is important. Sleep is important. Getting being, you know, eating food and exercising, etc. I mean, like that's you know exercising I'm not doing, but you know, the rest of it, all very important. You you gotta have you gotta take care of yourself and that will that will give you back a lot of your creative energy if you're like, gee Monica Hay: Yeah. Megan Fuentes: golly, I'm not feeling it. A lot of the times a lot of the times it's because your moodlet the other moodlets are interfering Monica Hay: Yeah. Megan Fuentes: with your ability. We've all played the Sims. We know what those are. The the moodlets are interfering. what other things about creative refueling? Go ahead, like it's a short story. It's like t what's that, two thousand words? You can do it. You can take you can take the minute. It'll be fine. You're not gonna you'll you'll y the time's passing anyway, and if you're stuck on the story, you might as well you might as well give it a sec to reorient yourself in your brain and then and then you'll come right back. It's you would be surprised what gets like jogged loose when Monica Hay: Yeah. Megan Fuentes: you're busy when you're busy doing something else. Isn't has it Monica Hay: Yes. Megan Fuentes: Doesn't everyone well, not everyone, but a very large majorit a l very large percentage of people get ideas in the shower for exactly that reason. So Monica Hay: Yes. Exactly. Yeah. I am one of the people who gets ideas when I'm when I am washing dishes, funny enough. I know that you said you hated doing that. I don't particularly love doing that, but I'm always like, God damn it, if I do that I'll probably get an idea. Megan Fuentes: Yeah, yeah. Cleaning cleaning the house is at all is puts you in exactly the right mindset. I think there's an Agatha Christie quote about about that. Also another a quote from not Agatha Christie, but from Nancy Meyer, as repeated by Taylor Swift, that I knew that I wanted to bring up in this session was everything is copy. Monica Hay: Mm. Megan Fuentes: Everything that you do see touch like whatever you're doing and you're afraid that you're taking away from your writing time, it's all writing time because everything is copy. As long as you Monica Hay: Yep. Everything is Megan Fuentes: look at things with your writer brain and you're like, What is what does this have to do with anything? And then you get to connect all the dots in your brain. Monica Hay: Yep. Yes. I will t I wanted to tell a story about how I know what it's like to pass out, but I feel like I shouldn't tell it online. Megan Fuentes: no no Monica Hay: I but I do know now what it is like to pass out and now I can use that Megan Fuentes: There you go. I got dizzy. I got I was near passing out in the shower because I'm low on iron. I guess I guess that's what's happening. I don't know. I'm taking a guess. I'd have to schedule an appointment to go to a doctor and I won't be doing that. So the we're we're playing Monica Hay: Yeah. Megan Fuentes: make believe. I'm just kidding. Everyone go to the doctor. That's don't don't don't mess with your health. I'm just being the Monica Hay: Are you ready to go to doctor? Yes. Look. So where can people find you, Megan, if they want to be in your world? Megan Fuentes: You can find me at my website, FuentesPens.inc. It's a bilingual pun because my last name means fountains. yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. So fun, fun, fun fact. Monica Hay: I'm so jealous of this. Megan Fuentes: Thank you. If you can remember the Spanish word for fountains, you can you you remember my website, Fuentes Pens, F-U-E-N-T-E-S-P-E-N-S dot I N K. Fuentes Pens. from there you can find you'll find every all the things. If you wanna go if you really wanna be if you if you don't even want the pretty of the website that I built, which I don't blame you, If you go to FuentesPenz.inks slash links, L I N K S, that's my link in bio link. and you can just click right on all the things. you can find the writing prompt games, aka solo journaling RPGs, but don't tell anybody. Monica Hay: Love it. Megan Fuentes: Writing prompt games. You can find my blogs, which are many. I like to talk. Boy do I like to talk. So those those happen. and you can what do I actually do? I story coach. So I you talk to me and I will un I will fix your story in in like two hours. Monica Hay: I love that. Megan Fuentes: broken. So we will if you want to if you wanna brain if you want me to brainstorm with you and un unfurl your character arcs and get them get them going, you can find me you can find that link on my website as well. Or you can go to my Kofi shop, which is K-O-F-I.com slash Megan Fuentes. and that'll take you that'll take you right to all the things. Monica Hay: Love it. I love it. Well, thank you so much for joining us, Megan. This was really fun. Megan Fuentes: Thank you for having me, Monica. I really like this talk. This was fun.