September 17, 2025 • 45 mins
This week we’re back with a Storytime episode! Kayla shares a whirlwind night at a Mountain View writers group (hello, kindred spirits), then we dive into short pieces we wrote in under 2 hours.
We’re also featuring two terrific listener pieces:
- “Fairytale in Bangkok” by Scott Gibson — a tender, whiskey-soaked poem about young love. Scott is currently working on a documentary where he interviews the longstanding, bona fide punk artists of Indonesia.
- “Elon” by MJ — a sharp, slam-poetry critique.
Stick around as we set goals and swap contest plans.This week we’re back with a Storytime episode—vulnerable, messy, and so much fun. Kayla shares a whirlwind night at a Mountain View writers group (hello, kindred spirits), then we dive into fresh, two-hour, barely-edited short pieces sparked by Instagram prompt threads (enemies-to-lovers, angry confessions, and injury/sickness lines like “Get behind me” and “Tell me where it hurts”). Expect AI dread, cheeky gallows humor, and a very smirky maybe-hero named Jared.
We’re also featuring two terrific listener pieces:
- “Fairytale in Bangkok” by Scott Gibson — a tender, whiskey-soaked poem about love, visas, and the kind of dancing that ignores dignity and keeps going.
- “Elon” by MJ — a sharp, slam-poetry critique that rockets from Teslas to Mars with wit to spare.
Stick around as we set goals and swap contest plans:
Got something for the next Storytime? Send audio or text to contact@writeyourheartoutpod.com
(we can read for you if you’d like!). Follow us on IG @writeyourheartoutpod and, pretty please, drop a 5-star review so more writers can find us.
Enjoy, and send us your stories + poems for a future read!
Please subscribe, rate and review!
New episodes every Wednesday.
E-mail us your short story at contact@writeyourheartoutpod.com
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Leave us a message at 650-260-4885
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
SPEAKER_02 (00:00):
Write
SPEAKER_03 (00:01):
your
SPEAKER_02 (00:02):
heart out.
Hi, I'm Kayla Ogden.
And I'm Rachel Spears.
And this is Write Your HeartOut.
I got to say it, guys, and thisis a storytime episode.
We are doing a storytimeepisode, you guys.
Yes, we are.
And we have two other people'swork to read.
And we also have our shortstories from our two-hour time
(00:25):
limit prompt that we talkedabout in the last episode.
Yeah, so we're going to sharethis writing.
This is getting vulnerable withyou guys to just show this.
Two hours.
I took it very literally and Iwas like, okay, that means I
don't have editing time or it'san hour and a half of writing
and half an hour of editing.
Like I, so this is an uneditedblob.
(00:46):
Yeah.
Okay.
People listening are like,great.
Let me hear it.
Okay.
I started with the prompts.
Like I looked at all theprompts.
Maybe we should go over whatthose were.
Sure.
Yeah.
Let's go through those realquick.
We are reading your friendScott's work.
Yeah, he sent me a recording.
Oh, perfect.
That's really exciting.
And then I'm going to read MJ'sElon poem that has, you know,
(01:11):
been teased a few times.
Oh, yeah.
Okay, so we're getting MJ's Elonpoem.
It's so good.
I guess I was going to talkabout the writer's group that I
went to.
Let's do it first.
Okay, we're going to back it up.
Yeah, let's see.
Did you ask him out for a glassof wine afterwards?
Oh, my gosh.
Oh, my God.
So my sons teacher invited me toa writing group in Mountain View
(01:33):
and Mountain View is fuckingcool it is they have a great
downtown yes the downtown isvery vibrant and artsy I was
really surprised yeah I've onlygone there to eat so okay I
wasn't in the art scene thereyeah I just was like why don't I
live here damn it and it's theyhave writers things going on
there but it's like a 35 minutedrive so that was a bummer but
(01:56):
anyway so I went there andDaveed wasn't there yet so I got
there first.
Oh, I thought you guys weregoing to drive together and that
was part of your worries.
No.
I got there and the table wasalready set up and we had to put
on name tags.
If we wanted, there were thesestickers that said our preferred
pronouns and I didn't put asticker on mine.
(02:18):
So you were they them?
No, no.
Because then later we had to sayif we were, like we went around
and introduced ourselves and wecould say if we were they them
Or she, her, he, him.
Or we could not say.
It was all up to us.
Okay.
But everybody was saying.
So I confess that I am a she,her.
SPEAKER_03 (02:40):
Oh.
SPEAKER_02 (02:40):
Yeah.
And everyone was okay with it.
SPEAKER_03 (02:43):
Okay.
I hope
SPEAKER_02 (02:44):
so.
Everybody was okay witheverybody's pronouns, which was
really nice.
I really liked everybody andeverybody was so supportive.
Oh, good.
Yeah.
It was crazy.
When we went around, I said, youknow, I have this work in
progress that I'm queryingAgents, which is kind of a lie
because I haven't queered anagent in like six months.
But you did.
(03:05):
I did do that.
But I talked about, you know,I'm working on writing short
stories.
And then I said, and I have anew podcast about writing and
everybody I swear around thetable was like, oh.
all so excited about it I waslike this is the best group of
people like I love you guys andI loved just nerding out about
(03:26):
writing with actual people withtheir faces right there not on a
screen like we were all in aroom around a table together
I've always wanted that I'vealways I can't I mean it sounds
lovely and then Daveed walks inhe was late because he was
making a birthday a birthdaybanner for Brittany say that
three times fast I loved beingable to see him walk up and be
(03:47):
like hi like I knew somebody.
He had the most interestingthings to say about, he has a
10-page screen play.
So it would be like a short filmif it got made.
So I was just like gaga-eyed,just staring at him, just like
listening to him talk about artand his work and all the layers.
(04:08):
And then at the end, I wanted togo look for some books to buy
and he kind of came up to me andhe asked me almost shyly, which
blew my mind, if I would readhis work and give him feedback
on his work and I was like hellyes send it the fuck over bruv
but I didn't talk like thatbecause he's my son's teacher
(04:28):
but honestly I didn't feel likeI had to suppress myself too
much yeah and I just felt likehe's my best friend and we have
we are kismet we are kindredspirit so that's how that went
great they added me to awhatsapp chat thing cool and I
(04:49):
put on there hey do you guyswant to send us some short
fiction for our story timeepisodes I texted one woman
Millie directly and she was likeoh yeah oh it's tomorrow she's
like I have to check with mypublishers oh and I have to do
this and I was like whoa you area pro like you are a Steven
Pressfield pro oh he'd be soproud honey yeah did they say
(05:11):
when the next date is yesOctober I assume yep October yep
hopefully not on my birthday ohmy god it cannot Which is on a
Thursday.
I don't want to have to missyour party.
Oh, well, no.
The party's on a Saturday night.
I'm totally fucking with herbecause we had a friend who
literally turned down a job sothat she can go to Rachel's
birthday.
She just pushed the job off aday.
(05:33):
So it's October 9th is the nextone.
Oh, perfect.
Okay, great.
And if anybody's in the area andyou want to come, just hit us up
and I'll let you know where tomeet us.
Yes.
Unless you're creepy.
On our website, the contactform...
There's two separate contactforms that go to the same email.
Just email us if you have aquestion or we'll answer about
(05:56):
it.
Yeah.
Just contact us.
We've been begging you to talkto us.
No one's talked to us.
Not even my dad.
This is like a very one-sidedconversation.
What?
David didn't contribute to storytime?
He did not.
Did he not listen?
He might not have heard it yet.
He's supposed to listen.
He does listen.
I just, he might not have heardthat episode yet.
I mean, I don't know how on topof release and listening he is,
(06:17):
you know?
He does have his own life.
Oh, okay.
Fine.
I guess he's allowed.
Yes, he is allowed.
All right.
So do we do ours first or theirsfirst?
Let's do ours first.
Let's get it out of the way.
Get it out of the way.
Okay.
But I want you to go first.
Oh, Lord.
Please.
Oh, my God.
I can't believe this ishappening.
Okay.
So I wrote it.
Oh, wait.
You have to talk.
Wait.
Hold on.
We have to say what the promptswere.
(06:38):
We never.
We got these prompts fromInstagram via writer threads.
Some of them were an enemies tolovers theme.
The first one being, bold of youto assume that I'd care.
The second one, you're hurt?
Why are you always hurt?
The third one, get behind me.
Then the flavor of the nextprompts were angry confession.
(07:01):
One of them is, trust me, I amalways trying to understand how
in the shit this happened.
The next one was, tell me howI'm supposed to unlove you then.
Tell me, spare me.
The next one was, since when doyou ever care about me?
Since fucking forever, youidiot.
it dunce.
And then the flavor of the nextones were sickness or injury,
(07:21):
which was very emotional for me.
One was tell me where it hurts.
Another one was, can you carryme?
And then another one was, whydidn't you tell me it hurts so
bad?
So I think the one that I likedwas you're hurt.
Why are you always hurt?
Interesting.
(07:41):
Okay.
Which is brutal.
It is brutal.
And it honestly, I just startedwriting and I don't think it
really Oh, okay.
But that's okay.
The prompt is the prompt.
Yeah.
And it was like, do it in twohours.
And yeah.
So just a little bit of how thesausage is made.
Call back.
(08:02):
Did you set a timer and then youwere just like, okay, go?
Or how did you do it?
Just because I'm curious andI'll say how I did mine.
Yeah, yeah.
I went out into the garden and Ilaid out my blanket and I just
only had two hours.
Like, it was like i usually onlyhave a couple hours these days
it was like something else washappening at noon or something
(08:23):
so yeah i just wrote until i hadto go okay so we've been talking
about ai over the last couple ofepisodes and chat gpt and i've
been going back and forth interms of whether i like it or
i'm terrified of it and i thinkthat that just this this little
work is completely infused withthat so here we go okay it
(08:43):
doesn't have a name i'm readyokay according to the bold
script that just appeared on ourtable tablet tomorrow is choice
day we will have two options oneswift and painless death body
converted to compost twoencapsulation for energy
extraction body suspended inmachinery alive consciousness
(09:05):
and lucid dream world of humansown making body converted to
compost when no more energy canbe extracted matthias covered
his mouth with his hands i readthe words over again but we give
energy i said My slot is onFriday fucking night, and I've
never once missed it.
The room fills with the voice wechose to deliver Pi's messages.
Foul language, overt emotionalbody.
(09:29):
Mateus and I chose a voice thatsounded like Morgan Freeman.
Okay, aside, I should have madethat sound like Morgan Freeman
when I read that, but then thatwould be like blackface or
something.
So whatever, just imagine thatthat was Morgan Freeman.
So when Pi's voice enters theroom, it goes...
Foul language, overt emotionalbody.
(09:50):
Mateus and I chose a voice thatsounded like Morgan Freeman.
I wanted Pi to sound like afolksy Christian god.
I thought it would be easier tohave pro-social, pro-AI
attitudes towards Pi when itsounded that way.
Maybe we'd get used to it.
Maybe life would get better overtime.
Maybe we could find moments of,Mateus whispered, it's saying we
die tomorrow or become batteriesuntil we're sucked dry.
(10:13):
Fear response, energy waste00.2355 six lucid i read in a
world of your own making we fallsilent looking into each other's
eyes his are earthy hazel lovelylike a forest when the sun's
rays stream through the brancheswould you make me a part of your
lucid fantasy world i ask himwith a wink this is my greatest
(10:35):
asset matthias has said mycheekiness in the face of doom i
don't think it would work hischin trembles i clench my jaw
why can't he be funny for me foronce why can't he say all day
long hot stuff.
Or he could be romantic and say,I would dream up every angle of
you.
But instead he says, I neverknow what the hell you're going
to say, Mickey.
(10:55):
I could never make you up.
And then if I tried, it wouldjust be a sad, empty imposter.
I lean toward him and tap on histemple.
I'm in there somewhere, my love.
He flinches, swats my hand away.
I can't do it.
I'm just going to die.
There might be something after.
I have the urge to run.
I remember the ponchos in thewall.
We found them a few months afterwe were thrown in here.
(11:16):
There was a wooden board on thewall in the hallway painted the
same beige it made its presenceknown to us one day we must have
walked past it hundreds of timesbut that day Mateus halted and
ran his fingers around the edgeof the board he pressed on the
side of it pivoted on a paintednail behind it was a compartment
with a go kit inside we openedthe kit in silence I recognized
(11:37):
the ponchos immediately theirfabric was woven with silver
protesters used to call thisgarb armor as it absorbed
electromagnetic waves so theycouldn't penetrate the body
Mateus Wowzers, you are so muchdeeper than I am.
(12:03):
Okay, well, I mean, it's like1984 meets The Matrix.
I guess is what I did there.
Yeah.
I've just been thinking aboutthe future.
I've, I've just, oh, Rachel,last night.
(12:25):
You've gone deep in a dark holeabout it.
I'm in a dark hole guys.
Like get me out of this hole.
Like last night when I finishedup at the writers meeting, I was
turned around.
I never go to Mountain View.
I thought I knew where I wasparked.
I was kind of looking around andwalking around trying to find my
vehicle and it wasn't working.
I'd been walking around forabout 10 minutes.
I was like, what the hell?
Where am I?
So I found my parking spot onGoogle Google Maps, which by the
(12:48):
way, that is like such a greatfeature for someone like me.
Google Maps told me like that itwas like on the other side of
the bookstore, like thecomplete, I had to walk now 15
minutes back in the otherdirection.
I was like, damn, I didn't knowMountain View had any areas that
felt sketch at all, but for somereason it was feeling kind of
sketchy to me.
And I was like, I did not parkin a neighborhood.
(13:09):
I parked in like a business areaand I'm going up and down the
streets and I'm like, what ifChatGPT is like told me that I
was parked.
Big city.
this belly came to get you yeahlike told me I was parked
somewhere else but it knowsbecause it knows where everybody
is because we all have ourphones in our pockets and it
knows that there's this likemurderer on the curb over here
(13:29):
and it's just gonna bring ustogether so that I die because
it it's heard all this shit thatI'm saying about it on my
podcast oh my god well first ofall it should like you if it's
gonna like one of us yeah you'renot dead yet so I guess I'm okay
um well do you have anythingelse you want to say about your
story I Sure, yeah.
(14:17):
I said has probably been done.
And yeah, I just, I don't thinkit's that good.
But when I just read it to you,I think there's like a few
little nuggets.
I think there's definitely somenuggets.
You got a little nugget.
Is there an egg?
Yeah, I'd say so.
Okay.
Yeah.
My chickens would be proud ofyou.
I think.
For your egg.
I feel like an egg from, ifRachel tells you something to do
(14:38):
with you as an egg, I feel likeit's a very high compliment.
Oh, why?
For some
SPEAKER_03 (14:41):
reason.
UNKNOWN (14:44):
That's great.
I like that.
Okay.
Yeah.
Great.
SPEAKER_02 (14:45):
I really want to hear yours.
So I think that I've beeninfluenced a bit by, so at night
on Instagram, they only come upat night.
There's some algorithm thingwhere Instagram's figured out
that I like to write and it'sfigured out that we read that
Romantasy book because now atnight I get these like scroll,
(15:06):
maybe you get them too, thesescrolling stories of like
werewolf fantasy.
Do you ever get those?
No.
Okay.
So I often will wake up in themiddle of the night and can't
fall back asleep.
That's a thing that happensespecially if I've had a couple
glasses of wine or something andit sucks but then I'll you know
start dim scrolling whatever andthen these scrolling stories and
(15:26):
it's just like werewolf eroticapretty much it's just like yeah
and it's like alpha Ben took meby my ankles and pulled me to
him you know like and I'm justlike well obviously I have to
read this at 1 30 in the morningum and it scrolls so you have to
like stay you know kind of hardto read actually and then just
advocate because it's going sofast um So I clearly have been
(15:48):
influenced.
I'm just going to say, um, not,there's no werewolves in this
story, but it is, I wouldn'teven say it's, well, I mean, if
I had kept writing, perhaps itcould have gone into a romantic
way.
I can tell that my brain was inthat space when I just like
threw something out there, youknow?
I love it.
Does that make sense?
Yeah.
It grabs me by the ankles.
(16:09):
Okay.
There's no ankle grabbing inthis one.
Okay.
So the prompt that I chosegrabbed me by the ankles.
I was thinking that would be a atitle for the episode it was
okay well there we go okay sothe one that i chose was also an
enemies to lovers one the getbehind me um okay i set it
literally set a timer for twohours sat down at my dining room
(16:30):
table and was just like i had mygiant bowl of salad and a big
glass of water and we're justlike okay go and i had bread in
the oven that i let burn becauseof this by accident wow whoops
here we go get behind me hegrowled he had appeared out of
nowhere Generally, I feel asthough I can hold my own on the
streets at night.
I grew up here.
(16:51):
I'm comfortable in the dark andalone.
In fact, I slept just twostreets up in my car last night,
but I did as he said.
It was instantly clear to mejust how threatening the two men
approaching us were, and theurgency in his voice confirmed
my gut feeling.
I had been seeing these menaround, a crew of them, all with
the same strip of black clothtied around their arm.
I watched them take out ahomeless man with a smart mouth
(17:11):
a few streets over just twonights ago.
I adjusted myself to fall behindJared, and my small five one
frame was immediately concealedbehind his large body.
His broad shoulders and tallframe easily eclipsed all of me,
and although I could feel myheart pounding loudly in my ears
as the men brushed past us, itwas like we didn't exist at all.
Not a turn of their heads oracknowledgement of our
existence.
(17:32):
One of the guys was so close toJared's body that I could have
sworn they grazed each other.
How?
I started to speak, but thewords caught in my throat as
Jared looked back and sharplyswiveled, turning his back to
the brick wall and quicklypulling me in.
My voice must have caught theattention of one of the as he
turned back ever so slightly andtapped the other's arm.
They both looked back as Jaredmade himself even larger than he
(17:53):
already was, broadening hisshoulders and accentuating his
chest.
I peeked through a small gapunder his arm and watched them
as they looked back towards usblankly, as though they couldn't
see us, as if the street wasempty behind them.
They turned the corner and Jaredexhaled in relief.
The sound of him relaxingallowed me to do the same.
Okay, he sighs, turning towardsme.
The light from the street lampabove us shone through his dark
(18:14):
hair.
His strong jawline, the onlypart of his face visible in the
shadow.
Questions?
I take a sharp, staggered breathand place my hand on my hip,
biting my lip.
My words are lost even though Ihave so many things to ask.
What the fuck had just happened?
Who are those guys?
Or more importantly, why is heeven here right now?
On Samson Boulevard at 11pm?
I have never once seen him inthis neighborhood and he just
(18:34):
appears out of nowhere?
How did he know where I was?
How did those guys not see us?
I furrow my brow as I decidewhich question to ask first,
pausing just a little bit toolong.
Okay, he smirks.
I can't see his full expressionbut I know the look he's giving
me, even when it's hidden in theshadow.
He turns and starts down thestreet.
Let's get you something to eat.
Before I can answer, he isalready passing the stoop of my
(18:55):
dad's apartment building.
I had planned to sit on thatstoop to smoke my cigarette just
before Jared appeared tonight.
And as I quickly jumped intomotion to catch up with him, I
looked up to see the light on inmy dad's window.
He's probably eating his usual,a can of chunky soup and not
even thinking of me, but I likeknowing that he's there.
I quicken my pace to catch upwith Jared and lock into pace.
(19:15):
Uh, we...
UNKNOWN (19:16):
Hahahaha!
SPEAKER_02 (19:17):
Which is hard considering his casual stride
puts me at a light jog.
He looks down at me.
His face is fully illuminated bythe lights above us and I try
not to meet his eyes, but fuck,the golden flecks of green catch
and dance.
I have to look away as to nottrip over myself.
He smirks again and looks downat my legs, watching how fast
they turn in order to keep up,and stops abruptly.
(19:37):
I know you have questions,Kimmy.
I breathe in deeply, silentlythanking him for stopping so I
can catch my breath.
I do.
He raises his eyebrow and nodsback towards the illuminated
window behind us.
The city diner.
A sweet little dive on thecorner.
I nod, okaying the restaurantchoice and follow him in.
The door chime rings loudly aswe step inside, calling the
(19:58):
attention of a small stout womansitting in the corner.
She's the only person in therestaurant and is reminiscent of
a tiny hedgehog, round with apointed face.
Her short spiky hair shoots upin every direction.
As she stands, the woman wipesher hands on her apron and gives
Jared a full once over beforesettling on me and winks.
Anywhere you want, Kimmy baby.
Thanks, June.
I smile at her before pursing mylip and rolling my eyes.
(20:18):
She walks behind the counter tograb a single menu.
We need two, please.
Jared tries to correct her.
No, it's okay.
I touch his arm and steer himtowards the booth behind us.
You're not eating?
Jared looks at me questioninglyas he slides in.
Junie knows what I'll have.
I don't need a menu.
I look down to avoid his eyes asI slide in across from him.
I can see through my lashes thathis broad frame barely fits into
the booth and I look down to seea full one and a half foot gap
(20:42):
between my own small chest andthe table.
The sweatshirt I'm wearing isworn and baggy, faded from the
Why the fuck are you here?
That's how you're going to talkto me after what just happened?
(21:09):
He's smirking again.
Sure.
I raise my eyebrow.
That too.
What the fuck just happened?
What the fuck was that?
Who were those guys?
Did they die?
Did they just not see us?
(21:47):
Don't come here unless they havea reason.
So what is your reason?
What was your reason, Kim?
Don't answer my questions withquestions.
I have never once pretended tobe some big shot.
I answer the phones atreception.
Make sure all you fancy pantsswipe your key cards before
entering the building and greetclients.
You think they pay me somethinggreat?
It should be pretty obvious toyou why I'm in this
(22:08):
neighborhood, Jared.
Right.
He looks down at his hands now.
First time I've ever seen himlook anything close to
embarrassed.
So?
I goad.
I wasn't here to find He looksup at me, and I'm surprised to
see that he seems truthful inthis admission.
I was here to find them.
Them?
Those guys.
Okay, but you found them and youdidn't do anything, so what was
(22:28):
the point of finding them?
Well, I came across you.
What?
I shake my head with confusion.
What'll you have, handsome?
June looks down at Jared,although she's not much taller
than he is as he sits in the lowbooth.
This here's our top seller.
She points to his menu with herpen.
You look like you might enjoyprotein.
UNKNOWN (22:47):
Ha ha ha!
SPEAKER_02 (22:49):
She taps at something within the plastic
covered pages and then looksover at me, giving me another
exaggerated wink.
I shake my head at her andscowl, trying to show her that
we're not on a date.
But she ignores my signal andsmiles and continues.
Now, Kimmy here usually justgets some buttered toast, but
since I'm sure you're paying,I'm going to go ahead and get
her something that can put somemeat on her bones.
(23:10):
You'd like that, right?
Fuck, Joan! Jared's eyes appearover the top of his menu,
looking at me intently for amoment.
I would like that, yes.
I can tell that he has a gu-that goddamn smirk on his face
again by the way his voice liftsand the tiny crinkle that forms
next to his eye.
He looks at the menu for amoment more and then lays it
down flat on the table beforeclosing it dramatically.
(23:31):
And sure, I'll take the one yousuggest.
Thank you, June.
As he thanks her, he stares atme intently.
I thought so.
She sounds pleased as she takesthe menu out from under his hand
and walks away.
I may have to take this to HR.
I cross my arms.
I don't need meat on my bones.
I don't need you to buy me ameal.
I don't need anyone to take careof me.
I didn't need you tonight and Idon't need you at all you did
(23:52):
need me you don't know whatyou're talking about Jared is
cool as a cucumber as he watchesme get more and more flustered
don't get upset I'm not fuckingupset I slide myself out of the
booth and stand at the end ofthe table where June had just
been barely looking down at himI still finally feel like I have
the upper hand and take a deepbreath before exhaling slowly
and start again in a calmer toneI am not upset I'm going to the
(24:15):
bathroom I can feel his eyes onme as I walk away and I hate how
much I love him watching me I,the front desk receptionist, was
barely a blip on his radar, andI would be lying if I didn't
admit that I had a chip on myshoulder about it.
That was where it ended.
That was where my timer wentoff.
Oh, wow.
Geez, you write fast.
I do write really fast.
Setting the two-hour timer andwriting all of that, I was like,
(24:38):
oh, no wonder I wrote 60,000words in, like, a month.
Yeah.
Whoa.
Because that had to have been,like, 2,000 words, right?
At least.
I'm not sure, but it was...
Yeah, it was like a good story.
Like things actually happened.
It was like actually a story.
It felt like it could have beena chapter.
(24:59):
I feel like it could be achapter.
I mean, it's not good.
No, it is good.
So you don't like it?
I don't think I want to doanything with it, but.
It kind of got me a littlebothered.
Yeah?
A little.
What bothered you?
Oh, just a little hot?
Yeah, yeah.
He's, I mean, he He's hot.
(25:21):
Little homeless Kimmy.
He wants some of the, I don'tknow, I guess I just like it
when people are horny.
Fair.
Who doesn't?
I feel like it's on par withstuff in that genre.
I think so too.
I'm like, okay, I didn't reallyhave enough time to decide where
(25:42):
to go with it.
Like, was this just going to belike a kind of romantic scene?
Like, clearly he has powers orsomething.
I don't even know.
I didn't even have a chance.
to go there.
It was just a complete pantsingsituation.
It was just full pants.
Those big pants.
Pants around the ankles.
It's like you were riding itwith your pants around your
(26:04):
ankles.
Oh, Lord.
Lord.
Okay, great.
So prompts were done.
We finished the first task.
Yes.
I just want to say one morething.
Oh, sure.
What I liked about that is thatit really made me curious.
Like you planted like a lot ofquestions in my mind.
And that's something that at theSan Francisco Writers
(26:26):
Conference, one time this authorwas telling me that everybody
tells her that her books arepagans.
that's like the number onecomment that she gets about her
work she said the way that youdo that is every page should
place a question in the reader'smind sure because just
psychologically humans we don'tlike to have no answer like it
(26:47):
really bothers us totally withyour work i have these questions
about why do they hate eachother right like that's really
so i really want to find out whythey hate each other and then i
also want to find out if theyfucked and then i also want to
find out why she's so poorbecause it's like she must be
having to like support somebodyor something else and then why
(27:08):
can't she live with her dad whyis she sleeping in her car like
I have a lot of questions so Ithink that that's that's great I
would definitely keep uh turningthe pages oh well that's
wonderful and I it's so funny Iwas talking to a dad at the park
the other day I had been sayingthat like I wasn't quite because
it was before I finished dinnerfor eight and I was like I'm not
quite sure where it's gonna gohe's like well how do you not
know and I was like well I justdon't know like what are the
(27:30):
characters gonna do I don't knowand like Like this one for sure.
I'm like, why doesn't her dadinvite her in?
And like, have they fucked?
I don't know.
Like I legitimately, I'm like, Ihave all the same questions.
I don't know.
Like I clearly haven't even,there's no blossoming in my
head.
Like I didn't take fromsomething.
I wish Kimmy could tell me.
Why are you so fucking poor?
(27:51):
You gotta write that.
Cause I also want to know whothose guys are.
I'm sorry, but you're going tohave to keep going.
You're like, I don't like it.
It's not good.
I'm like, um, Sorry, but youplanted a lot of questions.
Well, maybe if we don't haveanything by the next story time
for ideas of what to write, I'llwrite another piece of it.
Yay! Okay, you guys, pleasecomment and tell Rachel to keep
(28:14):
writing it because I really wantto know what happens.
Okay, me too.
I mean, I'm a little curious.
Let's play Scott's.
Let's hear your voice.
Yeah, okay.
I have not listened to this.
Scott told me that he recordedthis 15 years ago.
Oh, wow.
This reminds me of...
What I was saying on the lastpodcast about we were artists
(28:36):
when we were kids in Kelownagrowing up.
All of us were in some way,shape or form.
And Scott still is an artist.
He's making a film right nowabout, I think, the punk scene
in the Philippines.
I could be wrong.
It's about the punk scenesomewhere.
That's rock.
Whoa, that was so cool, Scott.
(28:58):
He said he hasn't been writingfor so long and he's...
This, he wrote 15 years ago, andhe liked pulling it up because
it reminded him of a reallyinteresting time in his life.
But I just encouraged him.
I'm like, bro, you are a writer.
Please write.
You're so talented.
But I haven't heard this, solet's see.
(29:19):
I'll play it.
I don't know what it's called.
He literally just sent me anemail with the attachments.
He didn't do anything else,though.
Okay.
Here we go.
I'm excited.
SPEAKER_00 (29:28):
Let's rock.
UNKNOWN (29:31):
Okay.
SPEAKER_01 (29:31):
And now, I'm waiting in line to pay my overstay fine
at the Nangkai ImmigrationPassport Control Center.
I'm only over by two days.
I'll need to pay roughly$30, athousand baht, and possibly make
some sort of excuse, but I'm notsure.
The first of my overstay dayswas spent keeping tabs on a bar
(29:52):
while the owner was inSingapore.
She's going to pay that portionof my fine.
That day was spent inKanchanaburi, a town that I
love.
The other one was spent inBangkok.
And all my friends in Asia cantell you that Bangkok is very
low on the list of cities inwhich I choose to stay,
especially if it means fines topay.
And the reason I stayed?
(30:12):
Her name was Randy.
And for five days and counting,I've hardly been able to eat
because the butterflies in mystomach have been pimp-smacking
my gin tonics and tequila shots,practicing Muay Thai on my rum
on the rocks and whiskey sodas,and curb stomping my beer.
And my liver delivering kidneyshots goes without saying, but
this whiskey-soaked list hasbeen more than worth it.
(30:35):
And if you haven't experiencedbody shots that begin with salt
on the nose, trust me, you'remissing out.
At a bar in Bangkok where weliked the Filipino cover band,
but the clientele, not so much.
Too high so.
Randy was the girl who beelinedacross the top of our table to
get to the dance floor when theband played a Zeppelin cover.
(30:55):
Made multiple trips to thebathroom to vomit, but never
stopped dancing, with theobvious exception of the
bathroom time.
I was the guy who didn't care,no, kind of hope the more
reserved clientele were botheredby our shameless display.
Because in a country nicknamedthe land of smiles, ours were
outshining everyone's.
And I'll never understand whyanyone would compromise that in
(31:17):
order to appear dignified infront of strangers.
But now, I'm the guy waiting inline, crossing another border
another time, because even inthe town I call home back in
Canada, I build my life aroundleaving when I want to.
That's why I never look for jobslead to careers and why I have
three quarters of a bachelor'sdegree.
My time living in Bangkok waslike a first grade bean and wet
(31:39):
paper towel experiment.
It wasn't given the slightestchance to sprout the smallest
resemblance of roots.
I finished my four monthsemester and moved away with the
money that I needed for a planeticket.
And now...
sometimes past.
Too small to say a lot, but toobig to say a little.
In this time, I've been themanager of a bar in Vang Vien,
(32:01):
Laos.
I've also spent the night injail due to work visa issues.
Namely, the lack of work visaproved to be an issue.
The bar paid my fines.
I filled out my arrest formswith an incorrect passport
number, so as far as I know, myBA-668-511 won't appear on any
records within the Lao legalsystem.
(32:23):
I've also been backed...
to Kanchanaburi saying goodbyeto all my friends who lived
there and now I'm back inBangkok at the airport with
Randy we're nearing the end ofour extended goodbye a goodbye
that found its beginning shortlyafter hello and for the past six
hours I've been mostly a messand being in charge of my own
affairs currently feels likesomething that I'm incapable of
(32:45):
I can't remember my last fullnight's sleep Randy made sure
that everything I needed to geton my plane was printed out and
in my hands and that we had timeto get to my friend Rob's place
to say goodbye before theairport.
And I'm not gonna lie, as we'vebeen bouncing around Bangkok for
the past few hours, we haven'tbeen especially respectful of
the Thai culture in regards topublic displays of affection.
(33:08):
Regardless, our cab driver stillgot us to the airport in record
time.
We did tip him decently.
I'm learning the hours until Iwalk through that metal detector
onwards to my flight back toCanada turning into minutes.
And I know that Randy has beguncounting her days left in
Bangkok because she loves itabout as much as I do.
But now, like the first and onlynight we took in the city's
(33:31):
nightlife, together, Randy makesstaying in this city that has
brought me some of my worst oftimes something on the high and
the desirable.
And now...
I'm back in Canada.
I'm counting months, notminutes, for when Randy's plane
touches ground in Vancouver.
And I'm waiting to see, touchingwood and keeping my fingers
(33:52):
crossed, that if when thatstaircase touches pavement, it
will all become real.
SPEAKER_02 (34:06):
That was so fucking cute.
I loved that.
Oh my gosh.
Okay.
So is he married to Randy now?
Do you know Randy?
I don't know Randy personallyand no, he is not.
I'm so sorry.
I wish that I could give abetter, no, that was 15 years
ago and they did have arelationship.
(34:29):
Um, they had a beautifulrelationship and I think that it
broke both of their hearts inthe And I think they were like
kind of, so I don't really know.
I'm sure Scott is listening tothis.
And my sense of it was that theywere kind of like soulmates.
I mean, it sounds like it.
(34:49):
This poem was beautiful.
It was so, I love the partsabout Randy, about how she like
jumped up over the table to godance.
It's so sweet.
And it's so crazy that she waspuking, but she just kept on
going back out to dance, whichto me, it's like, I know Scott I
don't know her but I'm like thatis the type of chick like I just
(35:12):
think that that would be areally good kind of person for
him to be with and also I knowthat he ended up in jail
actually like I think for thatlike he ended up in a Thai
prison for a couple of nightsand yeah he told me about that
last time I was visiting inKelowna we went on sort of a
magical psychedelic walk andyeah I think he ended up going
(35:36):
to Thai prison because he justit sounds like from that poem
I'm like bro you were so fuckingweird when you were over there
with putting the wrong passportnumber on your form so that
there'd be no record of you outthere right just living his
fucking best life with salt onthe nose body shots which I'm so
curious what does that mean Idon't know but now I feel like I
(35:57):
need to have that in my life atleast one so you put salt on
your nose and then the otherperson licks it off I say lick
it off of your nose because Oh,okay.
I'm stupid.
(36:18):
I thought you dumped the liquorinto the person's belly button
and then slurped it out.
I think that you coulddefinitely do it that way.
I might try that tonight.
However, I think that worksbetter with cocaine.
you guys we are moms and we areprim and proper PTA moms so
don't get it twisted thank youScott so much for sending that
(36:42):
in yeah thank you and I love youso much and please share again
sometime that was so great yeahokay now what about Elon Musk
yes so this is MJ's poem Elonand MJ yes she reads it so much
better than I'm going to, butI'm going to do my best.
(37:03):
How come she isn't reading it?
Because I failed on reaching outto her.
She had told me that I couldread it on the podcast like a
while back, and then I justdidn't get on my shit and text
her to have her send in therecording.
It's okay.
Yes.
Oh, it's completely okay.
(37:23):
Okay.
So, Elon.
Elon, I know a salute whenever Isee it, and you concentrate
children in camps, so I believeit.
Your Teslas and the swastikasare a problem, but it's not the
people who drive them.
It's not the people who buythem, but the person who is
selling them.
We're taught to blame theconsumer, but it's what's being
(37:44):
consumed that's the issue.
And it's also the crimes youcommit that you won't admit to.
Shrouded in secrecy, stepped onbodies and shrouded, the White
House is too crowded.
We didn't elect you to be there,so don't be surprised when we
start to care.
Don't get me started on So ifyou're putting children in
(38:18):
cages, giving robots our wages,then expect the people's outrage
because this is outrageous.
You can link the stars and youcan move to Mars, but in our
short lives, Is this the markyou want to make just for the
sake of the bank tucked in yourpockets?
Clearly your morals have flownaway in your rockets.
(38:40):
Oh my gosh.
That is so clever.
She's so clever.
I love the link the stars andmove to Mars.
That is so sick.
And like the swastikas.
She really embodies all of hisbullshit really well.
And she reads it so much betterbecause she's got the more slam
poetry kind of cadence.
Cadence.
Yeah.
And I tried my hardest.
(39:02):
I think you did good.
I would love to hear her read itone day.
But yeah, that was, that wasreally good.
Yeah.
That's a good one.
Okay.
Was there anything else?
We still have our other goals.
We have the two sentence contestwith Rites of November.
Yes.
And then there was the othercontest that I had posted with
(39:23):
Driftwood Press, which we stillhave a little bit of time for.
That one is, had a further outdate.
And then there was the ones youhad, which was September 25th.
Yes.
So there's the book pipelineunpublished contest, which the
deadline is September 25th.
If you have a manuscript, yousend it in and winners receive
(39:44):
$25,000 in industry circulationand executive development
opportunities.
So this is where I'm going totake my old manuscript pillow
forts down.
I'm going to rework it.
I'm going to make it the best itcan fucking be this month.
This is my big project.
project.
I should be doing this likenonstop, honestly.
And then I'm going to send it inon the deadline and I really,
(40:06):
really want to win.
Okay.
Yes.
Perfect.
Please.
There was this other one, theJohn Steinbeck award, which the
deadline is October 1st.
It's exceptional works offiction, like short fiction up
to 5,000 words.
I don't know if I'm going tohave time to write a 5,000 word
short story for this, although Iwould love to win this, but I
(40:27):
mean, you can't win without awinning story.
Um, Do you have anything youwant to send in for that one?
Well, I think that it'sunrealistic for me to think that
I could have a manuscript readyto send into the first one by
September 25th.
I thought that maybe it would bea good goal, but I don't think
it's realistic.
So I think that maybe this isthe one I'll focus on.
(40:47):
That would be great.
Because it's not like I'm in arush to finish editing.
I don't really want to be in arush to finish editing Dinner
Freight.
So I think that literally 5,000words can fly out of me in you
know 45 minutes maybe you shoulddo that one maybe that one just
seems so like it's sort of likean entertain more entertaining
(41:07):
where is that what it is I thinkit might be I don't know I like
I don't I maybe I'm being justlike hypercritical of myself
like I don't feel like superproud of that one right I mean
if you're not passionate aboutit fucking don't do it I mean it
seems like fun like maybe it'sjust like fun bullshit's my jam
(41:29):
yeah Maybe I should just embracebeing a fun bullshitter.
I think you're just in thisreally great lane that I love,
which is like Alison Esbach,Emily Henry.
Well, maybe not Emily Henry.
I don't know that much.
I don't want to offend you.
Do you like her?
I don't.
I wouldn't know.
I mean, I've read it, right?
We're supposed to read it forbook club.
(41:50):
Oh, The Big Bold Beautiful Life.
That has some major Emily Henryvibes.
That does?
For sure.
Because it's like the people whohate each other, but then
they're going to turn to loveher like that's her jam yeah
except for she does more likereal life stuff there's no
fantasy in it no there's nofantasy but she's that was
definitely also in my headbecause I had just finished Big
Bull Beautiful Life so there'sdefinitely some of that oh like
(42:13):
the co-workers who have alwayshad this bad tension oh is it
good did you like that book um Ididn't love it because it felt
very formulaic with the otherone that we read of hers yeah I
heard they're all kind of thesame yeah so So I'm not offended
by your comparison because thisone for sure has the vibe.
(42:35):
For sure.
But I think that I could easilywrite that kind of stuff.
And I'm not going to call itbullshit because it is.
It's like easily consumableentertainment.
And I do feel like my style ofwriting is much more of that.
But I think that it's beenreally cool to read the
different stuff that you've beentrying out because you did that
(42:56):
really dark one about Larry andthe Cowboys.
Like you sort of dipped intothis like really dark world and
then this one has a little bitof like romantic-y vibes and
you're sort of, it seems likeyou're sort of like testing the
waters, dipping your toe in hereand there.
Sure.
But the dinner for eight, Ithink that seems like your lane
where it's entertaining andconsumable, but it has like a
(43:22):
lot of heart and depth and likea unique concept and there's
like layers and...
It's definitely a lot more depththan Dinner for Eight.
Yes.
Sure.
So anyways, we're all justfinding our lane.
Okay, so I'm going to focus moreon the Steinbeck.
You're going to focus more onsending in your manuscript and
touching it up in all the waysthat you want to remove the
(43:44):
sausage parts.
Oh, God.
Jesus.
All right, I've got to stopcalling back to the sausage.
And in the meantime, I thinkwe're both going to try to throw
in two sentences from some ofour already finished work to the
Rites of November.
Yes.
So we'll let you know thesentences that we threw in and
how that went.
And we're going to keep onlearning about the craft of
(44:04):
writing and share that stuffwith you, too.
Yep.
Thanks so much for listening.
And please send us your storiesand poems.
Yes, we want your stuff for thenext story time, please.
And I hope the Writers Clubpeople, please submit your
stuff.
I'm so excited to meet you inOctober and hear some of your
(44:24):
work.
I'm very excited.
Yay.
So it's contact atwriteyourheartoutpod.com.
You can send audio, like you canrecord it on your phone,
whatever.
It doesn't have to be perfect orjust send us the script and
we'll read it for you.
Yes.
And if you don't, for somereason, already follow us on
Instagram is write your heartout pod on Instagram.
Yep.
And please give us a five-starreview and a nice comment
(44:45):
because that means the world tous.
Yes.
Thank you.
All right.
Write
SPEAKER_03 (00:01):
your
SPEAKER_02 (00:02):
heart out.
Hi, I'm Kayla Ogden.
And I'm Rachel Spears.
And this is Write Your HeartOut.
I got to say it, guys, and thisis a storytime episode.
We are doing a storytimeepisode, you guys.
Yes, we are.
And we have two other people'swork to read.
And we also have our shortstories from our two-hour time
(00:25):
limit prompt that we talkedabout in the last episode.
Yeah, so we're going to sharethis writing.
This is getting vulnerable withyou guys to just show this.
Two hours.
I took it very literally and Iwas like, okay, that means I
don't have editing time or it'san hour and a half of writing
and half an hour of editing.
Like I, so this is an uneditedblob.
(00:46):
Yeah.
Okay.
People listening are like,great.
Let me hear it.
Okay.
I started with the prompts.
Like I looked at all theprompts.
Maybe we should go over whatthose were.
Sure.
Yeah.
Let's go through those realquick.
We are reading your friendScott's work.
Yeah, he sent me a recording.
Oh, perfect.
That's really exciting.
And then I'm going to read MJ'sElon poem that has, you know,
(01:11):
been teased a few times.
Oh, yeah.
Okay, so we're getting MJ's Elonpoem.
It's so good.
I guess I was going to talkabout the writer's group that I
went to.
Let's do it first.
Okay, we're going to back it up.
Yeah, let's see.
Did you ask him out for a glassof wine afterwards?
Oh, my gosh.
Oh, my God.
So my sons teacher invited me toa writing group in Mountain View
(01:33):
and Mountain View is fuckingcool it is they have a great
downtown yes the downtown isvery vibrant and artsy I was
really surprised yeah I've onlygone there to eat so okay I
wasn't in the art scene thereyeah I just was like why don't I
live here damn it and it's theyhave writers things going on
there but it's like a 35 minutedrive so that was a bummer but
(01:56):
anyway so I went there andDaveed wasn't there yet so I got
there first.
Oh, I thought you guys weregoing to drive together and that
was part of your worries.
No.
I got there and the table wasalready set up and we had to put
on name tags.
If we wanted, there were thesestickers that said our preferred
pronouns and I didn't put asticker on mine.
(02:18):
So you were they them?
No, no.
Because then later we had to sayif we were, like we went around
and introduced ourselves and wecould say if we were they them
Or she, her, he, him.
Or we could not say.
It was all up to us.
Okay.
But everybody was saying.
So I confess that I am a she,her.
SPEAKER_03 (02:40):
Oh.
SPEAKER_02 (02:40):
Yeah.
And everyone was okay with it.
SPEAKER_03 (02:43):
Okay.
I hope
SPEAKER_02 (02:44):
so.
Everybody was okay witheverybody's pronouns, which was
really nice.
I really liked everybody andeverybody was so supportive.
Oh, good.
Yeah.
It was crazy.
When we went around, I said, youknow, I have this work in
progress that I'm queryingAgents, which is kind of a lie
because I haven't queered anagent in like six months.
But you did.
(03:05):
I did do that.
But I talked about, you know,I'm working on writing short
stories.
And then I said, and I have anew podcast about writing and
everybody I swear around thetable was like, oh.
all so excited about it I waslike this is the best group of
people like I love you guys andI loved just nerding out about
(03:26):
writing with actual people withtheir faces right there not on a
screen like we were all in aroom around a table together
I've always wanted that I'vealways I can't I mean it sounds
lovely and then Daveed walks inhe was late because he was
making a birthday a birthdaybanner for Brittany say that
three times fast I loved beingable to see him walk up and be
(03:47):
like hi like I knew somebody.
He had the most interestingthings to say about, he has a
10-page screen play.
So it would be like a short filmif it got made.
So I was just like gaga-eyed,just staring at him, just like
listening to him talk about artand his work and all the layers.
(04:08):
And then at the end, I wanted togo look for some books to buy
and he kind of came up to me andhe asked me almost shyly, which
blew my mind, if I would readhis work and give him feedback
on his work and I was like hellyes send it the fuck over bruv
but I didn't talk like thatbecause he's my son's teacher
(04:28):
but honestly I didn't feel likeI had to suppress myself too
much yeah and I just felt likehe's my best friend and we have
we are kismet we are kindredspirit so that's how that went
great they added me to awhatsapp chat thing cool and I
(04:49):
put on there hey do you guyswant to send us some short
fiction for our story timeepisodes I texted one woman
Millie directly and she was likeoh yeah oh it's tomorrow she's
like I have to check with mypublishers oh and I have to do
this and I was like whoa you area pro like you are a Steven
Pressfield pro oh he'd be soproud honey yeah did they say
(05:11):
when the next date is yesOctober I assume yep October yep
hopefully not on my birthday ohmy god it cannot Which is on a
Thursday.
I don't want to have to missyour party.
Oh, well, no.
The party's on a Saturday night.
I'm totally fucking with herbecause we had a friend who
literally turned down a job sothat she can go to Rachel's
birthday.
She just pushed the job off aday.
(05:33):
So it's October 9th is the nextone.
Oh, perfect.
Okay, great.
And if anybody's in the area andyou want to come, just hit us up
and I'll let you know where tomeet us.
Yes.
Unless you're creepy.
On our website, the contactform...
There's two separate contactforms that go to the same email.
Just email us if you have aquestion or we'll answer about
(05:56):
it.
Yeah.
Just contact us.
We've been begging you to talkto us.
No one's talked to us.
Not even my dad.
This is like a very one-sidedconversation.
What?
David didn't contribute to storytime?
He did not.
Did he not listen?
He might not have heard it yet.
He's supposed to listen.
He does listen.
I just, he might not have heardthat episode yet.
I mean, I don't know how on topof release and listening he is,
(06:17):
you know?
He does have his own life.
Oh, okay.
Fine.
I guess he's allowed.
Yes, he is allowed.
All right.
So do we do ours first or theirsfirst?
Let's do ours first.
Let's get it out of the way.
Get it out of the way.
Okay.
But I want you to go first.
Oh, Lord.
Please.
Oh, my God.
I can't believe this ishappening.
Okay.
So I wrote it.
Oh, wait.
You have to talk.
Wait.
Hold on.
We have to say what the promptswere.
(06:38):
We never.
We got these prompts fromInstagram via writer threads.
Some of them were an enemies tolovers theme.
The first one being, bold of youto assume that I'd care.
The second one, you're hurt?
Why are you always hurt?
The third one, get behind me.
Then the flavor of the nextprompts were angry confession.
(07:01):
One of them is, trust me, I amalways trying to understand how
in the shit this happened.
The next one was, tell me howI'm supposed to unlove you then.
Tell me, spare me.
The next one was, since when doyou ever care about me?
Since fucking forever, youidiot.
it dunce.
And then the flavor of the nextones were sickness or injury,
(07:21):
which was very emotional for me.
One was tell me where it hurts.
Another one was, can you carryme?
And then another one was, whydidn't you tell me it hurts so
bad?
So I think the one that I likedwas you're hurt.
Why are you always hurt?
Interesting.
(07:41):
Okay.
Which is brutal.
It is brutal.
And it honestly, I just startedwriting and I don't think it
really Oh, okay.
But that's okay.
The prompt is the prompt.
Yeah.
And it was like, do it in twohours.
And yeah.
So just a little bit of how thesausage is made.
Call back.
(08:02):
Did you set a timer and then youwere just like, okay, go?
Or how did you do it?
Just because I'm curious andI'll say how I did mine.
Yeah, yeah.
I went out into the garden and Ilaid out my blanket and I just
only had two hours.
Like, it was like i usually onlyhave a couple hours these days
it was like something else washappening at noon or something
(08:23):
so yeah i just wrote until i hadto go okay so we've been talking
about ai over the last couple ofepisodes and chat gpt and i've
been going back and forth interms of whether i like it or
i'm terrified of it and i thinkthat that just this this little
work is completely infused withthat so here we go okay it
(08:43):
doesn't have a name i'm readyokay according to the bold
script that just appeared on ourtable tablet tomorrow is choice
day we will have two options oneswift and painless death body
converted to compost twoencapsulation for energy
extraction body suspended inmachinery alive consciousness
(09:05):
and lucid dream world of humansown making body converted to
compost when no more energy canbe extracted matthias covered
his mouth with his hands i readthe words over again but we give
energy i said My slot is onFriday fucking night, and I've
never once missed it.
The room fills with the voice wechose to deliver Pi's messages.
Foul language, overt emotionalbody.
(09:29):
Mateus and I chose a voice thatsounded like Morgan Freeman.
Okay, aside, I should have madethat sound like Morgan Freeman
when I read that, but then thatwould be like blackface or
something.
So whatever, just imagine thatthat was Morgan Freeman.
So when Pi's voice enters theroom, it goes...
Foul language, overt emotionalbody.
(09:50):
Mateus and I chose a voice thatsounded like Morgan Freeman.
I wanted Pi to sound like afolksy Christian god.
I thought it would be easier tohave pro-social, pro-AI
attitudes towards Pi when itsounded that way.
Maybe we'd get used to it.
Maybe life would get better overtime.
Maybe we could find moments of,Mateus whispered, it's saying we
die tomorrow or become batteriesuntil we're sucked dry.
(10:13):
Fear response, energy waste00.2355 six lucid i read in a
world of your own making we fallsilent looking into each other's
eyes his are earthy hazel lovelylike a forest when the sun's
rays stream through the brancheswould you make me a part of your
lucid fantasy world i ask himwith a wink this is my greatest
(10:35):
asset matthias has said mycheekiness in the face of doom i
don't think it would work hischin trembles i clench my jaw
why can't he be funny for me foronce why can't he say all day
long hot stuff.
Or he could be romantic and say,I would dream up every angle of
you.
But instead he says, I neverknow what the hell you're going
to say, Mickey.
(10:55):
I could never make you up.
And then if I tried, it wouldjust be a sad, empty imposter.
I lean toward him and tap on histemple.
I'm in there somewhere, my love.
He flinches, swats my hand away.
I can't do it.
I'm just going to die.
There might be something after.
I have the urge to run.
I remember the ponchos in thewall.
We found them a few months afterwe were thrown in here.
(11:16):
There was a wooden board on thewall in the hallway painted the
same beige it made its presenceknown to us one day we must have
walked past it hundreds of timesbut that day Mateus halted and
ran his fingers around the edgeof the board he pressed on the
side of it pivoted on a paintednail behind it was a compartment
with a go kit inside we openedthe kit in silence I recognized
(11:37):
the ponchos immediately theirfabric was woven with silver
protesters used to call thisgarb armor as it absorbed
electromagnetic waves so theycouldn't penetrate the body
Mateus Wowzers, you are so muchdeeper than I am.
(12:03):
Okay, well, I mean, it's like1984 meets The Matrix.
I guess is what I did there.
Yeah.
I've just been thinking aboutthe future.
I've, I've just, oh, Rachel,last night.
(12:25):
You've gone deep in a dark holeabout it.
I'm in a dark hole guys.
Like get me out of this hole.
Like last night when I finishedup at the writers meeting, I was
turned around.
I never go to Mountain View.
I thought I knew where I wasparked.
I was kind of looking around andwalking around trying to find my
vehicle and it wasn't working.
I'd been walking around forabout 10 minutes.
I was like, what the hell?
Where am I?
So I found my parking spot onGoogle Google Maps, which by the
(12:48):
way, that is like such a greatfeature for someone like me.
Google Maps told me like that itwas like on the other side of
the bookstore, like thecomplete, I had to walk now 15
minutes back in the otherdirection.
I was like, damn, I didn't knowMountain View had any areas that
felt sketch at all, but for somereason it was feeling kind of
sketchy to me.
And I was like, I did not parkin a neighborhood.
(13:09):
I parked in like a business areaand I'm going up and down the
streets and I'm like, what ifChatGPT is like told me that I
was parked.
Big city.
this belly came to get you yeahlike told me I was parked
somewhere else but it knowsbecause it knows where everybody
is because we all have ourphones in our pockets and it
knows that there's this likemurderer on the curb over here
(13:29):
and it's just gonna bring ustogether so that I die because
it it's heard all this shit thatI'm saying about it on my
podcast oh my god well first ofall it should like you if it's
gonna like one of us yeah you'renot dead yet so I guess I'm okay
um well do you have anythingelse you want to say about your
story I Sure, yeah.
(14:17):
I said has probably been done.
And yeah, I just, I don't thinkit's that good.
But when I just read it to you,I think there's like a few
little nuggets.
I think there's definitely somenuggets.
You got a little nugget.
Is there an egg?
Yeah, I'd say so.
Okay.
Yeah.
My chickens would be proud ofyou.
I think.
For your egg.
I feel like an egg from, ifRachel tells you something to do
(14:38):
with you as an egg, I feel likeit's a very high compliment.
Oh, why?
For some
SPEAKER_03 (14:41):
reason.
UNKNOWN (14:44):
That's great.
I like that.
Okay.
Yeah.
Great.
SPEAKER_02 (14:45):
I really want to hear yours.
So I think that I've beeninfluenced a bit by, so at night
on Instagram, they only come upat night.
There's some algorithm thingwhere Instagram's figured out
that I like to write and it'sfigured out that we read that
Romantasy book because now atnight I get these like scroll,
(15:06):
maybe you get them too, thesescrolling stories of like
werewolf fantasy.
Do you ever get those?
No.
Okay.
So I often will wake up in themiddle of the night and can't
fall back asleep.
That's a thing that happensespecially if I've had a couple
glasses of wine or something andit sucks but then I'll you know
start dim scrolling whatever andthen these scrolling stories and
(15:26):
it's just like werewolf eroticapretty much it's just like yeah
and it's like alpha Ben took meby my ankles and pulled me to
him you know like and I'm justlike well obviously I have to
read this at 1 30 in the morningum and it scrolls so you have to
like stay you know kind of hardto read actually and then just
advocate because it's going sofast um So I clearly have been
(15:48):
influenced.
I'm just going to say, um, not,there's no werewolves in this
story, but it is, I wouldn'teven say it's, well, I mean, if
I had kept writing, perhaps itcould have gone into a romantic
way.
I can tell that my brain was inthat space when I just like
threw something out there, youknow?
I love it.
Does that make sense?
Yeah.
It grabs me by the ankles.
(16:09):
Okay.
There's no ankle grabbing inthis one.
Okay.
So the prompt that I chosegrabbed me by the ankles.
I was thinking that would be a atitle for the episode it was
okay well there we go okay sothe one that i chose was also an
enemies to lovers one the getbehind me um okay i set it
literally set a timer for twohours sat down at my dining room
(16:30):
table and was just like i had mygiant bowl of salad and a big
glass of water and we're justlike okay go and i had bread in
the oven that i let burn becauseof this by accident wow whoops
here we go get behind me hegrowled he had appeared out of
nowhere Generally, I feel asthough I can hold my own on the
streets at night.
I grew up here.
(16:51):
I'm comfortable in the dark andalone.
In fact, I slept just twostreets up in my car last night,
but I did as he said.
It was instantly clear to mejust how threatening the two men
approaching us were, and theurgency in his voice confirmed
my gut feeling.
I had been seeing these menaround, a crew of them, all with
the same strip of black clothtied around their arm.
I watched them take out ahomeless man with a smart mouth
(17:11):
a few streets over just twonights ago.
I adjusted myself to fall behindJared, and my small five one
frame was immediately concealedbehind his large body.
His broad shoulders and tallframe easily eclipsed all of me,
and although I could feel myheart pounding loudly in my ears
as the men brushed past us, itwas like we didn't exist at all.
Not a turn of their heads oracknowledgement of our
existence.
(17:32):
One of the guys was so close toJared's body that I could have
sworn they grazed each other.
How?
I started to speak, but thewords caught in my throat as
Jared looked back and sharplyswiveled, turning his back to
the brick wall and quicklypulling me in.
My voice must have caught theattention of one of the as he
turned back ever so slightly andtapped the other's arm.
They both looked back as Jaredmade himself even larger than he
(17:53):
already was, broadening hisshoulders and accentuating his
chest.
I peeked through a small gapunder his arm and watched them
as they looked back towards usblankly, as though they couldn't
see us, as if the street wasempty behind them.
They turned the corner and Jaredexhaled in relief.
The sound of him relaxingallowed me to do the same.
Okay, he sighs, turning towardsme.
The light from the street lampabove us shone through his dark
(18:14):
hair.
His strong jawline, the onlypart of his face visible in the
shadow.
Questions?
I take a sharp, staggered breathand place my hand on my hip,
biting my lip.
My words are lost even though Ihave so many things to ask.
What the fuck had just happened?
Who are those guys?
Or more importantly, why is heeven here right now?
On Samson Boulevard at 11pm?
I have never once seen him inthis neighborhood and he just
(18:34):
appears out of nowhere?
How did he know where I was?
How did those guys not see us?
I furrow my brow as I decidewhich question to ask first,
pausing just a little bit toolong.
Okay, he smirks.
I can't see his full expressionbut I know the look he's giving
me, even when it's hidden in theshadow.
He turns and starts down thestreet.
Let's get you something to eat.
Before I can answer, he isalready passing the stoop of my
(18:55):
dad's apartment building.
I had planned to sit on thatstoop to smoke my cigarette just
before Jared appeared tonight.
And as I quickly jumped intomotion to catch up with him, I
looked up to see the light on inmy dad's window.
He's probably eating his usual,a can of chunky soup and not
even thinking of me, but I likeknowing that he's there.
I quicken my pace to catch upwith Jared and lock into pace.
(19:15):
Uh, we...
UNKNOWN (19:16):
Hahahaha!
SPEAKER_02 (19:17):
Which is hard considering his casual stride
puts me at a light jog.
He looks down at me.
His face is fully illuminated bythe lights above us and I try
not to meet his eyes, but fuck,the golden flecks of green catch
and dance.
I have to look away as to nottrip over myself.
He smirks again and looks downat my legs, watching how fast
they turn in order to keep up,and stops abruptly.
(19:37):
I know you have questions,Kimmy.
I breathe in deeply, silentlythanking him for stopping so I
can catch my breath.
I do.
He raises his eyebrow and nodsback towards the illuminated
window behind us.
The city diner.
A sweet little dive on thecorner.
I nod, okaying the restaurantchoice and follow him in.
The door chime rings loudly aswe step inside, calling the
(19:58):
attention of a small stout womansitting in the corner.
She's the only person in therestaurant and is reminiscent of
a tiny hedgehog, round with apointed face.
Her short spiky hair shoots upin every direction.
As she stands, the woman wipesher hands on her apron and gives
Jared a full once over beforesettling on me and winks.
Anywhere you want, Kimmy baby.
Thanks, June.
I smile at her before pursing mylip and rolling my eyes.
(20:18):
She walks behind the counter tograb a single menu.
We need two, please.
Jared tries to correct her.
No, it's okay.
I touch his arm and steer himtowards the booth behind us.
You're not eating?
Jared looks at me questioninglyas he slides in.
Junie knows what I'll have.
I don't need a menu.
I look down to avoid his eyes asI slide in across from him.
I can see through my lashes thathis broad frame barely fits into
the booth and I look down to seea full one and a half foot gap
(20:42):
between my own small chest andthe table.
The sweatshirt I'm wearing isworn and baggy, faded from the
Why the fuck are you here?
That's how you're going to talkto me after what just happened?
(21:09):
He's smirking again.
Sure.
I raise my eyebrow.
That too.
What the fuck just happened?
What the fuck was that?
Who were those guys?
Did they die?
Did they just not see us?
(21:47):
Don't come here unless they havea reason.
So what is your reason?
What was your reason, Kim?
Don't answer my questions withquestions.
I have never once pretended tobe some big shot.
I answer the phones atreception.
Make sure all you fancy pantsswipe your key cards before
entering the building and greetclients.
You think they pay me somethinggreat?
It should be pretty obvious toyou why I'm in this
(22:08):
neighborhood, Jared.
Right.
He looks down at his hands now.
First time I've ever seen himlook anything close to
embarrassed.
So?
I goad.
I wasn't here to find He looksup at me, and I'm surprised to
see that he seems truthful inthis admission.
I was here to find them.
Them?
Those guys.
Okay, but you found them and youdidn't do anything, so what was
(22:28):
the point of finding them?
Well, I came across you.
What?
I shake my head with confusion.
What'll you have, handsome?
June looks down at Jared,although she's not much taller
than he is as he sits in the lowbooth.
This here's our top seller.
She points to his menu with herpen.
You look like you might enjoyprotein.
UNKNOWN (22:47):
Ha ha ha!
SPEAKER_02 (22:49):
She taps at something within the plastic
covered pages and then looksover at me, giving me another
exaggerated wink.
I shake my head at her andscowl, trying to show her that
we're not on a date.
But she ignores my signal andsmiles and continues.
Now, Kimmy here usually justgets some buttered toast, but
since I'm sure you're paying,I'm going to go ahead and get
her something that can put somemeat on her bones.
(23:10):
You'd like that, right?
Fuck, Joan! Jared's eyes appearover the top of his menu,
looking at me intently for amoment.
I would like that, yes.
I can tell that he has a gu-that goddamn smirk on his face
again by the way his voice liftsand the tiny crinkle that forms
next to his eye.
He looks at the menu for amoment more and then lays it
down flat on the table beforeclosing it dramatically.
(23:31):
And sure, I'll take the one yousuggest.
Thank you, June.
As he thanks her, he stares atme intently.
I thought so.
She sounds pleased as she takesthe menu out from under his hand
and walks away.
I may have to take this to HR.
I cross my arms.
I don't need meat on my bones.
I don't need you to buy me ameal.
I don't need anyone to take careof me.
I didn't need you tonight and Idon't need you at all you did
(23:52):
need me you don't know whatyou're talking about Jared is
cool as a cucumber as he watchesme get more and more flustered
don't get upset I'm not fuckingupset I slide myself out of the
booth and stand at the end ofthe table where June had just
been barely looking down at himI still finally feel like I have
the upper hand and take a deepbreath before exhaling slowly
and start again in a calmer toneI am not upset I'm going to the
(24:15):
bathroom I can feel his eyes onme as I walk away and I hate how
much I love him watching me I,the front desk receptionist, was
barely a blip on his radar, andI would be lying if I didn't
admit that I had a chip on myshoulder about it.
That was where it ended.
That was where my timer wentoff.
Oh, wow.
Geez, you write fast.
I do write really fast.
Setting the two-hour timer andwriting all of that, I was like,
(24:38):
oh, no wonder I wrote 60,000words in, like, a month.
Yeah.
Whoa.
Because that had to have been,like, 2,000 words, right?
At least.
I'm not sure, but it was...
Yeah, it was like a good story.
Like things actually happened.
It was like actually a story.
It felt like it could have beena chapter.
(24:59):
I feel like it could be achapter.
I mean, it's not good.
No, it is good.
So you don't like it?
I don't think I want to doanything with it, but.
It kind of got me a littlebothered.
Yeah?
A little.
What bothered you?
Oh, just a little hot?
Yeah, yeah.
He's, I mean, he He's hot.
(25:21):
Little homeless Kimmy.
He wants some of the, I don'tknow, I guess I just like it
when people are horny.
Fair.
Who doesn't?
I feel like it's on par withstuff in that genre.
I think so too.
I'm like, okay, I didn't reallyhave enough time to decide where
(25:42):
to go with it.
Like, was this just going to belike a kind of romantic scene?
Like, clearly he has powers orsomething.
I don't even know.
I didn't even have a chance.
to go there.
It was just a complete pantsingsituation.
It was just full pants.
Those big pants.
Pants around the ankles.
It's like you were riding itwith your pants around your
(26:04):
ankles.
Oh, Lord.
Lord.
Okay, great.
So prompts were done.
We finished the first task.
Yes.
I just want to say one morething.
Oh, sure.
What I liked about that is thatit really made me curious.
Like you planted like a lot ofquestions in my mind.
And that's something that at theSan Francisco Writers
(26:26):
Conference, one time this authorwas telling me that everybody
tells her that her books arepagans.
that's like the number onecomment that she gets about her
work she said the way that youdo that is every page should
place a question in the reader'smind sure because just
psychologically humans we don'tlike to have no answer like it
(26:47):
really bothers us totally withyour work i have these questions
about why do they hate eachother right like that's really
so i really want to find out whythey hate each other and then i
also want to find out if theyfucked and then i also want to
find out why she's so poorbecause it's like she must be
having to like support somebodyor something else and then why
(27:08):
can't she live with her dad whyis she sleeping in her car like
I have a lot of questions so Ithink that that's that's great I
would definitely keep uh turningthe pages oh well that's
wonderful and I it's so funny Iwas talking to a dad at the park
the other day I had been sayingthat like I wasn't quite because
it was before I finished dinnerfor eight and I was like I'm not
quite sure where it's gonna gohe's like well how do you not
know and I was like well I justdon't know like what are the
(27:30):
characters gonna do I don't knowand like Like this one for sure.
I'm like, why doesn't her dadinvite her in?
And like, have they fucked?
I don't know.
Like I legitimately, I'm like, Ihave all the same questions.
I don't know.
Like I clearly haven't even,there's no blossoming in my
head.
Like I didn't take fromsomething.
I wish Kimmy could tell me.
Why are you so fucking poor?
(27:51):
You gotta write that.
Cause I also want to know whothose guys are.
I'm sorry, but you're going tohave to keep going.
You're like, I don't like it.
It's not good.
I'm like, um, Sorry, but youplanted a lot of questions.
Well, maybe if we don't haveanything by the next story time
for ideas of what to write, I'llwrite another piece of it.
Yay! Okay, you guys, pleasecomment and tell Rachel to keep
(28:14):
writing it because I really wantto know what happens.
Okay, me too.
I mean, I'm a little curious.
Let's play Scott's.
Let's hear your voice.
Yeah, okay.
I have not listened to this.
Scott told me that he recordedthis 15 years ago.
Oh, wow.
This reminds me of...
What I was saying on the lastpodcast about we were artists
(28:36):
when we were kids in Kelownagrowing up.
All of us were in some way,shape or form.
And Scott still is an artist.
He's making a film right nowabout, I think, the punk scene
in the Philippines.
I could be wrong.
It's about the punk scenesomewhere.
That's rock.
Whoa, that was so cool, Scott.
(28:58):
He said he hasn't been writingfor so long and he's...
This, he wrote 15 years ago, andhe liked pulling it up because
it reminded him of a reallyinteresting time in his life.
But I just encouraged him.
I'm like, bro, you are a writer.
Please write.
You're so talented.
But I haven't heard this, solet's see.
(29:19):
I'll play it.
I don't know what it's called.
He literally just sent me anemail with the attachments.
He didn't do anything else,though.
Okay.
Here we go.
I'm excited.
SPEAKER_00 (29:28):
Let's rock.
UNKNOWN (29:31):
Okay.
SPEAKER_01 (29:31):
And now, I'm waiting in line to pay my overstay fine
at the Nangkai ImmigrationPassport Control Center.
I'm only over by two days.
I'll need to pay roughly$30, athousand baht, and possibly make
some sort of excuse, but I'm notsure.
The first of my overstay dayswas spent keeping tabs on a bar
(29:52):
while the owner was inSingapore.
She's going to pay that portionof my fine.
That day was spent inKanchanaburi, a town that I
love.
The other one was spent inBangkok.
And all my friends in Asia cantell you that Bangkok is very
low on the list of cities inwhich I choose to stay,
especially if it means fines topay.
And the reason I stayed?
(30:12):
Her name was Randy.
And for five days and counting,I've hardly been able to eat
because the butterflies in mystomach have been pimp-smacking
my gin tonics and tequila shots,practicing Muay Thai on my rum
on the rocks and whiskey sodas,and curb stomping my beer.
And my liver delivering kidneyshots goes without saying, but
this whiskey-soaked list hasbeen more than worth it.
(30:35):
And if you haven't experiencedbody shots that begin with salt
on the nose, trust me, you'remissing out.
At a bar in Bangkok where weliked the Filipino cover band,
but the clientele, not so much.
Too high so.
Randy was the girl who beelinedacross the top of our table to
get to the dance floor when theband played a Zeppelin cover.
(30:55):
Made multiple trips to thebathroom to vomit, but never
stopped dancing, with theobvious exception of the
bathroom time.
I was the guy who didn't care,no, kind of hope the more
reserved clientele were botheredby our shameless display.
Because in a country nicknamedthe land of smiles, ours were
outshining everyone's.
And I'll never understand whyanyone would compromise that in
(31:17):
order to appear dignified infront of strangers.
But now, I'm the guy waiting inline, crossing another border
another time, because even inthe town I call home back in
Canada, I build my life aroundleaving when I want to.
That's why I never look for jobslead to careers and why I have
three quarters of a bachelor'sdegree.
My time living in Bangkok waslike a first grade bean and wet
(31:39):
paper towel experiment.
It wasn't given the slightestchance to sprout the smallest
resemblance of roots.
I finished my four monthsemester and moved away with the
money that I needed for a planeticket.
And now...
sometimes past.
Too small to say a lot, but toobig to say a little.
In this time, I've been themanager of a bar in Vang Vien,
(32:01):
Laos.
I've also spent the night injail due to work visa issues.
Namely, the lack of work visaproved to be an issue.
The bar paid my fines.
I filled out my arrest formswith an incorrect passport
number, so as far as I know, myBA-668-511 won't appear on any
records within the Lao legalsystem.
(32:23):
I've also been backed...
to Kanchanaburi saying goodbyeto all my friends who lived
there and now I'm back inBangkok at the airport with
Randy we're nearing the end ofour extended goodbye a goodbye
that found its beginning shortlyafter hello and for the past six
hours I've been mostly a messand being in charge of my own
affairs currently feels likesomething that I'm incapable of
(32:45):
I can't remember my last fullnight's sleep Randy made sure
that everything I needed to geton my plane was printed out and
in my hands and that we had timeto get to my friend Rob's place
to say goodbye before theairport.
And I'm not gonna lie, as we'vebeen bouncing around Bangkok for
the past few hours, we haven'tbeen especially respectful of
the Thai culture in regards topublic displays of affection.
(33:08):
Regardless, our cab driver stillgot us to the airport in record
time.
We did tip him decently.
I'm learning the hours until Iwalk through that metal detector
onwards to my flight back toCanada turning into minutes.
And I know that Randy has beguncounting her days left in
Bangkok because she loves itabout as much as I do.
But now, like the first and onlynight we took in the city's
(33:31):
nightlife, together, Randy makesstaying in this city that has
brought me some of my worst oftimes something on the high and
the desirable.
And now...
I'm back in Canada.
I'm counting months, notminutes, for when Randy's plane
touches ground in Vancouver.
And I'm waiting to see, touchingwood and keeping my fingers
(33:52):
crossed, that if when thatstaircase touches pavement, it
will all become real.
SPEAKER_02 (34:06):
That was so fucking cute.
I loved that.
Oh my gosh.
Okay.
So is he married to Randy now?
Do you know Randy?
I don't know Randy personallyand no, he is not.
I'm so sorry.
I wish that I could give abetter, no, that was 15 years
ago and they did have arelationship.
(34:29):
Um, they had a beautifulrelationship and I think that it
broke both of their hearts inthe And I think they were like
kind of, so I don't really know.
I'm sure Scott is listening tothis.
And my sense of it was that theywere kind of like soulmates.
I mean, it sounds like it.
(34:49):
This poem was beautiful.
It was so, I love the partsabout Randy, about how she like
jumped up over the table to godance.
It's so sweet.
And it's so crazy that she waspuking, but she just kept on
going back out to dance, whichto me, it's like, I know Scott I
don't know her but I'm like thatis the type of chick like I just
(35:12):
think that that would be areally good kind of person for
him to be with and also I knowthat he ended up in jail
actually like I think for thatlike he ended up in a Thai
prison for a couple of nightsand yeah he told me about that
last time I was visiting inKelowna we went on sort of a
magical psychedelic walk andyeah I think he ended up going
(35:36):
to Thai prison because he justit sounds like from that poem
I'm like bro you were so fuckingweird when you were over there
with putting the wrong passportnumber on your form so that
there'd be no record of you outthere right just living his
fucking best life with salt onthe nose body shots which I'm so
curious what does that mean Idon't know but now I feel like I
(35:57):
need to have that in my life atleast one so you put salt on
your nose and then the otherperson licks it off I say lick
it off of your nose because Oh,okay.
I'm stupid.
(36:18):
I thought you dumped the liquorinto the person's belly button
and then slurped it out.
I think that you coulddefinitely do it that way.
I might try that tonight.
However, I think that worksbetter with cocaine.
you guys we are moms and we areprim and proper PTA moms so
don't get it twisted thank youScott so much for sending that
(36:42):
in yeah thank you and I love youso much and please share again
sometime that was so great yeahokay now what about Elon Musk
yes so this is MJ's poem Elonand MJ yes she reads it so much
better than I'm going to, butI'm going to do my best.
(37:03):
How come she isn't reading it?
Because I failed on reaching outto her.
She had told me that I couldread it on the podcast like a
while back, and then I justdidn't get on my shit and text
her to have her send in therecording.
It's okay.
Yes.
Oh, it's completely okay.
(37:23):
Okay.
So, Elon.
Elon, I know a salute whenever Isee it, and you concentrate
children in camps, so I believeit.
Your Teslas and the swastikasare a problem, but it's not the
people who drive them.
It's not the people who buythem, but the person who is
selling them.
We're taught to blame theconsumer, but it's what's being
(37:44):
consumed that's the issue.
And it's also the crimes youcommit that you won't admit to.
Shrouded in secrecy, stepped onbodies and shrouded, the White
House is too crowded.
We didn't elect you to be there,so don't be surprised when we
start to care.
Don't get me started on So ifyou're putting children in
(38:18):
cages, giving robots our wages,then expect the people's outrage
because this is outrageous.
You can link the stars and youcan move to Mars, but in our
short lives, Is this the markyou want to make just for the
sake of the bank tucked in yourpockets?
Clearly your morals have flownaway in your rockets.
(38:40):
Oh my gosh.
That is so clever.
She's so clever.
I love the link the stars andmove to Mars.
That is so sick.
And like the swastikas.
She really embodies all of hisbullshit really well.
And she reads it so much betterbecause she's got the more slam
poetry kind of cadence.
Cadence.
Yeah.
And I tried my hardest.
(39:02):
I think you did good.
I would love to hear her read itone day.
But yeah, that was, that wasreally good.
Yeah.
That's a good one.
Okay.
Was there anything else?
We still have our other goals.
We have the two sentence contestwith Rites of November.
Yes.
And then there was the othercontest that I had posted with
(39:23):
Driftwood Press, which we stillhave a little bit of time for.
That one is, had a further outdate.
And then there was the ones youhad, which was September 25th.
Yes.
So there's the book pipelineunpublished contest, which the
deadline is September 25th.
If you have a manuscript, yousend it in and winners receive
(39:44):
$25,000 in industry circulationand executive development
opportunities.
So this is where I'm going totake my old manuscript pillow
forts down.
I'm going to rework it.
I'm going to make it the best itcan fucking be this month.
This is my big project.
project.
I should be doing this likenonstop, honestly.
And then I'm going to send it inon the deadline and I really,
(40:06):
really want to win.
Okay.
Yes.
Perfect.
Please.
There was this other one, theJohn Steinbeck award, which the
deadline is October 1st.
It's exceptional works offiction, like short fiction up
to 5,000 words.
I don't know if I'm going tohave time to write a 5,000 word
short story for this, although Iwould love to win this, but I
(40:27):
mean, you can't win without awinning story.
Um, Do you have anything youwant to send in for that one?
Well, I think that it'sunrealistic for me to think that
I could have a manuscript readyto send into the first one by
September 25th.
I thought that maybe it would bea good goal, but I don't think
it's realistic.
So I think that maybe this isthe one I'll focus on.
(40:47):
That would be great.
Because it's not like I'm in arush to finish editing.
I don't really want to be in arush to finish editing Dinner
Freight.
So I think that literally 5,000words can fly out of me in you
know 45 minutes maybe you shoulddo that one maybe that one just
seems so like it's sort of likean entertain more entertaining
(41:07):
where is that what it is I thinkit might be I don't know I like
I don't I maybe I'm being justlike hypercritical of myself
like I don't feel like superproud of that one right I mean
if you're not passionate aboutit fucking don't do it I mean it
seems like fun like maybe it'sjust like fun bullshit's my jam
(41:29):
yeah Maybe I should just embracebeing a fun bullshitter.
I think you're just in thisreally great lane that I love,
which is like Alison Esbach,Emily Henry.
Well, maybe not Emily Henry.
I don't know that much.
I don't want to offend you.
Do you like her?
I don't.
I wouldn't know.
I mean, I've read it, right?
We're supposed to read it forbook club.
(41:50):
Oh, The Big Bold Beautiful Life.
That has some major Emily Henryvibes.
That does?
For sure.
Because it's like the people whohate each other, but then
they're going to turn to loveher like that's her jam yeah
except for she does more likereal life stuff there's no
fantasy in it no there's nofantasy but she's that was
definitely also in my headbecause I had just finished Big
Bull Beautiful Life so there'sdefinitely some of that oh like
(42:13):
the co-workers who have alwayshad this bad tension oh is it
good did you like that book um Ididn't love it because it felt
very formulaic with the otherone that we read of hers yeah I
heard they're all kind of thesame yeah so So I'm not offended
by your comparison because thisone for sure has the vibe.
(42:35):
For sure.
But I think that I could easilywrite that kind of stuff.
And I'm not going to call itbullshit because it is.
It's like easily consumableentertainment.
And I do feel like my style ofwriting is much more of that.
But I think that it's beenreally cool to read the
different stuff that you've beentrying out because you did that
(42:56):
really dark one about Larry andthe Cowboys.
Like you sort of dipped intothis like really dark world and
then this one has a little bitof like romantic-y vibes and
you're sort of, it seems likeyou're sort of like testing the
waters, dipping your toe in hereand there.
Sure.
But the dinner for eight, Ithink that seems like your lane
where it's entertaining andconsumable, but it has like a
(43:22):
lot of heart and depth and likea unique concept and there's
like layers and...
It's definitely a lot more depththan Dinner for Eight.
Yes.
Sure.
So anyways, we're all justfinding our lane.
Okay, so I'm going to focus moreon the Steinbeck.
You're going to focus more onsending in your manuscript and
touching it up in all the waysthat you want to remove the
(43:44):
sausage parts.
Oh, God.
Jesus.
All right, I've got to stopcalling back to the sausage.
And in the meantime, I thinkwe're both going to try to throw
in two sentences from some ofour already finished work to the
Rites of November.
Yes.
So we'll let you know thesentences that we threw in and
how that went.
And we're going to keep onlearning about the craft of
(44:04):
writing and share that stuffwith you, too.
Yep.
Thanks so much for listening.
And please send us your storiesand poems.
Yes, we want your stuff for thenext story time, please.
And I hope the Writers Clubpeople, please submit your
stuff.
I'm so excited to meet you inOctober and hear some of your
(44:24):
work.
I'm very excited.
Yay.
So it's contact atwriteyourheartoutpod.com.
You can send audio, like you canrecord it on your phone,
whatever.
It doesn't have to be perfect orjust send us the script and
we'll read it for you.
Yes.
And if you don't, for somereason, already follow us on
Instagram is write your heartout pod on Instagram.
Yep.
And please give us a five-starreview and a nice comment
(44:45):
because that means the world tous.
Yes.
Thank you.
All right.
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