Story Magic

100 - Celebrating our 100th episode

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Today, Emily & Rachel talk about celebrating our 100th episode!

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Rachel: https://www.instagram.com/bookcoachrachel/

Emily: https://www.instagram.com/ebgoldenbooks/

Emily:

Foreign. Hey, writers. Welcome back to Story Magic, the podcast that will help you write a book you're damn proud of.

Rachel:

I'm Rachel.

Emily:

And I'm Emily.

Rachel:

And today we are celebrating our 100th episode.

Emily:

That's so exciting.

Rachel:

That's all we're doing today. We're just talking about it being our hundred. We could not decide on a topic, so we're just chatting. Welcome to our chatting half hour.

Emily:

Let's see what happens.

Rachel:

We're just gonna talk, and you're gonna listen, so buckle up. You're gonna listen, you're gonna listen, so get ready. This is just gonna be nonsense.

Emily:

Oh, my goodness. We've done a hundred episodes.

Rachel:

A hundred.

Emily:

Two years. Over two years. Two.

Rachel:

Over two. Yeah, two and a couple months. Two in a while.

Emily:

Crazy.

Rachel:

It is pretty crazy.

Emily:

That's so crazy.

Rachel:

Can't believe it. Yeah.

Emily:

Yeah.

Rachel:

And we've only taken a couple breaks. I mean, you guys know when we don't. When we don't give a. We stop, don't show up, just don't do it. That's only happened a couple times. Otherwise, we've been fairly consistent, which is.

Emily:

Surprising because, fun fact. I went to visit Rachel when we planned this, because we had wanted to do a podcast for forever, and I went to visit you for, like, half a week.

Rachel:

It was like. Yeah. It was right after New Year's two years ago, and.

Emily:

Yeah. And we made our little. We found our music. I remember sitting on your couch, and we were like, listen to all these musics. And we were like, these. Most of these are so terrible.

Rachel:

They were bad. I think I had a glass of wine.

Emily:

Yep. Yep.

Rachel:

I still have the bottle. It's up there on mine. I saved it because the label's so cute. It says Storyteller. We bought a line. We bought a bottle of wine that says Storyteller. And, like, in my family, you keep stuff like that. I don't know. We're really sentimental. So I still have that bottle up there.

Emily:

And that was probably the last wine I had. Yeah. Because the next. Like, I got home the next day and found out I was pregnant. Yeah. Which is really funny, because your last drink was with me the first time we met each other before. Before you had Rose. Yeah. That's so funny.

Rachel:

Both of our free. Our pregnancy last drinks. Just when we were finding out we're with each other.

Emily:

So this.

Rachel:

If you don't know, you should know by now. But we don't live anywhere close to one another, so that's why it's momentous. It's not like we hang out in.

Emily:

Person all the time, stream quiet and make podcasts.

Rachel:

Coincidentally, we happen to be around one another for those times.

Emily:

We've only met in person, like five or four times. Five times. Five times. More than three?

Rachel:

More than three? Less than six. Somewhere around there. I feel like once a year, maybe for the last five, six years.

Emily:

Yeah. That's so crazy. Yeah. So we made the podcast and then we, like, made our little intro, planned it all out, and then we survived my pregnancy, my maternity leave. I feel like that that was pretty solid.

Rachel:

Yeah, we kept going.

Emily:

Yeah.

Rachel:

We had episodes pre.

Emily:

Recorded a bunch. And then you had a bunch of amazing guests.

Rachel:

Yeah.

Emily:

And then we took a break.

Rachel:

A little break.

Emily:

Why not?

Rachel:

It was Christmas, so.

Emily:

Yeah, we usually take a break around.

Rachel:

Yeah, that's when our breaks are. Yeah.

Emily:

Yeah. Gosh. And we've had so much success. We've had amazing guests on. Yeah. And I feel like. Yeah, yeah, I know.

Rachel:

Also, I'm just gonna float this by. We have. We have a guest coming. This. By the time this episode comes out, we will have already spoken to them, but it is probably the guest that I'm most excited about ever in the history of my life. And I can't wait to share that episode with you. But I'm not going to tell you. So this is just a vague hint. Just you wait. Yes.

Emily:

Yeah. And we're. And I feel like we're at this point where we've, like, really kicked off. We've got tons of momentum. We're going to try to have a lot of guests on, and it just keeps getting better and better, which is super fun. And we keep getting chiller and chiller. I feel like when we started this, we were like, we're gonna be so chill about it. And then we couldn't even have comprehended the levels of chill that we now.

Rachel:

That we are now. Yeah.

Emily:

About this podcast. I think that's true.

Rachel:

I do feel like. I do feel like I felt pretty chill about it. Do you feel like you felt pretty chill about it?

Emily:

I. We were always pretty chill about it. But we used to, like, prep.

Rachel:

Yeah, we.

Emily:

We don't.

Rachel:

We used to prepare a lot of episodes ahead of time and, like, have a bunch of notes prepared down. And now we just kind of. Let's talk about this today. And then we talk about it.

Emily:

Yeah. Like, I feel like talking about this right now, in this moment.

Rachel:

We had no idea what we were going to talk about.

Emily:

Yeah. No bullets. We just go. And it's.

Rachel:

I've got five bullets. Right now.

Emily:

So much fun. Okay. Okay. Rachel has bullets. I didn't look at them.

Rachel:

Classic.

Emily:

Okay, for me, that. I feel like it's usually the other way around.

Rachel:

It's the other way. Yeah, I wasn't gonna say that, but that's what I was thinking.

Emily:

Hold on. I'll be totally honest, though. The first, like, six months of the podcast, it was a little. I was pregnant. I was first trimester pregnant. I would have to, like, take a nap before we got on, and then I would be like, you know, my, like, pregnant brain. Yes. You can't string two thoughts together. I. I just have these visceral memories of, like, looking at you on Zoom. And you'd be like, for the podcast. And I'd be like, I don't know what she's saying. And my brain would be like, how are you going to respond if you don't know what she's saying? It's like it was a circus in there, you guys. A very slow, lethargic circus.

Rachel:

I just picture, like, that monkey that, like, claps, you know? I guess that's all that's in your brain is just in the first six.

Emily:

Months of this podcast, which, if you're new to the podcast, probably doesn't want to make you want to go back and listen to those episodes.

Rachel:

They're great episodes, but.

Emily:

They're great episodes. It was all.

Rachel:

You never know.

Emily:

But. So for me, it has gotten a lot more chill. Cause. Yeah, I'm a little tired. Yes, guys. Just a little.

Rachel:

Just a little. Does it ever go away? No. I was texting with. I was texting with one of my mom friends because last week Rose was sick, and then there was, like, a stomach bug going around her school. So basically every kid got it. And then Rose's little best friend got it on Tuesday. The. So a couple days ago, so I was texting with that mom being like, you hanging in there.

Emily:

Yeah. Right.

Rachel:

You okay over there? Because this is me last week. And, like, this is what she texted me. I just need one night of uninterrupted sleep. I feel you. I don't remember the last time I went to bed and didn't wake up until the morning. That's just life.

Emily:

Mom life. Mom life. But yeah, so now we're both moms. Now we both have books in the world. Yeah, you have two books in the world that happened. It's like, pretty crazy.

Rachel:

I know. And then. Then you'll have a second, and then.

Emily:

We'Ll just gonna keep publishing books now. But they're out there.

Rachel:

You Guys, they're out there that I don't. I don't love that. I love that, but I don't love that they're out there. Don't burrito. You can read them. That's fine.

Emily:

They're great books. They're wonderful.

Rachel:

As we just discussed, Certified. Not great literature, but a great time. That's what my reviews say.

Emily:

10 out of 10. I feel like that's, like, exactly what you want, isn't it?

Rachel:

I am not. I'm not upset about it. I didn't write those books hoping they would be great literature. I'm very happy. I. It just cracked me up, the way that review was worded.

Emily:

That is pretty sassy.

Rachel:

It was like a very. It's a very positive, very, very kind review. But, like, this was not great literature was one of those things you read. And, like, I think I just started laughing.

Emily:

It's like, she knows who she's talking to. I know.

Rachel:

My ideal reader. My ideal reader is not trying to read great literature. My idol reader is just trying to have a good time.

Emily:

It takes too much brain power, in my opinion. I don't have.

Rachel:

Exactly. I don't have the emotional capacity for great literature right now. I just want a good time. I just want to be entertained. Entertain me. And then five stars. If you're going to entertain me. I don't think I ever rate something ever lower than four or five stars because my only goal for reading a book is to be entertained. So if you're going to entertain me, five stars. Great. I was entertained. That's my personal rating system.

Emily:

That should be everybody's writing system, shouldn't it? Yeah. All right, what else should we talk about?

Rachel:

We've come a long way. We have a lot of listeners, so thank you. I mean, thanks.

Emily:

Thank you for being here.

Rachel:

Yeah, thanks.

Emily:

Like, really, really, really appreciate.

Rachel:

It's so fun to like. I just feel like sometimes when I put on these headphones and I sit in front of this microphone, I really embody the personality of, like, a white man. Like a. And what I mean by that is, like, I just get to talk into a microphone and, like, people choose to listen to me. I think that's pretty incredible. Do you know what I mean? Is that coming out right? I'm really not certain if that's gonna happen.

Emily:

It's reminding me of an SNL skit. And I don't. We don't need to go down. Don't need to go down. But no, it's true. I feel like the podcast has helped us. I feel like, one of the biggest things that I have learned just since starting our business is that one of the best ways to learn is to teach.

Rachel:

Yeah.

Emily:

And, like, the only way to gain confidence is to just do with the thing. And I do feel like my confidence level just sitting in front of the mic, especially with guests, is, like, totally different than it was two years ago, five years ago. Like, it's just been such a awesome opportunity to be able to sit down and talk through writing stuff with you, because it gives us. It also gives us a place to kind of talk about craft and talk about mindset, talk about writing stuff, because we don't. We're busy, ladies.

Rachel:

Yeah.

Emily:

We don't have a ton of time to talk about this stuff outside the podcast, so it's been a really cool way to just, like, continue learning with you and in front of people, because that's what we do. We just learn live on camera.

Rachel:

Yeah. I feel, like, really privileged that I. That, like, this is an avenue that we have and that people listen to us.

Emily:

Yeah.

Rachel:

I don't know.

Emily:

We probably do it even if you didn't listen to us, but the fact that there are hundreds and hundreds of.

Rachel:

You that, like, listen, I think that's really cool. And, like, I hope you all know that as much as Emily and I do this job, and I don't mean to speak for you, but for. For me, like, I do this job, but in no way do I think of myself as, like, a thought expert, you know? Like, I know what I'm doing. So, like, it's kind of cool to be like, okay, we're just figuring this out. And there's other people that are also figuring it out with us. And I don't ever hope to be that person that pretends they're standing on, like, a pedestal, but I do really love that we get to do that together. We get to experience this together. And, like, I think of our listeners as just along for the ride with us.

Emily:

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Same with our tenacious riding community.

Rachel:

We love you.

Emily:

Yeah.

Rachel:

We love you guys. Yeah.

Emily:

You guys. That's what I mean by, like, in on it.

Rachel:

I have, like, the confidence of a white man. It's like, I just feel like. Like, it's a really. It's a really privileged place to be able to talk and then have people listen. So that's cool. Thanks. Thanks for listening.

Emily:

Thanks for listening.

Rachel:

Yeah. Anyway, updates. Let's talk about, like, what are we doing? What are you doing right now?

Emily:

I started this project.

Rachel:

Everybody, everybody, mind your business. I'm Talking to Emily for a second. What are you doing? It's been a while.

Emily:

What are you doing? Working on Project Storm. I started drafting again this week. Yeah. So for everybody who doesn't know, I wrote a fantasy romantasy duology behind the Crimson Curtain. And I finished the sequel this winter. It's like, dun dun now, which is crazy to me. So I have a completed series out there. Well, not. You can pre order the second One comes out August 26th. But. But yeah. So that's, like, behind me. So I got to finally sit down and think through a completely different story, completely different world. It's also a romantasy. This one's a murder mystery. Calling it Project Storm to everybody in my circles. You guys are in my circles.

Rachel:

All, like, thousand of you hanging out with us.

Emily:

Project Storm Circle. So, yeah, it's been really fun. Also, I still hate drafting.

Rachel:

That's nothing new.

Emily:

So Rachel read my first act. Cause I had to prep it for submission to my publishing house. So that is off in their hand. And I'm continuing to draft while I wait to hear from them because I have to keep doing something. So I had taken. I took two and a half weeks completely off of writing, which was so nice. So nice. It's been a really long time since I've done that, and. And I actually, like, really did it, like, totally, you know, brain disconnected. And it wasn't, like, because life forced me to. It's because I chose to. Which I feel like, makes it a big difference. So. Yeah. So that was really nice. I started drafting this week. I'm like, four chapters in.

Rachel:

And your act two.

Emily:

Yeah. Yep. Yeah, it's been going good.

Rachel:

But you still hate drafting.

Emily:

I still hate drafting.

Rachel:

Going good. What's the deal?

Emily:

I'm still drafting. I'm still moving forward. Yeah, I don't like it.

Rachel:

Okay.

Emily:

Hate. Maybe hate is too strong of a word now. I very much dislike it. It's like. It's like it's time I have to spend to get to where I want to be. But I feel like I'm not in my head the way that I was last year when I was working on Molten. And I'm just, like, really proud of that. So really proud of my ability to, like, move forward. Like, yesterday I wrote a scene, and I. There's a massive piece missing from it. Like, they just don't talk about a thing that happened in the previous scene that they have to talk about. I just, like, whatever. I don't know what they're gonna say about it. So just Gonna keep on that. So, yeah, I've really just, like, embraced. I feel like Moulton taught me a lot about how I can trust myself to have the answers in the future and that it's not gonna take me a million years to, like, find the answers or implement them. That I'm actually a very fast reviser. So I'm just trying to get out. Just trying to get the bones down. I don't like it, but I am finding it easeful. Does that make sense?

Rachel:

Yeah.

Emily:

Like, it's not. It's not a painful process. I just don't like it very. Like, it's not giving me the, like, spark of. Oh, joy.

Rachel:

Yeah.

Emily:

That I will have in provisions later down the road.

Rachel:

Yes. There are, like. There are definitely parts of the writing process that are our strengths. Right. Like, our zone of genius are. This is what I naturally gravitate to. And drafting is just not yours right now.

Emily:

Yeah. So I have a plan. Sorry, I just touched my mic. I don't know if I made it really loud.

Rachel:

Punch wasn't loud.

Emily:

Okay. I talk with my hands, you guys. You can't see me, but I talk with my hands. And I keep hitting my microphone. But what was my point? Oh, my goal. It's the middle of April right now. My goal is to have the first draft done by the end of May, which is, like.

Rachel:

That's fast.

Emily:

Fast. But it feels, like, completely doable, which is kind of crazy to me because that is. It took me a long time to write Molten, but that was in my head, and I'm not in my head right now, so I feel like, like, basically that would just. It's a shorter book. Much shorter book. I'm aiming for, like, 70 to 80k. Oh, that's like, a huge difference.

Rachel:

That is a really big difference.

Emily:

Clear, folks. Like, half the. Half the. Like, so. Yeah, so total. So I already have 20k written, so, like, I'm looking at, like, 60, 70k at the max that I am wanting to write in the next, like, six weeks or so. And if I do one chapter per day because I have a synopsis that I had to submit with my proposal. So if I stick to my synopsis and I do one chapter each weekday, then I'll do it. And for me, right now, like, historically, that has not felt doable. But for me right now, because I'm not in my head, it does feel doable. So that's really exciting. Like, I love, like, sitting with, like, oh, my mindset is totally different than last year. And last year, I thought I Had it.

Rachel:

Right. Yeah. Yeah.

Emily:

But what about you?

Rachel:

I am writing the first draft of the third book of my third book. It's called Caught in the Crossfire. And you've been reading it, which is great.

Emily:

Yes.

Rachel:

Yes. You've been reading it, so that's enjoyable.

Emily:

Evil giggle.

Rachel:

This book is long. Long af. It's gonna be longer. I really didn't want it to be that long, but, you know, it's go. Okay, so let me back up a little bit about that dramatic sigh. It's. It was really challenging. I think now that I'm past the midpoint, I'm finding my groove in it. And the more that I write, the more that I have been making notes for revision. So I love drafting. Drafting is my happy place. I really love it.

Emily:

Jealous.

Rachel:

Well, doesn't mean I loved all of this. I've not been. I was not having a good time. I like it now. But I. I am actually excited for revisions on this one because I. I have, like, a bunch of notes of what I want to change earlier. I'm excited about the direction of this book and I'm excited about how it's going to tie into the fourth book, which will be the last book of the series. Yeah. So that's really fun. I've got, like, artwork in the mix. Someone's doing artwork for me. I've got, like, the. The fourth book cover is supposed to be finished in, like, two weeks from now. Two or three weeks from now? Yeah. And it's, like, crazy because the third book's not even out yet, and then I already have, like, the COVID scheduled for the fourth book. So I have, like, I have to decide on a title. I have. I, like, have the title in mind. And the more I think about it, the more I'm like, this has just gotta be the title. But I always feel like in some of these moments, I need, like, validation to be like, hey, do you like this title? This is a good one. Do you approve? If you give me your approval.

Emily:

Ask our listeners. No. Just kidding.

Rachel:

Hey, friends. Vote in. This episode won't come out until after. I'll need to have decided, but tell me your thoughts. No. So I've got, like, that going.

Emily:

Yeah.

Rachel:

So I want to finish this draft by the end of April and then revise it in May and then hopefully send out to beta readers in June at some point.

Emily:

I'm so excited for May. Is this come out in May?

Rachel:

Yeah, this will come out maybe like the beginning of May.

Emily:

Yeah. I'm super excited.

Rachel:

First or second week of May, probably.

Emily:

Because we do the Make Progress May, which is kind of like a DIY NaNoWriMo writing challenge where folks come up with their own goals for the month in our tenacious writing community, and then we all just like super support each other as we go through the month. It was so helpful for me last year to get the first half of Molten down when I was like, really in my head. And I'm. I don't right now in this moment, I can't speak for May, but right now in this moment I don't feel like I'm in my head. So I'm so excited to see like, what I can achieve in May. And if I don't finish my draft in six weeks, I'm not worried about it, but it's just. I'm just have this like, excitement of like, oh, what can I achieve now that I'm like, in a better split, in a better space? Yeah. So, yeah, I'm super excited for that. Me too.

Rachel:

I think, like, since I want. This is why I wanted to finish my draft in April so that I could revise in May is I really love the community aspect of like, the encouragement, the, the pressure free, like progress zone that we have in TW and like the extra write togethers that we do. I just feel like the accountability is so high in May and I already know, like, I don't. I'm excited about revisions, but I am expecting that it's not my favorite piece. So it will be very helpful. Exactly. Everyone will be there to just push me, push me forward and it'll be great.

Emily:

Yeah. For anyone who's not into natius writing, we do those challenges. We do make progress May and we do no shame November and they're so fun. Everybody makes so much progress and grows so much. I love all the mindset shifts that happen when we're all kind of. There's just something really, really helpful in watching other people work through their mindset stuff to keep making progress through a month. And it's just such a positive energy of like, yes, we've all got this. Yes. Let go of perfectionism. Yes, we could do it. Yes. And it's just really helpful to see other people grappling with that stuff on like a day to day basis because it's really a, you know, we all get in there together.

Rachel:

Yes, it is really fun. Yeah. So I think, like, I really, I feel like this time last year I was in a really similar space of like finishing up a draft, revising it, getting it ready for beta readers and this book is just gonna be. It's just gonna be what it is. It's gonna be what it needs to be right now.

Emily:

Yeah.

Rachel:

I think that's, like, something I really embraced in the last two years since we started the podcast of, like, it's just gonna happen. Things. Things just gotta be. You just gotta live. Yeah.

Emily:

Okay. Pot tip.

Rachel:

What does that mean? I don't know.

Emily:

Exist.

Rachel:

You just gotta keep existing. Day after day, sleepless night after sleepless night.

Emily:

End podcast at the end.

Rachel:

See episode. We are a blip in the universe.

Emily:

Yeah.

Rachel:

88.

Emily:

Oh.

Rachel:

Anyway. Yeah, I just feel like, go with the flow attitude.

Emily:

Yeah. I feel like there's been, at least for me, this big shift in the last six months of, like, writing is so unserious. I trust that it will get done when it gets done, and it will all be. It will all be okay. And writing is just not. It doesn't have to be that big of a deal. Yeah, we're not trying to write the next great piece of literature. Nope.

Rachel:

Who wants that? Not me.

Emily:

So if you haven't listened to our last six months of episodes where we basically are like, nothing ever matters, go do that. It's super uplifting.

Rachel:

So uplifting. We're just detangling, you know, like deconstructing. That's what it is. We're deconstructing our worldviews.

Emily:

Well, we did it.

Rachel:

We did it.

Emily:

We made it to 100. Thank you all.

Rachel:

So.

Emily:

So if you've listened to all hundred episodes, I want to know.

Rachel:

That's really cool.

Emily:

That's really amazing. And I want to know. Please come give me a virtual hug. Tell us@infooldemayediting.com we would love, love, love, love, love to know if you love the podcast. Leave us a rating and review, Please, please. We would love to hear from you in our. In our Apple podcast reviews. And just. We love. We love being reminded that you are on the other end of this virtual. Whatever this is. I was gonna say Mike, but they're not on the other side of the mic. Not the right metaphor.

Rachel:

The Internet. If you exist as a person on the Internet. Thank you.

Emily:

Thank you. The end. Okay, I'm going to end this.

Rachel:

All right.

Emily:

You guys are the best. Thank you so much. And if you want to build a successful, fulfilling, and sustainable writing life that works for you, you've got to get on our email list.

Rachel:

Sign up now to get our free email course, the Magic of Character Arcs. After seven days of email magic, you'll have the power to keep your readers flipping pages all through the night.

Emily:

Link in the show notes. We'll see you there.

Rachel:

Bye.