Season 1, Episode 2

Did we just join a cult?

Description:

In this episode of Write Your Heart Out, Kayla and Rachel dive into the awkward, exhilarating world of submitting your writing for publication. Rachel is required to send out short stories for her creative writing class—easy, right? Except for the spiraling self-doubt, existential dread, and the creeping fear that someone you know might actually read your stuff.

The two discuss pen names (are they for privacy, aesthetics, or just keeping grandma from reading your sex scenes?), the vulnerability of putting your work out into the world, and Steven Pressfield’s cult-classic The War of Art. Is resistance real? Are we professionals? Are we just feeding a fire god our creative energy?

Also: necrophiliac rom-coms, the genius of genius, and Kayla’s plan to build a literal shrine to her muse.

Next time on the pod: Romantasy, writing spice, and whether or not Kayla's in-laws are allowed to listen.