Speaker 1: Welcome to the fifth anniversary special of Bedtime Stories for Everyone,
Speaker 1: in which nothing much happens, you feel good, and then
Speaker 1: you fall asleep. I'm Catherine Nikolai. I write and read
Speaker 1: all the stories you hear on Nothing Much Happens. With
Speaker 1: audio engineering by Bob Wudersheim. This week's episode is a
Speaker 1: departure from our usual story based style, and it's the
Speaker 1: first time in our history where you'll hear another voice
Speaker 1: besides mine. Bob and I are both going to answer
Speaker 1: your questions about the world of nothing much. So if
Speaker 1: what you really need right now is some sleep, please
Speaker 1: save this episode for another time. I've put one of
Speaker 1: my personal favorite episodes in your feed to fall asleep too.
Speaker 1: It's there now if you need it. If instead, you're
Speaker 1: up for some Q and a listen on, and I
Speaker 1: suspect that for regular listeners with well trained brains, I'm
Speaker 1: going to get you anyway now, just because it feels good.
Speaker 1: Get comfortable, Know that you are among friends and safe,
Speaker 1: and that you've done enough for the day. Take a
Speaker 1: deep breath in through your nose and sigh through your
Speaker 1: mouth again, all the way in and out.
Speaker 2: Good.
Speaker 1: Now it's Bob's turn first.
Speaker 2: Hi, everybody. It's great to be on the show, and
Speaker 2: I'm really looking forward to answering your questions. I can't
Speaker 2: promise I'll be able to match Catherine's relaxing tone, but
Speaker 2: I'll do my best.
Speaker 1: So let's get to the questions. Aaron and Debbie both
Speaker 1: want to know what exactly is audio engineering.
Speaker 2: When we recorded the first season at my work studio,
Speaker 2: I was responsible for all of the audio equipment, studio setup, recording, editing,
Speaker 2: and mastering, so I think Catherine came up with the
Speaker 2: title audio engineering to cover all of that. But since
Speaker 2: the second season, Catherine has recorded in her home studio
Speaker 2: with her own gear and uploads the raw episodes when
Speaker 2: they're ready for editing. So even though I'm no longer
Speaker 2: involved with the actual recording process, the title just kind
Speaker 2: of stuck. So engineer really just means editor or producer.
Speaker 1: At this point, Terry asked what you use if you
Speaker 1: have trouble sleeping? Do you listen to the podcast?
Speaker 2: Thankfully, I do not have trouble sleeping, but I do
Speaker 2: occasionally use music or fan noise to help me drift off.
Speaker 2: I have to listen to each episode in a more
Speaker 2: critical and editorial way, and because of that, listening to
Speaker 2: the final version of the show is usually not terribly
Speaker 2: relaxing for me. I tend to listen for things that
Speaker 2: I still need to fix. I get much more benefit
Speaker 2: from the first This Meditation podcast, which you should really
Speaker 2: check out if you haven't already. I edit that too.
Speaker 1: This one is for both of us. Bob Tiffany asks
Speaker 1: how long it takes to record and edit one episode?
Speaker 1: And do I read the story all in one go
Speaker 1: or is it stitched together. I'll talk more about my
Speaker 1: writing process in a bit, but I can say that
Speaker 1: nearly always the episodes are recorded in one go, though
Speaker 1: there can be very lengthy pauses while I wait for
Speaker 1: my dogs to stop barking at the mail lady, and
Speaker 1: when that happens, I stay put behind the mic and
Speaker 1: work on being patient. How long does editing take? Bob?
Speaker 2: After I download the raw file, first, I run some
Speaker 2: automated processes on it that remove most of the background
Speaker 2: noise and some other unwanted sounds. Then I do some
Speaker 2: manual adjusting to even out the volume. That part usually
Speaker 2: takes around twenty to thirty minutes. Next, then are the
Speaker 2: editing passes, where I remove unwanted takes silence the pauses,
Speaker 2: and also ensure that the pauses don't go on for
Speaker 2: too long and affect the pace of the storytelling. My
Speaker 2: main goal here is to smooth out the read and
Speaker 2: ensure there are no distracting sounds that might prevent you
Speaker 2: from falling asleep. I usually can't edit more than one
Speaker 2: telling in a single session for the reason you may
Speaker 2: have guessed. Sometimes I get sleepy, and the intro takes
Speaker 2: about fifteen to twenty minutes to edit, and each telling
Speaker 2: can take up to an hour, so around two to
Speaker 2: three hours totals start to finish.
Speaker 1: Amanda noticed that our sound quality has improved since our
Speaker 1: earliest episodes. What do you put that down to, Bob?
Speaker 2: Aside from the evolution of Catherine's reading style and tone,
Speaker 2: the biggest factor that has affected the sound quality over
Speaker 2: the years is the recording location and Catherine's soundproofing treatments.
Speaker 2: But we've managed to get that more consistent over the
Speaker 2: past three years or so. Some of my processing methods
Speaker 2: have changed to adapt to the recording conditions, but I've
Speaker 2: applied the same editing standards throughout to try and maintain
Speaker 2: consistency and pace and volume.
Speaker 1: Lisa asked what the funniest or strangest sound is that
Speaker 1: you've had to edit out? And I want to remind you,
Speaker 1: Bob as you answer, that I'm not only your friend,
Speaker 1: I am your boss. Okay, go ahead.
Speaker 2: I do love a good dog barking interruption, but mostly
Speaker 2: for the hilarious frustration that Catherine expresses when it happens.
Speaker 2: Her sneezes are also legendary, and you'll hear more of
Speaker 2: that kind of quality content very soon. Hashtag going back.
Speaker 1: Brandy and Cassie asked Bob, what is your favorite episode?
Speaker 2: Season three, episode twelve, Someplace only we Know.
Speaker 1: Peggy and Mary asked if you slow down the recording
Speaker 1: for me on the second telling.
Speaker 2: I don't slow it down, but I allow for longer
Speaker 2: pauses compared to the first telling. And if you'd like
Speaker 2: proof that Catherine really does read it twice, check out
Speaker 2: the first season videos on YouTube, where you can see
Speaker 2: Catherine scrolling back to the beginning of the story on
Speaker 2: her iPad after the first telling.
Speaker 1: The Noble Home wants to know how you got into
Speaker 1: audio engineering, and Morges asked if it's a college only
Speaker 1: track or if there are other ways into the field.
Speaker 2: I got started doing self taught sound design for local
Speaker 2: theater groups in around two thousand and five as an
Speaker 2: afterwork activity, but then when I was laid off from
Speaker 2: my job at Borders Books in twenty ten, I enrolled
Speaker 2: in what was then known as the Specks Howard School
Speaker 2: of Media Arts just outside Detroit. I got a certificate
Speaker 2: in radio production from there in twenty eleven, and followed
Speaker 2: that up with an AVID Pro Tools certification in twenty sixteen.
Speaker 2: I've been working at a voiceover production company and recording
Speaker 2: studio since twenty twelve. There are various other audio and
Speaker 2: music production programs around the country that are run mostly
Speaker 2: out of recording studios and don't involve enrolling in a
Speaker 2: four year college. I don't have one in particular to recommend.
Speaker 1: Though Ryot Fay wants to know who is your favorite
Speaker 1: resident of the Village of Nothing Much. I want to
Speaker 1: know that too.
Speaker 2: I'll admit I did not have an answer ready for
Speaker 2: this one, but after browsing back through the episodes and
Speaker 2: for the sake of mystery and intrigue, I will pick
Speaker 2: the other innkeeper. And before I hand it back to Catherine,
Speaker 2: I really want to thank her for her creativity generosity,
Speaker 2: her trust, and her spirit of collaboration on this little
Speaker 2: podcast that we weren't sure anyone would ever listen to.
Speaker 2: It's also been very gratifying reading listener feedback and learning
Speaker 2: how the show has helped so many all over the world,
Speaker 2: and I'm looking forward to working on many more episodes
Speaker 2: and some new projects still to come. Thanks everybody, Thanks Bob.
Speaker 1: Our Listeners have always asked about Bob. I think they
Speaker 1: can feel his gentle, caretaking kindness through the show. We
Speaker 1: are lucky to have him watching over us. Okay, let's
Speaker 1: see what questions you have for me. Lots of folks Sarah, Rachelle, Carmen,
Speaker 1: Siren Song and others asked how Bob and I met
Speaker 1: and started working together. We met through a mutual friend
Speaker 1: who is actually Megan, our social media manager aka your
Speaker 1: fairy pod mother, and we didn't know each other that well.
Speaker 1: But when I had the idea for the show, I
Speaker 1: sent Bob a message and he got right back to
Speaker 1: me and said, hey, let's give it a go. Come
Speaker 1: on into the studio, which shows the kind of generous
Speaker 1: person he is. We work on this show as well
Speaker 1: as my meditation show First This and other projects together
Speaker 1: that should be available to you in a few months.
Speaker 1: Bob knows the show as well as I do, and
Speaker 1: frequently listens to me when I need to talk something
Speaker 1: through or I need his opinion. Our conversations are made
Speaker 1: up almost entirely of memes we send each other, but
Speaker 1: in the modern world that can still be very meaningful
Speaker 1: or meaningful, sorry, Bob. Fiona noticed that I often use
Speaker 1: the word autumn, which she thought Americans didn't use, and
Speaker 1: wondered if we make regional versions of the show. Fiona,
Speaker 1: I've gotten this question before, and I think there is
Speaker 1: some misinformation about this. In my experience, Americans use the
Speaker 1: words autumn and fall with equal regularity. So no, we
Speaker 1: don't have different versions of the show. Though I did
Speaker 1: try to sneak a British pronunciation passed Bob a few
Speaker 1: episodes back. He took it out and said he was
Speaker 1: saving me from myself, which was probably true, and I
Speaker 1: appreciate that. Bob. Liz asks if I have pets of
Speaker 1: my own, and if that's where my animal inspiration comes from.
Speaker 1: We do have pets, Liz, my wife, and I have
Speaker 1: a long haired, blonde dosin named Portia. She is thirteen
Speaker 1: and her favorite thing is to not go on a walk.
Speaker 1: She lays beside me snoring as I write. Then we
Speaker 1: have Lady Bug, who is about six and black and
Speaker 1: tan Chihuahua. She has lots of energy, loves walking, and
Speaker 1: has those little tan dots for eyebrows. She's great. And finally,
Speaker 1: we just adopted another old lady Chihuahua a few months ago,
Speaker 1: named Cricket. She's at least eight, but could be as
Speaker 1: old as twelve, and is the sweetest soul I have
Speaker 1: met in a while. I am head over heels for her,
Speaker 1: and we are attached to the hip all day long.
Speaker 1: And all animals inspire me. I have loved animals all
Speaker 1: my life and have been lucky enough to have been
Speaker 1: friends with many dogs and cats, so I can write
Speaker 1: lots of stories about them. Ashley wrote that she notices
Speaker 1: that the stories are told from the perspective of fifteen
Speaker 1: different community members, but that they all feel like the
Speaker 1: same character. So are they really just me imagining what
Speaker 1: it would be like to be a baker or a bookseller? Well, Ashley, first,
Speaker 1: I'd say that, in my opinion, there are a lot
Speaker 1: more than fifteen narrators in these stories. Almost all of
Speaker 1: the people we hear from, we only hear from once.
Speaker 1: At least, that is how I experience them as I
Speaker 1: write as to they are all the same character. Well,
Speaker 1: I think because I am first and foremost hoping to
Speaker 1: put you to sleep. I want the narrators to feel
Speaker 1: fairly universal, as if, whoever you are, you could step
Speaker 1: into their shoes. Imagine yourself behind the counter at the
Speaker 1: bookshop or out on a walk with Crumb. Also, the
Speaker 1: villagers have a lot in common. There is a thread
Speaker 1: of compassion and kindness and appreciation for small things that
Speaker 1: runs through every member of the community. It is their
Speaker 1: shared ethos, so I can understand why they feel similar.
Speaker 1: Amanda and several others asked about the timeline of the Inn,
Speaker 1: and I have to tell you that I keep that
Speaker 1: deliberately a bit mysterious. We know that the inn was
Speaker 1: open for many years when the current innkeeper was a child,
Speaker 1: and that it then sat empty for a long time.
Speaker 1: Now it's been renovated and reopened for how long exactly
Speaker 1: what pulled this innkeeper to her current calling? Are there
Speaker 1: harmonies between the first staff and the current staff? Who
Speaker 1: I love a mystery and I hope you do too.
Speaker 1: The thing is that I feel like there is something
Speaker 1: magical about the innkeeper and the inn itself, and I
Speaker 1: want to leave the door open to explore more about it,
Speaker 1: so I don't pin it down too tightly. Kind of
Speaker 1: feels like she needs her own book. Huh. Evelyn and
Speaker 1: Margo and others asked how long I plan on continuing
Speaker 1: the podcast? How many more stories do I have up
Speaker 1: my sleeve? Friends? I have so many stories to tell you.
Speaker 1: I see possibilities everywhere. I have a long list of
Speaker 1: ideas I haven't even started to work on. So I
Speaker 1: promise to be here speaking you to sleep for as
Speaker 1: long as I am able. I think I'll be able
Speaker 1: for a good long time. Elizabeth, Cheryl and Akayla very
Speaker 1: kindly asked about another book, and I have good news there.
Speaker 1: My second book has already been written, and right now
Speaker 1: we are just looking at the best way to bring
Speaker 1: it to you. But I think before the year is out,
Speaker 1: in one form or another, you'll be able to enjoy it.
Speaker 1: I tell bigger stories in it, dig a bit deeper
Speaker 1: into some familiar characters and new ones as well. It's
Speaker 1: based on the story called Old Houses, which I think
Speaker 1: is a hidden gem if you've ever walked down a
Speaker 1: street in a neighborhood and wondered who lives in each
Speaker 1: house and what their story is, well, I wrote it
Speaker 1: for you. Denise asked if international editions of my book
Speaker 1: needed to be changed to account for culture differences. Good question, Denise. Yes,
Speaker 1: the book published in thirty four territories, so some things
Speaker 1: didn't translate, and I largely relied on my publishers to
Speaker 1: find equivalents that made sense, but lots did resonate all
Speaker 1: around the world. We all of us enjoy a walk,
Speaker 1: a hot drink, fresh sheets, times of companionship and solitude
Speaker 1: and baked goods. There is an Italian saying kitutomondo an paysee,
Speaker 1: which means that the whole world is one country, one land.
Speaker 1: I agree. Sarah was curious about my favorite season to
Speaker 1: write about, and I had to think of this one
Speaker 1: for a minute, because I find a lot to appreciate
Speaker 1: in every season. But I think it's autumn. I love
Speaker 1: the cool air, the leaves, changing, the sense and the sights,
Speaker 1: and there is a coziness that is stitched into the
Speaker 1: very days of that season. So fall, that's when I
Speaker 1: shine the brightest. Tina noticed how effective. Those two deep
Speaker 1: breaths that we take are and wondered why that was. Tina,
Speaker 1: the yoga teacher in me, is so glad you asked.
Speaker 1: Breathing is a way to speak directly to your parasympathetic
Speaker 1: nervous system. And when we have that extended axhale like
Speaker 1: we do in a sigh, your system gets the message
Speaker 1: that all as well, we don't need to fight or flee.
Speaker 1: In fact, we can rebuild. A simple way to think
Speaker 1: about your breathing is to equate it to a pendulum.
Speaker 1: When we're inhaling, the pendulum swings over to the sympathetic
Speaker 1: nervous system, which can give us energy or when we're
Speaker 1: too revved up, make us anxious. When we're exhaling, the
Speaker 1: pendulum swings toward the parasympathetic nervous system for rest and digest.
Speaker 1: So just by shifting to a longer inhale or a
Speaker 1: longer exhale, holding the pendulum in one zone or the other,
Speaker 1: you can bring your energy up or down. I find
Speaker 1: that really empowering. It's easy and discrete to use. Can
Speaker 1: do it when you're in line at the grocery store,
Speaker 1: are doing whatever, Let's do it now. It just sounds
Speaker 1: so good. Breathe in, and so I again, breathe in,
Speaker 1: let it out good. Ricky says, I'm a little confused.
Speaker 1: Have you ever been a librarian and a baker and
Speaker 1: an innkeeper? My dear, I am a writer. Now Listen,
Speaker 1: some people really enjoy thinking that these stories are about me,
Speaker 1: that this is my life and I'm reading you journal entries.
Speaker 1: And if that is true for you, go right ahead.
Speaker 1: All that matters is that you feel good and then
Speaker 1: you fall asleep. But if you're a stickler for the truth,
Speaker 1: then remember that they are bedtime stories. My own life
Speaker 1: is ridiculously charmed, but I'm not writing about me. Lots
Speaker 1: of others, including Catherine, Laura, Alma, and Cindy, also asked
Speaker 1: about this and if my own life ever creeps into
Speaker 1: the story, or if any of the locations are based
Speaker 1: on my life, Probably the place my life shows up
Speaker 1: the most is the small details and in the locations. Yes,
Speaker 1: I did push the burglary alarm at the dentist office
Speaker 1: when I was five, and yes I have always known
Speaker 1: that the tooth Fairy's name is Maxine. But a lot
Speaker 1: of it simply comes from my imagination as to locations.
Speaker 1: There are a few places I've gotten to spend time
Speaker 1: that influence me as I write. One is a magical
Speaker 1: little place called Harson's Island. It's just under the base
Speaker 1: of the Thumb in Michigan, in the Saint Clair River.
Speaker 1: And cottage stories as well as the Turnaround are inspired
Speaker 1: by that little island. I lived in Salerno, Italy for
Speaker 1: a year when I was a teenager, and a good
Speaker 1: bit of my heart still lives there. You'll see it
Speaker 1: in the kitchen during a storm, an all day at home,
Speaker 1: and others. I also get to spend a lot of
Speaker 1: each summer in Saugatuck, Michigan, right on the shore of
Speaker 1: Lake Michigan, and that little town has a village very
Speaker 1: much like ours, including the walk up dog friendly window
Speaker 1: at the cafe that Crumb and his mom use. So
Speaker 1: many of you asked for the exact location of the
Speaker 1: village of nothing Much and whether we could just build one.
Speaker 1: I think we can. And this will probably sound a
Speaker 1: little cheesy, but what if we all started making our
Speaker 1: own towns and communities a bit more like the village,
Speaker 1: modeling kindness and consideration, appreciation for each other, and small things.
Speaker 1: I think we can build a lot of villages to
Speaker 1: live in. Judith wonder if I started off with the
Speaker 1: idea of the village in mind, or if it came
Speaker 1: together as the stories began to overlap. You know, I
Speaker 1: honestly don't remember. I think it probably happened organically after
Speaker 1: a few stories were written, that I just naturally put
Speaker 1: this in its own world, and I'm so glad I did.
Speaker 1: As a writer, It's so fun to explore those overlaps,
Speaker 1: and it gives me a lot to write about. Petra says,
Speaker 1: do you realize what an incredibly important thing you have
Speaker 1: created and how much we appreciate you for it. You've
Speaker 1: been such an important part of my life, even though
Speaker 1: we've never met. Oh, Petra, you are so kind and shucks.
Speaker 1: I feel like I've got the better end of the
Speaker 1: bargain in this deal, though. Truly. I got to write
Speaker 1: my own fantasy community into existence, and you and so
Speaker 1: many others came and filled in the blanks. I know
Speaker 1: we are just strangers on the Internet, but I feel
Speaker 1: very connected to all of you. And when I say
Speaker 1: sweet Dreams at the end of each episode, I pause
Speaker 1: and close my eyes and send it out to you
Speaker 1: like a magic spell or a secret blessing to seal
Speaker 1: gentleness and safety over you as you rest. Terry and
Speaker 1: Rachelle and Harper and Cucumber and Cassa and others asked
Speaker 1: what I listen to to fall asleep and if I
Speaker 1: listen to the podcast myself. I do not listen to me.
Speaker 1: It's a bit too meta for me, and I tend
Speaker 1: to get in my head when I listen. But I
Speaker 1: have a couple of books that I've heard so many
Speaker 1: times that I can drop off within a few seconds.
Speaker 1: There's an excellent series called The Rivers of London by
Speaker 1: Ben Iaranovich read by Kabana holdbrook Smith that I really love.
Speaker 1: I probably wouldn't be able to sleep to them right away,
Speaker 1: but as a repeat listener to books, I love Kabana's
Speaker 1: dulcet tones send me right under. I also still tell
Speaker 1: myself stories in my head pretty regularly. I think of
Speaker 1: it as research and develop it. I've also heard from
Speaker 1: some close friends that they can't listen because they know
Speaker 1: me and they find it distracting, But for others it
Speaker 1: works just fine. Hi, mom, Amanda wants me to please
Speaker 1: explain what kind of kettle the villagers have that let
Speaker 1: them put it on and fall asleep. She is worried
Speaker 1: that the village might need an expanded fire department. Amanda,
Speaker 1: I am about to open your world up to a
Speaker 1: new level of tea drinking electric kettles, Amanda. They turn
Speaker 1: off after they boil, You fill them up, push the
Speaker 1: button they boil, and click thereof treat yourself. Taisha, Fay
Speaker 1: and Leah All asked about my favorite character. I think
Speaker 1: it's the innkeeper. I have a feeling that the villagers
Speaker 1: are kind of drawn to her. They show up even
Speaker 1: when they aren't staying at the inn so that she
Speaker 1: can pour them a cup of coffee. And she knows
Speaker 1: more than she's telling about the history of that place.
Speaker 1: Maybe we'll learn more about it someday. Judy, like so
Speaker 1: many of you, has asked for chef's coffee cake recipe. Y'all,
Speaker 1: if such a thing existed, if I was talented at
Speaker 1: recipe development, I would do this for you. I get
Speaker 1: asked for recipes for the food in the show all
Speaker 1: the time, and I think it's a compliment that you
Speaker 1: feel that the world of Nima which is real and
Speaker 1: that there must be real recipes for these meals. But babies.
Speaker 1: I'm just daydreaming. I wrote a few recipes for my book,
Speaker 1: and I found out how challenging that is. For example,
Speaker 1: I tried to create a unique and delicious chai recipe
Speaker 1: to go along with the Spice Shop episode book Only
Speaker 1: You Should get It, and twelve attempts later, I had
Speaker 1: to break it to my editors that it would not
Speaker 1: be included in the book. Maybe one day I'll collaborate
Speaker 1: with someone who has those talents. Judy, Michelle, Carolina, and
Speaker 1: Laura asked how I keep the storyline straight and if
Speaker 1: I have a stray board or chart beside my writing desk. No,
Speaker 1: I don't, but I should, good idea. I'm holding it
Speaker 1: all in my little beanie right now, and I usually
Speaker 1: as I write, am opening past stories and checking details
Speaker 1: to make sure I'm sticking to what is canon. But
Speaker 1: sometimes I miss stuff. A few people asked about inconsistencies
Speaker 1: and very generously thought it must have a storytelling reason
Speaker 1: behind it, rather than me just making a mistake, which
Speaker 1: after two hundred plus episodes's gonna happen. Lauren says, I'm
Speaker 1: wondering for nights when one wakes up full of fear
Speaker 1: for whatever reason. An unsettling nightmare, dreading a test result
Speaker 1: or other unknown What rituals, thoughts, stories, or images bring
Speaker 1: you back to center and help you to sleep in
Speaker 1: those moments. Thank you, Lauren. First, let me say that
Speaker 1: I know that feeling that you aren't alone in that moment,
Speaker 1: even if it feels like you are. I'm wishing you
Speaker 1: comfort and ease. When I experience what you're describing, I
Speaker 1: start by acknowledging it. That might seem small, but it
Speaker 1: actually will let you move on a bit, and if
Speaker 1: you don't, you'll be stuck for a while. And this
Speaker 1: is true in general of intrusive thoughts. I think of
Speaker 1: it like when you're meeting a friend at a restaurant
Speaker 1: and they're there before you. They're already at the table,
Speaker 1: and when you come in, they stick their arms straight
Speaker 1: up in the air and wave like crazy. As soon
Speaker 1: as you make eye contact, they put their arm down.
Speaker 1: Those thoughts and feelings will keep waving at you, So
Speaker 1: just make eye contact and they'll start to put their
Speaker 1: arms down. Sometimes I say to myself, I feel afraid,
Speaker 1: I feel unsettled. Then use that pendulum of breathing, take
Speaker 1: a few sighing breaths, and if you can try to
Speaker 1: double the length of your exhale. The thing is, when
Speaker 1: the alarm bell has rung in your nervous system, our
Speaker 1: higher thinking skills go offline, so you can't reason with it. Instead,
Speaker 1: speak the language of the body to get back to
Speaker 1: feeling safe. This would be a great time to do
Speaker 1: progressive muscle relaxation, where you move through your body tensing
Speaker 1: and relaxing muscles. Or if you're not going to wake
Speaker 1: anyone up, you could hum, which stimulates your vagus nerve
Speaker 1: and can help you walk back from that alarm. For me,
Speaker 1: once I've started to bring my breath and heart rate
Speaker 1: back down, I count back from ten to one. It's
Speaker 1: a way to focus my mind, and then I turn
Speaker 1: on a book or find a familiar thought to settle into.
Speaker 1: I sometimes walk myself through an apartment I had in
Speaker 1: my twenties which was all mine and felt really safe
Speaker 1: and happy. Or and I am letting you in on
Speaker 1: a very personal secret here I report for duty on
Speaker 1: the USS Enterprise under Captain Jean Lupicard. Seriously can't explain it.
Speaker 1: That just feels really safe and good to me. Elizabeth Gail,
Speaker 1: Karen Amy and many others asked me about my writing process,
Speaker 1: how long it takes from idea to finished recording, and
Speaker 1: how I develop ideas for the show. Well, I think
Speaker 1: being a yoga teacher for twenty years really prepared me
Speaker 1: to write these stories, because it trained me to look
Speaker 1: for and appreciate small, enjoyable moments. All day, I'm spotting
Speaker 1: these small bits of ordinary magic and pausing and saying
Speaker 1: to myself, that's nice, and those can become a story.
Speaker 1: Like yesterday, I was walking Lady Bug and Cricket, and
Speaker 1: because we walk almost every day, I noticed that a
Speaker 1: vine had just butted out on a fence that I'd
Speaker 1: passed the day before. I got to see the change
Speaker 1: there that feels quite special to me, so I stopped.
Speaker 1: The dogs were pulling, but they waited. I looked at
Speaker 1: the color of the buds and breathed in the spring air,
Speaker 1: and was so grateful that I got to see this
Speaker 1: incremental shift of the season that could lead me into
Speaker 1: a story. Or the other day, I was working from
Speaker 1: a cafe and at the table next to me was
Speaker 1: a family eating breakfast, and the older sister was cutting
Speaker 1: up her little brother's pancakes for him. The way she
Speaker 1: just reached over and took his plate and fixed them up,
Speaker 1: and he sat in his chair, swinging his legs and
Speaker 1: waiting patiently for them. It felt so kind and lovely.
Speaker 1: So that could be a story. Once I have an
Speaker 1: idea like that and I get it down, I start
Speaker 1: to move from there. I lean heavily on sensory experiences.
Speaker 1: How did the cafe smell, What was the light like
Speaker 1: through the windows? Where could this little family go from there?
Speaker 1: It is organic and not very planned, which is the
Speaker 1: joy of writing about nothing. Nothing has to happen. I
Speaker 1: can linger as a writer in details that don't have
Speaker 1: to lead you anywhere. It's a joy to write these stories.
Speaker 1: Usually I'll write a story in an afternoon and then
Speaker 1: set it aside and come back to it a few times,
Speaker 1: reading it out loud and listening for anything that doesn't
Speaker 1: feel right. Rewriting is needed. Then I record all in
Speaker 1: one go and send it to Bob, depending on his schedule.
Speaker 1: He gets it back to me within a few days. Riley, Nancy, Izzie,
Speaker 1: and Joe asked how I started writing, and specifically started
Speaker 1: writing this kind of work. Well, here is where I
Speaker 1: give you a little creative pep time. If you're interested
Speaker 1: in writing or doing something artistic. I never wrote. Before
Speaker 1: I started, nothing much happens. I didn't even consider myself
Speaker 1: a creative person. I wanted to write. I just had
Speaker 1: that overwhelming doubt that I had anything to say that
Speaker 1: someone would want to hear. And then I had what
Speaker 1: I call my reckoning of mediocrity, where I said to myself,
Speaker 1: why does it have to be perfect? Why should that
Speaker 1: stop me from doing something I want to do? So
Speaker 1: what if it's not the best? Can't it just be
Speaker 1: something I do? So I started, and I fulfilled the
Speaker 1: wildest dreams of my life to write a book and
Speaker 1: publish it all over the world, to write for you
Speaker 1: every week, So stop waiting to feel ready. There is
Speaker 1: nothing that can happen to you that is scarier than
Speaker 1: spending your life being afraid that something will happen to you.
Speaker 1: As to writing this style of fiction, I wanted to
Speaker 1: write it for myself first. I'd read books before bed
Speaker 1: and often find myself so emotionally wound up by what
Speaker 1: was happening with the characters that I couldn't find a
Speaker 1: place to put my brain in order to sleep. I
Speaker 1: kept thinking, there needs to be something for this exact moment,
Speaker 1: and then I realized I should just make it, and
Speaker 1: I'm so glad that I did. Leah asked how I
Speaker 1: keep up with this level of creative output, and I
Speaker 1: think it's partly because of all of you. You are
Speaker 1: counting on me and I want to be there for you,
Speaker 1: and also because writing in this style is therapeutic to me. Honestly,
Speaker 1: it's a lovely kind of meditation. And now that I
Speaker 1: have learned to flex the muscle of creativity, now it's
Speaker 1: a wheel that just keeps turning, I need to write.
Speaker 1: So it's very helpful that you have a need to listen.
Speaker 1: As he says, there have been a few episodes with
Speaker 1: ref references to same sex partnerships, chosen families, and being
Speaker 1: an aunt rather than a parent. First, thank you for
Speaker 1: putting these out. They make me and my partner feel
Speaker 1: seen given our current culture. Do you ever think twice
Speaker 1: about sharing these queer nods? Thanks for that question, Essie.
Speaker 1: I don't think twice about it. We do hear the
Speaker 1: tiniest bit of pushback, but I want you to know
Speaker 1: it's point zero zero zero zero one percent of the
Speaker 1: comments and messages we get we hear from so many
Speaker 1: other people who appreciate it, so many queer people and
Speaker 1: especially queer young people who feel included for the first time,
Speaker 1: And as a queer person myself, I will weather any
Speaker 1: amount of nonsense that comes our way over it. You
Speaker 1: and I exist in the world, so you and I
Speaker 1: exist in the village. Cassie, Emily, Brandy and others want
Speaker 1: to know which episode is my favorite and which is
Speaker 1: the most listened to. My favorite story is probably Fireflies
Speaker 1: on a Summer Night, because it was the first time
Speaker 1: I indulged an impulse to write more magic into the village.
Speaker 1: It felt like I'd been holding it in for a while,
Speaker 1: and when I wrote that, it felt like I was
Speaker 1: coming into my own voice a bit more. The most
Speaker 1: downloaded app is a little hard to pin down, just
Speaker 1: because we've changed hosts a few times and lost some
Speaker 1: data along the way. But a sleeper hit punintended from
Speaker 1: last year was Rain and Shine got a lot of downloads,
Speaker 1: as did Friends Giving Again. Maybe go re listen. Mooney,
Speaker 1: Jade and Aaron asked similar questions about how I think
Speaker 1: the characters look and if I see them in my
Speaker 1: mind with particular characteristics, and I actually have a condition
Speaker 1: called a fantasia, so I don't see them at all.
Speaker 1: A fans lack the ability to visualize, so I can't
Speaker 1: picture anything. I can't create mental images. Honestly, when I
Speaker 1: met our illustrator Leah, I was so excited because it
Speaker 1: was the first time I would get to see how
Speaker 1: anything in the village looks. I get asked about this
Speaker 1: a lot, and how I can write such visual passages
Speaker 1: without the ability to visualize myself. And since this is
Speaker 1: the only way I've ever known my brain to be,
Speaker 1: all I can suppose is that visualizing is not necessary
Speaker 1: for what I do. My brain has adapted to provide
Speaker 1: me an understanding of these details without having access to
Speaker 1: the viewscreen, so to speak. Having this condition has its
Speaker 1: pluses and minuses. Well, I can't imagine my loved one's faces,
Speaker 1: and my spatial reasoning is pretty chromy. I'm saved from
Speaker 1: reliving certain things, at least visually. I often hear people
Speaker 1: say I can't unsee that, and I think I can,
Speaker 1: and I already did. Well. There were so many more
Speaker 1: great questions that you sent in. Thank you for sending them,
Speaker 1: but we are running out of time. Tonight, maybe I'll
Speaker 1: hop on Instagram to give you some more answers in
Speaker 1: a bit. For now, I'll leave you with this soft
Speaker 1: poem called Invitation by the Great Mary Oliver, who asks
Speaker 1: us to pay attention, be amazed, and tell about it. Oh,
Speaker 1: do you have time to linger for just a little
Speaker 1: while out of your busy and very important day for
Speaker 1: the goldfinches that have gathered in a field of thistles
Speaker 1: for a musical battle to see who can sing the
Speaker 1: highest note the lowest, or the most expressive of mirth,
Speaker 1: or the most tender. Their strong, blunt beaks, strengthy air
Speaker 1: as they strive melodiously, not for your sake, and not
Speaker 1: for mine, and not for the sake of winning, but
Speaker 1: for the sheer delight and gratitude. Believe us, they say,
Speaker 1: it is a serious thing, just to be alive on
Speaker 1: this fresh morning in the broken world. I beg of you.
Speaker 1: Do not walk by without pausing to attend to this
Speaker 1: rather ridiculous performance. It could mean something, It could mean everything.
Speaker 1: It could be what real comment when he wrote you
Speaker 1: must change your life, Sweet dreams,