Join Ash and Katie as they dig into how they take their first drafts to the next level, and why trust is so important in the revision process. Plus, find out the newest and somewhat perplexing toy craze in Ash's household, and how the Real Housewives gave Katie this episode's title. They also both complain about writing braided novels.

Find Ash's work and sign up for her newsletter at https://ashsmash.com/

Find Katie's work and signs up for her newsletter at https://www.kmveohongs.com/

Find Sid Jain, who wrote our theme music, at https://sidjain.info/

Both Ash and Katie are teaching online classes through Metrowest Writers Guild. Katie's class, Sometimes It's OK to Tell: How to Bend (and Break) Writing Rules, is on Feb 28, 2026 and Ash's class, Character Driven Worldbuilding (with the Enneagram and other archetypes), is on March 24 and 31, 2026.

Resources mentioned in the episode:

Revision Sensitive Dysphoria

Good Things in Small Packages: Writing Short Stories

Matt Bell's Refuse to be Done

Katie and Ash open with their weekly Petty Grievance and Tiny Joy, then dig into the drafting process, including where their ideas come from, Ash's chaotic process, and why Katie is upset by the term "zero draft." Find out some of the tricks and tools they use to keep writing.

Find Ash's work and sign up for her newsletter at https://ashsmash.com/

Find Katie's work and signs up for her newsletter at https://www.kmveohongs.com/

Both Ash and Katie are teaching online classes through Metrowest Writers Guild. Katie's class, Sometimes It's OK to Tell: How to Bend (and Break) Writing Rules, is on Feb 28, 2026 and Ash's class, Character Driven Worldbuilding (with the Enneagram and other archetypes), is on March 24 and 31, 2026.

Welcome to Thanks but Not for Me, a standalone podcast with series potential. Hosts and speculative fiction authors Ash Huang and K.M. Veohongs open with this short episode introducing themselves and the pod by comparing their shiny professional bios with the real story that lurks beneath the surface.

Find Ash's work and sign up for her newsletter at https://ashsmash.com/

Find Katie's work and signs up for her newsletter at https://www.kmveohongs.com/

Both Ash and Katie are teaching online classes through Metrowest Writers Guild. Katie's class, Sometimes It's OK to Tell: How to Bend (and Break) Writing Rules, is on Feb 28, 2026 and Ash's class, Character Driven Worldbuilding (with the Enneagram and other archetypes), is on March 24 and 31, 2026.