After a summer hiatus, Kayla and Rachel are back—and ready to get into a new writing flow. Rachel shares her progress on Dinner for Eight, including how she’s realizing her protagonist’s marriage needs more depth (or maybe more dysfunction). Kayla talks about experimenting with feeding her dystopian novel The Woman Tree into ChatGPT for a Save the Cat breakdown—only to discover some hilariously creepy “cry triggers” involving underwear drawers and divorce letters.

The two dive into craft with insights from James A. Hurst’s YouTube channel, exploring the ideas of “the hero’s gift” and “the unity of opposites,” and how these concepts can deepen both conflict and character. They also swap stories about questionable teenage fashion choices, brainstorm writing groups they might join, and get interrupted mid-recording by breaking news about Taylor Swift.

It’s a mix of craft talk, laughter, and candid writing-life updates—plus a teaser for next week’s episode, where Kayla and Rachel face off in their own “unity of opposites”: Kayla’s growing appreciation for AI tools vs. Rachel’s anti-AI stance. Will it end in conflict…or clarity?

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After a little summer hiatus (camping, in-laws, a spiral-bound manuscript from FedEx…), Kayla and Rachel are back in the podcast saddle and diving deep into the storytelling structure that screenwriters love and novelists love to hate: Save the Cat.

Rachel reveals she finished a whole-ass book (?!), and together they break down Blake Snyder’s iconic 15-beat “beat sheet” and genre system—using Dinner for Eight and The Woman Tree (working title) to show how the structure can help shape a novel without crushing your muse.

Along the way, we tackle:

• Whether all the women or all the men should die in a dystopian future (whoops, we go there),
• That weird masculine energy in the culture right now 👀,
• The ex that might actually be the monster in your house (literally or emotionally),
• And our shared rage at the YouTuber who said “Why Female Authors Don’t Matter” (no, we won’t link it).

There's also some spicy talk about ghosts, sperm vials, and Judd Apatow movies. Plus: why your protagonist's breakdown in the shower might just be their “Dark Night of the Soul.”

This one’s juicy. And crinkly. (Sorry, Rachel’s mic did a thing.)

🕯️✨ Writers, readers, and story nerds — if you’ve ever wondered whether Save the Cat is helpful or heinous, this one’s for you.

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This week, we attend a virtual "lunch and learn" hosted by the Women’s National Book Association and featuring legendary San Francisco literary agent Andy Ross—and yes, we actually lunched. While the rest of the Zoom played it cool, we munched focaccia and dished about querying, rejection, and whether you can ever send your manuscript to another agent at the same agency (spoiler: the answer was… confusing).

We share the best and weirdest advice from the talk (a query letter in Q&A format?!), plus our own rollercoaster querying journeys, writing struggles, and revelations about the mysterious link between ovulation and sex scenes. Also: Rachel’s murder mystery needs envelope edits, Kayla’s muse is on a juice cleanse, and we’re officially accepting listener submissions for our upcoming Story Time episodes! (2,000 words max, spice welcome but no human centipede horror, please and thank you.)

Books mentioned:

• Save the Cat! by Blake Snyder
• Writing Fiction by Janet Burroway
• A Court of Thorns and Roses (yes, again)

We’re swirling our sediment, managing expectations, and figuring it all out as we go. Join us!

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New episodes every Wednesday.

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Leave us a message at 650-260-4885

Kayla and Rachel share juicy updates on their newest writing projects—Rachel’s twisty, spicy dinner party murder mystery (with a murder mystery game inside!) and Kayla’s speculative dystopian novel idea, recently submitted to The Novelry’s “Next Big Story” contest. They discuss the thrill and terror of writing fast, sending before revising, and navigating feedback while staying creatively uninhibited.

You’ll also hear:

• A breakdown of Brandon Sanderson’s best story structure tips (and how Kayla used them to analyze Rachel’s character motivations)
• A tangent about writing sex scenes while your kids are awake (oops)
• A deep dive into “thisness” (aka haecceity) with examples from Margaret Atwood and Annie Dillard
• Whether your writing should sparkle enough for an agent to remember you—and what Kayla plans to do about that one agent
• Manifestation, muses, and Rachel’s evolving shrine cupboard
• And an honest conversation about feedback, friendship, and not wasting each other’s time

This is an episode about being in the thick of it—writing messy, dreaming big, and figuring it all out as you go.

Mentioned in this episode:

• The Novelry’s “Next Big Story” Contest
• Brandon Sanderson’s NaNoWriMo video tips
• The Oxford Writer on YouTube
• Margaret Atwood’s Alias Grace
• Annie Dillard’s Pilgrim at Tinker Creek
• Rachel’s novel-in-progress (aka the dinner party murder mystery with spice)
• Kayla’s male-only island dystopia
• The Write Your Heart Out Instagram – where you might see Kayla's shrine (eventually) and Rachel's vision board (maybe) @writeyourheartoutpod

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Episode 7: Storytime – The Ones We Never Submitted
This week on Write Your Heart Out, Kayla and Rachel read the stories they didn’t submit to the Reedsy contest—and wow, you’re in for a ride. Kayla's story, “The Muse,” features a moody writer, a mysterious muse, and an ex-fan with unsettling cinnamon energy. Rachel shares “An Extra Scoop of Revenge,” a tale of friendship and arson.

Also in this jam-packed Storytime episode:
– Our first-ever listener-submitted poem (thank you MJ!)
– Rachel debuts a flamingo poem that starts in a zoo and ends in full mama bear mode
– A new writing assignment inspired by Chuck Palahniuk: write a secret you’ll never confirm or deny.

If you like literary chaos, mermaids, twisted sisterhoods, and hot pink vengeance—this one’s for you.

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Rejection Letters, Contest Drama, and the Return of the Muse

In this episode of Write Your Heart Out, Kayla Ogden and Rachel Cyr unpack their experiences with the Reedsy Prompts Competition. Spoiler alert: neither of them submitted their stories to it! Why? Word count woes, shady contest terms, and a deeper conversation about protecting your creative work.

They also talk through their first rejection letters—Rachel gets ghosted and rejected (double sting), while Kayla shares some querying wins and woes, including a personalized pass and a surprise full manuscript request from a Canadian agent (aka her “shooting star”).

Other highlights:

• A spicy new short story idea from Rachel that’s turning up the heat (and maybe leading to her “sex muse” moment)
• Kayla’s late-night muse visits and her next novel idea
• The ethics of contests like Reedsy and why writers should read the terms of service before submitting (lesson learned!)
• How Elizabeth Gilbert, Ruth Stone, and Alan Watts factor into Kayla’s creative process
• Sharks, weddings, and the unexpected writing lessons of Shark Heart

It's a chaotic, heartfelt, and hilariously honest conversation about rejection, inspiration, and what it means to take your writing seriously—even when nobody else has yet.

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New episodes every Wednesday.

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Episode 5: Story Time — 17 Cats, 2 Writers, and One Very Unwell Man

In our first official Story Time episode, we (Kayla Ogden and Rachel Cyr) read aloud the short stories we wrote based on prompts from The Writer’s Toolbox—including the eerie first line “There were 17 cats living in Larry’s basement.” What follows is a shared descent into feline chaos, lonely hearts, and the kind of dark humor that sneaks up on you.

We talk through the weirdly specific details we both managed to include, and the experience of writing from unusual points of view.

Plus: we challenge ourselves to enter a short story contest with a 4-day deadline, chat about storytelling chemistry, and unpack what it means to “talk in stories.” If you like fiction, prompts, or listening to two writers try to out-weird each other, this one’s for you.

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This week on Write Your Heart Out, Kayla and Rachel dig into the very beginning of storytelling—literally. They each bring the opening lines of two favorite books and analyze what makes a first paragraph sing (or fall flat). From the Southern charm of The Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood to the eerie minimalism of Vanishing World, the hosts explore voice, tone, and the power of starting strong. Kayla also reads an excerpt from her new short story, “#Vanlife,” featuring a possibly misunderstood—or deeply menacing—therapy client named Clayton. (Shawn and Marc, their husbands, weigh in with wildly different reactions.) Then, the ladies spin the wheels of The Writer’s Toolbox and assign each other a chaotic new challenge: build a new story out of three random prompts.

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New episodes every Wednesday.

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Leave us a message at 650-260-4885