Its All Write

It's All Write to Sh*t on Protein Goalz

• It's All Write • Season 1 • Episode 1

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Meet your hosts Meryl Branch-McTiernan and Ariana McLean. This episode delves into the challenges one faces as a writer trying to release her work into a world dominated by capitalist forces and how building this creative community is the antidote to despair. 

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Watch Meryl's movie Katie's Mom on Amazon Prime or Tubi.

Follow the show on Instagram @itsallwritepod. 

Email us at itsallwritepod@gmail.com.

Ariana:

I imagine that's like wandering through a beautiful forest, right? And you're just like picking up flowers and you're looking at the trees, and then you see a deer run by, as opposed to we have to get to the summit. We have to bridge. And you're exactly like, you're like, you're climbing Mount Kilimanjaro. Yes. And you're like, freezing. Your feet are freezing. You can't breathe. And you're like, oh, why did I start doing this in the first place?

Meryl:

And that may be a case of being happy with having written, I got the story out, but the way I often or used to often feel is I don't know. I'm, I'm just, yeah. Walking in the forest. Hi, I am Meryl Branch Mc Tiernan.

Ariana:

Hi, I am Ariana McLean you're listening to, it's All Right.

Meryl:

This is a podcast about the writing life and those who live it. We are going to be interviewing some writers at all stages of the game, having them share their stories about their process the challenges, the ups, the downs.

Ariana:

All about what it takes to actually get some words on a page. and remind ourselves that it's all right. It's all right. That you haven't been signed yet. It's all right that you can't write today. It's all right that you can write today. So for this first episode. We just wanted you to get a little taste of who we are as people and writers. We share. Similar ideas to what writing is in that writing really can be anything. And that we both appreciate the highbrow art and the low brow art and everything in between when it comes to writing. So we have, actual books, we have short stories, we have those kinds of publications online, offline. But then you also have television and films and both of us have worked in spaces around in between and in I think all these industries. Is that right?

Meryl:

That is correct.

Ariana:

So for this episode, it's a special but moving forward, you're gonna hear us little bit less. All our future episodes are gonna have guests

Meryl:

we will be joined by other writers our friends, colleagues, friends of friends,

Ariana:

but today we're just gonna chat in the studio. So a little bit about me. I am. You know, That little, that meme of those two Guinea pigs and one's like eating away and the other one's staring into the abyss. That's how I feel right now. Who am I? Where am I, what is life? I am an artist, a writer, a producer, an educator, I have over a decade experience working in TV and film production in New York City and around the world. I completed my MFA in creative writing a couple years ago with my friend here, Meryl.,

Meryl:

i'm Meryl Branch mc Tiernan. I am a fiction writer and screenwriter. I am the co-writer and producer of Katie's mom, which is a movie about a woman who has an affair with her daughter's boyfriend now available to rent on Amazon or for free on Tuby. I think when I start saying qualifications, I bore myself. Basically I became a writer in second grade. When I. Realized that I had an assignment and I wanted to just keep going and I wanted to like, put everything into this eight page story. And I was pegged then a writer. So it just became something that I took with me wherever I went and whatever other jobs or other life things I was doing, I was always doing it as a writer. So since then I've, published some things. I made a movie, but I don't know that that matters as much as just the instinct to communicate through words on a page.

Ariana:

That's beautiful. I feel like I've never called myself a writer confidently. Since I was a kid. Even though I've always written and writing has come to me easier than others. Is, how I would put it. I didn't really find it that difficult in school. I could knock out an essay, I could knock out a story. When I was younger, I used to get these little notebooks and I'd write whole stories in them that were wackadoodle. I found some when we were cleaning out my grandma's house and they were very sweet. And I actually, I read them and I was like, oh, these are not bad. There was this one story about. This girl whose parents they, the family moved away for the, for their parents' work. And she had to, she was in another country, I think she was in Japan, and she couldn't speak the language and she was trying to make friends and she met a butterfly and the butterfly would translate for her. And so that was how she was able to make friends and connections.

Meryl:

I love that.

Ariana:

I think I find calling myself a storyteller to be a little bit more accurate. A storyteller and a story consumer because I just love hearing people's stories. I like sharing stories. And I've worked in TV and film production for a really long time, and I think what has always drawn me to that field is at the center of it is we're just telling a story. I like the collaborative nature of filmmaking which you don't necessarily have when you're writing. But there's also something special about doing something on your own. Writing by yourself is a special experience 'cause it's just you doing stuff without anybody in your ear. At least in those initial stages, I feel like that's a beautiful place to be in. It's my more long-winded response to Meryl's. Beautiful. Succinct. She's the writer. I'm the storyteller. I'll elaborate

Meryl:

stories. Yeah, stories.

Ariana:

So if everything is writing. And everything is story like what makes. A story. A story which I, I don't think I could answer right this second, but

Meryl:

Yeah, I feel like it's not always obvious We're not doing book reviews, but I kind of wanna tell you about a short story I read yesterday, please. I was in the library actually I had to wait there for an hour and a half, so I was just like a prisoner in the library. So I started picking up random things. I never read literary journals, but I got so bored that I started reading one. And there was a story it was by Benjamin Nugent. I've never read anything by him before. about a guy who didn't like porn. And he was trying to do IVF with his wife, Starts off with him bragging about how he doesn't like porn. I read a few other stories in that book and they didn't all feel like they were totally satisfying. But this one I thought was strong because He has to go on a journey in which that thing is questioned and there's consequences of it, and he tries to fight against his nature. Basically at the end he tells her, could you just like. do a make your own porn for me 'cause that's what I want. I feel like the problem with a lot of stories are that they're like just a character sketch and nothing really happens. So you get to the end, you're like, cool. Yeah. Yeah.

Ariana:

I find that I have this problem in my own personal writing where

Meryl:

many of us do. I think it's very common.

Ariana:

Yeah. Like you think of either a really strong character or you are inspired by somebody to write a really strong character. and it's like you write it, but. And what? I think that's for me, that's when writing gets difficult. Yes. It's like you have that initial thought, that initial idea, but. Now you gotta take it to fruition. You have to fully like germinate that idea. And that's why it takes years to write anything sometimes to really get it good. Books can take a really, even short stories, poems, they all take time to craft. and I hate that the sort of content driven world where everything has to be like a nugget of content. what is I think everything's writing in story.

Meryl:

Calling everything content is disgusting.

Ariana:

I think it is. I think it's taking away the essence of it, which is the story part, which is what connects us.

Meryl:

Right. And this kind of reminds me, and I don't know if this is off topic of something, there's no topics the idea of protein I, oh, I'm so in that, I hate the word protein. Because especially the idea of calling an animal who lived a life protein, and when we talk about just like eating, oh, just eating protein or eating as fuel, taking away the joy of cooking, of food and treating it like, like gas from the fucking smelly ass gas station.

Ariana:

Yeah, and I think that comes from this capitalist world where everything is judged on efficiency and how it can make more, right? Whereas if you start thinking about things that are meaningful in life, it's things that provide, stimulation, enjoyment, and those things. are Crafted like a delicious plate of food. I'm sorry. That's amazing.

Meryl:

Right? It's not 50 grams of protein. Yeah, so I think of calling art content, it's the same as eating macros and protein. It's and I don't wanna be in that field. Yeah. I don't wanna make content. I wanna make art.

Ariana:

Yeah, me too. And let's talk about what that takes, because it does take sacrifice. To, like we were talking earlier, off air about 'cause I've come up in certain situations in my career where I'm at a place where it's like you either play the game. And you put on this mask and you're this certain kind of person maybe I need to buy a new wardrobe to look the part of that, that these like creatives, like what people wanna hire when they call them creatives. 'cause there is an aesthetic look to it. And it's also a way of talking, it's a way of being in the world and selling yourself. And as frustrated as I am with like where I am. Financially, and in my career I can't imagine sacrificing who I am to become something like that, just to make money. 'cause I think I will just be miserable. And then what's the point? Agreed. Just having my protein shakes and maybe I look all buffed, but like for what?

Meryl:

Right. Meal planning with your protein and your macro. Yeah. Like a,

Ariana:

a mass shooter could come and shoot us down and, right. And what

Meryl:

was the point?

Ariana:

What was the point, if not to enjoy what is here on this shitty planet that it's actually not a shitty planet. It's a beautiful planet that we've created shitty situations as human race, like we have polluted it and we've created things like spreadsheets and

Meryl:

Right. Right. Yeah. So I guess we're here to talk about art and making it and how to keep making it in the face of rejection, in the face of not always paying the bills with it how to keep ourselves going back to the page.

Ariana:

I think that's the essence. Of what we're doing. And also in a very selfish way, it's a place for our voices to be heard. If they don't make room for you at the table, you start your own table? Yeah.

Meryl:

That Yes we're starting our own table and we are lucky to know other artists, some who have reached higher realms than we have so far, and bring them in and hear about their experiences and their challenges because the thing about. Creating art is that you always think, once I get this, then I'll be okay, or I'll be happy, or I'll be there. But then there's the next, like the goalpost is always changing. So becoming aware of that and sharing that with you guys.

Ariana:

Yeah. And to add to that, creating art while sometimes can be very collaborative. The initial stage is very uncollaborative. Yes. Especially the writing field Rough draft, first draft, second draft, third draft. That is solo work. And it's so easy to fall into despair and be like, I suck. I don't know how to write. Why am I doing this? I'm all alone in this world. And hopefully these discussions for at least us, for anyone listening for our guests, our friends will be a chance to be like, you're not alone in this crazy world in which we're trying to make something and say something of meaning and value, regardless of who values it.

Meryl:

I know I personally feel often that nobody cares if I turn on my computer. Nobody cares if I read anything. It. And I guess we're looking to build a community of people who do care and care about each other and care about, seeing what other people are creating.

Ariana:

Yeah. 'cause otherwise, what are we doing? I don't know. What are we doing? Just paying bills. Not like we gotta find enjoyment in these fascist times. Yeah. Yeah. Let's be the subculture in Berlin in the forties. Let's

Meryl:

do it.

Ariana:

Have you ever been in a writer's room?

Meryl:

That's a good question. Only our writer's room for the Girlfriend Collective. That's the only writer's room I've ever been in.

Ariana:

And it was virtual, so it

Meryl:

did not feel like what I would expect.

Ariana:

Well, that whole project was, non-traditional. What's a, what's a good word? Unorthodox.

Meryl:

Unorthodox word was an unorthodox. it was an unorthodox experience. Yes. And I've never been in a orthodox experience. I don't know, have you?

Ariana:

I was a writer's assistant for two seasons on a game show, so it's Oh, interesting. Was a writer's room. The vibe felt very much stereotypical writers. It was WGA New Yorkers, mostly male. All white. Okay. And me, there was one woman Anna Lotto, who actually, she wrote my recommendation for grad school. Oh. it was a hundred thousand dollars pyramid, so it's lists of words. You have your, category question that's usually a little punny, punchy, and then. A list of words that you want these folks to guess For the game, but yeah. And they'd have to do, I can't even remember how many, but, they did have quotas and then my job was to look for repeat words and tally up repeat words and if categories had already been done before. Okay. It was a weird job. Now I'm trying to remember what I did, the head writer was very typically neurotic and stressed out all the time. And his hair was just like, Albert Einstein. And and I also had to make sure he ate, 'cause he would just not eat

Meryl:

nice.

Ariana:

Nice. But it was a fun room. It was like a little bit stinky.

Meryl:

Yeah. With the peanut butter and

Ariana:

jelly? No, just the beo. Oh,

Meryl:

interesting.

Ariana:

I felt like on 30 Rock, they always made fun of that. Really? It was a little bit like everyone looked grody and no one was like, camera ready.

Meryl:

I feel like this is an issue I'm having in life. I imagine like my dream man or the, my dream people are like the people that you see on the TV saying the smart things, but the people who wrote the things don't look like the people Ah, who say things. So the idea of a room of attractive, interesting smart writers I feel like doesn't always happen.

Ariana:

Those are unicorns.

Meryl:

Yeah. It's just us. It's just two us. Yeah. We're the only ones. So I think you have to just accept that smart and pretty aren't always together, but they can be.

Ariana:

But then you also have to have like smart and feminist to some extent smart. 'cause there's a lot of smart guys who just are assholes,

Meryl:

right? That is true.

Ariana:

There's a there's, I guess there's layers to assholeness that I can take, 'cause sometimes, if you're a little dick or like you're a little bit of an ass or a little bit cunty that's fun. But if you're like an actual asshole or like a dick, right? I can't get over that. a man loves a director's cut. A man loves a director's cut in a way that I do not think most women do.

Meryl:

Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Except for, as a writer, I really like the director's cut because Oh, yeah. Of my work. Oh, yes. Yeah. I'm like, oh, all of these lines need to be here. We need to see all these seeds. It's all gold.

Ariana:

Okay. This is this is related so I've worked on television and film for the last, almost 15 years now. And so I worked on this one movie in Vietnam. And I like to say when I was a nam, when I was

Meryl:

a when I was in Nam,

Ariana:

But it was my friend. Who wrote this film, it was her thesis for her, MFA at NYU. And she was doing that thing where she had all her credits, but she wanted to actually make the movie. And I guess I now subsequently understand that process where some people just wanna get the degree and other people are like, I might as well use these resources. And I don't think there's necessarily a right or wrong way,

Meryl:

I think that you reach a certain point and you're like, do I wanna be here forever or do I wanna

Ariana:

Yeah. Go. Yeah. Okay, back to Nam. Back to Nam. So she really wanted to do this. It was a period piece. Lots of characters historical fiction. Shot in Vietnam. It's her home country. And the story was about a Vietnamese family in the 19th century. Okay. No, 18th century, sorry. 19 hundreds, 18th century So you can imagine the type of budget that would require, But obviously things are like, she definitely got more bang for her buck in Vietnam than in the us. I forget where we're going with this anyways. She wrote the script. I read it. I really liked it. She was a really good friend and a mentor to me. I found so interesting is because she wrote it, she directed it, she produced it. But because she was financing it. She kept ditching the schedules. So it felt disrespectful as a crew. This was like a crew of 90 people. Wow. So it wasn't a small crew. And I ended up being in the middle of a lot of drama because I was her friend. Anyways all of that is unrelated to the point I was trying to make. The ADD is strong today which was that she wrote the script, but she would change it a lot. And then and she kept having what she would call sort of these epiphany moments where she'd wanna shoot something else or she would spend, time shooting a salamander on the curtain instead of this scene. Between the characters and everyone sitting around waiting and it, and in the final cut. I went to go see it at premiered at Toronto Film Festival. And it was good. Good fest. Yeah, it was a good fest. Beautifully shot movie. I thought it was very poetic, but it was to me so different from that original script. Which is almost the opposite of what you were saying about how if you wrote it, you would want all your words in there. She took out, like literally there was nearly no dialogue.

Meryl:

Really?

Ariana:

Yeah. Interesting. There was almost no dialogue. Which I mean, for film., you shouldn't be relying on dialogue. You, if you have dialogue, it has to be purposeful. Yeah. Because you have the visuals to, to back you up.

Meryl:

I prefer heavy dialogue. Which is tv.

Ariana:

Which is tv.

Meryl:

Yeah.

Ariana:

Traditionally.

Meryl:

Yes. Traditional.

Ariana:

Yes. Yes. Yeah. Oh my God, I never really thought about that. So TV's kind of

Meryl:

it's like a play. It's a play. It started as a play. It's a play commercial really. They the entertainment to get you to watch commercial.

Ariana:

But it comes from the tradition of we had sort of

Meryl:

radio.

Ariana:

Yeah. But it was like vaudeville, radio shows. And then you had television. So it's like the trajectory.

Meryl:

And it's interesting that this form is like the radio form is coming back now as a podcast. Oh yeah. Not full circle. Yeah,

Ariana:

full circle. Because you can listen to it Yeah. And do other things.

Meryl:

Exactly.

Ariana:

Because we require stimulation always. I need barriers to entertainment, like television, because otherwise I will watch it forever. Like the, just 'cause it's been a very hard few months for me. I've just literally been watching an entire show a day.

Meryl:

Wow.

Ariana:

I've watched so many series because I'm like multiple season series in a day. Sometimes one to two in a day. It's hard to do more than that, but I've been watching whole series per day and I don't think that's healthy.

Meryl:

Possibly not, but who

Ariana:

needs help when you're, who needs help when the world's ending and Fascism's winning?

Meryl:

Yeah, I think I'm actually more addicted to reading than I am to tv.

Ariana:

I'm trying to get addicted to reading. 'cause I used to be

Meryl:

a reading addict.

Ariana:

I used to be so good at reading in the sense that I read all the time. Yeah, it ebbs and flows. I think I, I just needed the TV 'cause my problems were so cerebral. I needed that to be louder than my thoughts. Yeah. So people talking need to be louder than my thoughts I think the the act of reading is a very unique personal experience and I think I used to think everyone experienced it the same way, but

Meryl:

No, I guess not. Yeah. I cannot listen to books like I. That's the last thing I'd ever wanna do in my life.

Ariana:

Like the, like I don't mind listening to books, but I don't listen to all books. If it's a book I really am interested in, I will read it. 'cause I do feel like listening becomes a little bit more passive.

Meryl:

Yeah, it's just that, it's like the act of reading is my, one of my favorite acts. And I just don't associate that as the same. I'm like, oh, I like to look at words. Aw. Like it's not about the content. It's about my enjoyment of the process.

Ariana:

That's really sweet.

Meryl:

When I think about going blind, if that ever were to happen, I'm like, I wouldn't be able to read. And people are like, oh, but you could listen. I'm like, then I kill myself.

Ariana:

What did that, but what you were saying about how you love to see words on page, that's probably why you like to write.

Meryl:

You're creating the

Ariana:

words on the page.

Meryl:

Is it?

Ariana:

Do you like writing?

Meryl:

I don't know. That's a good question. I Yeah. Because some people say, I like having written. I like the flow state. Once I get into that,

Ariana:

oh yeah.

Meryl:

You know what? I think I like the writing, which I feel like I have not done lately, where I don't really know where it's going. I feel like when I'm trying to tell a story that I already know, it's less interesting. And it's a lot of what do, what needs to go in there? And it's like being burdened and having to take the burden off versus just, I'm sitting and I'm feeling and it's coming to me.

Ariana:

That's magical. To me, I imagine that's like wandering through a beautiful forest, right? And you're just like picking up flowers and you're looking at the trees, and then you see a deer run by, as opposed to we have to get to the summit. We have to bridge. And you're exactly like, you're like, you're climbing Mount Kilimanjaro. Yes.

Meryl:

Yes.

Ariana:

And you're like, freezing. Your feet are freezing. You can't breathe. And you're like, oh, why did I start doing this in the first place?

Meryl:

And that may be a case of being happy with having written, but it's like, all right, I got the story out, and then you can enjoy editing. But the way I often or used to often feel is I don't know. I'm, I'm just, yeah. Walking in the forest.

Ariana:

Yeah. I've always liked writing. I don't wanna say it came easy to me. Like I never found it to be that difficult. I felt like towards the end of grad school and working on that damn thesis made me finally realize fuck writing's hard. And I think maybe what you're saying is what I was experiencing because I knew I was trying to finish something and

Meryl:

it wasn't just fun.

Ariana:

It wasn't just fun. Yeah. And this year I'm trying to find that fun again.

Meryl:

How's it going?

Ariana:

It's going slowly. I did feel like I got like a burst of an idea of the world in which I wanna write in I'm also a very goal oriented person, so I'm my own worst enemy where I'll create rules and be like, you have to do these things. And then the other half of me is no, I don't wanna. So that's where I find myself. I

Meryl:

have that issue. Yeah.

Ariana:

'cause I'm like, okay, these are the characters I'm working with. And I'm like, great, I did that.

Meryl:

Then you have to work with them. Then you have to work with them. No. I find momentum really hard. Flow and momentum, like being in it, the times I am happiest is when I actually feel in the project where it's okay, I'm excited to go back to this thing where I'm like living in it when I'm not at the page. But where I'm now is not a good place

Ariana:

right now.

Meryl:

Yeah. I am theoretically writing a new book, but I'm not in that book. I don't even have a name. My character doesn't have a name. Like it's not, it's just like I'm just showing up. I'm not in it.

Ariana:

A lot of people say that's the first step. Just show up every day. Yeah. On the page. That's like the, I like, that's, do unto others as others do unto you in writing? It's show up. Yeah. Just do the work. Yeah.

Meryl:

Yeah. I think that I had said, when I was writing my first book, which I started, I guess I officially started writing at 25. This book, that book, and finished at 30, called it Done. Started looking for agents. At that point, I said, if this doesn't sell, I will never write another book. This is a one time thing, never again. Somehow life happened and I wrote a second book. And to sit down and do it a third time is really hard. It's not something I ever planned to do.

Ariana:

I can't even imagine. 'cause I have not written a novel. I have written short stories and flash fiction. I write short form. Short. Yeah. But I have committed to writing a novel this year. Yeah. Yeah. And I was like, maybe I just write a novel, like maybe I just try something different. 'cause I didn't feel like coming back. I didn't feel like. Editing my short stories. So maybe it's just new form time. And it's scary. And last year I did the half marathon and that was scary. You were, so I might as well

Meryl:

you achieved goals.

Ariana:

I'm a Capricorn. But this goal does seem very daunting, but, everyone takes their own time at it. So maybe I just, today my writing was one sentence.

Meryl:

Okay. All right one more sentence than you had yesterday.

Ariana:

Oh, I have another question for you. 'cause you're like my writing sister. Oh yeah. You have much more experience than me. My big sister who helps me through hard times but in all seriousness, yes. Can you tell me about your experiences or maybe a, an experience at a writer's retreat? 'cause I know you've done a couple.

Meryl:

The South Hampton Writers conference, which is something that Stony Brook a university puts on, that's actually how I ended up going to Stony Brook. 'cause I had so much fun that I was like, I wanna do this all the time. But that wasn't really how it was. So I did two weeks. Which some people okay, different kinds of people are different. I like to really immerse For a long time some people were like, fuck, I would never want to do this for two weeks. But what was really great about it, so I literally knew no, nobody. So every meal you were sitting with new and interesting people and hearing about what they were writing and just having really deep conversations, so there was the meal part that was nice. I would take a workshop. Eat with other people, work alone in my room, and then go to whatever they had like salons at night. So everything was about writing, the world was writing. Nothing in the world existed besides writing, and I apparently need that. So when I went to the Stony Brook thing, I called it a retreat at first. And then I felt that I had worked so hard. I got really offended when people would call it a retreat. I'm like, this was not a retreat, it was a residency. I was working. Yeah. So I don't know. I guess I would think of a retreat as maybe not having all the yeah. The stuff.

Ariana:

'cause a residency it's an exchange, right? You are committing to c to the community.

Meryl:

Yeah. Like you're immersing yourself in community.

Ariana:

Whereas a retreat I feel is usually. A little bit more like a like it's basically Tourism Plus, right? Yes.

Meryl:

It's just to go to that place. It's just

Ariana:

to go to that place.

Meryl:

But that's why I liked it being two weeks. 'cause there was like, one week was the workshop and the other week was like just working on the writing.

Ariana:

So actually hearing that story, I realize I've been to the key West Literary seminar and I did a one week workshop. And so similarly they put us up and, I'm living in, working with my workshop mates. But I found that I didn't get a lot of work done because I was always reading other people's work.

Meryl:

That is, that's one of the challenges.

Ariana:

Also another side note.

Meryl:

Yeah.

Ariana:

I go to these workshops and there are some beautiful people.

Meryl:

True. There are beautiful writers. Can be beautiful.

Ariana:

There are beautiful writers at the Key West Literary seminar. it wasn't black, but there the theme was African American literature. So there was a lot of beautiful, interesting black people who were intelligent and it just was magical in Key West, which is a beautiful place. And everyone's like sunkissed and

Meryl:

Right. Everyone was just vibing, just so healthy and we were just

Ariana:

eating key lime pies and drinking Amazing I margaritas or something. I was gonna ask you what you, how you like to write. I thought that was gonna be a good question.

Meryl:

I feel like I have a, when I'm really stuck in a big fear situation, I will do handwriting. Because it's easier or it's safer.

Ariana:

Yeah, I agree. 'cause then I, it's like journaling, you just write whatever, and you can just scribble.

Meryl:

So I think that when it's most successful for me is when like early in the day I'll hand write and then type it up like a couple hours. Yeah. So I could, even, if I can't read it, I can like figure it out.

Ariana:

Yeah.

Meryl:

Do you have typewriter fantasies?

Ariana:

I used a typewriter when I was a kid. A lot. My grandpa had a typewriter and he would pay us 10 cents per envelope to Oh wow. 'cause he had his own business. So when he had to send things out to people, we would use the typewriter to write the addresses. Addresses on the envelope. And then I was really obsessed with the typewriter, so I would write letters to, my mom was in grad school in Italy. And I would, and I forgot about this, she reminded me, she's yeah, you used to send me like a letter a week and I would write, I'm on the typewriter. Wow. Because I thought it was fancy. Totally. It's fancy. Yeah. I feel like I used to write stories on the typewriter. My brother actually has a few, I don't have any currently.

Meryl:

He has a few typewriters.

Ariana:

Yes. He definitely this is genetic. Why? He has several typewriters. I don't know. But he does. Because we all have typewriter fantasy. It's. The tactileness is Yes. So delicious. Maybe that's how I write my novel. I'll be one of those like hipster boys. The picture? Yeah, those hipster boys. Oh, no. Like Wednesday. Did you watch that show? Wednesday? Oh,

Meryl:

I have very little of it. She has a typewriter and she's writing

Ariana:

her novel. And it's really bad because, you don't save it. It's just pages. That's the only copy you have, right? That's it. So if you lose that, it's gone. It's a

Meryl:

lot. Yeah, but it also feels like I have this thing with pens too. If I just buy this pen and this notebook, the writing will come. Yeah. It might be that way with the typewriter. If I just buy this typewriter.

Ariana:

Maybe it'll, what's there to lose?

Meryl:

And one day we'll be rich and we won't even care. So right now we can dream and we can talk about our dreams, and we're gonna

Ariana:

manifest our lives through this podcast. Welcome to, it's All right. It's the podcast that is active manifestation for Ariana and Meryl in this bleak world we're living in. But spring is here and summer's coming.

Meryl:

That's a wrap on today's episode. We'll be dropping new episodes every other Tuesday. You can find us on Instagram at It's All right pod

Ariana:

And if you have anything to say or would like to be on the show, feel free to send us a message either to, it's all right pod@gmail.com or you can send us a message on Instagram and that's it's all right. W-R-I-T-E

Meryl:

Thanks for listening to, it's all right.

Ariana:

Make sure to, subscribe, like all those things. Wherever you get your podcasts.

People on this episode

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Ariana McLean

Host
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Meryl Branch-McTiernan

Host