Wallowing in Endings
Hello there, fellow wallowers!
It turns out, writing fiction is a lot like stumbling into a portal world. There comes a day—you may or may not know when—that you step back into the real world, and the door closes behind you, and it’s never going to open again.
Today is that day, for me. Because today, after three seasons and a miniseries, after 38 episodes and countless hours, after four years of working with some of the most fantastic folks in audio drama, I released the last episode of my cozy horror podcast, The Way We Haunt Now.
As I wrote over on Twitter, creating this show meant so much to me. It was the first time I really, truly backed myself as a writer. Partly, that was due to the realization that if I could complete a PhD program I could do anything. But what really propelled me forward was the belief and support of people in the audio drama community - especially Jen Sugden (Victoriocity) and Jamieson Ridenhour (Palimpsest) who shared advice and encouragement when this was all just a weird idea I had.
In honor of the show, I'm sharing seven of my favorite episodes from across the series as well as a bunch of my favorite resources for those of you who may be interested in creating your own fiction podcast!
The Way We Haunt Now Highlights
Episode Two: The Poem
I did the sound design for the entire first season (and then hired Brad Colbroock for seasons 2-3), and this episode contains the first scene in which I really felt like the show was coming together. It’s the pub scene, if you’re wondering, in which there’s a creepy poem computer feedback issue and everyone’s favorite doctor—Alicia Delany (played by Jess Winston)—comes to the rescue with lots of bourbon.
Eulalie’s Audio Journal - Entry # 5
I wrote season one in the year after defending my dissertation, and I was processing a lot of post-PhD grief and trauma as well as some personal struggles. The whole miniseries (and this episode in particular) means a lot to me, because it captures the experience of being okay even when your life is in pieces—something I really, really needed to hear at the time.
Episode Thirteen - The Roommates and Episode Fourteen - The Bakeoff
Looking back, I’m so impressed by what we pulled off in season two. I wrote that thing during a pandemic. We made that thing DURING A PANDEMIC.* And it’s still hopeful and life affirming. None of the episodes showcase that better than these two. Episode Thirteen includes one of my favorite bits from the show within a show, Death’s Cookery. (It’s the eggplant scene.) And Episode Fourteen came about because of a Great British Bakeoff inspired twitter exchange between Georgia Mckenzie (co-writer, voice of Josie) and Becca Marcus (voice of Lota). It’s an unholy mashup of “The Night Before Christmas,” GBBO, and ghosts. And I love it with all my heart.
*We’re still in a pandemic. And we’re still doing things. Everything’s different and nothing’s changed.
Episode Twenty-Three – The Seamstress
Speaking of Georgia: they took the lead fleshing out Josie’s backstory this season. It’s partly based on Blackdom, a historical Black homesteader community in New Mexico. From the beginning, I knew that Josie was a Black cowpoke while alive, but Georgia brought so much to her story. And Brad’s sound design on this episode was some of my absolute favorite of the season.
Episode Thirty-One - (Eat) the Rich
I don’t want to spoil anything, but this episode is the season climax and wraps up the arc of season three’s disaster sibling duo. The ending of this episode still hurts my heart, but it had to happen. (Burp.)
Episode Thirty-Two - The Homecoming
As I said on Twitter, I cried at every stage of this episode’s production, from drafting to revising to dialogue edits to sound design. One of the things I knew without question when I sat down to start planning this season was that we needed to learn about Alicia and Danny’s origin story and see the resolution of that. Lindsay and Jess, the voice actors who play Danny and Alicia, respectively, brought so much heart to this episode. And the supporting cast were absolutely fantastic (thanks Maritza, Julian, and Gabriel)!
I’ve loved every minute of making this show and I feel so lucky that I got to work with such a fantastic cast and crew. If you haven’t yet, I hope you’ll listen––it’s free, and it's a great mix of spooky and cozy for October! If you have listened, please tell a friend. The haunting may be over, but that doesn’t mean newcomers aren’t welcome! Time is weird in the Void!
Audio Drama Creation Resources
How to Write a Fiction Podcast by Marc Sollinger
How To Audio Drama: Script Formatting by Wil Williams
Picking Takes vs. Dialogue Editing vs. Sound Design––A Beginner’s Guide by Tal Minear
A Producer’s Guide to Running a Remotely Recorded Audio Drama by Emma Johanna Puranen
Audio Drama production handbook by Lauren Shippen of Atypical Artists
What Does an Audio Drama Producer Do? by Tal Minear Creating Audio Drama Casting Calls by Tal Minear
The 9 Best Free Podcast Hosting Services in 2023 by Tal Minear
Thanks for wallowing with me. Haunt responsibly!
Courtney
P.S. this was one of my early attempts at cover art. I have a passion for graphic design. ;)
