This is something I've had to do several times in my life. The push-pull between "doing the thing that lights my brain up" and "waking up every morning feeling like life is ok" can be very real, and overwhelming. For me it boils down to making sure my identity comes from more than one place.

I need more time in the day to listen to more awesome stories made by cool people. That's it. That's the whole story.

Happy to reveal that today's episode of #ReCarmilla is one of my favourites for how very gay it is. If you haven't already, give it a listen!

So yeah, I didn't know the release schedule either so surprise! There was So Much Music for this episode. I went back and listened this morning. Starting to establish themes. The cozy, dream-like "home" music. Little whispers of Carmilla's mysterious motif but not quite established, not solid yet.

Since this is now all the way out in the world I get to have fun happily yelling about it and talking about making music. This episode is actually either the third or fourth one I worked on (I think third?) Reading the story, and then hearing the way Sasha narrated the beginning was striking. 🧵

Happy #AudioDramaSunday friends! #BobbysSnacks is back, & while it may start w/ the endless doom scroll that is 2025, I do save a lot of time for the stories that are helping me stay grounded. Big ups to @midnightburger.bsky.social, @midstpodcast.bsky.social, @theameliaproject.bsky.social, & more:

This week I attended the celebration of life for a dear friend's mother. This friend is one of those people who spends all of her time lifting people up. She leads with compassion and grace, and from her words that night, those things come from her mother. She asked all of us there to do the same.

This is happening TODAY in about 3 hours!

A very cool thing about working with different writers and showrunners is that you get to try different processes. Sometimes I'm making music for an otherwise totally finished thing. Sometimes it's close but draft-y. Sometimes it's just a script and then we go back and forth. Big noisy experiment!

My birthday is coming up and I pay for about 90% of Seen and Not Heard out of pocket so if anyone wants to fling a few dollars my way to help me put the show out, I'd appreciate it! (There's a prologue for season two coming out a week from now, if that sweetens the deal!) ko-fi.com/carolinemincks

Today's listening adventure is the extremely cathartic, fun, sharp, and well done Un(con)trolled. The first episode grabbed me right away and I'll probably finish the season tonight. I got a phone call right at the end of episode 4 and need to know!! Happy #AudioDramaSunday all!

I finally live in a place with a little local coffee shop and today I went there for the first time. I had a delicious turmeric latte and the best eclair I've ever had. That said, I want to go to Prism please @caromincks.bsky.social , @starplanes.bsky.social and @evantesseract.bsky.social !

I am sat here being amazed by this perfect 2 minutes of acting from Sasha Sienna for @redracula.bsky.social's Carmilla as I try to write music that both heightens it and stays the hell out of the way. This show is beautiful, and this is, for me, the most beautiful part. Aaaaaa!

It's the "mystery illnesses slowly taking out the whole office" time of year and it looks like it's my turn. This is the first time I've been mild-sick since 2020. I've have Covid twice, but nothing else. I've forgotten how to do the "not well but not completely wrecked" kind. Bed? Bed.

Ok, now that it's actually #AudioDramaSunday here goes. I've been in non-fiction mode for a little while, but something opened up in my brain this past week that let fiction back in, so I decided to pick a show I'd been waiting to listen to and dive in to see what happened. Well... here it is 1/?

Once again there is a story in my head that wants to get out. I'm not a writer though, and I can't figure out if this is supposed to be a book thing, a game thing, an audio drama thing, or if I should just stay in my lane, do music and sound, and leave the words to word people.

A million (24) years ago as a college student I never dreamed that my composition style would become even remotely as "WTF even are chord tones? Just play all the things you want together in a way that's on purpose and I promise it will work" as it is now This morning's Carmilla cue? Solid example.

Ok, so I wasn't expecting to burn through listening to an entire show this week and now I need to find another one. And there are so many to choose from that I can't figure out where to start! Have I mentioned lately that I absolutely love #audiodrama and all the lovely people who create it?

I wish I had something new to show for Bandcamp Friday, but since I don’t I’ll have to settle for going on there and finding artists to support and celebrate! I’d love some suggestions. The @camlannpod.bsky.social soundtrack is already on the list 😀

I know it's not Sunday and I think I'll have a lot to say about this then but I'm feeling the need. @camlannpod.bsky.social is ridiculously good and I am inhaling it at an alarming rate. Like I said, I'll have lots to say once I finish the season (possibly tomorrow wow) but I am loving it so much!

got mad & wrote #podcasts #podcasting wilwilliams.reviews/2024/12/02/p...

When you're an hour or two away from finishing work on an episode but have to keep your mind and ears available because a family member is in the ER (not life-threatening, just urgent and complicated) Well, today just got weird!

And now, back to your regularly scheduled fanhumaning about shows while working on them. Earlier this week I got to fine tune the music in one of my favorite scenes from Waiting For October! I can't wait for the whole season to be out so I can ramble about why I love this scene so much!

I try not to be that person who harps on hardships and life changing events, but there's something weird, specific, and kind of cool about one part of my family's recovery from Helene. We lost a lot of our dishes. The ones in the cabinet were fine but the dishwasher bounced around too much. 1/?

Sometimes I play a game that makes me want to make a game very, very much. Sometimes I play a game that makes me want to write game music, so very much. Wildmender is doing both. Deep work craving!

Time to start my Carmilla time for the day! Diving into episode 14. Tools available? String sections, a couple of synths, 2 guitars, a dulcimer, a piano, music box, the reverb part of some hand bells, a solo violin, a solo flute, taiko drums, scraped cymbals, and an Oxford comma. LFG!

Eeeeee.... come to my grabby hands!

Today's realization I have work clothes, workout clothes, and "hang at home where no one can see me" clothes I do not have "go out and have fun with friends" clothes, which I could use today I definitely don't have "go on a date" clothes which thankfully I don't need yet! #PostHurricaneProblems

It's time to start working on a new episode! Step 1. Listen and enjoy. Step 2. Listen again while marking it up with notes that wouldn't make sense to anyone else even in context (references to previous episodes, catch-phrase words, etc) Step 3. Walk away and let it all percolate for a while.

The age-old dilemma. It is the first day of vacation. Work on music all day? v Play around all day? Uuuuugh

The last work day before a week's vacation is about to begin. All I can think about is the music I'm going to get to write, the games I'll get to play, and the @awintory.bsky.social videos I haven't had time to watch in long enough that one vacation isn't enough time! Bring it on!

Building on the "constraints" thread from the other day, it's also really helpful when you're working on more than one project at a time. There is zero chance I'll confuse the Hundred Acre Orchestra with the ensemble Waiting For October uses. They have seriously different sounds and that is Good.

At work very late today which means no music time, but I’m at work for really fun and secret reasons so it’s all good!

Today I'm thinking about constraints. I never used to do this, but starting a couple of years ago when I start a project I spend a while finding my instruments, and then I assemble them like a box of very specific crayons. And then that's what I use. Boundaries make me more creative.

Day 2 in a row of coming home and opening Reaper to work on something? Yes please! I leave myself notes to describe the cues and show me how long I want them to be. Yesterday's was "REVENGE!" Today it's "Brood - sob - brood - whimper out" I promise this is fun!

One of the things I'm hoping to do a bit more here than I ever did on a social is actually Talk about the music I'm working on, about what it sounds like and why, and really get into it a bit! I love reading that sort of thing from other composers so it's weird I never share it, right?

I would love someday to hire a live musician to record the violin parts for @redracula.bsky.social's Carmilla, but as I sit here listening to the latest piece I realize I might very well wind up with some violinist cursing my name and never speaking to me again. It's not my fault!

It's been a very weird day, mostly in very good ways but still... Coming home and firing up the DAW is nicely grounding. These cues won't write themselves!

The community's starting to really show up, so hi! Welcome! We create audio fiction of a particularly queer and dorky bent with big emotions and stories behind. You can find Moonbase Theta, Out (a complete sci-fi epic) and Waiting For October (our new monster show) anywhere you listen to podcasts!

Spending #AudioDramaSunday morning working on music for Carmilla, listening to @starfallpod.bsky.social, and soaking in the growing community here. What a lovely thing!

This was so much fun to record, and how could I not jump at the chance to play a giant monster?

*Disturbing squonking noises* I PLAY A KAIJU in @monkeyman.bsky.social’s Waiting For October. You can hear @profcoppermane.bsky.social and I’s nonverbal vocalizations just before midnight in the first full episode 🎃: pod.link/1766532313 #audiodramasunday

Wrapping up my computer time today with my newest cozy game obsession, Wildmender. Basically it's "bring a harsh desert back to the green space it once was while learning how it happened" and it's wonderful!

Alright, the answer SEEMS to be “no…” at the moment… If you create #audiodrama / #audiofiction podcasts drop a comment below, and I’ll see what I can do about putting together a starter pack for us! And please repost this so more people see it!

I just ordered makeup. Among the things that didn't survive the flood was my rarely used makeup kit. My skin hates most things, so it's always a bit perilous to buy anything. But I'm having my first squish/crush in something like a decade, and even though I have no intentions, I want makeup.

It's been a while! (A long while) I dropped off of pretty much all social media for several months, moved, wrote way a lot of music that's just now peeking out into the world, got obliterated by a hurricane (the tide should stay outside the house), was briefly unhoused, moved again...

This show is one of my very favorite things. It brings joy to this fantasy-adventure loving music/theater nerd heart!

Sometimes, do you ever wake up and think you've landed in a disaster movie?

I've spent most of my composing time for the last week transferring work from my 5 year old all in one to my tiny laptop because the laptop can run Spitfire Solo Strings and the desktop no longer can. It's had a good, long, and very work-filled life but it's time for the giant to rest.

This Audio Drama Sunday, I have so many things to listen to! I've been in a nonfiction headspace for rather a while but it's time to start catching up. First up, the bonus post-finale episodes of Moonbase Theta Out. I've been waiting. I don't want it to be over yet. Not even a little bit ready!