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PODCAST · fiction

Storysmithing

by John Gulick

A sandbox for readers and writers to follow stories through brainstorming and drafting. Enjoy the development of fresh stories, and absorb the writing process as principle meets practice. All stories are available to read at https://sites.google.com/view/storysmithing/home.

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Episodes

  1. #51: 2025 Review and 2026 Goals

    An overview of what I read and wrote in 2025, lessons learned, and my goals for 2026.

  2. #50: Appreciation for Books 1-3 of We Hunt Monsters by Aaron Oster

    I review my favorite elements of books 1, 2, and 3 of the We Hunt Monsters series as a reader, then a writer. I also share a few thoughts on areas that could be reconsidered.Overall, I would highly recommend this series for any fans of LitRPG!

  3. #49: Designing a Dungeon Crawler Card Game in One Hour

    We design a (99%) complete dungeon diving card game in one hour. The abbreviated, complete ruleset of "Dungeon 53" is available at the Storysmithing website.I hope you enjoy!

  4. #48: Interviewing Minichirops of Royal Road

    A conversation with Minichirops touching on his journey as a writer, the snowflake outlining method, and more.

  5. #47: Brainstorming Delving High: Outlining a Combat Scene

    The least interesting aspect of a combat scene should be the combat. Here, I outline how Chapter 5's combat scene should develop our characters and worldbuilding through the action.

  6. #46: Brainstorming Delving High: Update After 60 Hours

    After 60+ hours of brainstorming, the shape of the story has evolved significantly. I overview how the characters and wordbuilding have grown along with the plot now stretching to seven books.

  7. #45: Brainstorming Delving High: A Royal Road Story (Mob Types)

    Have you ever met a Smogback or a Lunchmeat Slabber? Me neither, but we create over 50 of these mobs that our cast of heroes will encounter at Delving High. Another 200 mobs, and we'll be all set!

  8. #44: Brainstorming Delving High: A Royal Road Story (Classes, Variants, Charisms)

    We continue delving into our new brainstorm by digging into the trident of character progression: Classes, Variants, and Charisms.

  9. #43: Brainstorming Delving High: A Royal Road Story (World and Plot)

    We brainstorm the LitRPG/LitRoguelite novel, Delving High. The story will follow Jack Stalk and his squad's quest to survive the dangers (and other students) of Delving High. I plan to release chapters on Royal Road as time goes on. I hope this will be a nice forray into the genre!

  10. #42: The Jester's Son: Chapter 3 Reading

    Check out the draft of Chapter 3!

  11. #41: The Jester's Son: Chapter 2 Reading

    A reading of the Chapter 2 draft.

  12. #40: The Jester's Son: Chapter 1 Reading

    Check out the first chapter of my primary 2025 project!

  13. #39: 2024 Review and 2025 Goals

    I review the biggest projects and takeaways from 2025 and introduce 2025's major project: The Jester's Son novel!

  14. #38: BatSim High: Chapter 1 Reading

    An introduction and reading of BatSim High: Chapter 1, where high school students are trained for combat in the Simworld. This YA sci-fi chapter was very fun to draft, and we'll see if I return to this story in the future!

  15. #37: Knit the Knight: Reading

    Knit the (toy) Knight must save the day while all the big knights are away!

  16. #36: Berry Soup: Reading

    Tired of their usual food, all the animals must band together to make soup. It takes a crew to stew!

  17. #35: Rody's Rocks: Reading

    Rody the ghoul seeks the perfect rock to give each member of his new humanamily.

  18. #34: Finny's Magic Fish Food: Reading

    Macy feeds Finny magic fish food, and strangeness ensues.

  19. #33: Glip the Ghoul: Reading

    A full reading of my very best-to-date ghoul-bedtime-card-stacking-mischiefy story. This story is kid and ghoul friendly.

  20. #32: Bedtime Story Brainstorming: Glip the Ghoul

    If you've never heard of Glip the Ghoul, that's because we invented him in this episode! Here, we outline a short bedtime story for kids (and ghouls)!

  21. #31: Brainstorming: The Waylands

    What better way to avoid beginning one novel than by brainstorming another? In this episode, we outline the starting scene to launch our band of adventurers into a new, unexplored continent.

  22. #30: Appreciation for Red Rising by Pierce Brown

    A reflection on some things I appreciated regarding the worldbuilding, plot, prose, and characters of the Red Rising saga.

  23. #29: Hazeltop and the Scale: Chapter 20

    A reading of Chapter 20. I hope you enjoyed this story!

  24. #28: Hazeltop and the Scale: Chapter 19

    A reading of Chapter 19.

  25. #27: Hazeltop and the Scale: Chapter 18

    A reading of Chapter 18.

  26. #26: Hazeltop and the Scale: Chapter 17

    A reading of Chapter 17.

  27. #25: Hazeltop and the Scale: Chapter 16

    A reading of Chapter 16.

  28. #24: Hazeltop and the Scale: Chapter 15

    A reading of Chapter 15.

  29. #23: Hazeltop and the Scale: Chapter 14

    A reading of Chapter 14.

  30. #22: Hazeltop and the Scale: Chapter 13

    A reading of Chapter 13.

  31. #21: Hazeltop and the Scale: Chapter 12

    A reading of Chapter 12.

  32. #20: Hazeltop and the Scale: Chapter 11

    A reading of Chapter 11.

  33. #19: Hazeltop and the Scale: Chapter 10

    A reading of Chapter 10.

  34. #18: Hazeltop and the Scale: Chapter 9

    A reading of Chapter 9.

  35. #17: Hazeltop and the Scale: Chapter 8

    A reading of Chapter 8.

  36. #16: Hazeltop and the Scale: Chapter 7

    A reading of Chapter 7.

  37. #15: Hazeltop and the Scale: Chapter 6

    A reading of Chapter 6.

  38. #14: Hazeltop and the Scale: Chapter 5

    A reading of Chapter 5.

  39. #13: Hazeltop and the Scale: Chapter 4

    A reading of Chapter 4.

  40. #12: Hazeltop and the Scale: Chapter 3

    A reading of Chapter 3.

  41. #11: Hazeltop and the Scale: Chapter 2

    A reading of Chapter 2.

  42. #10: Hazeltop and the Scale: Chapter 1

    A reading of the first chapter of my novel, Hazeltop and the Scale!

  43. #9: The Unbaroned Castle: Author Notes

    I share a handful of my questions, surprises, and takeaways from writing the story.

  44. #8: The Unbaroned Castle: Reading

    A full reading of The Unbaroned Castle.

  45. #7: Questing Cook: Video Game Brainstorming: Characters

    Develop a host of characters with unique food preferences and attributes in this episode. The finished product of these episodes, the Questing Cook Blueprint documents, were completed months after this episode, and they are freely available at...

  46. #6: Questing Cook: Video Game Brainstorming: Worldbuilding

    In this episode, we create the geographical and political landscape to best suit our game of questing and cooking! The finished product of these episodes, the Questing Cook Blueprint documents, were completed months after this episode, and they are freely available at...

  47. #5: Questing Cook: Video Game Brainstorming: Gameplay

    It's time for a game about the true heroes: the traveling cooks who feed all the adventurers! In this episode, we develop the framework for that very game. Scavenge food, manage morale, utilize resources, and prepare satisfying meals as the party's questing escalates. There is no greater honor…

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  48. #4: The Unbaroned Castle: Brainstorming 2/2

    Clara and Mason must find a way to hide Baron Randers' death while convincing a band of nasty soldiers to not be so nasty or soldiery.

  49. #3: The Unbaroned Castle: Brainstorming 1/2

    The days of trimming greenery have passed, and we move to the harsh castle dominated by Baron Randers...while he was alive. When Clara is first to discover his death, she must choose between forfeiting the castle back to the soldiers or playing a game of deception like no other.

  50. #2: Pre-Battle Trimmers: Drafting

    Translate the outline to a drafted story in this episode as we attempt the most difficult aspect of writing: writing!

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ABOUT THIS SHOW

A sandbox for readers and writers to follow stories through brainstorming and drafting. Enjoy the development of fresh stories, and absorb the writing process as principle meets practice. All stories are available to read at https://sites.google.com/view/storysmithing/home.

HOSTED BY

John Gulick

CATEGORIES

fiction

Frequently Asked Questions

How many episodes does Storysmithing have?

Storysmithing currently has 51 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.

What is Storysmithing about?

A sandbox for readers and writers to follow stories through brainstorming and drafting. Enjoy the development of fresh stories, and absorb the writing process as principle meets practice. All stories are available to read at https://sites.google.com/view/storysmithing/home.

How often does Storysmithing release new episodes?

Storysmithing has 51 episodes. Check the episode list to see recent publication dates and frequency.

Where can I listen to Storysmithing?

You can listen to Storysmithing on PodParley by clicking any episode. We provide an embedded audio player for direct listening, and you can also subscribe via your preferred podcast app using the RSS feed.

Who hosts Storysmithing?

Storysmithing is created and hosted by John Gulick.
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