After about a year of tinkering, I have invented a new method of quickly writing pieces of short fiction. I plan to spend 2026 testing and refining this method by using it to craft a brand-new short story… every single day of the year!This experimental storytelling method requires only a standard pack of playing cards (plus a notebook, or whatever) and a commitment to follow the suggested narrative road wherever it leads. I've always loved writing, but have struggled with finishing anything, largely because I'm an inveterate tinkerer with perfectionist tendencies, a penchant for over-complicated plot-lines and world-building, and a fe...
Listen in the Podli app 🎧
Follow your favourite podcasts, listen offline and in the car with CarPlay and Android Auto, and always pick up where you left off. Free to try.
Nov 13, 2026 · 22:00
This is the Solitaire Story I wrote on 11/11/26, using a new workflow that should substantially cut down on typing delays going forward. In this one, a bunch of male cousins are…
Nov 6, 2026 · 19:00
This is the Solitaire Story I wrote on 8/30/26. In this one, a level-headed retirement-age woman welcomes her semi-estranged husband home from his long stint in jail. They…
Nov 1, 2026 · 26:30
In my quest to get to 52 Episodes this year, I have decided to try to do a few day-of "Holiday Specials"... starting with this one! This story, which concerns a horror film buff…
Oct 29, 2026 · 20:24
This is the Solitaire Story I wrote on 8/13/26. This one's set in a (decidedly ahistoric and pastiche-like) gold mining camp in the very early 20th Century. Into this…
Oct 22, 2026 · 25:02
This is the Solitaire Story I wrote on August 6th, 2026. In the waning days of the Ed Bashir Show, a junior talent booker tasked with assembling the venerable host's final panel…
Oct 14, 2026 · 18:58
This is the Solitaire Story I wrote on 9/10/26. In this one, an absurdly handsome and charismatic waiter causes unexpected problems for a consortium of restaurateurs, including…
Oct 8, 2026 · 20:00
This is the Solitaire Story I wrote on 7/27/26. In this one, a hapless fellow finds himself a loser in Vegas, despite utilizing what he thought was a elegant and foolproof system…
Sep 30, 2026 · 24:00
This is the Solitaire Story I wrote on 9/1/26. This is one of the ones I wrote in the mini-legal pad, but unlike others from that set this one expanded nicely in the typing phase…
Sep 23, 2026 · 23:00
This is the Solitaire Story I wrote on 7/15/26. In this one, a waitress throws her hat in the ring for a promotion to management. She doesn't get the job but learns a lot from…
Sep 16, 2026 · 28:00
This episode consists of two weirdly similar Solitaire Stories I wrote in July. The first one only took about 14 minutes so I decided on the fly to double up this week (partially…
Sep 5, 2026 · 18:54
This is the story I wrote on 7/16/26. From my synopsis notes: "Our protagonist seeks to flip a piece of real estate following a number of ambitious aesthetic improvements. The…
Aug 28, 2026 · 20:00
This is the story that I wrote on 7/10/26. In this one, an elementary school teacher, disappointed by the contents of an unearthed time capsule at his school, decides to take…
Aug 21, 2026 · 25:59
This is the Solitaire Story I wrote on 7/9/26. In this one, a well-meaning but neurotic and somewhat aimless grandson of a famous mayor navigates high society during the city's…
Aug 13, 2026 · 24:01
This is the Solitaire Story I wrote on 7/2/26. In this one, an entrepreneur, recently separated from his wife, attempts to take advantage of an exploitable gap in the…
Aug 6, 2026 · 23:00
This is the Solitaire Story I wrote on 7/1/26. In this one, a demolitions man looking to go the extra mile for his new employer develops a major crush on a bank teller and…
Jul 29, 2026 · 30:00
An introverted farmer hears an explosion out in his father's old apple orchard. He investigates and ends up rescuing a beautiful astronaut, at significant cost to his health. The…
Jul 20, 2026 · 26:40
A quiet and observant young reporter on the death-defying daredevil beat is dispatched to cover the retirement of one of the all-time greats of the trade. She's not alone in this…
Jul 9, 2026 · 21:34
This is the Solitaire Story I wrote on 6/5/26. In this one, a lady scheduled to testify against a dangerous mobster has been granted witness protection and been secreted away to…
Jul 2, 2026 · 28:00
This is the Solitaire Story I wrote on 5/27/26. In this one, an aspiring rodeo clown follows her dream, develops a bit of a crush, and then suffers a career-altering workplace…
Jun 25, 2026 · 22:00
This is a bit of an experimental one; I wanted to see how the Solitaire Stories system works when applied to a single "climactic" fight scene. In this one, a character known as…
Jun 16, 2026 · 24:00
This is the Solitaire Story I wrote on 5/21/26. In this one, a young man recently hired by a lumber transport company tries to get in good with his bosses, a father-son team from…
Jun 9, 2026 · 24:00
This is the Solitaire Story I wrote on 5/14/26. In this one, an ambitious corporate lady commits to an idea-generating solo retreat in the wild and mysterious Banjothorn Swamps.…
Jun 2, 2026 · 22:00
This is the Solitaire Story I wrote on 5/7/26. Per my notes, the synopsis is as follows: "A former collegiate tennis player who went on to professional glory but has since…
May 26, 2026 · 19:00
A first-person account of a fictional baseball team's terrible fictional August and miraculous fictional September. I ended up doing this one (semi-intentionally) as a bit more…
May 19, 2026 · 20:00
This is the Solitaire Story I wrote on 5/1/26. In this one, a bookish earling (like a princeling, but for earls) feels pressured to excel on a hunting weekend at the beautiful…
May 12, 2026 · 20:00
This is the story I wrote on 4/28/26. From my notes, the synopsis is as follows: "Once upon a time (in like the 90's) two counselors fell in love at the (once) iconic and beloved…
May 4, 2026 · 24:00
This is the Solitaire Story that I wrote on 4/15/26. This one is a light fantasy tale, or at least as light as a story centering on the unexpected death of a mostly-beloved…
Apr 27, 2026 · 26:05
This is the Solitaire Story I wrote on 4/2/26. It's a love story featuring two hardworking entrepreneurs in the meatpacking/catering trade (for narrative convenience their…
Apr 20, 2026 · 25:00
This is the Solitaire Story I wrote on 3/24/26. In this one, small-time, mostly-legit hustler with his fingers in a lot of local pies contemplates buying a boat. He gets a bit…
Apr 12, 2026 · 22:16
This is the Solitaire Story I wrote on 3/16/26. This is the story of three sets of couples who all yearn to be close friends with other couples. It starts as an aspirational,…
Apr 4, 2026 · 26:02
This is the Solitaire Story I wrote back on February 20th. In this one, a lucky guy who doesn't know he's lucky teams up with a disreputable friend to win a bunch of money at an…
Mar 27, 2026 · 22:21
This is the Solitaire Story I wrote on 3/6/26. An anti-mob vigilante who fancies himself something of a Batman gets distracted from his mission of vengeance by a fun fling…
Mar 21, 2026 · 30:00
This is the Solitaire Story I wrote on 3/3/26. In this story, the "real-life" subject of a hit love song by international pop superstar Catlyn "Cat" Arrow struggles with how best…
Mar 14, 2026 · 24:59
This is the Solitaire Story I wrote on 2/14/26. It concerns the first mate of the exploratory sailing ship the Prudent Duchess and what he learns about himself and his fellows on…
Mar 6, 2026 · 22:20
This is the Solitaire Story I wrote on February 1, 2026. It's about a romance cover model who feels uncertain about a recent career development. He has lunch with his agent and…
Mar 1, 2026 · 20:54
This is the Solitaire Story I wrote on 1/28/26. It concerns the career anxieties and related struggles of a park ranger who really loves pirates, but does not much care for…
Feb 20, 2026 · 20:01
This is the Solitaire Story I wrote on January 15th. It's about a retiring science teacher who takes on a new short-term gig involving experimental educational domes. This one…
Feb 15, 2026 · 43:41
Happy Valentine's Day! As an apology for being a couple days late on dropping this episode, this one is a double feature. "The Premiere of the Redeemed" (written 1/20/26) and…
Feb 6, 2026 · 20:34
This is the Solitaire Story I wrote on 1/17/26. It's called Exit Interview. A journalist assigned to cover a magical wargames conference ends up getting more directly involved…
Jan 30, 2026 · 19:30
Alternate title: "Chainsaw Guy and The Frogman (2006)." An employee for a haunted hayride pitches an idea to his boss, and then is forced to see it through. Sorry for a few…
Jan 23, 2026 · 19:57
This story is set in a low-fantasy sort of realm, where knights can carve out a living in tournaments and so forth. Timely, now that Game of Thrones is back in the zeitgeist! I…
Jan 16, 2026 · 19:43
Story written on 1/5/26. A dinner party guest with a secret and a crush attends an unusual sort of dinner party. Mortal peril ensues!
Jan 8, 2026 · 24:36
"Quitting Time" is the Solitaire Story I wrote on 1/1/26. It's about a guy who wants to quit his job but then has trouble quitting his job.
Listen in the Podli app 🎧
Follow your favourite podcasts, listen offline and in the car with CarPlay and Android Auto, and always pick up where you left off. Free to try.
Your podcast? Get the Podli badge for your site
