Welcome everyone, to episode 87 of the Saved as Draft Podcast. Lots going on this week, so please find a list of time stamps below if you’d like to quickly navigate to your favorite segments:

* Writing Discussion: 7:30

* Challenge Announcement: 36:55

* Story Shout Outs: 43:00

* Power up Prompt Stories: 56:05

Find all the links from the show below:

Helpful Links

* DREADtober Year 2 hosted by Derek James Kritzberg

* Sunday Plot Luck #2 hosted by Indie Ink Fund (Next one out tomorrow!)

* September LIVE Poetry Reading recording with Stefan Pasek

* Cosmic Pirate Horror from Spencer D.W.

Community Spotlight

This week’s Community Spotlight is Vesper L. Rayne! Learn more about this author’s projects in their full introductory post.

Writing Discussion

Check out this week’s writing discussion thread here, and a huge thank you to everyone who participated. Hear their responses (and my own) in the episode. You can also read my full article on scoping your stories.

Weekly Shout Outs

* The Crystal Dragon: Chapter 1 by Layla | The Fiction Forager

* A Single Futile Shot by Daniel Coates

* Surrounded by Nimita Kaul

* Green Eyed Monster by Horror With A Grin

* Behind the Scenes: Death in a Nutshell by M.R.R Jack's Tales of Pictavia

Power up Prompt Stories

A huge thank you to Gary Mucklow again for writing this week’s Power up Prompt and reviewing the entries!

* Just a Minute by Hayden Waring

* The Listening Room by Mina Howell

* I Remember Now by J.M. Gooding

* The Missing Minute by Cailin

* Irrecoverable by Kayleigh Thorpe (Thorprune)

* Midnight Hall Performers by J.E. Vance (Author)

* The Choice by Maryellen Brady 💗📚

* Sloppy Old Man by Beastly 𖤐 Being

The Writer's Journey is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

Note: Several Poems in this month’s live contain themes of suicidal ideation, depression, and the loss of a loved one. Please consider this before watching or listening.

Another month, another LIVE poetry reading with my friend Stefan Pasek, and if we’re lucky, a new portrait of us both from Nimita Kaul.

If you weren’t able to make the LIVE, don’t worry! We have all 2.5 hours of glorious poetry and discussion here, ready for you. You’ll also find links to everything we read below:

* Well-Behaved Stories by Hallie Jules

* Catacomb by Laura B

* Sanpo Biyori Da Na - A poem by J.E. Vance

* I wanna fly by Sarah-SMR

* NecRomance by David T Etheredge

* The Dog Was the Only Professional Here by Tavis Ferguson

* But Obviously by Nimita Kaul

* The Bard Has No Master by Jennifer Howard

* Death has it by Beastly 𖤐 Being

* Depressing the Darkness by Lea

* Soaring by Gary L Taylor

* Alabaster Wings by Alexa

* No Face by Mina Howell

* A Version of Me by Bradley Ramsey

* Light of the Sinking Moon by Stefan Pasek

Want to Get Featured in a Future LIVE Poetry Reading?

Subscribe to both myself and Stefan Pasek so you don’t miss when we open submissions for next month’s event!

Welcome everyone to this week’s episode of The Saved as Draft Podcast. We’re switching things up this week in terms of order and structure, so please let me know what you like (and what you don’t like) in the comments.

In the meantime, find links to all the things featured in the show below:

Community Spotlight

This week the spotlight is on Loke Vreding! Loke’s latest post is an amazing piece about the rise of AI and their stance on how it relates to creativity. It’s a piece I highly recommend, and it makes for a fantastic first impression as well.

Weekly Writing Discussion

Our discussion this week comes from my subscriber chat thread, which I post every Wednesday. You can find all the responses here, but I wanted to shout out everyone who contributed as well:

* Aegon Targaryen

* Mina Howell

* J.M. Gooding

* Sara da Encarnação

* ReBe

* J. Alleyn Winchester

* Anton Anderson

* Nova Beaumont

* Leanne Shawler

* Charlotte Henley Babb

* Asteria 👻🪻

* Wendy Russell

* Stories Sown With Hope

* W.G. McMullen

Weekly Story Shout Outs

* The Circuit Breaker of the Heart by ReBe

* The House That Held a God Pt II by Aegon Targaryen

* Hildegarde on Falling by Wendy Russell

* It’s All Greek to Phil Episode 11 by Hallie Jules

* Pālīs by J.M. Gooding

* Princess Isadora III, The Queen Who Never Was by E. H. Lau

The Writer's Journey is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

Hello everyone! As many of you know, my birthday was this week, and as is tradition here, I wrote an article about that.

I also took some time this week to look back on the show here, and I recorded the longest stretch of unscripted audio I’ve ever done, where I reflect on why I started this podcast and what I hope to do with it in the next year.

I’d love to hear your thoughts and feedback as well in the comments below. In the meantime, here are links to everything discussed this week:

Community Spotlight

This week, the spotlight is on Whimsy & Woe! Brude just opened submissions for an upcoming anthology this week. The theme is Adorable Abominations, and you can learn more about how to submit your own entry here.

Weekly Shout Outs

* Word Carrier by A.M. Bowman

* A Dud of Kittens and Hammers and the sequel by J.E. Vance

* The Battle of Gingivitis Cave by Jenifer Jorgenson

* An ode to yearning to know someone by Hiyori_Onigiri

* Lights Off by ReBe

The Writer's Journey is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

Hello my friends! Welcome to episode 84 of the Saved as Draft Podcast. This episode features a full interview with Halls of Pandemonium Middleweight Bracket winner Nimita Kaul! Her interview begins at 34:58 if you’d like to skip right to it.

As part of our interview, Nimita also discusses the meaning of the word “Chaukhat “ in Hindi, which means “doorpost” or “Threshold” in English. This is the design she picked in response to Mina Howell’s question during the interview.

She recently painted an example of this as well! Check that piece out below:

Not only that, but The Circus Dragon herself makes an appearance in this episode, playing the role of Smog’s mother, Mrs. Smog.

Find links to all the stories mentioned in this episode below:

Community Spotlight

This week’s spotlight was on J.M. Gooding who recently came back to Substack after a small break. To learn more about what we discussed on the episode, give his latest Kira story a read.

Smogust’s Story Hoard Week 4 Shout Outs

* When Completeness Comes by J. Alleyn Winchester

* Until Reality Notices by Wendy Russell

* Twilight of a Hero by Bradley Hurt

* Earning Dreamwielder Marks by Leeron Heywood

* The Envious Bookwyrm by Andy Scotts

* You Had Wings Then by Johnathan Vance

* These Old Wings by Maryellen Brady 💗📚

The Writer's Journey is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

Another month, another LIVE Poetry reading featuring work from Substack authors! This was Stefan’s and my third time hosting one of these, and they truly get better every time. A huge thank you to everyone who joined, and to the authors who submitted work.

Find links to everything read on this month’s stream below:

* Sylvan by Kate M. Sine

* The Dog Who Never Asked me to Audition by Tavis Ferguson

* Kryptonite by Hallie Jules

* I Will Die on This Street by Sarah-SMR

* Broken, not Broken by Tricia Meyer

* Lover (A Poem) by Sam Lexow

* Everbloom by 𓏸𓈒𓆡 Ocean Being 𓇼𓈒𓏸

* A Grave Within a Grave by Laura B

* Hosanna by Melanie Cole

* Oversoul by Alicia

* The Bell-Phony by Stefan Pasek

* Quantum Immortality by Bradley Ramsey

Subscribe now so you don’t miss the next LIVE Poetry Reading (or your chance to submit!)

Welcome everyone to episode 83 of the Saved as Draft podcast. This week’s episode is all about Week 3 of the Smogust’s Story Hoard challenge I’m hosting alongside The Circus Dragon!

Don’t forget to also check out the new Autumn Anthology publication from Gracie Autumn. You can learn more and submit your work here. Find links to all the people and stories mentioned in the episode below:

Community Spotlight

This week’s community spotlight is Alexa! We’re all excited that she’s back after a break from Substack, and you should absolutely head on over to her publication to check out the new projects she’s writing.

Week 3 Smogust’s Story Hoard Challenge Stories

Below are nine stories selected from this week’s entries! A huge thank you again to everyone who is participating this month.

* Here be Homeowners by BentButTrue

* Open House - A Smogust Story by Elizabeth Hagenlocher

* Lift Off by Maryellen Brady 💗📚

* A Good Sulk Disrupted Gleefully by Leeron Heywood

* Selling Drakendell - A Smaugust Prompt by Hallie Jules

* Castle of Your Dreams by Bradley Hurt

* The Strong Silent Type by Jenifer Jorgenson

* Chapter 1 - Brewing a Roar by Alexander Aviles

* But I was a Fool by Leanne Shawler

The Writer's Journey is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

Please enjoy this reading of my poem, "Prison of Ink." Find more poems and short fiction on my Substack!

My friends! I am back, and we are midway through this month’s Smogust’s Story Hoard challenge that I’m co-hosting alongside The Circus Dragon.

It’s time for a look at who is in the lead for each bracket, and of course, a few stories from the Unranked bracket as well.

Curious to learn more about the challenge? Click here. Looking for the latest prompts? Click here.

Find all of that and more below:

Community Spotlight

This week’s spotlight is on Terrifying Tales! I was replaying Halo Reach these past few weeks, and I thought of his excellent story set in that universe called A Son of Reach.

I will also take any excuse I get to talk about my excellent interview with him on Episode 40 of this very podcast.

Got someone in mind who you think should be featured in the spotlight? Tag them in the comments.

Smogust’s Story Hoard: Mid-Month Leaderboard

Lightweight Bracket

1st - Tales of Pictavia

* Total score: 44 points

* Top Story: First, the Fish

2nd - Arlo Vell

* Total score: 14 points

* Top story: Pouches and the Glow-Roach Forest

3rd - Johnathan Vance

* Total score: 7 points

* Top story: Tea at the End of All Things

Middleweight Bracket

1st - Bradley Hurt

* Total score: 124 points

* Top story: Into the Great Unknown

Heavyweight Bracket

1st - Verdant Butterfly

* Total score: 83 points

* Top story: A Captain’s Tale

2nd - Laurie MacIntosh

* Total score: 61 points

* Top story: The Forest of Tah-Dahs!

3rd - Gracie Autumn

* Total score: 17 points

* Top story: Starfall

4th - Hallie Jules

* Total score: 11 points

* Top story: Smaugust Story: Red and the Lost Dragon

5th - Every Root, Every Thorn

* Total score: 10 points

* Top story: What Blood Commands

Unranked Stories

These are randomly selected and were featured in this episode:

* Bloom by Jenifer Jorgenson

* A Spire of Magic and Dreams by Leeron Heywood

* Drifter and Dragon by Maryellen Brady 💗📚

The Writer's Journey is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

Quantum Immortality is a theoretical concept that suggests we never experience death. Instead, every time our lives end, we jump to another universe. Another timeline where we’re still alive.

This poem is inspired by that concept. Audio + headphones recommended.

Please enjoy.