Solitaire Stories by Andy Hoover

Podcast by Andy Hoover

English

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About Solitaire Stories by Andy Hoover

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 fear of failure (and probably success, too). I have decided to short-circuit these liabilities and confront these fears and leave my fate to the whims of cartomancy, which I understand is the practice of divining one's fate via playing cards. I did not research this practice much, nor will I do much research of any kind on behalf any of the stories emerging from this project; this inherent messiness, in the service of consistency and experimental fidelity, is my promise to you.The mission statement of this whole project is that short fiction is easy (or at least fun) to write if you don't particularly care about it being perfect, and are willing to allow certain quasi-structural guardrails to both challenge and guide your story as you go. I think short fiction writing is an important skill (or pursuit) to nurture for everyone who loves reading, writing, or storytelling. I hope this podcast will serve as a proof of concept of sorts: that there is an infinite number of possible stories out there waiting to be discovered, and we only need to give ourselves permission to discover them.I can't guarantee that any of these stories will be much good, but I'm going to write and share them anyway. With any luck you'll find one you like!For extra content (and to support Solitaire Stories, if you're so inclined), please check out my Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/c/AndyHoover.

All episodes

25 episodes

Clara's New Clown Curriculum (Story #102)

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 injury. Not necessarily as downer a story as this synopsis would suggest, but not a purely feel-good affair either, despite a slightly above-average allotment of jokes (several of them dumb.) Probably best viewed as a sweet (but rough-edged and somewhat ambiguous) coming-of-age story. Enjoy!

2 Jul 2026 - 28 min

Swordfight Study No. 1 (Story #106)

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 the "Young Duke" squares off against his childhood friend, who is now a notorious (but perhaps heroically justified) "Outlaw". Who will emerge victorious from their rooftop clash? Be forewarned that this one has a somewhat (semi-comic) gore moment (of the sort one might expect in a closely-described life-or-death swordfight). It also has some grammatical confusion -- I kept switching between past and present tenses -- which, for a certain subset of listeners, might gross them out even more. On the whole, I'm not sure I'd call this "successful"... but I like the idea of applying the Solitaire Stories technique to more narrow purposes (scenes vs. stories,) and this was a fun (for me) attempt to do so. Enjoy!

25 Jun 2026 - 22 min

Little Jed's Big Dumb Idea (Story #98)

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 whom he learns a great deal in a short time. Unfortunately, his sense of loyalty and morality is strained by a bone-headed scheme, and he soon finds himself an accomplice to a stupid sort of crime. Will his beloved, departed grandmother's advice see him safely through this crisis with his honor intact? Or is it all too late already?

16 Jun 2026 - 24 min

Angler Bros. Swamp Tours, LLC (Story #93)

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. So as to get a good feel for the region, she (or her company) engage with Angler Bros. Swamp Tours, LLC. Due to circumstances (i.e., the cards,) she ends up with the "wrong" brother... but he ends up being the right brother (in a way.) Enjoy!

9 Jun 2026 - 24 min

Go Copperheads (Story #89)

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 retired returns to his alma mater for the unveiling of his commemorative bronze bust. He hates the wretched thing, the way its eyes look, and the resulting emotions confuse and upset him, and drive him towards making some changes in his life." Mostly comedic, though it can be argued it has a bit of a downer ending (I think it's pretty ambiguous, though.) Enjoy!

2 Jun 2026 - 22 min

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