Inkstains

  In this final episode of InkStains, host John Urbancik talks about the future. He thanks a few people, he talks the history of InkStains, he delivers the Ultimate InkStains Challenge. Stories include a cosmic horror love story, a magical tale of a woman folding paper, a piece of art called Jenna, and something about a safe house. John Urbancik discusses writing, photography, art, and creativity, and also reads stories.  

  In the penultimate episode, our host discusses Fuel, and stretches the definition beyond endurance to include our inspirations,passions, ideas, abilities, strengths, and talents. He discusses the future, and gives you a Challenge for 2019. Stories include an artist in an alley doing more than simply making a sketch, a kind of a sales pitch, and a spirited love story. John Urbancik discusses writing, photography, art, and creativity, and also reads stories.  

As we get close to the final episode, our host focuses on the positive.And on being who you are as opposed to who you are pretending to be. He talks pens and computers and the other tools we use to create. Then he goes through customs with a box of Marzipan, and discovers his phone number belongs to someone else. Stories include Max learning all the secrets of the universe, a box's journey, and glass angels. John Urbancik discusses writing, photography, art, and creativity, and also reads stories.

  Pocketful of Smoke, Fistful of Glass! Part 3 of 3. Host John Urbancik continues to issues challenges as he reads from his novella. John Urbancik discusses writing, photography, art, and creativity, and also reads stories.  

Pocketful of Smoke, Fistful of Glass! Part 2 of 3. Host John Urbancik continues to issues challenges as he reads from his novella. John Urbancik discusses writing, photography, art, and creativity, and also reads stories.

  Pocketful of Smoke, Fistful of Glass! Part 1 of 3. Host John Urbancik continues to issues challenges as he reads from his novella. John Urbancik discusses writing, photography, art, and creativity, and also reads stories.  

Endings! The Lady, or the Tiger and Lord of the Rings and happy endings and nihilistic endings. Another kind of InkStains Challenge. A quick review of Bohemian Rhapsody.Stories include Cinderella on Times Square, a Star and its children, and a sword of beauty. John Urbancik discusses writing, photography, art, and creativity, and also reads stories.

  World Building! Continuity and Consistency help make a fictional world real. So does borrowing from the real world. Our host discusses creating the worlds of Stale Reality and Midnight, the City of Night. An announcement is made, and a new challenge issued. Stories from Midnight include Ghost of Midnight, Madmen, Poets & Thieves, and Midnight Storms. John Urbancik discusses writing, photography, art, and creativity, and also reads stories.  

Literary Toolboxes! Language! Observation! Deduction! Sherlock Holmes! Science and Alchemy! Punishing ourselves, our bodies, psyches, and souls. A request that you not be a creep with this week's InkStains challenge. And what happened when our host attended a writer's group in Madrid. Stories include a youth in love, an adventurer's toolbox, and Autumnal Fete. John Urbancik discusses writing, photography, art, and creativity, and also reads stories.

  Our host struggles to define the short story, but finallygets into how he approaches writing shorts, and how they're different from InkStains stories. Revelations. Twists. Things that are necessary. Experience. Intentions. Diversions. Discipline. Practice. And all the terrible stories that have to be written first. Then: the tricks. Stories this week include: a mostly true story, the results of a hurricane, and "Roots of the City". John Urbancik discusses writing, photography, art, and creativity, and also reads stories.  

Starting from Nothing. The Blank Page. Writer's Block. Inspiration. Should you nurture an Imagination Gardens or let them grow wild? Titles and Compuserve IMPs and writing prompts, and a new InkStains challenge! Also: music, the Madrid playlist, the missing music, and the need for something new. Readings from Once Upon a Time in Midnight and Babylon Rising. John Urbancik discusses writing, photography, art, and creativity, and also reads stories.

  How to Write a Novel. Some practical advice, including vision, timetables, and the most important of rules: that there's no one way to write a novel. Also the other important rule: that every novel is different. Also, seeking inspiration. Readings include excerpts from host John Urbancik's novels Stale Reality and The Corpse and the Girl from Miami. John Urbancik discusses writing, photography, art, and creativity, and also reads stories.  

After a long hiatus, host John Urbancik returns in the new DarkFluidity Studios in Madrid, Spain to talk about language, poetry, Ray Bradbury, Edgar Allan Poe, and papelerias. Stories include Greek myth, Soul Harvest, and locks of love. John Urbancik discusses writing, photography, art, and creativity, and also reads stories.

While our host crosses the Atlantic, we'll be replaying episodes featuring the novella Necropolis as they originally aired in 2017. Enjoy! John Urbancik discusses writing, photography, art, and creativity, and also reads stories.

While our host crosses the Atlantic, we'll be replaying episodes featuring the novella Necropolis as they originally aired in 2017. Enjoy! John Urbancik discusses writing, photography, art, and creativity, and also reads stories.

While our host crosses the Atlantic, we'll be replaying episodes featuring the novella Necropolis as they originally aired in 2017. Enjoy! John Urbancik discusses writing, photography, art, and creativity, and also reads stories.

While our host crosses the Atlantic, we'll be replaying episodes featuring the novella Necropolis as they originally aired in 2017. Enjoy! John Urbancik discusses writing, photography, art, and creativity, and also reads stories.

While our host crosses the Atlantic, we'll be replaying episodes featuring the novella Necropolis as they originally aired in 2017. Enjoy! John Urbancik discusses writing, photography, art, and creativity, and also reads stories.

Our regular host John Urbancik is off to Madrid for no one knows how long, so we've got a guest. Brian Keene, author of the upcoming End of the Road and host of The Horror Show with Brian Keene steps in to talk about friendship and new traditions and the honesty in your art that will outlive us. This week's stories are not for the squeamish: "Mr. Onion", the first story Brian Keene wrote after his accident, and "Intersectionality". John Urbancik discusses writing, photography, art, and creativity, and also reads stories.

  It's not quite Scares that Care Weekend in review. Not quite an overview of all the conventions ever. But a rambling conversation about what you, as an artist or writer, can get from a convention. Including bits about family, inspiration, invigoration, the Last American, and a lost journal. This week's story is Bottle Cap Pop. John Urbancik discusses writing, photography, art, and creativity, and also reads stories.