Experiencing a good story through any medium usually kicks me in the butt to create something of my own. After watching the most recent Ghostbusters I started thinking about how death would work in the Sandbox universe. Would there be reincarnation? How would Death handle death? Is she the sole grim reaper or does her dead clergy act as psychopomps?

However if I experience the same stories over and over, it has a numbing effect where I no longer get that jolt of creative juice from witnessing someone else’s creativity. This is why I keep a steady supply of fiction podcasts and websites on hand.

Before the start of the month, create a stockpile of stories that you love and give life to your creative thoughts. I have included a list of some of my favorite places to get stories below.

Now is the time to make a giant pile of your loved ones and keep them close.

Below I have listed various categories to get your story fix along with my favorite sources and suggestions from friends.

Podcasts
Night Vale Presents (Alice Isn’t Dead, Welcome to Night Vale)
Black Tapes
Lore
Limetown (please read this before starting)
Clarkesworld Magazine
Lightspeed Magazine
The New Yorker: Fiction
This American World
The Moth Radio Hour

Websites
Clarkesworld Magazine
Lightspeed Magazine
Archive of Our Own (a fan fiction community)
Fireside Fiction
The Moth story library

YouTube
Awkward Black Girl (Find Season 1 here and Season 2 here, plus more Issa Rae studd here)
The Guild