How to start a fiction or storytelling podcast

Fiction podcasts range from a single narrator reading original stories to full-cast audio dramas with music and effects. In between are anthologies, serialised narration, and found-footage formats like voicemails, diaries or radio broadcasts.

Narrated stories are the easiest to start: one voice, one microphone, a script. Full-cast drama is the most ambitious. Pick the format you can finish a full season of.

Listeners cannot see the scene, so the script has to show it. Introduce characters by name early and often. Use dialogue and sound to set the location rather than long narration. Keep the cast small enough that voices are easy to tell apart.

Read every script aloud before recording. If you trip over a line, a voice actor will too. Formats like diaries and recordings work well because they explain why the audio exists.

If you use voice actors, cast for contrast: listeners need to tell characters apart from voice alone. Many voice actors are happy to work on independent productions for credit or a small fee. Agree terms in writing, including how the recordings will be used.

Direct actors with context, not just line readings: what the character wants in this scene, what just happened. Record two or three takes of key lines.

Remote recording makes casting much wider. Each actor records from their own space while you direct live. Hilite captures each voice cleanly in the browser.

Sound design is what makes audio drama feel real: room tone, footsteps, doors, weather. Use royalty-free sound libraries and record your own effects. A little goes a long way. Ambient sound under a scene does more than many individual effects.

Keep dialogue clear above everything else. If the listener has to strain to hear a line, the effect is too loud.

Fiction listeners want an ending. Write and ideally record the whole season before releasing the first episode. It removes the risk of an unfinished story and lets you release on a reliable schedule.

For inspiration, see the best storytelling podcasts and the best mystery story podcasts, and the mystery story podcast template.