Stories is a plural noun and so doesn't have tenses.
The five progressive tenses in English are: present progressive (e.g., I am eating), past progressive (e.g., She was watching), future progressive (e.g., They will be sleeping), present perfect progressive (e.g., We have been studying), and past perfect progressive (e.g., He had been working).
present tense past tense future tense present perfect tense past perfect tense future perfect tense present progressive tense past progressive tense future progressive tense present perfect progressive tense past perfect progressive tense future perfect progressive tense
Yes, "You were speaking" is an example of the past progressive tense, which indicates an ongoing action that was happening in the past. The present progressive tense would be "You are speaking."
The past progressive tense has two forms: simple past progressive (e.g., "I was reading") and past perfect progressive (e.g., "I had been reading"). Both forms indicate an ongoing action in the past.
The past progressive tense of "study" is "was/were studying."
Was/were starting is the past progressive tense of start.
The future progressive tense of devour is will be devouring.
The future progressive tense of judge is will be judging.
The future progressive tense of "ring" is "will be ringing." For example, "I will be ringing the bell later today."
The future progressive tense of travel is will be traveling.
I am photographingWe are photographingYou are photographingHe/She/It is photographingThey are photographing
"Is smiling" is the present progressive tense (third person). The past progressive tense is "was smiling".