The Challenges
Inspire Me To Do My Best Writing - However, Why am I Thinking About Leaving as a Vocal+ Member
I have to make some hard decisions come next month
I have learned a lot fromVocal Media
A lot about poetry, a lot about writing
But as hard as I try, I cannot place in a challenge
I don't even know as a free member, if Vocal pays for external reads
I have entered numerous challenges, but never, ever placed
I have even entered unofficial challenges, but never ever placed
Either I do not have talent as a writer, or something went wrong
I look at everyone else's profile and they have at least some credits
On their profile, for at least placing in the challenges
So it comes down to this, is it worth the money?
I also write on Medium, is that the problem??
I have my theories about that
The bottom line is the writing platforms are very competitive
And I am sure that Vocal Media won't miss one Vocal + member
However, I leave with mixed emotions
My subscription is due to re-subscribe January 12
I am waiting to see if I can place in the one of the challenges
I have already entered the three left in the fall series
I have already entered all of them, and one of them twice
However, it is a matter of economics and pride
If I am not any good at writing, I am wasting my time
I realize that is is very competitive, with Hub Pages closing its doors
And Medium having its struggles, but without placing in the challenges
The money isn't there, and I don't pay to write, for the pleasure of it
And I doubt many of you do either
I can still be inspired to write my best as a free member
I still have access to the prompts
I will still be writing as a free member, but just not as much
I would have to make $10 a month on the Vocal platform to stay, well $10.10 actually, I always like to turn a profit no matter how small. And as a matter of pride, I would also have to place in one of the challenges.
So the verdict is still out, and I have three challenges to go, I entered at all of them at least once, one of them I entered twice
I am grateful for the knowledge Vocal Media gave me but at 75 years old, it is a matter of economics and pride
I take pride in my writing, and I had one writer on Vocal, that seems to be winning all the time, call me unintelligent. No one has ever ever called me that before. I am surprise that Vocal allows name calling in this platform. Tim, you know who you are.
The results will be in for the last challenge January 7th. I doubt there will be time for anymore challenges for me.
Only time will tell..............
About the Creator
Susan Payton
I love to write in every venue. I am 75 years old and try to make every day count,. I am learning a great deal about poetry on Vocal, and I am glad to be here.
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Comments (7)
Wooohooooo congratulations on your Leaderboard placement! 🎉💖🎊🎉💖🎊
Susan , apparently Vocal like your stories. Congratulations on making it on the Leaderboard 🏆🏆🏆. Someday we will win a Vocal Challenge, never give up hope. 🥰
Susan, the Vocal challenges are always a toss-up. Yeah, I have a couple of wins on my profile, but that doesn't reflect how many entries I submitted. I get paid to write for a few publications, so "breaking even" isn't quite as important to me. The $9.99 for Vocal+ is an investment I still make, albeit somewhat grudgingly at times. It's a choice we all have to make.
WHAAAAT? Someone called you a name? Ugh. Are you Vocal+ because I think only those can win challenges… I agree with Rick on the publishing steps. Proofreading, editing. And I agree with Denise. It is often the same creators winning. Judging is subjective, so no matter how much we like our pieces and how hard we work on them, it is the judge who has to like it best.
Hi Susan, first let me state that you are a fine writer. You have good creative ideas. I like the way you think. If I may give you a small bit of advice. The best thing you can do to boost your skills as a writer is proofreading. As a writer proofreading is a must for me. I never submit/publish anything to Vocal before proofreading. I usually proofread a story/poem half a dozen times before I publish. That means I will have written several drafts before I am satisfied. Things I look for in the first round of proofreading are the typos, misspelling, grammar, punctuation, and sentence/paragraph structure. In the second round I look at how my words flow - is what I am writing easy to understand? Is it confusing to the reader? Have I left out pertinent details that might leave the reader hanging? Then I look to see if there is a good balance between narrative details and character dialog. I see a lot of stories where the narrative details make up 90% of the story and only 10% character dialog. It’s important to give your characters a good amount of dialog - let the characters speak for themselves. Narrative details should just be used to set the mood, pace, and scene - but the details should be brief and concise - you don’t want three paragraphs of details setting up the scene - two or three sentences should be enough to set up the scene. Narrative details can also be a bridge to get from one point of character dialog to the next. In my stories I write about 85% character dialog and 15% narrative details. The narrator (you) should not be telling the bulk of the story - that is the job of your characters. Next, I look for redundancies. You don’t want to say the same thing over and over and your stories. That becomes redundant and you lose the interest of the reader by doing that. So you wanna cut redundancies out. I also look for things like run-on sentences or things that are over emphasized or over explained. You basically want to keep lean and clean. Meaning you want to get your message across without overdoing it. Less is more. A lot of times my stories begin with around 1,300 words. But after proofreading and writing a few drafts my finished stories will often end up with 700 to 900 words. A crisp, clean, tight, and lean story gives you a better chance at placing in a challenge. Sorry for this lesson. I think you are a fine writer but ultimately it is your decision as to whether or not you remain a Vocal+ member. Oh and yes, Vocal does pay all creators for external reads. Best of luck to you, Susan!
Susan they pass me by also. I enter stories ever get noticed I paidain last September seems I am paying just for poetry storage. It’s very sad. Like you I wrote a piece like this it made no difference. I even wrote and asked they still no difference. Maybe it time to say goodbye vocally award the same names and ours isn’t one of them 🌺✍️😢🌺
So sorry to hear you are leaving. I have the same thing with challenges. I have not placed. I have one honorable mention. I do get top stories every month now. So that continues to pay my dues, and every once in a while, there is a tip. That has been my bonus. Looking back at my early writing, I can see that my writing has improved. I continue to write every day and post most days, the same story on both Medium and Vocal. Medium is losing people because it is difficult for the beginning writer to even make the $5.00 monthy dues, which is sad and doesn't make sense how it can go from $5.00 for one story to pennies or nothing for a similar story. I am considering not writing for Medium if I add up the year and don't make the dues, which is looking like it may not happen. There are other avenues out there. I am writing a grant-funded book right now, for example. I love to write and would love to feel confident in writing fiction, but I know I am not there yet. That is my current goal. I will be 72 next month, so I know what you are talking about.