Resources
From tips and tricks to product updates and inspiration, explore our resources to learn how to grow as a Vocal creator.
Challenges
Sky's The Limit Challenge Winners
Who knew so many things could fly? From birds to planes, vampires to blimps, spaceships to souls, we read an incredible array of flight-themed stories. One common aspect of many submissions was to use time in flight for thought. Scorned lovers worked out their feelings, evil doers schemed, children dreamed. There's something about planes specifically that leave us feeling liminal. Can't do much up there at 35,000 feet so may as well work out what's been on our mind. We loved this take on the prompt because it was so true to reality. But we always love a lot about our Creators' submissions, from your fresh protagonists and deep life lessons to the (somehow) new ways you come up with to describe a sunset.
By Vocal Curation Team3 years ago in Resources
Tautogram Challenge Winners
Write a poem where every word starts with the same letter. Seems simple enough. After all, a poem can be... anything. How hard can it be? Well, we tried and, turns out, it's really hard! Sure, stringing some words together that begin with the same letter is easy, but creating a poetic energy, a story, a feeling, that's hard, really hard.
By Vocal Curation Team3 years ago in Resources
Broken Mirror Challenge Winners
What makes a mirror so primed for horror? What is it about looking at ourselves that is so discomfiting? As humans, we contain so much beneath the surface and yet we are made to contain it all, pretty much always. And so, we have our faces, our bodies, what we present to the world, but that's just the surface, that's not really what's going on. All of the real stuff, the thoughts, the desires, the lies, the truths, they need to be let out, actively, brought up to our mouths, spoken, shown off. We need to bring our insides out.
By Vocal Curation Team3 years ago in Resources
Ludicrous Limerick Challenge Winners
What an incredibly fun Challenge this was! As always, limitation bred sheer lyrical brilliance! Limericks are meant to be on the nose, to hit you hard and fast, to make you laugh, think and smile instantly. So, we'll keep our praise and musings short because dissecting a limerick is like dissecting a sunset; just let it be beautiful. We're even adding a few more Honorable Mentions to this post because y'all crushed this Challenge.
By Vocal Curation Team3 years ago in Resources
Tall Tail Challenge Winners
This Challenge was a fun little twofer! Write a story about a talking animal but make it quick! 1,000 words or less was all you had to make an animal talk. We are particularly fond of Challenges with shorter word limits because we often see in them some of the most creative entries. There's something about limitation that makes humans sharper, more creative, especially when it comes to art.
By Vocal Curation Team3 years ago in Resources
Share Your Ideas to Shape the Future of Vocal Challenges
As a community-driven platform, we love getting creators involved in the process of creating awesome content. One of the ways we do that is through our Challenges. Challenges are an excellent way for creators to flex their creative muscles, develop their writing skills, and engage with their audience through different writing forms.
By Vocal Curation Team3 years ago in Resources
Let's Talk About Tautograms
A tautogram is a type of wordplay where all the words in a piece of text start with the same letter. For example, "Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers" is a tautogram because the words start with the letter "P."* Tautograms are not only fun to say and create a playful rhythm, but they can also be a useful tool for writers to develop their writing skills. In this resource, we'll discuss the unique value of tautograms for writers and provide some steps for deciding which letter to use.
By Vocal Curation Team3 years ago in Resources
Under Purple Clouds Challenge Winners
Magical realism seems to be where so many of our writers shine. And it's no surprise why. A great writing prompt gives writers the ability to use their imagination while keeping the writing grounded. Magical realism is so special because it lets us exist in both the magical realm and the real world. We have the weighty comfort of reality to help define our story while exploring the freedom that magic offers.
By Vocal Curation Team3 years ago in Resources
10 Ways Entering Vocal's Broken Mirror Challenge Can Make You a Better Writer
So, you're interested in writing a horror story for the Broken Mirror Challenge? Diving into the horror genre can do wonders for your writing skills. Not only will you learn to create a spine-chilling atmosphere and develop strong, relatable characters, but you'll also master the art of suspense and pacing. Horror writing encourages you to explore psychological themes, experiment with narrative techniques, and craft impactful endings. You'll become more resilient to feedback and improve your ability to engage readers emotionally. Ready to take your writing to the next level? Let's review the elements that define the terrifying world of horror fiction together.
By Vocal Curation Team3 years ago in Resources
