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📢 Raise Your Voice Thread: 11/20/2025
Our “Raise Your Voice Threads” are hosted most alternating Thursdays at 12PM ET to offer creators more avenues to uncover exceptional stories on Vocal. As we are continuously searching for fresh creators and inspiring stories, this thread provides an opportunity to exchange and discuss the stories that have moved and motivated us on Vocal.
By Raise Your Voice by Vocal2 months ago in Resources
Dear Author
Today I read a Dear Abby column that really bugged me. It was about a woman whose best friend of thirty years abruptly stopped speaking to her because of differing political beliefs. They supported opposing parties, and her friend ended their relationship over it. The writer was hurt, but she hoped that there would be a way to work things out. When the friend had a grandchild, she wrote her a text congratulating her. Her friend responded with a "Who's this?" Our writer was ravaged and wrote the Dear Abby letter, and Abby's response was rather lacking.
By Stephanie Van Orman2 months ago in The Swamp
Kitchen of Wynorrific. Content Warning.
Thanksgiving at the Greenfield household was always a mess. It’s something that I’ve dealt with since I was ten. Mom would be slaving away at the turkey and other things. While dad would be setting the table. Cleaning the living room and barking at me to take care of our large dogs.
By Raphael Fontenelle2 months ago in Fiction
Surviving Progress
Art is the purest form of communication, and only exists as it is experienced. It is infused within the soul of the artist, just as science is infused within the soul of the universe. Does man create art, or does art use man as a vehicle for its creation?
By Elaine Rutledge2 months ago in Humans
Four-Star Thoughts. Runner-Up in Maps of the Self Challenge.
Remember 2012? In some circles, there was talk of a galactic alignment, a rare formation when our solar system crossed into the "galactic plane" and was at the center of our galaxy. There, in the "photon belt," we received a massive infusion of light, opening channels to higher realms of awareness.
By Nicky Frankly2 months ago in Humans
The Accidental Poet
I knew even from an early age that I was artistic; and to this day, that creative spark has never diminished. The problem, like many children growing up, was finding my niche. A specific art form that I wanted to associate myself with. So, I tried to search for it in different crafts; drawing, cartooning, music, making short films at home, or even creating stories in my head that never ended up on paper. Interestingly enough, poetry was not one of them.
By Levi Dickson2 months ago in Humans
the loop. Content Warning.
no one stopped. no one stopped and looked at me with care in their eyes when they found out. they looked at me with apathy and said they didn’t worry because my wounds weren’t as deep as someone else’s. they said they weren’t deep enough to do anything. so i went home and sliced through my skin and spent hours in the bathroom because the only solace i felt was in there. they looked at me and asked, why? i didn’t say anything, i could barely force myself to breathe. so they slapped me, again, why? my lips trembled, my palms sweat. how do i tell them that there are so many things creeping into my mind, into my head, into my heart that i couldn’t cope anymore, that breathing hurts, existing hurts, that i just want to be dead. how do i voice how much i want to disappear. so i say, i don’t know, another slap. this time it makes my ears ring. i pray they hit me harder.
By sumiya akter2 months ago in Humans
Is it Ethical to Use Bookstores as a Showroom?
There is nothing quite like the joy of wandering around a bookstore. I love digging through the shelves and finding a hidden gem. I love the smell of the worn paper and the background noise of other customers flipping through pages.
By Kera Hollow2 months ago in BookClub
