Celebrating One Year On Vocal Media

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!

I hope that my Vocal friends are having a safe and happy holiday. Today is when everyone gets together, eats good food, shares memories, and expresses what you are grateful for.

One thing I am grateful for is finding this writing platform. I joined last November in 2023 when I was dealing with grief from the roller coaster ride of losing both of my beloved parents within 22 months of each other. My watercolor art did not fulfill the need to help me heal from the loss. 

A began to write to make sense of my placement in the world.  Since joining, my stats are:

Publish 279 stories- this will make it 280! 

Subscribers 152

This is so exciting for someone like me, who has always questioned my ability to write and tell stories.

Now for shameless promoting:)

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My Chili recipe stories are my top reads, with 235. I never thought this would be my top story, but I guess people love chili! I have promoted this recipe heavily on Pinterest and must be getting a lot of traffic from there.

My top poem of Vocal, with 70 reads, was an ode to PB & J's childhood favorite snack. This was a winner because I love rhyming and using senser words.

My top short story, drum roll, please, is Dyeing for Christmas, which has 53 reads.It is a funny story about how the Elf barber made an epic mistake with Santa’s snowy white beard.

Here is my first microfiction story for the snow challenge. A search-and-rescue skier with her trusty labradoodle goes out one cold morning to see if they can find the snowboarder who went missing the day before. 

I took an Ekphrastic Poetry workshop at my local library and was given homework to find a painting I could connect to. Thus, this charming poem about a grandparent making her way to her grandchildren's home for Christmas Eve was born.

When Vocal had a Villanelle challenge, I created this Santa roasting marshmallow as my inspiration. It was my first attempt to balance staying poetic and funny.

I am always trying to find creative writing prompts, this one was about writing a letter. So I came up with a Zombie apocalypse and one terrified woman writing to her husband.

We all go through it…WRITERS BLOCK! Here are my tips and tricks to battle against it.

Here is an article on the health benefits of White Tea, as I enjoy diving into the world of nonfiction and lifestyle writing.

Recently, Vocal Media challenged you to choose your Soundtrack of the year. I truly enjoyed this one, as I love music, and pairing a song with what was going on in my life was a fun writing experience.

If you have followed me, you will know I love my dogs. Here is my story with one of my most challenging and love of my life dog, Duke.

Christmas is right around the corner, and Santa is getting yoga ready to deliver your gifts this Christmas. This is a charming chapter story based on my artwork.

I hope that you have found something that resonates with you. It's been a joy to express myself this way and feel the support of other wordsmiths worldwide.

Here is one of my chapter stories that I wrote as I listened to dramatic soundtrack music. What a fun experences and I think it turned out pretty good! If you enjoy fantasy thriller honor, this might be the story for you!

I am truly grateful for all of you!

A few shoutouts to some supporters who have been more than supporters, through their writing, I have learned so much for them.

Mike Singleton

Mother Combs

Dharrsheena Raja Segarran

Mark Graham

Dana Crandell

Lana V Lynx

Laura.the.writer

Xine Segalas