My Aspirations With The Vocal

As much as I love to write, be challenged and to have deadlines which generate motivation, (ummm, usually), my goals are very focused regarding The Vocal this year. I want to read each and every entry. Why? Writers who do not read others creations become stale, stagnant and self absorbed. Getting one's story listed as "Top Story" or included in " Writers We Are Loving" has been the sort of a place I find myself wallowing about, wondering too often why my piece didn't make it and it leads to me not writing. Challenges can be fun, however, in the last year those who won first prize or had honourable mentions got my attention right away. Now I am digging in and like a determined detective I am going to unravel each and every gem, study it, read and re-read and pull those who are in the wild depths of The Vocal up and out them for review. I do have books I need to read and books I need to continue to write, but as Barbara King wrote, " Writing a Novel is a Marathon, Not a Sprint. We who are driven to write more than short stories need to sit back and breathe, look for other angles and most of all ask for and get some feedback. That is my primary goal. If I submit a story or poem I'd like to see more members commenting on it's substance, word choice, or hear how it might have been bettered by a simple comma. I want real feedback not just someone writing " good job!". I have read plenty of my own writing and know without a doubt it was not a good job, it was pathetic and lifeless, congealed from some brain cells on their way out of town. Learning from others is critical. We all know that our art form is one that is under valued; very few of us make it to the screenplay of our dreams, much less find ourselves discovered by a writing scout from The New Yorker or are even reshared here, in this very platform we are so devoted to. The character it takes to hit and miss repeatedly and not give up is astounding. In the old days rejection slips were stuffed in shoe boxes and hidden in the back of the wardrobe; now no one bothers to even thank us for our submissions. That says everything about being a writer's writer. May I persevere to be encouraging, supportive, candid and devoted to my fellow Salinger's, Keats, Angelou's and Pratchett's. Your work, your gift and drive are just as integral to the process as my own and it should be no other way. I will admit there is a lot of catching up to do; new genres to delve into, stories from years ago that are growing dusty in The Vocal's silver lined cellar, and to boot more submissions are coming in every day. It is probable I will not meet my own standards as I have been known to slip and slide on resolutions and aspirations previously, yet I frankly have been in an impermeable rut; I admit to staring at pens, pencils, paper, keyboards, the ceiling, the dead birch tree out my kitchen window, napping, scanning the cupboards for something to snack on, trying to read my palms, stoking the fire, watching Britbox, and just about everything one can do but write. Is it just January? I asked myself. Myself highly doubts the month is responsible for my fiddling and fuddling. So now at five hundred and ninety words, (almost), I write to all of you who are following your dreams, creating masterpieces and honestly some real bombs as well, I announce with fervour, without further delay I will be reading YOU, watching for your next publication and as often as the sun rises and sets, ( that might be a slight exaggeration), I will try very much indeed to comment, be real, plunge into the miles and mountains of words you put forth and give you the read you deserve. If you are looking for quickies like "Excellent", "Well done", or "Amazing" might I remind you this is not a blind-fold taste test but my real thoughts and meanderings regarding your portfolio of nouns, adjectives, synonyms and imagination. Hail to all creators out there, make sure to watch your P's and Q's! Cheers to another year around The Vocal!