Challenge
Aspirations for 2024
Vocal asked and I'm providing. I find it almost therapeutic to sit down and consider exactly what I'm aspiring towards in 2024. I love writing on Vocal and I love being a creator. I love the opportunity to slow down for a moment and truly think about my aspirations as a creator on Vocal this year.
By Emilie Turner2 years ago in Writers
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!
By ROCK aka Andrea Polla (Simmons)2 years ago in Writers
Welcome to the Wild World of Martin Williams
Disclaimer: This is a pillar post. If a bunch of links to my own stories isn’t your thing and/or you don’t like self-promotions, this article is not for you. I certainly get that, which is why I included this disclaimer at the start to warn those of you away from the rocks. Like a lighthouse 😁
By Stephen A. Roddewig2 years ago in Writers
What I Need from a Writing Partner
Last year, I went through a bad break-up. I will not name and shame, but let's just say it was terrible. I came through it feeling used, having put all my energies into it and getting nothing in return—five years of love and commitment thrown to the curb for nothing.
By Sam H Arnold2 years ago in Writers
How to up your content writing game?
Do you want to be a better creator? It is on you to comb up your content material writing abilities. Content writing is one of the maximum valuable capabilities in these days’ digital world. It’s the way you talk together with your customers, and it’s critical for any enterprise that wants to prevail online.
By Hridya Sharma2 years ago in Writers
American Writers & Consumers Beware of Newsbreak
What is Newsbreak? Chances are, if you are reading this, then you probably are already at least a little familiar with the site Newsbreak. However, it seems only right that we first talk about what the Newsbreak platform is. After all, not everyone will have heard about them.
By Timothy A Rowland2 years ago in Writers
2024
Compelling. On Vocal, in 2024, I will be compelling. I hope my words ring through hollers and climb mountains. I hope they swim to the deepest depths and fish for discoveries only our minds can see. I want them to delight in tastes that bring light to their tongues. My words, I want them to bring peace in the wake of chaos. Each sound I spy blind to the darkness of the night, I hope they bring them sight. And each melodic phrase I pen, I hope they sing in the silence. I hope my words are spoken in the wind and color the leaves that fall from my mind’s tree. I want them to blossom where flowers shouldn’t bloom. I implore them to walk you back in time and throttle you into the future, all while keeping you firmly planted in the present. Their aim is to create new worlds, worlds that intertwine and weave themselves with the one in which we exist. Through Vocal I look to widen my writing’s reach and be a prominent member of its community.
By Jennifer David2 years ago in Writers
