Inspiration

Chasing Scarlet. Honorable Mention in I Wrote This Challenge.
Before I was a poet, I was a painter. And somewhere in between, I experienced the most transformative day of my life.
By Gina C.7 months ago in Writers
Part of me was killed on Father's Day weekend.... Runner-Up in I Wrote This Challenge. Content Warning.
It was just before Father's Day. The kids had been getting disregulated when going into a store, so I opted to go to the store while they were gone to get a selection of Father's Day cards for them to choose from for their dad. I double checked with the manager that it was alright - as long as I returned any that were unused before noon on Saturday so that other people could purchase them. I think that I was the one who specified that as I know that making sales is very important and I really didn't want to inconvenience anyone. I'm not for sure though because I was having a hard time following through with what needed to be done for the kids.
By The Schizophrenic Mom7 months ago in Writers
Why i decided writing at 16.. Content Warning.
I never imagined i'd be writing online at 16. i mean, i always wanted to be heard without physically expressing my emotions, writing is just exactly how i'd want to convey my feelings- and writing to me feels like a truest way for me to do that. For a while, i kept my thoughts to myself,thinking no one would understand or care,However deep down,I reckon every voice is meant to be heard! This is mainly why i want to start writing and keep going.
By Galisse🌹7 months ago in Writers
To Be A Writer Is To Be Alive. Honorable Mention in I Wrote This Challenge.
"How many species can you see?" My partner and I were standing outside of my townhouse building in the grass. The sky was a light blue with a cool temperature to match. The wind made the wall of foliage in front of our eyes sway, and the flowering tree above our heads to rain full moons onto the ground.
By Musings of Twenty Somethings7 months ago in Writers
The painting speaks
Would you want to read a book that had this painting as its cover? Neither would I. So it's just as well that the publishers put a photo of Mark Rylance on the cover instead. No more pretty than the Cromwell he played in the TV series, Wolf Hall, but he at least looks more human. Earlier versions of the book the series is based on had a graphic depiction of the Tudor rose for a cover... BORIIIING!!! Covers aside, I am pretty certain that when author Hilary Mantel (1952-2022) researched the book, she spent some time in the National Portrait Gallery in London, looking at this painting and thinking about the man behind the turn-to-stone look. Particularly when it comes to the part of the book where the painting by Hans Holbein is delivered to Cromwell's family home.
By Raymond G. Taylor7 months ago in Writers
Maples And Magicians. Honorable Mention in I Wrote This Challenge.
Are you listening closely? I have a secret for you. And it is the best kind of secret, secrets of the arcane. For those willing to hear, willing to listen, I’ll share it with you.
By Matthew J. Fromm7 months ago in Writers
Where The Sky Doesn't Exist
Start wriOne day, I'll just disappear. Far, far away from here. No one will know and should know I'm gone. I'll just vanish from randomness, and everyone will be clueless about my reasons and left wondering about my existence. I'll wander to the unknowns, to the undiscovered, and the untouched. I'll go to a place where no one knows my name, no one recognises my face, and no one cares about everything I do. I will leave for a place where the flowers I buy won’t just die in the corner, untouched by the city lights and love. I’ll go to a place where the world has no sky, where there is no concern related to love because love is just a synonym of fear.
By Amin Safi7 months ago in Writers
History speaks!
Here’s a picture of my past that links to my core consciousness. Consider it as something of a triumph, defeat , struggle or a challenge that I have experienced.
By Madhu Goteti 7 months ago in Writers
Behind the Silence: What Writing “Consent” Taught Me.
When I submitted Consent to Vocal’s “I Didn’t Say That Out Loud” Challenge, I wasn’t sure what would happen. I honestly didn’t expect to place. I wrote the poem from a very real, very personal place and let it go with the quiet hope that someone might read it and feel seen. When I found out I came second, I was stunned. Grateful. Emotional. It’s the kind of encouragement you don’t realize you need until it finds you.
By Test7 months ago in Writers
Treasure in the Shade. Runner-Up in I Wrote This Challenge. Top Story - June 2025.
For what felt like an eternity to a four-year-old, I impatiently waited by the screen door for the sound of the lawn mower stopping. While Grandaddy was out mowing the lawn, I discovered a gaggle of treasures at the bottom of some forgotten drawer that I was likely not supposed to be snooping in. Running through the house, I presented the priceless baubles to Grandma. Interrupting her pea snapping, I squealed, “Grandma, look what I found!” She looked up from her task and drawled, “I’ll saaayy,” her signature response to exciting news. “What have we got here, Brittany Girl?” “Treasures,” I responded proudly.
By Brittany Shelby-Phillips7 months ago in Writers
The Prom
Note: here is a story that I have avoided discussing even here, but this particular Challenge seems to demand that I dig deep and look at a very unpleasant memory. Some of you may think less of me, or the other person involved, but that is just the way things work out.
By Kendall Defoe 7 months ago in Writers
The Madmen Who Outsmarted Kings. AI-Generated.
Sometimes, life feels too heavy. Bills. Burdens. Bosses. So many problems, so little peace. And in moments like that — a good laugh is not a luxury. It’s therapy.
By Salman Writes7 months ago in Writers