Life

Not Funny At The Time
Anne Bernays and Pamela Painter — What If? Writing Exercise for Fiction Writers prompts The Exercise — Write about something that happened to you that didn't seem at all funny at the time, for example, being stuck in a traffic jam and having a bee fly in through the car window or the time your tenant set your stove on fire and the firemen wrenched it from the wall and tossed it into the backyard. Bring the incident under the humor spotlight and transform it so as to emphasize things that will make your reader smile or laugh.Pacing is important, as are crucial details, and your own confidence that the story does not need analysis or authorial nudging. The last thing you want to do is tell the reader that you're about to lay a funny story on him. Limit: 550 words. The Objective - Because humor resides largely in what attitude you assume toward your material, you must be able to discover and exploit those elements that highlight the comic, the exaggerated, and the unlikely. Keep in mind that you could just as easily take the bee story and make it tragic (bee bites driver, driver crashes into another car, killing infant in back seat).
By Denise E Lindquist29 days ago in Writers
Eastern Society Facing Social Change
Article: Eastern Society Facing Social Change By: Tahany Azzab Eastern society is experiencing major turmoil on the social level. This crisis first emerged within the Eastern family itself, then its effects spread to Eastern communities in the diaspora.
By Tahany Azzab29 days ago in Writers
Why Documentation Is a Leadership Skill, Not a Chore. AI-Generated.
In many organizations, documentation is treated like leftover work. Something to be done “when there’s time.” Something junior developers are asked to handle. Something postponed until after the real work ships.
By Gustavo Woltmann29 days ago in Writers
The Gilded Menagerie
The iron gates of the Oakwood Zoological Gardens creaked open at precisely eight o’clock, admitting a trickle of visitors into a world of curated nature. To the children clutching cotton candy, it was a place of wonder. To the keepers in their khaki uniforms, it was a place of duty and meticulous care. But to the inhabitants behind the glass and the dry moats, it was a kingdom of clocks—a world defined by the predictable arrival of the feeding bucket and the rhythmic clicking of the gate locks.
By Farhadi30 days ago in Writers
chickadee
(mr sun waited to crawl out til after you woke today. no point in sunrise if it’s not reflected in your eyes. stars drop out of the sky
By Daniel Gregoryabout a month ago in Writers
Alone in the Crowd.
I wake up to the sound of my alarm, the familiar blaring that marks the start of another day. The sunlight filters through the blinds, falling in thin stripes across my room, but it doesn’t feel like the world is waking up—it feels like I’m waking up alone, again. My phone buzzes with notifications, but most of them are just promotions, reminders, or random messages I don’t care about. The brief hope that maybe someone actually wants to talk to me fades almost instantly.
By Sayeba khanabout a month ago in Writers
What Happened To My Reads?
Introduction I have had issues publishing on Vocal recently, but we now have an excellent resolution. I was quite surprised to see a huge rise in my reads from what they had been with my first repurposed "new" stories. I really have no explanation for this.
By Mike Singleton 💜 Mikeydred about a month ago in Writers
9 Common ChatGPT Mistakes People Still Make — And How GPT-5.2 Is Changing the Game. AI-Generated.
The Rise of ChatGPT in Early 2025 In early 2025, ChatGPT is no longer a novelty. It has quietly become a daily companion for writers, students, business owners, marketers, and developers. From drafting emails to planning projects, it now plays a role in everyday decision-making. Yet despite its growing intelligence, many users still feel disappointed by the results they get. The irony is simple: the problem is rarely ChatGPT itself. More often, it’s how people use it. With the release of GPT-5.2, many long-standing frustrations are finally being addressed, but only if users understand what they’ve been doing wrong all along.
By David Johnabout a month ago in Writers
The Last Space On Drury Lane
Once I turned onto Drury Lane, London had already decided what to do with its evening. The theatres were emptying as the sun was setting, with articulate individuals coming out in dribs and drabs as each show closed its curtains, and taxis pulling up and leaving like a plane at an airport. The scene was well and truly set in London, with the fresh smell of rain and fast-food takeaways. The only issue is that I wasn’t meant to be here, on the road, letting the pedestrians cross over to get to their taxi. I should’ve been getting into the city via train, but like always, they were cancelled. A busy environment that you wouldn’t wish upon your worst enemy, especially on a Friday night.
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The Tree Who Chose To Grow
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This Is Me, Showing Up Anyway
Usually, my life doesn't appear dramatic to anyone from the outside. It just looks real, probably boring. No glorious victories, no dramatic moments in a movie, just cold tea, a cat sleeping on my lap, and a silent assessment of what my body will allow for in a given day. Love is part of all this, pain, lots of figuring out.
By Zoe Dixonabout a month ago in Writers
The Doorway I Can’t Enter
I have always believed words are tools before they are treasures. A hammer can be beautiful, sure, but only insofar as it drives the nail where it needs to go. This belief has served me well in prose. Give me a story, a memory, a grief, a love—I can build something solid from it. Beginning, middle, end. A door you can walk through.
By Luna Vaniabout a month ago in Writers