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Stories in Writers that you’ll love, handpicked by our team.
10 Things You Learn Fast As a New Writer
“If you want to be a writer, you must do two things above all others: read a lot and write a lot.” — Stephen King There’s a lot of commentary in the writing community about what it means to live the writer’s life. It’s a little bit different for everyone, but there are a lot of commonalities that almost all writers can resonate with.
By Leigh Victoria Phan, MS, MFA5 months ago in Writers
For Future Fiction Fun
Anne Bernays and Pamela Painter — What if? Writing Exercises for Fiction Writers prompts — The Exercise: Buy a notebook to use for just this one exercise. Then, on a regular basis, perhaps at the beginning of your writing time, or before you go to bed, write for ten to twenty minutes addressing each of the following subjects: * List in detail all the places you have lived - one place per page. (This is a good way to begin because it gives the entire notebook a concrete grounding in time and place.) You might even want to get very specific, say by recounting all the kitchens or bedrooms. * Next, recall if you were happy or unhappy in those places. * Consider your parents' relationship, from their point of view. *List important family members: brothers and sisters, grandparents, uncles and aunts, cousins. What were the dynamics of your nuclear family, your extended family? (Some of these subjects may take several twenty-minute sessions. Leave space for unfinished business.)
By Denise E Lindquist5 months ago in Writers
A Glimmer in the Gaslight
This is a writing exercise and was entirely inspired by a recent Top Story from the wonderful Vocal creator Lana Lynx. Lana's story stemmed from her wondering what it would be like if dead authors, particularly dead Russian authors, posted their story ideas and WIPs on Facebook. Please check out the truly amazing and amusing results.
By Raymond G. Taylor5 months ago in Writers
On Canon
"Wait stop! That's a load bearing 'I don't know!'" As I avoided my work today, a lonely thought came my way. It came to me as if to say, "deep thought-ed sir, might I stay?" I found could not cast it far away, so I kept it here with me today. - Vagabond Thoughts, by Alexander McEvoy
By Alexander McEvoy5 months ago in Writers
Early August: 10 Goals Accomplished
Another one of my 2025 writing goals accomplished, and this one is amazing for a couple reasons. The first being that I got a story published in a publication, something I am always striving for. This is my 10th story to get into a publication, the 6th different publication I’ve gotten into. 10 stories feels like an amazing milestone. Sure, largely 10 is an arbitrary number. But it’s double digits. That feels incredible.
By Stephen Kramer Avitabile5 months ago in Writers
Speak Softly and Leave the Stick
As all of us are aware, AI-generated content is a massive thorn in the heels of genuine authors and web platforms alike. It's posted on social media sites, blogs, and even printed media. One of our Vocal members, Judey Kalchik, has done a ton of legwork on this issue (and many others) and has already given plenty of tips on how to detect it. You can find her articles on it here. For now, I'd like to focus on what we should do when we think we've spotted AI being used.
By Kenny Penn5 months ago in Writers
Festina lente: make haste slowly
My hunger to decipher messages intrinsic in the English language is driven by a mysterious force. An increase in physical hunger is driven by the hormone ghrelin. Leptin causes hunger suppression. My drive to understand the letters that make up words is less understood. Letters make up words that are symbols that can evoke positive and negative implications. Words feed my need to use imagination to interpret meanings of facts and myths that resonate on multiscale levels.
By Katherine D. Graham5 months ago in Writers
i don’t know who i am; i just know who i’m not
One time, in kindergarten, my teacher was fed up with how talkative my class was being—aside from me, because with my anxiety and people-pleasing tendencies combined, I was always on my best behavior. That day, I was the only one allowed to participate in our daily “rest” period, where we would relax and snack on whatever our parents packed for us and chat with each other. I was usually always silent during these, not really having many friends at the time. But that day, at the teacher’s command, the entire room was silent. The rest of my classmates sat there, heads in their arms in the dark, staring at me as I crunched on my goldfish and drank my little water bottle, feeling every bit as awkward as I was oddly proud of being the only one who had followed the rules.
By angela hepworth5 months ago in Writers
