What Do You Write?

Introduction

In perusing Vocal media, I regularly see five types of content. This is not an inclusive list but a general overview of what I see commonly. In no particular order, they are Stories (fiction and nonfiction), Editorials, Informational articles, Poetry, and Advertising pretending to be informational articles. I suspect other platforms that host and promote user-generated content offer similar content.

Before we discuss Vocal’s content, I would like to define the different types of postings and my thoughts on them.

Stories

Let's start with the basics—what is a story?

Various sources give similar definitions: “A description, either true or imagined, of a connected series of events.” Any way you put it, it is a telling or retelling of events or situations that happen to various characters in the story. A story can be as simple or complex as the author wants it.

The average story posted on Vocal is a Short Story, which commonly has a word count of 1,000 to 10,000 words, although some consider a high end to be 30,000 words. Under 1000 words, short stories are usually referred to as flash fiction and micro-fiction.

Telling stories is an art. Yes, it can be learned, or at least the mechanics and the technical specifics. However, the heart of the story is in the writer. Their ability to come up with compelling characters and scenarios and write them in a way that evokes emotion.

I wasn't the best writer in my early days of writing short stories. Technically, my spelling, punctuation, structure, and the like were horrible. However, no one ever said that the underlying story I was trying to tell wasn’t good. Anyone can master the technical aspects of writing and telling stories, but can they draw the reader into the world and keep them there until the end? I could go on about the nuances of writing short stories I’ve learned, but that would be a different article altogether. Some people can write in almost any genre, while others struggle with their specialty genre. Find what you do best, but don’t be afraid to explore other genres and styles of writing.

Poetry

Poetry is “the art of rhythmical composition, written or spoken, for exciting pleasure by beautiful, imaginative, or elevated thoughts. Literary work in metrical form; verse.”

Truthfully, I’m probably the last person who should comment on poetry. I have never been interested in reading or writing poetry, but I will discuss what I know.

Much like telling a story, poetry is an art form. It is complex, with numerous structures of rhyme or meter. Poets must combine words to convey their intent and meaning to the reader. When done well, poetry can touch the reader with the intended emotion. When poorly constructed, a poem can be confusing; when not, it can cause a headache trying to read or understand it.

Editorials

Editorials are “A newspaper or magazine article that gives the opinions of the editors or publishers. Also, an expression of opinion that resembles such an article, a television editorial.”

Editorials are the staple of commentary on the world at large. Everyone has an opinion. Today, the common term “pundit” is used for people offering their opinions about topics ranging from fountain pens to world issues.

Which is fine. However, when voicing those opinions and ideas, care must be taken to be as fair as possible and offer facts to support your ideas. When publishing such editorials, it should be noted that these are your ideas up front and an opportunity for discussion in an adult manner.

On Vocal, there is no section called Editorial for such content, meaning any editorial must be placed in the section closest to the topic. This makes it even more important that the piece be identified as editorial.

Informational Articles

“Article writing is a form of nonfiction writing that aims to inform, educate, or persuade a large audience on a specific topic or issue. It is typically published in newspapers, magazines, journals, or online. The primary objective of article writing is to convey valuable information, insights, or perspectives on a particular subject, often to impact or influence readers’ opinions positively.

Key Characteristics

· Written in prose, usually nonfiction.

· Focuses on a specific topic or issue.

· Intended for a large audience.

· Published in various formats, including print and digital media.

· Aims to inform, educate, or persuade readers.

· Often includes research, facts, and data to support arguments or claims.

· May employ various writing styles, such as descriptive, analytical, or persuasive.”

Writing an Informative article about a topic is a little like writing a review. The tone should be as unbiased as possible, giving the pros and cons of said issue or product. These types of articles can be found in almost all Vocal sections. While they’re not something that a lot of people may read, for the right reader, they may be what they’re looking for. When writing these, be as open and honest as possible and willing to accept feedback about the article, product, or service.

Advertorial

There is a word for advertising trying to pass as a genuine article—advertorial.

“An advertorial is an advertisement in the form of editorial content. The term "advertorial" is a blend (see portmanteau) of the words "advertisement" and "editorial." Merriam-Webster dates the origin of the word to 1946.[1]

The advertisement is usually written in printed publications to resemble an objective article, designed to ostensibly look like a legitimate and independent news story. The ad resembles a short infomercial presentation of products or services on television. These can be in the form of a television commercial or as a talk or variety show segment. These can be a radio commercial or a discussion between the announcer and representative. The concept of internet-based advertorials is linked to native advertising; however, whether the two terms are synonymous is contested.

I remember the days when a company would buy a block of time for three hours, usually opposite a football game on a Sunday afternoon, run a movie, and have breaks in the film where they would try to sell their product. It was all above board, and everyone knew what the deal was. If you didn’t want to watch the football game or sports on the other channels and watch the movie, the price was that you sat through their ad breaks, which were annoying but tolerable. Of course, back then, there weren’t a lot of other options.

Today, the concepts have evolved beyond paid ads and a block of time pre-sold to a station. With YouTube and other platforms taking over the role of television back in the day, the abuse of the advertorial has gotten worse. I see numerous articles of this type on Vocal in several sections. I’ve called out a few of them in their comments section, but not surprisingly, I rarely get a response.

Again, much like editorials, these should be marked as advertisements up front. YouTube requires creators to put up a paid promotion tag at the beginning of any video that the creator received anything in exchange for the video. Vocal needs a better way of policing their content and letting folks know when something is a glorified ad.

Conclusion

In the spirit of this article, I offer this conclusion as an editorial opinion. Vocal’s content is varied and written by writers of all skill levels. I am suggesting some considerations for submitting to Vocal.

I tend to write short stories of 4,000 to 6,000 words and have found that stories of that length are often unread. Stories posted of under 1,000 words do much better and receive a higher read count. A short story is far more open to creative exploration and new ideas, but the Vocal community prefers brevity. After all, social media has diminished our attention spans. However, don’t use that measure as a criterion for what you write and publish on Vocal.

Poetry has a level of attention all to itself. I admit to being surprised at its popularity. As I mentioned, I am not a fan of poetry but have attempted to read some posted on Vocal. The range of quality is astounding, from the most simplistic verse to highly complex meter.

Informational articles about a product or service need to be more to the point and direct. They are often 1000-1500 words, and these articles get read.

An editorial is someone’s opinion about a topic or product and should be labeled as such. While an editorial is based on facts or occurrences, it is not necessarily factual; only someone’s idea of what is factual, or interpretations of facts spun in a way that supports their point of view.

The advertorial should also be direct, simple, and identified. Uninitiated readers who haven’t been knowingly exposed to this type of content probably won't realize it until it is an advertisement dressed up as objective journalism.

One last observation: Write what you want but be clear about your intent. Writers of all levels are entitled to post their work wherever they choose. What we should strive for is well-written and well-edited content, and unfortunately, that doesn’t always happen.

Regardless, you should always offer a well-written piece and be honest about the content's intent. Your readers deserve that.

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Sources

https://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/dictionary/english/story

https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/editorial

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advertorial

https://www.dictionary.com/browse/poetry