Writing on Vocal: My Self Challenge

Four years ago, I was browsing through my facebook feed when I saw a link that a friend had shared on his page. It told of a website that writers could go on and share their work with other writers. I had been looking for something like this forever, so I immediately clicked. On this site, which was appropriately named Vocal, there were tons of categories to write about, and best of all, we could obtain earnings for it. I quickly created an account, picked the best picture of me I could, and I was set. In my mind, I saw images of me sitting at book signings at my favorite bookstore after I wrote my bestselling book. I was on my way to the top. There was just one little bitty catch: I had to start writing.

Many times, I went on there and looked through the different categories. Ideas would pour through my brain, just waiting to be put to paper. But as my fingers would meet the keyboard, I would completely freeze. Why would anyone want to read what I have to say? As soon as I would type something, I would delete it. Nothing seemed good enough. And so I sat on it. For about two years, I completely stopped trying.

Then one day, I found myself in a place where I needed a healthy outlet to share my feelings. I went through a horribly painful breakup. So one night I decided to pour my heart out into a poem. Granted, the person I wrote it about would most likely never see it, but at least it was out there. Eventually, it gained a few reads. And with that, I was ready. For a while, I wrote here and there, mostly as a way to heal wounds that I had pushed deep down inside for years. It was a way for me to use my voice in a way that I was too afraid to use otherwise.

New Year’s 2020, Vocal issued a challenge for writers to go through and write a story for each of the different categories. Challenge accepted, or so I thought. I went through about four categories when I hit a bump in the road. I realized that many of these categories were of topics that I had little to no knowledge about. Maybe I should stick with what I knew. This same stumbling block was what caused me to not enter several vocal challenge contests. I was afraid to step out of my comfort zone, so I didn’t write.

Once in awhile, I would look to see if I had gained any more readings from my older stories, all the while thinking of how I should jump back into it and give it my all. Well, fast forward a year, and here I am. I’m issuing a challenge to myself to start writing, and to keep writing. As for topics, I am unfamiliar with, I will work to learn more about them.

As of today, my most read story has almost sixty reads. I’m about thirty cents from earning my first dollar, and that’s ok. I may never win a challenge, or even get to cash in my earnings. But then again, I just may. I may even get to autograph my best selling book some day. The only thing I know for certain is that I have to look outside the box. It’s easy to do what’s comfortable. If its too hard, don’t try. But in that, we are throwing away some golden opportunities. Today, I’m making the decision to keep that window of opportunity open.