Top Stories
New stories you’ll love, handpicked for you by our team and updated daily.
The Right Kind of Rejection
I consider it a privilege that, as of writing this, seventy-two Vocal writers have subscribed to me, presumably because they liked my work enough that they would want to be notified if I'd published something new.
Catherine DorianPublished 3 days ago in WritersLearning and Unlearning
Leaning into playing more to connect with and heal my inner child. I read that childhood is about learning while adulthood is about unlearning.
Forgotten Forest
Lightning cracks and streaks through the sky. The winds shift as I focus my energy. Rain falls. I feel the water cleansing me, healing. For I am tainted, broken and in need of repair.
Sarah WilcoxPublished 3 days ago in FictionBroken Hearts Fall Silent
Attraction can sometimes be a deceptive guide, leading us through a mirage of charm only to leave us stranded in a harsh reality. It's a cruel twist of fate when the dream we chase turns into a nightmare we cannot escape. The realization that we've been deceived by our own feelings is a bitter pill to swallow, leaving us to pick up the pieces of our broken illusions. Yet, it's often through these painful experiences that we grow stronger and learn to see beyond the veil of mere appearances.
Mercedes ChavezPublished 3 days ago in ConfessionsFor the Love of Samosas
Prologue Today's post is short fiction in honor of all the hassled parents trying to keep their angsty teens in line. "Bye mum! I'm not coming home for lunch today. I'll be going to Mac's with Kelvin and his buddies before we head to his house to study for a test." With that, Adam Lim careened like the Flash out of his humble HDB abode.
Michelle LiewPublished 5 days ago in FictionFind My Bones
My bones were strong, secured in scaled skin. Now you find them underneath your frail feet along the ground of Lyme Regis.
Katerina PetrouPublished 5 days ago in Poets- Content Warning
The Fruits of Revenge
It's taken me a lot to get here today. I don't like to go out much anymore. I know that my wife worries but it's a struggle that is all my own.
Rachel DeemingPublished 2 days ago in Fiction Talking To The Rain
Talking To The Rain As I sit upon a rotting wooden porch listening, I hear the words of falling rain dancing. Across the surface once placid but now rippled,
Dan R FowlerPublished 2 days ago in PoetsThe Queer Vocal Voices Unofficial Spring Poetry Challenge
Spring is here! Welcome to the Queer Vocal Voices unofficial spring poetry challenge. We want to know what spring looks like where you live. The sights, the smells, the sounds…tell us all about it- in poetry form.
J. Delaney-HowePublished 27 days ago in PrideInside the Animal's Mind [an unofficial challenge]
Hellooo Vocal Creators! I have noticed a few other creators doing their own unofficial challenges, and I thought I'd try to hop on the bandwagon! Let's see if we can get some contestants! (And hopefully it can become a monthly thing!)
- Content Warning
Peace On Earth
There was Peace On Earth. Most of humanity had striven for this, and now it was here. Since life first appeared on the planet creatures ate to survive, sometimes plants and sometimes other creatures.
Mike Singleton - MikeydredPublished 5 days ago in Fiction Jeremy's Dilemma
Author's Note: This story was submitted to NYC Midnight's 2024 Short Story Challenge. Now that the round is complete, it is being published for the first time exclusively on Vocal.
Bradley RamseyPublished 2 days ago in FictionFriendships Helped My Mother Conquer All the Highs and Lows of Life
My mother had three best friends. All three were named Edith. All three were nurses. They remained friends their entire adult life.
Ronke BabajidePublished 5 days ago in HumansInside the female animal mind
Are you brave enough to venture inside my mind. Are you fully prepared to unravel the mysteries of this 'enigma wrapped in that riddle', a well- used cliche, I know. But again, I ask...Are you?
Novel AllenPublished 3 days ago in ConfessionsWhy You Should Start Writing Everything Down
Writing is the conversion of energy into mass. It cements the words born from your mind right into the heart of the universe. It ingrains these tiny marks, these little pieces of you, into the fabric of life. It converts the energy of your brain into tangible, cosmic molecules — particles of ink on paper.
Bird on a Wire
A colorful bird with a yellow head, white body, and blue wings, perched and sat atop a telephone wire. He felt sad because he was short and stout, and his brother and sister had just hurt his feelings.
DJ RobbinsPublished 3 days ago in PoetsDenouement
I am growing old Just as the rules become clear The game is ending
D. J. ReddallPublished 3 days ago in PoetsTime for #2
This is the second article on my review of the ideas in The Four Agreements. Here's the first article: I knew that I'd move forward with this series, but I put it off as Agreement #2 is a big stumbling block for me. I'd like to say I decided to get out of my own way and thus wrote this, but that isn't the truth. (Since Agreement #1 is to Be Impeccable with Your Word I surely need to own up to that)
Judey KalchikPublished 4 days ago in BookClubIf Evil, Why Cute?
It starts like this, fair readers: It's the early morning, and I've just stolen the last cup of coffee from the pot. I open up my brainstorming journal to scrappy pages, my laptop primed upon a dusty, glowing white screen; words either already written or about to be written upon the blank spaces.
Amanda StarksPublished 4 days ago in HumorThe Cretaceous Terror of Insects*
Oculudentavis will not just glide off the tongue like Tyrannosaurus Rex and velociraptors would never pride themselves on being terror of insects,
Alison McBainPublished 4 days ago in Poets