Vocal
An Ode To Inside Jokes
I think most inside jokes are memories you share with the people who were there when shit hit the fan and the people who proudly held your hand when you were not even nearly your best.
Amber GracePublished about 9 hours ago in Poets
Young fun
“Where were you in ‘62?” That was the ad for the movie American Graffiti. I was seven or eight years younger than those sixties kids in the movie. My story starts in the fall of that year, but it takes flight in 1963.
Paul MerkleyPublished about 10 hours ago in Humans
Lessons learned from Hurricane Ida
It all started about three days before the storm hit Louisiana. My roommate had been warning me about the hurricane, but I tend to dismiss his paranoia, because he leaves town with every tropical storm that rolls through. But something about his warnings felt slightly different this time, so I decided to look into the details. It had jumped suddenly from a category 2 hurricane to a category 4 in a matter of hours. That shocked me, so I looked a little more. The projected path put my small town of Watson to the East of the eye, which is known as the most dangerous place to be. Considering that the roads leading to and from my home are lined with miles of pine trees, my house is up on a hill, and the closest store is a 15 minute drive away, I decided, at the very least, I should leave town as well.
Justin Douglas LeePublished about 13 hours ago in FYI
it’s 2007 and i think i know about nostalgia
my middle grade dimpled darling named tuesday is dating our friend daniel / but that’s not really the point here / the point is she is legs crossed
Emily Long (she/her)Published about 16 hours ago in Poets
Stories I Loved: “A Day in the Life” Challenge Winners and Runners-Up
We recently wrapped up our A Day in the Life Challenge here on Vocal. The prompt was simple: Finish this sentence: 'I love my job because...'
Joshua Luke JohnsonPublished a day ago in Journal
5 Famous Artists Who Camouflaged Themselves in Their Own Paintings
Before impressionism and modernism took over, artists were never keen to draw their self-portraits. Unlike Rembrandt, Van Gogh, Picasso, or Frida Kahlo who had a panache to feature themselves in their own canvasses, the 16 & 17th-century artists never took the spotlight. Rather, they camouflaged their identity within the paintings - almost like a signature to endorse the artwork. Sometimes, artists deliberately used this technique to convey complex narratives which they could never portray since most of these artworks were commissioned by patrons with a different ideology or by the iron-handed church.
Kamna KirtiPublished a day ago in Geeks
Who Created Princess Leia’s Aesthetic?
Star Wars is one of the most iconic films in American history. This is due to both great storytelling and the timeless costumes. And as with all great works, fans are always curious about the origins of their favorite works, and Star Wars is no exception. Whether it’s drawing links between Star Wars and other sci-fi works like Dune or Perry Rhodan, or other inspirations such as Seven Samurai, it is easy for one to see that George Lucas’s sci-fi epic was not created in a vacuum. However, one of the most iconic looks of the first film (now episode IV), Star Wars: A New Hope, is Princess Leia’s hair. And as such, it has been the subject of much speculation since the film was released. The goal of this article is not to rehash old articles or detract from how others interpret Star Wars through their cultural lens. But rather, it is an attempt to ponder the actual origins of Princess Leia’s look and offer new evidence as to its providence.
Eric AndersonPublished a day ago in FuturismWEAVERS
"He's gone!" "But where...?" "...and for how long?" "...The Storyweaver is fine. Right now, we should tend to our healing allies."
Kent BrindleyPublished a day ago in FictionHow to Transcend the Fundamentals?
Knowing when to ignore your experience is the true sign of experience. -JOHN MAEDA On October 26, 1914, Ernest Shackleton, captain of the Endurance, set sail with a crew of twenty-seven men comprising the Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition. Their goal was to complete the first land crossing of the Antarctic. With an expedition of this difficulty, there was no shortage of planning or coordinating involved.
This Bookworm Method Might Help You Recognise the Quality of Your Relationships
After spending 10 years in a co-dependent friendship that eventually fell apart half a year ago, I’m back in business. I’m officially on the lookout for new friends, optimistic and determined that this time, I’ll extend my inner social circle beyond three people in total. Turns out, when you lose one of your three closest people, you’re only left with two. Who knew?
Kate FeathersPublished 2 days ago in Humans
Homecoming
Share a poem inspired by what "home" means to you.
$5,000 Grand Prize26 hours leftInside Jokes
Share a funny, true story about you and one of your childhood friends.
$1,000 Grand Prize26 hours leftEmPAWyee of the Month
In Support of: ASPCAShare a story about your beloved furry, feathered, or finned coworker.
$2,500 Grand Prize10 days left
Creators We’re Loving
Meet the people in your communities creating extraordinary things.
Creator Spotlight: Call Me Les
Lesley Leatherdale, or "Call Me Les" as she's known on Vocal, is a model creator—plain and simple. Gravitating around her larger-than-life presence on Vocal exists a collection of creator resources and auxiliary communities; each serving to promote the same creator-first environment we strive to foster.
Vocal SpotlightPublished 3 days ago in Resources
We've Updated Our Community Guidelines: Here's What You Need to Know
Vocal's Community Guidelines are the policies by which we protect the Vocal network from hate speech and misinformation, as well as set some standards for quality and professionalism of content.
Joshua Luke JohnsonPublished 11 days ago in Resources
Introducing Stories You Liked
We launched Likes on Vocal in November 2019 to allow your readers the ability to show their appreciation for your stories. Since then we’ve seen an incredible amount of community engagement through likes, which has helped creators understand what stories resonate with their audience while assisting Vocal’s Curation Team surface and champion remarkable stories.
Justin MauryPublished 13 days ago in Resources
Creator Spotlight: CJ Miller
CJ Miller is an immensely talented (yet equally, tragically modest) fiction writer based out of the lovely Massachusetts island of Martha's Vineyard. There, just off the eastern coast of the US, CJ prefers to stay off the digital grid, as well as the geographical one. We consider ourselves lucky we found her; and we suppose we only have the powerful characters she contrives to thank for that.
Vocal SpotlightPublished 17 days ago in Resources
Creator Spotlight: Culture Slate
Culture Slate is a creative collective that produces written and audio/visual content around all things Star Wars, Marvel Cinematic Universe, and "the latest breaking pop culture and entertainment news from around the web." The collective consists of Chris Seekell (CEO), Clarice Quinn Taylor (CFO), Amber Hope (CCO), Benjamin Hart (CSMO), and their "crack team of writers" and other creative professionals. Hosting almost 1,300 stories on their author page, Culture Slate has proved to be one of the most prolific creators on Vocal—and they're just getting started.
Vocal SpotlightPublished about a month ago in Resources
How the Vocal Team Selects Challenge Winners
This bit of clarification has been a long time coming now. The Little Black Book Challenge closed around the middle of March of 2021, and it proved so much larger than we ever could have anticipated. I decided right then, as soon as it really hit us just how huge the impact of that Challenge had been, that it was time to offer more information and transparency about how Challenges actually operate. We knew that we had more new creators coming on board than we had ever seen at once, and we knew that with a prize that large, the stakes were a lot higher. It was time for an update.
Jessica WhartonPublished about a month ago in Resources
