VOCAL PLUS

A little over two years ago, an ad kept popping up on my Facebook feed for a company called Vocal Media. As it was a writing platform, I figured it was there because I was an active member of a couple of writing groups.

After several days of it appearing on my feed, I decided to click the link and see what it was all about. I could join for free and upload stories, for which I would get paid about a third of a cent per read or I could join as a Vocal+ member for $5 a month for the first three months. The Vocal+ membership paid a larger amount and allowed me to enter into Vocal+ member-only writing challenges that paid relatively large prizes. It looked like there were new challenges practically every week, and I thought this would be an excellent way to get the creative juices flowing again.

I was having a hard time coming up with new ideas as the characters in my novel were haunting my thoughts. Every time I had a new idea and started to write, my characters' would push me aside and take over the story. In a word, I was getting frustrated.

I’d been working on my novel for over a year, which was now in the final editing phase and felt creatively worn out. I love to write, but my mind was consumed by my novel writing for so long that I felt like I didn't have anything left to say. I'd been trying for a couple of months to get back into writing short stories and poetry, but the inspiration for stories was few and far between.

I decided I didn't have anything to lose, $15 at the most, and signed up for the Vocal+ membership. On the first day on the site, I was pleasantly surprised by the quality of the writing of several members but was frustrated by my inability to give feedback to the authors. All I could do was click the heart button or leave a tip. Being a writer and a member of writing groups, I felt that feedback on your writing is crucial to helping you improve your craft.

That's when I randomly clicked on an article that spoke about several Facebook groups dedicated to Vocal writers. Bingo! That's what I needed. To be able to interact with people that would read my stories and I read theirs was exactly what I needed.

I quickly did a search and joined a few of these groups.

That’s when I discovered the real Vocal Plus. The plus of being on Vocal was having the opportunity to meet people a lot like me.

Now it’s two years later and several months ago Vocal gave us the ability to comment on stories on the Vocal platform. This combined with the facebook groups has become a game changer, in my mind.

Because of this, my fire is back, and I'm inspired by the writing and wonderful feedback of many of the artists that I've met here. I’ve been an avid reader for most of my life, so I do not use the word artist lightly. If you are not reading stories on Vocal, you are missing out because I can say, without a doubt, this place is a gold mine. I've read so many stories on here that are truly extraordinary in the way they're written and how they paint pictures in my mind that I'm actually in awe of the author's skills.

I've been a constant reader for over fifty years and have read the work of thousands of writers over that time. I am in no way an expert on writing, but as the saying goes, "I may not know a lot about art, but I know what I like."

It’s been said by many famous writers that If you want to be a writer, you need to read.

I can say that because of the many diverse voices that I have read on this platform, my writing has improved beyond my expectations. I truly believe that several of the writers, on this platform, that have touched me deeply, are the reason I have found my voice. They have shown me how to use my words to make people feel what I feel. I thank each and every one of them for that.

I think the people I am talking about know who they are as they can tell by my comments on their stories. So I will not add a list of my favourite creators here as there are just too many. I would just feel terrible if I forgot someone on that list.

Another reason my writing has improved is because of the constant diverse challenges’ that the Vocal team put forward for us. They force us to stretch our writing muscles and write in ways we might not normally write. This, in my opinion, is a great way to improve our craft.

Vocal has had growing pains over the last two years– just like any other online company- that is trying to spread their wings. But I believe that with the many recent changes, including “Raise your Voice” and “Bonus Leaderboard,” we have turned a corner.

I can’t see the future but I do believe that Vocal is headed in the right direction.

So as a writing platform, Vocal is a major plus for me. I wouldn't have found all of these wonderful writers without it. Also, because of all the writing challenges and the interaction I've found on the Facebook groups, I'm writing every day.

I know that some people will disagree with me, but to me, the cost of being a Vocal+ member is nothing compared to what I get out of it. Even at $10 a month ($120 a year), I will still be here.

This is my 100th story on Vocal

Would I have written these 100 stories if I didn’t join Vocal

I don’t think so!!