![](https://res.cloudinary.com/jerrick/image/upload/c_fill,f_jpg,g_auto,h_670,q_auto,w_670/659d66a1653fc1001da9d428.jpg)
#200
What aspirations do you have for yourself on Vocal this year?
Prizes
- Grand Prize:
- $2,024
- Second Place:
- $200
- 10 Runners-up:
- $20
Status
CompletedTimeline
Submissions opened
Jan 05, 2024
Submissions closed
Jan 27, 2024 4:59 AM CUT
Results
Feb 08, 2024
Prizes
- Grand Prize:
- $2,024
- Second Place:
- $200
- 10 Runners-up:
- $20
Status
CompletedTimeline
Submissions opened
Jan 05, 2024
Submissions closed
Jan 27, 2024 4:59 AM CUT
Results
Feb 08, 2024
About this challenge
The Prompt
Write about your aspirations for yourself as a creator on Vocal in 2024.
With this being Vocal's 200th challenge (yes, 200 already!) and in celebration of the new year, we are asking you to share your aspirations and creative goals for yourself on Vocal in 2024. Resolutions can be scary, but setting your intentions does not have to be — we are here to welcome them with open minds and eyes. And if your aspiration is to not take your writing too seriously this year, we're all for it. The goal is to be honest, optimistic, and to get something in writing!
We plan to ask you to revisit this challenge at the end of the year to reflect on your progress and growth, so you can go ahead and call us your accountability buddy 💪
Some ideas to help you brainstorm:
- How has the past year on Vocal shaped your goals for this year?
- What genres or writing forms do you wish to explore?
- What skills do you want to hone?
- How often will you write?
- How often will you read other creators' work?
- Who will you collaborate/connect with on Vocal?
- How will you support other creators?
- How will Vocal challenges help shape your creative journey?
- Is there a specific piece you want to finish or work on?
- What do you want your impact to be on Vocal?
In order for your submission to qualify, it must be:
- About your aspirations for yourself on Vocal in 2024.
- Between 500-2,500 words.
The Prizes
- Grand Prize: $2,024
- Second Place: $200
- 10 Runners-Up: $20
How to enter
For your piece to be eligible, it should adhere to our Community Guidelines. Stories published on Vocal and entered into the contest up until 11:59 PM ET on January 26, 2024 will be entered for consideration. Official Rules for the Challenge can be found here.
The #200 Challenge is exclusive to Vocal+ members. To learn more and upgrade to Vocal+ visit https://vocal.media/vocal-plus.
To be eligible to win the grand prize, second place, or runners-up prizes, you must be over the age of 13 and residing in a country where Stripe is available at the time of entry. A complete list of countries where Stripe is available can be found here—winners will need to have a Stripe account created and connected in order to receive the prizes. For this reason, entrants located outside of any of these countries will not be eligible to win.
Open challenges
Challenges you can enter now for a chance to win.
Breakup Nonet
Write a nonet poem about a relationship breakup.
$500 Grand Prize6 days leftL*pogram
Write a lipogram story that does not contain any words with the letter 'i'.
$500 Grand Prize13 days leftOverboard
Write a fiction story set on a boat that ends with a crucial character going overboard.
$600 Grand Prize27 days left
Challenge resources
Summer Solstice Challenge Winners
‘Safety Net’, by Meredith Harmon, begins in a confiding tone. ‘What town?’ the tale asks. ‘We're an enclave. We're farmers. We till the soil like our forefathers, and our children's children's children will till it, till the end of time.’ There is a folkloric sensibility here, suited to the prompt, but also something contemporary and practical. This winning story of a community trying to protect and preserve itself has echoes of Shirley Jackson’s famous tale ‘The Lottery’, Meredith is a strong Vocal Creator with 225 stories to her name; and this is her second first place win of a challenge; huge congratulations.
By Vocal Curation Team8 days ago in Resources
Let's Talk About AI and Vocal Challenges
We might as well cut to the chase. Yes, we run every challenge entry through our AI detector; if we find an entry has been generated, it’s disqualified. As Justin Maury, Founder/CEO of Vocal has written, we use these detection systems because we know our readers enjoy authentic content; we also ask you to disclose when you’ve posted on the platform using AI assistance. But a different issue comes into play when we’re thinking about Challenges, and we believe it’s an important one.
By Vocal Curation Team11 days ago in Resources
Dialogue Poetry Challenge Winners
Hannah Moore is a first-time grand prize winner with her dialogue poem, On Receipt of Bad News. This was a poem that genuinely engaged both with the exchange of our prompt, but also focussed on the way poetic rhythms of language could support the writer's conceit. It felt very truthful, too, the way one speaker wishes to ignore the news and focus on practicalities; there was a quiet heartbreak, here. Well done.
By Vocal Curation Team15 days ago in Resources