Nonfiction

The Lights Went Out. Now What?. Top Story - August 2026.
In my not-so-humble opinion, most of the Eurovision songs are not strong enough to compete in a song competition. There. I said it.
By Cristal S.3 months ago in Critique
Tropes Love A Showgirl
Kanye West made Taylor Swift famous. I liken Taylor Swift to a mega church. There is a book (lyrics) at the heart of the fervent adoration, but somewhere between merchandise and sing-alongs, the message gets lost. I do not aim to denigrate her talent. However, to separate the zealots at her feet from the power of her white woman victimhood mythology is to remove the essential piece of the narrative that has made Taylor Swift more holy than harassed. It isn’t that any particular Swift album is overrated; it’s that her discography exists within a cultural hegemony that often overlooks how the victim narrative bolstered her from country to pop.
By Cali Loria3 months ago in Critique
My Fake Success
Introduction This is just about some numbers that have occurred recently, so nothing special. The main image is me with the cover of "Space Hymns" by Ramases (original pressing). I won't say how much I paid but I got it for a lot less than I expected. You can check it out here:
By Mike Singleton 💜 Mikeydred 3 months ago in Critique
The Pixar Paradox
If my childhood can be summed up in one word, I think that word would be Disney. We had all the classics on tape, both official releases and a few bootleg copies my dad recorded from TV. Every movie back then was wonderful to me, immersing my mind in a world of color, music, and fantasy that is unmatched by any other today. The ones that stand out more than the rest, however, all carried the same name.
By Natalie Gray3 months ago in Critique
Reconsidering The Situation Again
Introduction This is essentially kicked off by Mark Graham, a free Vocal Creator who said he is still getting paid for reads, when a part of the Vocal announcement was that free users would no longer get paid, which I think is wrong. Mark is very supportive, and because he is getting read is bringing in new readers to the Vocal platform.
By Mike Singleton 💜 Mikeydred 3 months ago in Critique
A Kafkaesque Drabble On Vocal Verification
One of the things that I tried to do was to disconnect my Stripe Account from Vocal and reconnect. Last week, the option was there, but of course failed because Vocal would not connect.
By Mike Singleton 💜 Mikeydred 4 months ago in Critique
Twelve Days Unverified
Introduction On June 29, 2026, we received a banner stating that changes were being implemented on the Vocal platform. Since then, there have been a lot of issues, and many seriious ones have still not been addressed.
By Mike Singleton 💜 Mikeydred 4 months ago in Critique
Don't Be Afraid To Do The Unusual Thing. Top Story - July 2026.
“Last saved 2 years ago”. That’s what my draft page says, though I know it’s actually been more like 3. This is a true story, about a real person who was born over 130 years ago. It’s the first piece that I ever started writing for Vocal Media, and it has been sitting in publishing limbo since the very first day I got the nerve to try and be a real writer on a public platform.
By Mama Magdalene4 months ago in Critique
Hallmark
Not Quite There - The Prompt: Share a story that never fully came together, along with what’s holding it back. Not every piece reaches a finished form. This challenge makes space for work that is still unresolved. Share a story that never quite came together, along with what’s holding it back. The gap might come from structure, clarity, scope, or something harder to define. Be specific about where it falters. What feels incomplete and why has it stayed that way. The focus is as much on the friction as the draft itself.
By Denise E Lindquist4 months ago in Critique
My Self-Critique of My Writing Battle Entry (Part Deux)
This is a breakdown of my most recent entry into the Writing Battle that didn’t make it out of the peer judging round. I recommend reading it before you dive into my self-critique of why it doesn’t work because nothing says, “Hey go read this!” quite like leading off with, "Hey this didn’t actually place so it might not be very good!”
By Matthew J. Fromm4 months ago in Critique
The Words I've Refused To Say. Runner-Up in Not Quite There Yet Challenge.
A couple of years ago, I went through an extremely complicated friend break up that spiraled me into a different type of depression that I had never felt before. I will not be getting into the specifics, but while I was recovering, I wrote lots of poems and even had plans to format them into a book.
By Annie4 months ago in Critique
She Forgot. I Didn't.
She probably doesn't remember writing those comments. I remember where I was sitting when I read them. That's the unfair thing about certain sentences.
By Aarsh Malik4 months ago in Critique