Why I Love Vocal

I’m fairly new here–I’ve been a contributor for fewer than six months. In the short time I’ve been here, I’ve met some amazing writers whose work really speaks to me. I’ve stumbled across magical morsels of this and that in different communities, and I’m branching out and dipping my toe in the pools of communities outside my comfort zone. I’ve learned that thoughtful comments tend to elicit a response, and most of the writers I’ve met are great about guiding me to work of theirs that they think I will like. Every little bit of kindness, every effort at community is appreciated, whether it’s a like, an insight, a comment, a reply, or recognition in the form of a top story or placing in a challenge.

What I enjoy most is the intellectual interaction I’ve found here–my own work and others’ work has led me back to literary theory and criticism; I’m rereading things like T.S. Eliot’s “Tradition and the Individual Talent,” Shakespeare’s sonnets, Steinbeck, Faulkner, Flannery O’Connor, Cleanth Brooks, Wallace Stevens, e.e. cummings–the list goes on and on. All of you have led me back into these rooms in my mind where I find peace and comfort, and where I work on my craft. I see that many of you are also diligently working on your craft, looking for new ideas, finding beauty in the mundane, geeking out about some nerdy shit you love. You are my tribe, my chosen land of exile, my island of misfit toys.

I’m exploring things that interest me, becoming my best, weirdest self. I’m also publishing on another platform, as some of my material isn’t exactly PG. What interests am I exploring? Magic, religion, sacred spaces, tarot, geology, literary theory, poetry, fiction, gardening, cooking, music, culture, travel, and nature, to name a few. I’m trying to grow, and I see a lot of others on the same journey if a different road, and I hope those roads lead to wonderful places full of good adventure.

However, I also see a lot of whining: why didn’t I get a top story, why don’t I get engagement bonuses, why aren’t I winning challenges. I’m not sure what the secret is, but I think engaging with the community and growing as a writer are part of the formula. I also see that everyone isn’t working on their craft–I read some poems that have given no thought to the rhythm of language, the meanings of sounds, the delight of a vivid image, juxtaposition of seemingly paradoxical ideas–poetry is more than just rhyme, and free verse is more than just not rhyming or not having a tight metrical pattern. If you feel like you’re not succeeding here, try working on it–working on your craft, reading criticism, engaging with other writers, finding your village.

That’s what I came here for–to have a voice and find a community, and I’m finding that the community feeds and strengthens my voice. You can’t imagine my delight the first time I looked at the stats page and discovered that I was getting paid per read. I started actively recruiting readers, and I’ve found that my organic readers, not my friends, are my most faithful readers, and that’s how it should be. Maybe Joseph Campbell was onto something when he said, “follow your bliss.”