Vocal 2024 – I’m Still Here For More!

Ah… such a trigger this challenge! I hate to admit it, but, I was ready to give up on Vocal this year. I had already determined it in my heart of hearts. Imagine… a senior citizen having low self-esteem! You’d think that in my almost 67-year lifespan, I’d learned a thing or two, but, no…I was ready to quit.

What caused it? I hear you whisper. The answer is simple: money. I wanted the carrot that Vocal dangled in front of me… THE BIG CARROT! The prize money of the largest Vocal challenge ever at that time. $20,000.00. Did I win it? No. But I wanted it so badly.

What made me change my mind about quitting Vocal? I’ll share that with you at the end of my interview.

Vocal: How has the past year on Vocal shaped your goals for this year?

Gigi: My past year of writing on Vocal was focused on winning challenges. Today’s challenge helped me to reflect on what is important to me: I need to set my writing goals, not on winning challenges, or getting a reward for my work, but, rather, for self-fulfillment, and for reaching the hearts of my readers.

Vocal: What genres or writing forms do you wish to explore?

Gigi: I’m going to go back to my roots. When I was a young girl, I used to write poetry. I left my passion to write short stories and dabbled with the idea of writing my mom’s biography. But, poetry is in my soul. My brain easily thinks in poetic waves.

Vocal: What skills do you want to hone?

Gigi: I’d like to work more on structured poetry. I’ve written some sonnets, sestinas, and trinels to name a few, but there are hundreds of other forms to explore. I’m ready to dive in!

Vocal: How often will you write?

Gigi: I’m not going to set myself up for let-down or failure, so I’m not going to say every day. I will say between 3-5 days out of the week as my starting point. I plan to do it often enough that it becomes a habit for me so that I actually want to write more often.

Vocal: How often will you read other creators' work?

Gigi: I cannot tell a lie… I tend to read someone’s work every time I’m on Vocal. Often I will leave a heart or a comment if I enjoy the piece. If it’s not in my preferred spectrum of reading material, I leave that article for someone else to comment on.

Vocal: Who will you collaborate/connect with on Vocal?

Gigi: I have a few connections already. One that I’ll mention is Jess Sambuco. She won the Little Black Book challenge.

After her win, I checked out a Vocal page on Instagram where some Vocal writers were bashing her, to the point of using terrible language. I couldn’t understand that and stepped up to defend her win. She reached out and befriended me, and we began following each other’s writing accounts on Instagram. She recently posted that she just finished writing her first book. What a thrill! Congrats Jess!

So, to answer your question… those are the kinds of writers that I plan on connecting with on Vocal. The kind who are kind!

Vocal: How will you support other creators?

Gigi: I have already sent out a few tips… $$... to some writers on Vocal. If I find their work is exceptional and moves me emotionally, I’ll be up for doing that again. I also enjoy sending out compliments when due. Sometimes I've included links to other creator’s stories and would do so again.

Vocal: How will Vocal challenges help shape your creative journey?

Gigi: Ahh… now there’s the rub! I will still enter some of Vocal’s challenges. I just won’t get my hopes up and then feel crushed when I don’t get acknowledgment. I have come to realize that the quote by Ralph Waldo Emerson is true: “The reward of a thing well done is having done it.”

Vocal: Is there a specific piece you want to finish or work on?

Gigi: Yes! I’ve always wanted to make a book of Ekphrastic poetry. I will include photos that friends have taken and some pictures of artwork that I’ve made as inspiration for my poems. I plan on making that book and getting it published this year. Yes, fellow creators… you’ve heard about it here first!

Vocal: What do you want your impact to be on Vocal?

Gigi: I don’t expect to have a huge impact on Vocal. I’m not one of those popular influencers on social media. If I can touch the hearts of a few readers and find my tribe who enjoy reading my work, I’d be happy!

To sum up… What made me change my mind about quitting Vocal?

I changed my focus. It’s not the dollars that matter. It’s the feeling that I get inside when I write something well and put it out there.

So… for good or for bad… I’m here for another year Vocal! Let’s make 2024 ROAR!!