4 Reasons to Enter Vocal's Writing Challenges

When Vocal introduced their challenges, I was really excited about them. In fact, forget was, I still am really excited about them.

And it’s not because of the money. Especially as I’m still to win one (although I’m sure my time will come). No, there are several other reasons why I love them.

1. They are great writing prompts

The challenges provide me with ideas for new pieces. I found them especially helpful when I was new to Vocal and wasn’t always sure what I should write about.

Even though I now find it easier to generate ideas, I still use the challenges as prompts for additional stories.

Sometimes, a single challenge can lead to more than one new story. This happened with the recent Guilty Pleasure Binge challenge when I couldn’t decide whether to write about Gossip Girl or Northern Exposure so I ended up writing about both.

The same thing happened with the Fresh Start challenge. In January, I gave up alcohol for a month and embarked on a 30 day yoga challenge.

They both fit the criteria for the challenge and voila: two new stories were born.

2. Getting Outside The Comfort Zone

We all have genres and topics we are most comfortable with, but sometimes it’s good to step outside that comfort zone and try writing about a topic that makes you unsure.

Since the challenges have been running, there have been plenty of challenges where I intially wasn’t going to participate. I looked at the title of the challenge and the brief and my mind was just completely blank.

But I went away and mulled over the challenge.

The topic might not be something I felt confident writing about, but perhaps that wasn’t a bad thing. It might give me a different persepective from others who felt confident with it.

I try to - time permitting - take part in every challenge, even, or especially those, that I find the hardest initially.

The ones that challenge me the most, are the ones that benefit me the most as a writer. They make me work harder and flex my writing muscle more.

3. Experimenting With Genres

Taking part in the challenges has encouraged me to experiment with genres and styles of writing I rarely go for.

Not only do the challenges give writers an opportunity to write on a range of topics, it is also a chance to find creative ways to respond.

For example, A Year in Music and Cheese With Everything came about when I wanted to write a different way to respond to 2020 Rewind Playlist and The Perfect Pairing challenges.

Now I rarely write poetry. I find it really challenging. Which is why you might wonder why I chose to write poems?

Exactly for that reason. Because they challenge me.

If you want to improve as a writer, one way to achieve this is to challenge yourself. Go for things that make you sweat and flex that writng muscle.

Since experimenting with poetry more, my fiction writing has improved. I now pay more attention to the rhythm and quality of words. It has helped me to get rid of waffle and keep what is essential and powerful.

4. Extra Chance to Earn Money

I could not write about the challenges without mention the money.

Each challenge comes with the extra incentive to earn more money. The amount you can win for placing in the top three varies from challenge to challenge. It also depends if the challenge is open for all or if you need to be a Vocal+ member to take part.

The biggest prize for the challenges so far has been for The Little Black Book. This challenge marked the one-year anniversary of challenges on Vocal and game with a grand prize of $20,000!

Generally the first prize in the challenges ranges from $1,000 to $10,000.

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Interested in checking out current challenges? You can find them here.

And if you are interested in becoming a Vocal+ member, read more here.