5 more outstanding Little Black Book Vocal Challenge stories that top my list!

Who will win the top prize in the most exciting Vocal Challenge yet?

The Little Black Book Challenge sponsored by Moleskine is the most exciting yet! It has the largest amount of submissions (10,500+ at the time of writing this article!)

If you're like me, you've been reading through plenty of entries, coming across amazing talent and inspiring stories. You're wondering who will win. Perhaps you've even joined some Facebook Vocal Creators Groups to get feedback and encouragement?

Here are some links to Vocal Creator Facebook groups you might like to join!

Vocal Creators Cooperative — a group I started because I wanted to help writers develop their skills by creating a space dedicated constructive criticism so that we all improve. When one rises, we all rise!

Vocal Creators Saloon — and amazing and super engaged community started by Teisha LeShea. She is literally the most committed person to encouraing other writers no matter their level of experience and creating community. I joined this group and was SO blown away! (Disclaimer: Not sponsored or biased — I only know Teisha through this group.)

The Vocal Creators Lounge — Plenty of encouragement and story posting!

Vocal Media Creators Hub — Story sharing, discussions about updates, Challenges and other questions about how Vocal works.

Why am I writing this article with shout outs to amazing Little Black Book entries?

A recent article by Jilana Booker also encouraged us as Vocal Creators to be better readers who engage, not just writers who publish!

So I have made an effort to read as many works as possible, give hearts, encouragement and feedback to other writers.

I wrote an article previously about 5 Little Black Book Challenge entries I thought could possibly be winners, and why.

But since then there have been another 2000+ Challenge entries published! So I thought I'd highlight 5 more of my top picks here.

Disclaimer: Obviously it's impossible for me to have read ALL of the submissions — 10,525+ at the time of writing! But I have tried to read a lot and pick some of the ones that particularly stood out to me. Many of the stories I've read have also been shared in the Facebook groups — so I highly recommend joining 😊

What makes a story stand out as a top pick for me?

I work in editing in my 9–5 job, so I like to flatter myself that maybe I might be able identify out some particularly stand out entries (I guess we'll find out!). But in any case, it's a great opportunity to highlight to some amazing talent! ❤️

Please note: that these are my personal opinions, and have nothing to do with views the Vocal Curators or the Judges, who make the final call. If nothing else, I hope these points and seeing examples of some great works might inspire and help writers refine their own writing! Wishing good luck to everyone!

What am I looking out for?

The full list of things I was looking out for in stories can be found here. (These may even also be potentially helpful points for when you are writing your own stories!)

The TL;DR version

I'm looking out for:

1. Great quality writing & narrative voice

2. Unique approach to integrating the story prompts or unique plot lines

3. Compelling characters & stories that keep me engaged until the end

4. Stories with ideas that stay with me

I'm avoiding:

1. Common plot lines without a unique take

2. Cliches

3. Poor formatting

So, having set those parameters, let's jump into 5 more of my top Little Black Book Challenge picks!

1. VERSO by Emma Jones

Why I picked it

The subtitle was what first caught my attention: "Tock-tick, Tick-tock," says the anti-temporal clock." This is awesome — it rhymes AND it's ironic (anti-temporal clock has to be one of the best oxymorons I've come across! I LOVE the concept.)

Overall, a fantastic concept for a short story and well executed. It kept me engaged til the very end and was cleverly current-adjacent, exploring the concept of government stimulus grants as the basis of the story. There were two interesting characters who you were rooting for, and it had slight undertones of the Noir genre — an interesting reflection on our contemporary world in itself. The story also kept me guessing — I couldn't tell til the very end on who would actually receive the 20,000! Definitely recommend a read!

2. THE SCRIBHNEOIR by Michelle Kudell

Why I picked it

This urban fantasy short story reinterprets the Little Black Book to be a book featuring in the Irish mythology of the Scribhneoir. This story was written beautifully, descriptively and evocatively, so that as a reader you felt right there alongside the protagonist in his world. The identity of the mysterious woman on the bus is slowly revealed, and the $20,000 features at the end of the story in a fourth-wall breaking denouement (story wrap up that uses a literary technique directly speak to the reader). Definitely worth a read and a great example of well-crafted short speculative fiction!

3. ITALIAN INTUITION by Layla Roberts

Why I picked it

This reflective fictional realism story cleverly engages with the history of the Moleskine brand, so the writer Layla Roberts clearly did her research! There are the occasional musings on universe synchronicities and destiny, and the older generations passing on a legacy to the newer generations. It is a sweet, hope-filled story that made me want to curl up on the couch with a hot chocolate and leisurely enjoy while contemplating my own small but imporant place in the wider universe.

4. A (BLACK) BOOK OF OUR OWN by Lara Happymoon

Why I picked it

This story is timeless while being so well grounded in our own contemporary world. The characters are believable and well written, so even extraordinary circumstances seem entirely possible. The main concept of the story centres around the desire to seek human connection, especially in our current coronavirus era — despite tactfully never condescending to call out it by name — and what can come of a willingness to make such a connection. The notebook is the catalyst in the story, and the protagonist's reaction to an unexpected $20,000 is draws out an inner conflict. This is a beautiful tale, and written in such evocative prose that it reminded me of some classic voices of fiction — thinking of the Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis, or perhaps The Book of Lies by James Moloney.

Exceptionally, the writer even went the extra mile to illustrate her story with handwritten entries in a Little Black Book, photographed and included as part of the narrative. This is an incredible touch, so creative and and really brings the storytelling to life. Highly recommend settling into a comfortable armchair and delving into this tale!

5. The CAPTAIN'S BOOK by PJ Jackelman

Why I picked it

A touching, reflective character-driven story about perspectives and assumed motives of other people when they don't behave as you would expect. The story opens with some catchy dialogue that reads as natural and sets the scene really well. The protagonist shows great development in attitude and outlook over time, exactly what you want to see in a short story. The notebook features as the piece that drives the plot, while the $20,000 is used as a feature to break the fourth wall (literary technique suspending the fictionality of a story) suggesting that it has already happened in the real world (implied time-paradox!).

The story leaves a lasting impressions that confronts our frequent apathy and lack of interaction with the people living their lives parallel to us, but neither side taking the initiative to intersect and make connections.

What about your story, Lili? Did you enter the Challenge?

My story is about a mysterious artist seeking human connection set along the canals in Venice, Italy. It's so hard to judge or review your own work, but I think I came up with a unique approach to a story for this Challenge, and a different take on how someone unexpectedly comes into the $20,000! Let me know what you think! 😊

You can connect with me in the Vocal Creators Cooperative Facebook group, and I'm more than happy to give constructive feedback to other people's stories or poetry (as are the other members!) 😊

You can also check out some of my other writing & poetry here!

If you liked this article, please show some love and give it a ❤️ or maybe even a tip! 😊