More Thoughts On The Nature Of The Vocal Challenge

Introduction

An old one but still true today. I've added "You Can All Join In" by Traffic

The Vocal Challenge Honeypot

I’ve said this before and I will probably say it many times again, I was tempted to Vocal because of the opportunity to make a lot of money from winning the writing challenges. I am sure I am not the only one who was tempted like that and once people realise that they are not going to make money from winning they either leave or reassess their position.

I took the latter option and though I have dabbled with alternatives, at the moment I still see Vocal as my favourite and preferred option. But why is that?

The Vocal Challenge Realization

My first Challenge I thought I would be automatically entered into it, so I missed out, but then Challenge after Challenge I came to see that I wasn’t going to win.

That won't stop me from entering challenges and writing observational pieces like this, although I often think my opinions are generally disapproved of and I am seen as a very negative or threatening person by many, that is just my paranoia speaking. Though just because you are paranoid does not mean they are not out to get you in one way or another.

We know the standard of writing is generally high (though I cannot hit those heights) throughout Vocal and does benefit from the moderation and the restrictions on what you can post and how long the articles should be.

Prose is six hundred to five thousand words and poetry from a hundred words, and we do see a lot of poems, but when a haiku is only seven syllables sometimes Vocal stories need some explanatory padding.

The Vocal Challenge Acceptance

I have probably entered every Vocal Challenge since I have been on Vocal since April last year and not even hit a runner up spot but I now regard it as a writing prompt rather than a chance of winning some money.

The fact that I have not received a Vocal writing bonus since the 22nd of February for a Top Story where before I could count on two or three awesome stories a month and the odd Top Story but it looks like I am off their radar, but that is paranoid because I know my Vocal friends and audience see and are impressed with my writing.

I usually intend to write a single Vocal Challenge entry but then sometimes people ask for follow-ups such as in the Fantasy Prologue and the Ship of Dreams Challenge. In the latter, my first entry was rejected, though still published, so I did write another, and then people asked me to follow it up. This was the rejected one.

I do not expect to be a winner or even a runner up but I have total confidence in the stories I write, and that is backed up by the people who read my work, and that means that I will keep on writing because I know I have an audience.

The Vocal Challenge Conclusion

Vocal has changed my focus on writing from making money to just actually writing and improving every time I create something. While Vocal may not see or notice my work, all my friends and my audience do, and that is a huge blessing for me.

Others may see things differently and I have seen some very angry people who have left Vocal because they can’t get what they want, but I have what I need and maybe one day I will get a little more.