Top Stories
Stories in Journal that you’ll love, handpicked by our team.
What I've learned from one year writing a Substack newsletter
It was one year ago that I finished researching my article No One Reads Books (and other truths about publishing), and determined that my best hope as an author was to create a platform for my writing.
Elle GriffinPublished 2 years ago in Journal26 Reasons I Love Vocal
As I turn 26 years' old, I want to say a huge thank you to Vocal Media for making writing book reviews my favourite thing to do alongside reading books and for giving me an audience to talk to. Through Vocal Media I actually feel like I'm really talking to you, yes you, on the other end. I want to thank Vocal Media for so many things and since it is my 26th birthday today, I have listed them in 26 points (yes, I have had to compress them because there were too many points!)
Annie KapurPublished 2 years ago in JournalTips On How to Write a Book Review
A book review includes a summary of a book you have read including how it made you think or feel. You can use excitable language for the great books you've read or you can use disappointing language for the ones you didn't think were so great.
Cathy CoombsPublished 2 years ago in JournalHow To Be An Artist
When I was twenty years old, my team and I found ourselves in the police station, separately being interrogated in a tiny room at 10pm at night. We had been there for six hours, being asked question after question. We each also had our very own good cop/bad cop. My frustration and embarrassment piled up with each tick of the clock. “Surely, this isn’t how a photographer’s career is supposed to go.”
Reylia SlabyPublished 2 years ago in JournalWhat if we fund artists the way we fund startups?
Margaret Atwood has a new novel coming out in 2114. You read that correctly: the bestselling author of The Handmaid's Tale will publish her last book Scribbler Moon long after we are dead. We won't get to read it, our kids won't get to read it, but maybe their kids will - and that's kind of the point.
Elle GriffinPublished 2 years ago in JournalEvery Writer Needs A Coffee Break From Writing
Now and then, writers need a break from writing to be in touch with the real world, recollect their thoughts, and, most importantly, spend time with themselves. It might be our full-time jobs, our careers/side hustles, or simple a hobby we love to do, but rejuvenation isn’t just a day spent at the spa or some fancy resort. It can be a relaxing day at home too.
I’m Too Much of a Hobbit to Be an Influencer
I love reading and writing with my whole heart. My goal is to one day make a true living doing exactly what I love. However, that goal ends there. I still want to be surrounded by my loved ones, and deeply enjoy living our plain, unassuming lives. I've been thinking considerably about the reasons I want to write, and enjoy the writing process in the first place. What motivates me? What propels me forward? Why do I write?
E.L. MartinPublished 2 years ago in JournalHow to Re-Enter the Craft
Every writer has periods where the craft falls by the wayside for one reason or another. Mental health issues, family commitments, work, and even a simple loss of enthusiasm or inspiration - all of these things can cause writers to put down the pen for a while. After this kind of hiatus, it is common to find that your writing skills have become a bit rusty - the average pace of writing may have slowed, and more complex scenes could be clunky or awkwardly written as you try to readjust and get your writer brain moving again.
S. A. CrawfordPublished 2 years ago in JournalWriting Books is Not a Good Idea
The New York Times caused a stir recently when, in an article about pandemic book sales, it disclosed that “98 percent of the books that publishers released in 2020 sold fewer than 5,000 copies.”
Elle GriffinPublished 2 years ago in JournalIt's Never Too Late to Shine
Milestones & Memories The Vocal Social Society, the magazine's Meta (Facebook) group, recently cleared a milestone of 700 members (as of this moment we are at 751!) We are humbled to interact with so many fellow creators each and every day. With this upbeat mood in mind, we have scouted for pieces that remind us to celebrate life as much as we can while we can. So whatever you're celebrating this time of year, we hope you make time to relax and kick up your heels with us.
The Vocal Creators ChroniclePublished 2 years ago in JournalI Earned an "A"
“You are an excellent learner”, said the voice on the phone. “You did a fantastic job.” Was I accepting this lofty praise from an instructor from whom I was taking an in-person craft course? An online professor from whom I was taking a creative writing course? A teacher from whom I was taking a brush-up course on word processing? No. None of these. I was being complimented on my learning skills by……………..a Comcast Agent. As I was extricating myself from a pretzel-like position on the floor underneath my desk with 3 different cords in my hands, how could I not be proud of his gushing compliments?
Joan GershmanPublished 2 years ago in JournalBack To My Roots: The Journey to Remarkably Real Black Hair
I grew up in German Town, Jamaica. It's an old settlement of Germans who arrived on the island after slavery ended and indentured labor was reinstated. Almost two hundred years later, the small town is now home to many Jamaicans with blonde hair and blue eyes.
Alexis ChateauPublished 2 years ago in Journal