Why You Should Try Writing For Vocal Challenges

I started writing on Vocal in June and upgraded to Vocal+ to submit my stories to Vocal challenges. Even though I didn't win any prizes, I think it's worthwhile to try writing for Vocal challenges even if it's unlikely you'll win and these are the reasons why.

Writing When You're Out of Ideas

I struggle often to find ideas to write about. I write in a niche and I'm uncomfortable to go outside of my area of expertise to find other topics to write about. This is where Vocal challenges come in. Challenges provide a writing prompt and guidelines required for submission. Not all writers want to be subject to restrictions on their writing and there's nothing wrong with that. For me, however, this removes a barrier I have to start writing and I've found it liberating not to have to think up a new idea for a story.

Writing Beyond Your Comfort Zone

As I said earlier I don't like going outside of my comfort zone but challenges are a way to challenge myself to write in areas I've never tried before. As with any skill, I feel we can improve when we challenge ourselves to go beyond what we already know how to do well.

This summer Vocal has a series of challenges with prompts for fictional stories, an area I've never tried writing before. There are also non-fiction topics that I have no experience writing in that push me to think outside of my comfort zone for writing.

Writing For Practice

The 10,000 rule discussed in Malcolm Gladwell's book, states it "takes 10,000 hours of intensive practice to achieve mastery of complex skills and materials". I'm a long way from 10,000 hours spent writing. Removing a barrier to come up with an idea for a story and writing for Vocal challenges with a prompt allows me to remove a blocker and continue my writing for practice to get to the 10,000 hours.

I've noticed as I write more the words flow faster and I find it easier to come up with the right words. I'd also like to think the quality of my writing has improved with practice as I now publish with less editing than I did when I first started writing.

Writing For a Different Audience

When you write in a niche as I do, there's a limited group of people that would be interested in that topic. Writing for challenges exposes my writing to a new group of people. Unfortunately, there's no way on Vocal for readers to comment but I can check the reads and likes on the story to get partial feedback.

For example, I wrote a poem that got 1 view! I know it sounds depressing but even one person that read my poem is one more than zero. I feel it's an amazing achievement considering it's an area I've never ventured into before.

Writing For Prizes and Bragging Rights

I'm writing for practice, to go outside my comfort zone, and reach a different audience but it doesn't hurt that Vocal challenges give you the chance to win money and bragging rights! The prizes can be big. A recent Members-Only challenge I wrote for had a first place prize of $22,500. If you write full-time or as a side hustle, how long will it take you to make $22,500 writing versus writing for a few hours to submit a story with a chance of winning thousands of dollars. It's a win-win for me to write with a chance to win and work on my 10,000 hours.

Final Thoughts

Challenges have many entries but you can submit more than one story to a challenge that will increase your chance to win. The challenges are only open to Vocal+ members but it's still worth trying for one month given the benefits I've discussed. Take inspiration from Kathryn Milewski who won $4,000 through challenges. Even if you're unlikely to win, you'll definitely have no chance of winning if you never try in the first place.

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