Challenge Accepted. Mission complete.

For my 100th story I wanted to do something different to summarize my time on Vocal... Please enjoy.

I think we can all agree that Vocal is great at capturing our attention with the endless array of challenges. Just the word itself is enough to turn heads. "Are you challenging me?" Who doesn't love a good challenge? It's almost like a dare. "I dare you to write something that people will read and find engaging. And if it fits the bill, you might just gain some recognition among other things."

Enough said, I'm in!

The majority of my profile content is full of past challenge material. This doesn't mean that it's all I'm here for, I love creating non-challenge material as well. With working a full-time job and other projects looming, I make sure and reserve time to finish entries I'm committed to submitting.

Completing a challenge is not only a good feeling but also stretches my abilities as a writer. I'd never written a haiku before, let alone knew about the specific structure. But I do now. This is one of my favorites that I wrote for the Quadra Haiku challenge.

Another fun test was the Ludicrous Limerick challenge. Of course, I knew about limericks but never took the time to learn the backstory or structure. (shame on me) After reading some of the entries and getting some great examples, I sat down to write. I think I did 6 in all. This one was my favorite from that bunch.

Next, I opened my browser one day to see a new challenge called the Full Moon. Write a poem inspired by a dream...Easy enough, I thought... At first, I struggled with the style I wanted to use. I ended up writing two entries. I liked the rhyming one better that was inspired by one of those nights where you wake up frequently just to fall back to sleep and have another crazy dream. Check it out here.

Not too long ago, I found myself faced with the Get Comfortable challenge. Write a poem that celebrates what gives you comfort. This one could go in so many directions, but I chose to write about the comfort of my neighborhood.

I joined Vocal in February of 2021 after seeing an ad on Facebook about entering a contest for the Black Book challenge. I clicked on it, and it seemed legit. It wasn't like some of these sites that take you 30 different places before you get answers to what it's all about. Vocal was pretty clear about who they were.

Entering that challenge was humbling. I thought my entry was sound, brilliant, unique. I was wrong. First off, I sped through writing it. 2nd, it was full, I mean full of errors, mostly with tense. It went back and forth from past to present like a deranged time traveler. I revisited the entry and fixed it all but must have generated some laughs at Vocal. The ideas were plentiful, the execution (in some cases), horrid. This was a huge wake up call. I had to become more attentive with editing... and I did.

Before Vocal, I wrote a short story series that's still has potential. I also wrote short skits for video projects that I was involved with. Back in the day, I wrote a 250-page mystery-thriller novel that sits there waiting until the day I rewrite it. Also, in my portfolio, I wrote a screenplay that I fell in love with called Beautiful Scars, a slasher-thriller about a tattoo artist. I do plan to rewrite that one.

Thanks to all the content available to read on Vocal from other creators, including resources, I've learned a great deal about editing. But it's not over, I'm still learning…

Now, let's go straight into what really gets me going as a writer. I love everything paranormal. I also love Horror, mystery, fantasy, sci-fi and thrillers. I have examples of all of them in my profile. Fiction is my thing. The idea of looking at a blank sheet of paper or screen, then producing a story from basically nothing is amazing to me. I applaud creators everywhere that have found success in doing this. Dedication and determination are two words that come to mind when understanding the drive that makes us continue to create and share. In most cases we have no choice but to feed this insatiable urge to write, it's who we are.

Inspiration is a huge factor in developing ideas. This is where challenge prompts come in. They are the inspiration for us to create. Not every challenge may interest us but most of them do. Some people say, it's outside of my comfort zone. I get that. For example, you're not going to write a horror story if you're afraid of the dark to begin with. I don't know what my comfort zone is because I want to be open to all possibilities. Romance is by far, the lowest on my list of things I want to write about. I tried it once and it turned out okay. Writing a complete romance is different than having a MC being romantically involved as part of their character build. My so-called romance entry was written for the Dream Date challenge a while back before commenting was instated. It was the challenge where you had to mention a Glass of Merlot. If you dare, check out Why did I call him Frankie? my one and only entry for that one. It has 20+ reads, zero likes, zero comments, lol.

Back to what I'm all about. I highly recommend 1109 Blackthorn Lane written for the Broken Mirror challenge. The title actually started out as an entry for If walls could talk challenge, which was the only challenge I intended to enter that stumped me. I was excited all to hell about it but couldn't bring it together. I must have begun writing the entry 3 different times with multiple titles just to give up and throw in the towel. I just didn't like where any of the attempts were going. So, I admitted defeat. (Bows head in remembrance) But I liked the final title I chose for it and used it for The Broken Mirror Challenge. One creator, Morgana Miller commented.

"Ahh what a horrifying concept, and such an apt metaphor for the haunting dread of art unfinished. So well-written! I really enjoyed this."

One of my top 3 favorite entries was spawned from the Christopher Paolini Fantasy challenge. I started this story quickly after learning of the prompt. I trashed it even quicker. The original Idea was boring and would turn out similar in concept to many of the entries. The prompt: A grown dragon finds a lost — or abandoned — toddler in the forest. Write a fiction story about what happens next. - I worked hard on the story. I would say, 2-3 hours each seating for about 20 days within the allotted time frame of 37 days before finally hitting the submit button. If you enjoy fantasy with a palpable twist, Check out Tywrick below. One commenter, Rick Henry-Christopher said,

"Outstanding craftsmanship. You brought this story full circle to a resolution that was both creative and satisfying."

On a lighter side of my challenge submissions, I decided to have a little fun and show some versatility with the Improbable Paradise challenge. It's a fun story with some unlikely characters. One creator, Heather Hubler said,

"I loved this storyline! So fun and clever. Wonderful work!!"

For my Honorable Mention, I want to include something psychological and intense. It was written for the Campfire challenge. The Doppelganger includes some violence and was written before content warnings were an option. One thing to note is...It's a work of fiction, and not overly violent. One creator, Roy Stevens wrote,

"This idea would make for a really interesting screenplay don't you think? There's lots of action and some seriously twisted identity transfers for the audience to enjoy. Anyway, I enjoyed it myself."

Dharrasheena, the queen of horror wrote,

"This blew my mind! Fantastic take on the challenge. Loved the story"

I never expect to win any of these challenges, who does? I'm sure it comes as a shock to the 1st and 2nd place winners every time. We all know our potential as a contender but with so many great writers on this platform and so many entries that none of us can physically read the majority of, (except the judges of course) the odds are stacked against us. It boils down to the creative content, the execution, and in most cases the literary quality of our submissions...

Thank you so much for taking this brief journey with me to highlight the fun I've had creating on Vocal. Most of these stories would have never materialized if it wasn't for Vocal challenging me. In a way, Vocal is like our own little Masterclass where we can write, learn, get better and inspire each other with our creations and advice... I'll see you at the next challenge.

***Bonus ***

Below is a mere handful of the creators I'm loving. The links are to their profiles. Please show them some love and read a story. One of the links goes directly to a story whose title has relevance to Vocal. The story itself is a must read if you haven't already. Drop the title in the comments if you have time to search for it. Thank you.

Paul Stewart, Heather Hubler, Gina C., Dharrsheena, Jenny Blue, Rick Henry-Christopher, Donna Renee, Cathy Holmes, River Joy, C.H. Richard Naomi Gold, Tiffany Gordon, Randy Wayne- Jellison Knock Roy Stevens Judey Kalchik, Alex H. Mittleman, The Invisible writer, Kelli Sheckler-Amsden, Dean F. Hardy Real Poetic, Lonzo Ward, Scott Wade, Dana Stewart, Matthew Fromm, Dana Crandell, Stephen Kramer Avitabile Veronica Coldiron, D. Alexandra Porter, Novel Allen, Sleepy Drafts (Em), Loryne Andawey, Babs Iverson, Leslie Writes, Sara Wilson And many many others. Thank you all. 🥰

LDubs.