My Vocal Achievements
Vocal + Member since May 2021
I joined Vocal Media in May 2021 and since then I have been pleasantly surprised at a number of achievements in my writing.
I know I have personally grown in all areas of my writing since joining Vocal Media and I’ve made a number of great friends. There are many very talented people on this site, so anytime I earned an achievement, I was always very surprised.
Here are my major achievements since joining this platform :
My First Top Story
20 July 2021 - Creatively Re-use And Re-cycle
This poem was written as an example of how I will attempt to re-use and re-cycle items that are destined for the rubbish pile.
My Second Top Story
24 September 2021 - Memories Done And Dusted
This poem was written as a ‘wish’ whereby we could pick and choose the memories we loved and re-live them, while discarding forever the memories that caused us pain.
My Third Top Story
23 January 2022 - She Is More Wolf Than Woman
This poem was written after a painful break-up, a devastating loss in my life. It was a huge help in me processing my grief and heartache.
What astounded me was that this piece accumulated 365 reads in just a matter of days. I’m am so very grateful for the support and love it received.
My Fourth Top Story
7 February 2022 - If I Could Tell You I Love You Just One More Time
This poem was written when my heart was already aching and the pain reminded me of losing my Soulmate when I was very young. Although I lost him near on 45 years ago, he is still very much loved today.
My Fifth Top Story
1 April 2022 - As I Search For My People
This poem was written about finding people that are designed like me as I do not believe anyone is destined to be alone. I know my people are out there and we will connect when we find each other.
My Sixth Top Story
14 April 2022 - She Was Unknowingly Born A Warrior
A poem written about the strength of a woman if she would just remember who she is. She did not realise that she was born a warrior and already had the strength she needed to get through life.
My Seventh Top Story
15 May 2022 - Not Lamb Brain Fritters
This is my first Non-Fiction article to receive Top Story, so this means that little bit more to me.
This piece is an open letter written to my mother, confessing to something I had never told her before. This article come about by a Vocal Challenge asking us to confess and this was the result of that directive. Never expected it to make Top Story, but I won’t complain that it did.
My Fiction Piece Chosen As A Vocal + Fiction Finalist
14 August 2021 - All In A Day’s Work
Even though this piece of Fiction was written and published in August 2021, I was able to enter it into the Vocal + Fiction Challenge. I was over the moon when, in January 2022, the finalists were announced and this piece was one of the finalists.
This means I will receive a year of Vocal + membership for being chosen as a finalist.
There were 1,025 finalists chosen from a pool of over 13,000 entries. The 25 winners will be announced on 25 February 2022.
Will my story be chosen as a winner? I highly doubt it, but being a finalist is enough for me.
Remember, I write poetry and have not tried my hand at writing much Fiction, so to get this far is a major achievement for me.
Top Creator Status
I noticed today that I have reached Top Creator status in the Poetry Community.
This puts me in the top 5 Creators out of a pool of 28,894 Creators. I’ve got to be happy with that!
Even though I had only noticed this status today, I have been told that this has been the case since 23 January, if not longer.
It has definitely been the case since I received Top Story for my poem, ‘She Is More Wolf Than Woman’.

My Eighth Top Story
06 June 2022 - Super Hero Or Super Villain
This poem was written in response to a poetry prompt published by a Medium Publication called Lifeline. The prompt asked us to write about what superpower we wished we had.
My Nineth Top Story
29 July 2022 — A Memento Of The Old World
A poem written about the state of our future world, all concrete jungle, with not a plant or tree in sight.
My Tenth Top Story
11 September 2022 - She Rides The Tides Of Life
This poem was written to describe and honour the unique strengths of a strong woman.
My Eleventh Top Story
22 December 2022 - Humans Are A Judgemental Race
A reminder to all that each person is carrying their own story and without knowing that story, we need to be careful when we judge others.
My Twelfth Top Story
30 December 2022 - Australia’s Deadliest Animals
Australia has the reputation that all our animals want to kill us. This article lists the deadliest animals and their characteristics in the hope of quelling people’s fear.
My Thirteenth Top Story
25 April 2023 — Deep Dive Into My Writing Journey
Vocal made me work hard for this Top Story and it’s the first one I’ve received in 2023. Unfortunately receiving a Top Story on Vocal is less about good writing and more about being on their favourites list. Hence why I take no pride in this award.
I am surprised that this piece was awarded Top Story as I am not one of Vocal’s favourites but can only guess that I was awarded this because I was honest on my feelings of how Vocal is going backwards as a writers platform.
To get noticed on Vocal these days, if you’re not one of their handful of favourites, you need to suck arse or complain about the site. Not my idea of how a Top Story should be chosen, hence while I cancelled my V+ Vocal Membership.
I may not be proud of this Top Story award but I am proud to say I am no longer part of the bias of Vocal’s V+ Membership.
My Fourteenth Top Story
03 July 2023 — She is Lost
This piece was written to help me purge the pain I'm feeling in my heart after the loss of my oldest son.
It explains perfectly how my heart is shattered and broken. I am definitely lost 😪
My Fifteenth Top Story
10 July 2023 - From Tormented to Rescued to Princess
The story of how my cat, Grizabella, and I rescued each other.
My Sixteenth Top Story
06 August 2023 — The Scorching Vibes of Summer
A challenge was thrown down on Medium to write about your summer fun, summer vibes and summer song. This was my take on that challenge.
My Seventeenth Top Story
23 August 2023 — Deep Dive Into the Creative Me
I was invited to join in on a Deep Dive questionnaire on Medium to write about my creative side and this was my answers.
My Eighteenth Top Story
04 September 2023 — Stranger Danger
A challenge was thrown down on Medium to write about a mundane object and turn it into a horror story. This was my take on that challenge.
My Nineteenth Top Story
06 October 2023 — The Play Was Thwarted
A poem written while reminiscing on a past romance that still sits heavily on my heart.
My Twentieth Top Story
11 November 2023 — A Conundrum
A poem written about the conundrum of modern day social media and the lack of connection this can cause, resulting in the feeling of not belonging in this world of fakeness.
My Twenty-first Top Story
29 November 2023 — The Walk of Life
A poem written about the circle of life when it comes to our complex emotions.
All in all, I am extremely happy with all the above achievements, considering I prefer Medium over Vocal.
I would like to take the opportunity to thank my readers and supporters, because without you all, I’d have nothing to celebrate. You guys rock!
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If you liked my writing, please click on the small heart underneath, near my name. Or send me a tip and let me know you enjoyed it.
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Please click the link below my name to read more of my work. I would also like to thank you for taking the time to read this today and for all your support.
About the Creator
Colleen Millsteed
My first love is poetry — it’s like a desperate need to write, to free up space in my mind, to escape the constant noise in my head. Most of the time the poems write themselves — I’m just the conduit holding the metaphorical pen.
Reader insights
Outstanding
Excellent work. Looking forward to reading more!
Top insights
Eye opening
Niche topic & fresh perspectives
Excellent storytelling
Original narrative & well developed characters
Expert insights and opinions
Arguments were carefully researched and presented
Compelling and original writing
Creative use of language & vocab
Heartfelt and relatable
The story invoked strong personal emotions
Masterful proofreading
Zero grammar & spelling mistakes
On-point and relevant
Writing reflected the title & theme
Comments (8)
Wow! You have quite a résumé here, full of accomplishments. Very inspiring and motivational for the rest of us. Keep up the great work!
This is so motivational. I have been on Vocal for a couple of months and can see it will take some work to continue to have success. Thank you
Congratulations on having so many Top Stories , Well deserve. I will always remember the first story I read of yours, the female trucker. I totally enjoy your poem. I am so glad you finally created a book.
Congratulations Colleen Millsteed on all your achievements! It's amazing to see how much you've accomplished in just a short time since joining Vocal Media. Your dedication to your craft and the effort you've put into your writing are truly inspiring. It's great to see your poetry and fiction being recognized and appreciated by others. Keep up the fantastic work and continue to create and share your words with the world. Thank you for being a part of the Vocal community!
Helpful notes! I will make a point to go back and read all of these enticing stories! 💕
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I am hoping you can help me understand how you are selected for the top story and also the top creator. I am a newbie trying to figure it all out. TIA
Great job! I too am sharing my writing for the first time - as you say, feeling the fear and leaning in!
Wonderful success you have had here. Congratulations.