Misplaced Challenge Winners
An inside look into the Vocal Curation Team's favorite stories from the Misplaced Challenge
I once was lost, but now I’m found — amazing grace, and we can only appreciate the latter if we know the former. In our Misplaced challenge, we asked you to consider what it would be like to be cast adrift and to imagine beyond our human shapes.
So congratulations to our winner, sleepy drafts, for Scrabble Philosophy. Lorraine’s lost earring observes her life with perspicacity, and there’s a simplicity of description and observation that make this story vivid and true. “Her shoulder shifted up at just the right angle and nudged me out of her ear lobe.” We can just see it, can’t we? That’s the spirit. This is thoughtful storytelling.
In second place is Aaron Morrison for GABLE: now, to be frank (we’re always frank with you) the lost toy is a bit of a trope, but here the immediacy of the narrator’s imagination stands out. From the evocative detail of the beggarweed at the opening, to the fwoosh of his movement, to the way the writer builds suspense so we’re invested in this little fellow’s fate — it’s nicely done.
And a round of applause for our runners-up too. L. C. Schäfer gave us a mischievous pup on L-O-S-T, and unexpected twist of the tail (get it?) on our rubric; M. J. Benjamin’s conjuring of the aftermath of a shipwreck, Derelict, was rich with atmosphere; Kyle Cejka’s The Hand brought a bit of horror to the task we set you. What else can we say but — we’re glad you all found Vocal. None of us are lost if we stick together.
You can check out the full list of winners HERE and learn about our current challenges below:
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Heartfelt and relatable
The story invoked strong personal emotions
Easy to read and follow
Well-structured & engaging content
Excellent storytelling
Original narrative & well developed characters
Expert insights and opinions
Arguments were carefully researched and presented
Eye opening
Niche topic & fresh perspectives
Masterful proofreading
Zero grammar & spelling mistakes
Compelling and original writing
Creative use of language & vocab
On-point and relevant
Writing reflected the title & theme
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More stories from Vocal Team and writers in Vocal and other communities.
Vocal Bonus Leaderboard: 02/21/2024
Welcome to this week's edition of Vocal's leaderboard! We're here to showcase the outstanding contributions of our community members. Join us as we explore the diverse stories that captured our eyes, hearts, and minds this past week.
By Vocal Team2 months ago in Resources
📢 Raise Your Voice Thread: 04/25/2024
Our “Raise Your Voice Threads” are hosted every other Thursday at 12PM ET to offer creators more avenues to uncover exceptional stories on Vocal. As we are continuously searching for fresh creators and inspiring stories, this thread provides an opportunity to exchange and discuss the stories that have moved and motivated us on Vocal.
By Raise Your Voice by Vocal7 days ago in Resources
Doing it for the troops
The others dropped like flies around me. We fought and struggled to get to this point. I'm the only one left now. The objective is right there. A mere two hundred feet away. The last of my team got a bullet to the head right next to me, but I couldn't do anything. I was able to locate and neutralise the sniper as he shot my friend, so his death was at least not in vain.
By Mohammed Darasi6 days ago in Fiction
One of the Crazy Things Rich People Do That's Scary To Think About
They impress us, and sometimes they scare us, but the ultra-rich are always interesting. Some of their famous activities include buying yachts too big to move through channels, buying ridiculously priced cars that could feed the homeless of New York for weeks, and their expensive tastes in sex workers.
By Jason Ray Morton 3 days ago in FYI
Comments (30)
Read More Information: https://informativeblog.co.uk/
Congrats to these winners 💐
It is good to good to people because the one you help may be your sources of richness in future
Congratulations, everyone!
👏
Congratulations to everyone! :-) Thank you for the fun challenges
Congrats to the winners!
Congratulations! Some awesome stories in here!
I wrote my piece about a PERSON, because PEOPLE CAN BE LOST TOO, NOT JUST THINGS! And my story was important because IT IS A TRUE STORY! Not only is the person lost in the story, that time in MY LIFE is LOST, as well as in his... So as much as these contests are good for us to challenge ourselves as writers to grow and do our best... I believe Vocal and its Judges also need to GROW and expand their thoughts and ideas on what the answers are to the challenges they post and the types of submissions they get! Because lost people and those memories you're left with are actually the MOST PAINFUL and HARDEST TYPES OF LOST to live with and through... nothing is harder than that... when it is REAL! Fiction is FUN but at the end of the day it isn't hurting anyone, nothing is really lost it was all made up! And I would like to challenge them to think about things emotionally and mentally on that deeper level of thought, look to the psychology of LOST not just the fantasy and fairytales of it... for any of the challenges... and I also have to say they need to stop picking the same people who enter as back up runner ups as go to's so they can reward all the right amount of people with the funds or badges they have to give out... seeing some of the same names get 8 badges.... when if you actually read the work of MANY MANY OTHER people's works that have NONE their work is EVEN BETTER, but at the very least EQUAL to those who've already collected badges. So it needs to be made a little more fairly PAID and PLAYED OUT for others on Vocal to be NOTICED and RECOGNIZED for ALL THEIR HARD WORK and EFFORT TOO! I've been with Vocal since about 2018 and I have 260 Posts! And my work is OUTSTANDING... and I'm just 1 of those people long since overdue in some fair acknowledgement and reward from Vocal for all that LOYALTY, TIME and HARD WORK... and I'm not finished, as long as Vocal operates and I have the time I will continue to add to it... so there is lots there for Vocal to take the time to INVEST and pay attention to MORE of its contributors on a slower, and more intimate level. Because of how long most of us are going to be a part of Vocal... not just for how long many of us already have been! And there ya have it, I just had to share that, it was necessary that someone spoke for all the rest of the wonderful hard working folks out here WITH ME! I hope this comment makes a difference for all that deserve it... Its important we keep Vocal Staff on their Toes too... lol not just the other way around... so they too grow and adapt and make changes with Vocal that fits and works for all of us at every level, whether beginner, or casual writer or advanced and or professional! And so I hope writing this will help make a difference in that in some way down the road in the future ahead here on Vocal! AMEN!
Congrats everyone!!!
Congrats everyone!!!🥳🥳🥳
Congratulations to everyone! your well-deserved win! Well done!!!
Congrats everyone! A lot of ppl I know on this list, and many I hope to read more from in the future. I sort of knew my choice of missing item wasn't going to make the winners list lol.😂
Congratulations to everyone! :-) Thank you for the fun challenges, Vocal!
Congratulations, everyone! This was a great challenge.
Congratulations to all on your well deserved win!
Wow! Am absolutely blown away! Congratulations to everyone!
great job everyone!!! really nice reads! ^^
Whoohoo! Congrats to all the winners!! 🥳🎉💫👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼
Well done!!! ❤️
Congratulations 🎉❤️❤️❤️🏆
Well done, everyone!
Congratulations to the winners!!
Congrats everyone!! Looking forward to reading all of these soon :)
Congrats!!