Top Stories
New stories you'll love, handpicked for you by our team and updated daily.
The Ride Home. Top Story - October 2025.
YouTube Audio Version I put the top down for the ride home. I wanted to hear the engine rev up, shift gears, and rev up again. I wanted to see the tree’s branches swaying with the wind as I rode under them. I wanted to feel the cool air swirl around the car and chill the back of my neck. I wanted to smell the leaves burning. But, most of all, I wanted to clear my mind and think about what Frank had told me at work.
By Steve Lance11 months ago in Fiction
SWS: The Road Drops Here Challenge Winners
Spooky season may be in full swing, but we still have one more Summer Writing Series Challenge to wrap up. A huge thank you to everyone who participated, we loved reading your poems and stories. We had a blast, and we hope you did too!
By Vocal Curation Team11 months ago in Resources
A Shot in the Heart. Top Story - October 2025.
Chantilly took her slice of cake, along with a glass of milk, into the living room to eat while she watched the latest episode of her favorite daytime talk show. Settling onto the chintz-covered couch, she turned the TV on with the remote, switching the channels until she found the one she was searching for. Today was her first day of vacation, and even though Franklin had to work all week, she had every intention of enjoying it to the hilt.
By Mother Combs11 months ago in Fiction
What I Learned Writing 24k Words in 5 Days. Top Story - October 2025.
If you’re struggling with your book, you need to surrender yourself to your story. You don’t have to give up — you really shouldn’t do that. But you might just need to surrender yourself to let the story go where it wants to.
By Leigh Victoria Phan, MS, MFA11 months ago in Writers
📢 Raise Your Voice Thread: 10/09/2025
Our “Raise Your Voice Threads” are hosted most alternating Thursdays 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 Vocal11 months ago in Resources
Kakheti Wine Tour. Top Story - October 2025.
Any Georgian will proudly tell you that Georgia is the birthplace of wine. Our tour guide told us about the archeological evidence that the ancient way of making wine in a large clay pot capable of holding hundreds and even thousands of liters of wine called qvevri [pronounced kwevri] goes back at least 8,000 years. However, the recently found earliest qvevri are now estimated to be around 11,000 years.
By Lana V Lynx11 months ago in Proof
The Box That Knocks. Runner-Up in A Knock at the Door Challenge. Top Story - October 2025.
It was one of those nights. The kind where time drags on and the world outside feels far away, as if everyone else were somewhere else, doing something else, and you were left behind in your own house, stuck in the limbo of boredom and solitude.
By Emily Albers11 months ago in Fiction
