Top Stories
New stories you’ll love, handpicked for you by our team and updated daily.
Meeting in the Middle
I am embarrassed to say that I am not great at playing with my daughter. From what I hear from other parents, that’s not uncommon, but it’s still frustrating and it gives me a pretty serious case of mom guilt. When she was a baby, it was easy. All had to do was jingle some keys or give the teddy bear a silly voice. Now things are more complicated. Don’t get me wrong, she has plenty of friends in her classes and around the neighborhood. I am happy to send her outside to play with them whenever possible. I wish that was enough, because I am usually too exhausted to play.
Leslie WritesPublished about a year ago in FamiliesHer House Settled
Minnie blinked with entertained eyes, setting her coffee, nearly wobbling, onto the very edge of a coaster. She spent a great deal of time correcting it before she looked back at me.
Lisa HerdmanPublished about a year ago in PridePornography and Free Speech: The 1970s Debate and Its Impact Today
This is a further exploration of how ChatGPT recaps and analyzes complex historic threads. Putting the tool to the test through the thorny history of debates surrounding pornography in the 1970s displays the successes and drawbacks of the tool. While it provides a helpful primer, AI makes overt missteps a human might not, such as identifying Andrea Dworkin as "pro-pornography" when she was in fact a creator of the Antipornography Civil Rights Ordinance. The lack of nuance and reference to primary sources means I do not predict a history teacher will mistake this for student work anytime soon.
Summers by the Pool
Sunshine summer spent cool pool, barefoot, tan with joy I'd jump in again. Along the rough edge, hold the wall to travel safe
Darby S. FisherPublished about a year ago in PoetsMy First Time Using AI Software
Oh yes. It's one of the most controversial topics in the world of writing. And I tried it. Yes, I know it's not something a creative writer should be using. But before you click out of this article, hear me out. And no, I had no help with this article. It's all me.
Amethyst ChampagnePublished about a year ago in JournalThe Super Mario Bros. Movie and Why a Life of Play is Important
The Super Mario Bros. Movie, coming out Wednesday, April 5, 2023, is my most anticipated movie of the year, bar none.
Shamona PretzPublished about a year ago in Gamerspen
i lost my favorite pen today smooth and perfect for my imperfect writing slicing through the page white on black permanent and beautiful
The Importance of Community
“Lend me your ear” for a moment and let me tell you about the rabbit hole I went down a few days ago. It started with me asking myself why I came back to Vocal, and why I'm still here. (Red flags just went up. Watch for me to be deleted soon.) Seriously, though, Vocal frustrates me at times, in some ways that have nothing to do with the platform itself, and some that do. I'll leave that there, because it's not what this is about.
Dana CrandellPublished about a year ago in HumansOn a gentle slope before the valley, we stopped to rest a while
There is a spot for you and I on a gentle slope Before we reach the valley Where we can stop, hand in hand Beneath the boughs of spring
Loryne AndaweyPublished about a year ago in PoetsAs Long As We Both Shall Live
In the rush of emotion, of course we promise. What's mine is ours To have and to hold Sickness/health. Until death us do part.
Judey KalchikPublished about a year ago in PoetsEscape Velocity
First comes the searing shock of mind-numbing agony from flesh-to-flesh contact. Barely clothed bone against barely protected muscle. Anything impacted with enough force can go flying. Vaseline, hair, blood, sweat, fragments of skin, mouth piece, shoes. Everything is fair game.
Stephanie J. BradberryPublished about a year ago in Unbalancedwe are nature
W a t e r s f l o w i n g through my blood once c h u r n e d in the O c e a n T i d e s— the M o o n' s
Kristen BalyeatPublished about a year ago in PoetsFree Fall
A flight attendant pushed the drinks cart down the aisle of the Boeing 777. The compact metal contraption rattled as if in mimicry of Elena’s emotional distress. Shocked and reeling in disbelief, she gaped at her husband. After opening and closing her mouth a couple of times, momentarily mute, she accused him, ‘You did say that. Those were the first words out of your mouth when you got home last night.’
Harmony KentPublished about a year ago in Fiction- First Place in Tall Tail Challenge
When They Became Silent
He was surprised at how soft its neck was. It was a hot and muggy day in Yinshan, but Hao’s throat was dry and his hands were icy.
- Second Place in Tall Tail Challenge
Year of the Whale
Mao Song was born on February 7th, 1932. It was the year of the monkey, but he weighed 5.4 kg and was the largest baby Nantong province had ever seen, so his brothers said it was the year of the whale. They called him Jing, a word for whale. Everyone called him Jing in the fishing town where he lived.
Ethan TownPublished about a year ago in Fiction The Cathedral
Cathedrals arise, lives ever stored. Mazes of tomes on the shelves Binders of time, stories unfold, feathered leaf’s, the universe records.
J. S. WadePublished about a year ago in PoetsWanna hear a funny story?
The story I'm about to tell is just a tiny glimpse into life with four children. And by children, I mean a 21, 20, 17 and 15 year old. They may drive me absolutely bat-shit crazy most of the time, but they are without a doubt, awesome.
Heather HublerPublished about a year ago in FamiliesRose Red
This is for the Vocal "Tautogram" Challenge that you can read about here. I must say this is a real challenge, as it will make creators really have to think about what they are doing.
Mike Singleton - MikeydredPublished about a year ago in PoetsTall Tail Challenge Winners
This Challenge was a fun little twofer! Write a story about a talking animal but make it quick! 1,000 words or less was all you had to make an animal talk. We are particularly fond of Challenges with shorter word limits because we often see in them some of the most creative entries. There's something about limitation that makes humans sharper, more creative, especially when it comes to art.
Vocal Curation TeamPublished about a year ago in ResourcesSafety Instructions
Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. Welcome to Flight 999 on Egress Airlines, flying from Montreal to Vancouver. Our altitude will soon reach 50,000 feet (don’t ask us to go metric on that one, ha ha), and we will arrive at our destination late in the evening of Friday the 13th. Many of you with a superstitious nature might find that an uncomfortable fact, but please appreciate that we are pilots and handle this sort of thing all the time. No worries!
Kendall DefoePublished about a year ago in Fiction