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New stories you’ll love, handpicked for you by our team and updated daily.
Shining a Spotlight on the 2023 Vocal Writing Awards Shortlists
The Vocal Writing Awards concluded earlier this month with a flourish, when we announced the winners here. Now, we are delighted to share with you the incredible shortlisted entries for each category. Passing the muster of the Vocal Curation Team to be shortlisted is no small feat. The entries on this list displayed extraordinary creativity, innovation, and a profound ability to convey emotional resonance through their compositions. Please join us in honoring these entries by giving them some well-deserved reads and comments.
Vocal Curation TeamPublished 5 days ago in Resources
Neolomicro Challenge Winners
Traditional. Worthless. Obscene. Perfectly ordinary — and extremely useful — words, aren’t they? Yet according to the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust, they hadn’t been a part of the English language until the Bard coined them; there are many others in his remarkable lexicon.
Vocal Curation TeamPublished 3 days ago in Resources
I notice you.
"It's in stone." you used to say about your plans. "Stones break." I would proclaim. "Not this stone." You said it so certainly.
The Most Important Things My First Subscriber Taught Me
I’ve always been an introvert. If you meet me at a social gathering, I’m the girl who quietly observes the crowd, occupying the room’s silent corners, and tries to avoid eye contact at all costs.
Deni SahayaPublished 6 days ago in Confessions
This One Time At Starbucks
The Pug was sitting inside a red wagon with wooden sides and plastered with stickers like ‘Doggy Power!” and “I'm a puppy at heart", and other such nonsense. Judging by that and the amount of doggy things the woman had with her, including a bag that looked a lot like a diaper bag, and the way the lady's entire universe was circling around this mutt, I'd say this was her child. She was the type of woman, who, when asked about grandkids, she'd say, "This is your grandchild."
Becky TroupPublished 4 days ago in Humans
You, I, and She
You, I, and she wait in the car for our story to change. It’s rainy, always rain. The chill bites to the bones like
Sam Eliza GreenPublished 4 days ago in Poets
Enigma of a Christmas Memory
Gazing into the misty embrace of the steamed-up bathroom mirror, his desolation weighed heavily upon his soul like an anchor dragging him down. His pallid skin mirrored the color of despair, and his bloodshot eyes told tales of countless sleepless nights. “Never again,” he whispered, the words etching themselves into the depths of his weary being.
Isabella RosePublished 9 days ago in Horror
Layered in Smooth.
Smooth is beyond the word heard but the emotions felt. How you dance with compassion to a violin in minor creating a frequency that ushers to the soul.
Wendoly velazquezPublished 4 days ago in Poets
Game of Hearts: Part 1
Please note that this book was written in 2011 and it is also SET IN 2011. It contains mature content in later chapters. No realism intended.
Elle FieldingPublished 5 days ago in ChaptersThe course of true love
I choose how to use the striated muscles of my arms, Who to reach for, when to hold myself, But the smooth muscles of my gut I do not control,
Hannah MoorePublished 4 days ago in Poets
Vocal Bonus Leaderboard: 11/29/2023
Welcome to the latest edition of the Vocal Bonus Leaderboard, where we showcase the outstanding achievements of our creators! 🌟 Based on feedback from yesterday's Creator Chat (and many other voices prior!), we are thrilled to introduce a new Leaderboard category: Emerging Creators. This award recognizes creators who joined the platform within the last 90 days, and achieved the highest combined number of likes and comments on a story published in the past week. It's our way of acknowledging and encouraging new creators on the platform. The addition of this award is just the beginning of enhancements we will make to the Leaderboard.
Vocal TeamPublished 4 days ago in Resources
The Strands of my Identity
There was a time long ago when I may have been born innocent and pure Such a long time ago in that space within an alternate universe it seems
Novel AllenPublished 6 days ago in Humans
Beyond Screens: Nostalgic Reflections on a Simpler Era
The Writing Prompt - Do you remember life before the internet? Oh, the days before the internet! They hold a certain charm, a nostalgic longing for a simpler way of life. In response to the writing prompt asking whether I remember life before the internet, my answer is an unequivocal yes! The world we inhabited back then was one where imagination thrived, friendships blossomed through outdoor play, and entertainment relied not on screens but on the power of our minds.
Xine SegalasPublished 5 days ago in Writers
Gentles & Lady-Men! VENUS VALLEY sees the queer in Shakespeare (part 1)
Welcome to a chapter I’ve been waiting and wanting to write for a while, because it’s one of the fun chapters of this book-in-progress! If you’re just joining in, you’ve found the chapter-by-chapter release of my LGBTQIA+ centric philosophy chat book, in which your inputs will shape my edits til the finished book says what my beloved brave and beautiful rainbow flag community want people to know, rather than just me being a look-how-clever-I-am philosopher. I’ve learned a big lesson in writing as I’ve tried to rush my way to this chapter, as things I’ve tried to squeeze in quickly have shouted at me from the page, that they deserve real space to speak. So feel free to click a link I’ll put in later, where you can see the focus I’ve given about philosophies ancient and modern from outside my own sphere of knowledge, learning as I teach; or read on for the first in a set of upcoming chapters where I’ll have fun indulging my biggest fandoms and dig into some of the deeper philosophies behind them. Welcome, queerly beloveds, to Venus Valley: Queer Philosophers’ Forum!
Mx. Stevie (or Stephen) ColePublished 6 days ago in PrideWriting about Writing: Forced Marriage
There is a trope I see a lot, particularly in fiction: Character A and Character B are forced into a relationship, discover that the other isn't so bad after all, and fall in love.
Natasja RosePublished 5 days ago in WritersSpotify Wrapped 2023
Y'all it's that time of year, anticipated by many a Spotify user. Wrapped first started in 2016, although a less developed version "Year in Music" had been premiered the year before. Wrapped gives users a look at the music they listen to from January 1st to October 31st, which, at least for me, is usually a moment to be surprised (or not).
Alexandria StanwyckPublished 4 days ago in Beat
The Walk of Life
Heartbreak, Agonising pain, Grief, Sorrow, Depth of depression. ** Joy of anticipation, Laughter from the belly, Happiness,
Colleen MillsteedPublished 5 days ago in PoetsBraided Chain
Port of Seattle, WA, September 1912, Footsteps clamored on the wooden panels as I waited. The sun was setting over the harbor cascading orange and gold light across the faces of silhouettes who strolled the boardwalk. Local men and women dressed in their finest attire catching the last of the summer night air that now had a chill as wind gusts came in over the sea.
C. H. RichardPublished 7 days ago in Fiction
Low-level Ick That Turned Incredible
To be sure, some of our idiosyncrasies may be less than endearing, but when they turn out to be a benefit, try not to gloat.
The Dani WriterPublished 5 days ago in Confessions
Home
“Home.” It’s a sound I’ve heard many, many times. I wasn’t sure what it meant, but I do know that it scared me. Whenever I heard that word spoken about one of my friends, I never saw them again. I missed my friends. I missed the ball games we used to play, and the wrestling matches we’d have while rolling around on the grass in the garden.
Cathy holmesPublished 7 days ago in Petlife
