Top Stories
New stories you’ll love, handpicked for you by our team and updated daily.
I AM
This is not who I thought I would be. Before my family was captured and forced into slavery, I had aspirations of becoming a wealthy business owner or possibly a scholar and philosopher. Becoming a warrior was the furthest thing from my mind. Unfortunately, our Roman conquerors had other plans.
Mark GagnonPublished 5 days ago in Fictionyour vodka and spite.
I have cut my hands On the silhouette of your name For a year now ❀ You got my letter My question My plea Fed it to the fire
Fragmented Bonds
**Hi! I would love some feedback on this flash fiction please: I will be rewriting and submitting using your suggestions on 5/3**
Dignity
I will not smash your car up although the thought did once occur I will not post the truth on socials and then block you.
TheSpinstressPublished 7 days ago in PoetsDon’t Believe Everything Rosie Jones Tells You!
So, She Who Books Things and I were back at Belfast’s Black Box last week. Normally, we’re there to see bands, but on this occasion, we were out for a bit of a laugh.
Brendan DonaghyPublished 6 days ago in HumorOne Minute to Noon
“OK, guys!” I screech over the macaw-like chatter in my sophomore English class. My students are sharing mementos they accumulated during summer vacation. The assignment is to interview each other and write an expository essay about another student’s treasure: Misty’s coquina shells and sand dollars from Florida, Ruth’s two Navajo pottery mugs from New Mexico, Roxy’s perfume from Paris, Kevin’s chocolate from Hershey Pennsylvania, a picador’s sword from a bullfight in San Fermin Spain, where one of my favorite students, Manny Pérez, ran with the bulls at festival.
Lacy Loar-GruenlerPublished 8 days ago in FictionOut with the Old
Have you persisted at tasks or relationships, though the labours hardly bore fruit? We hang on to things that no longer serve any purpose because we have an attachment to them.
Michelle LiewPublished 6 days ago in PoetsVocal Bonus Leaderboard: 05/01/2024
Welcome to the weekly update of the Leaderboard! We're thrilled to showcase Vocal's most discussed stories, popular picks, and rising stars. Let's dive into this past week's standout contributors and their remarkable achievements.
Vocal TeamPublished 5 days ago in ResourcesMiniature Mind Musings #8:
Recently, I spoke with a family member who I struggled to catch up with for a longer timespan than I would’ve liked and what struck me was how societal templates filled in on successive days routinely suck our time into a vacuum of seemingly infernal deficiency.
The Dani WriterPublished 7 days ago in LongevityOne 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.
Jason Ray MortonPublished 7 days ago in FYIWe'z Walking on a Path Ruled By Numbers
This road has felt endless, yet limited; every step tracked. Inching away along this path, I feel trapped. Confined. Left to this narrow passage that may one day amount to something greater. Time is not a concept. Only distance. From start to finish, I laugh and cry and attempt to convince myself that this is worth it. I cannot stray. I must keep going. Every step etched, is a step taken, is measured as more than before. I cannot even recall how I got here. Maybe I don’t even really exist. Just another tick marking off a perceived presence. Of what though? I am just another line drawn. Nothing more, nothing less.
Oneg In The ArcticPublished 5 days ago in FictionMaking Time
If Time had wandered weary in And sat him down to drink, And whispered in his weary voice "I have no time to think", I'd take my father's face to mine
Hannah MoorePublished 8 days ago in PoetsElements
Elements D. A. Ratliff Aeris stood upon the hilltop overlooking the carnage occurring in the valley. She watched the village burn, and the peasants’ screams drew her breath away as she tried to give them life.
D. A. RatliffPublished 6 days ago in FictionThe Golden Valley
The difference between light and dark could be as quick and simple as a flip of a switch, the drawing of a curtain, the opening of one’s eyes. It could be more gradual like the slow adjustment of the diaphragm on a microscope, the turn of a planet on its axis, the growing light as you approach the end of a tunnel. A flicker in the dark, a steady glow in the distance, a flash in the night sky.
Alyssa NicolePublished 6 days ago in FictionMirages
I’d always placed you on a pedestal. Incredible you were--your castle glimmered in the sky. I was always stagnant as I watched you there:
Final Call
She flings her arms around my neck and squeezes me like she’s never going to let me go. My head spins as her lips brush against my cheek. She must be able to feel my heart thumping in my chest. I shuffle backwards and ram my hands into my coat pockets, watching her reach down and heave the rucksack across her shoulders.
Caroline CravenPublished 6 days ago in FictionOn Winning and Losing
Recently, the pleasant surprise of placement on the Vocal Bonus Leaderboard sent me down a rabbit hole. Now, rabbit holes are a pretty common place for me to spend time, but I don't always feel the call to write about them. To be honest, the thought of sharing some of them mortifies me.
Dana CrandellPublished 8 days ago in WritersThe Good Samaritan
"But I don't know how to drive!" "Please! You have to help me!" "I've only ever been in a go-kart! There's too many pedals!"
Rachel DeemingPublished 10 days ago in FictionThe Abominable No-Meatman
So, I had an idea. I was wondering if Pennywise the dancing clown went vegan because he wanted to befriend humanity, what would he eat? Would there be food options for him, or would he have to starve just to be put in a better light with us humans. So I’ve created a special restaurant and menu just for him. This way, if Pennywise were to become vegan, he wouldn’t have to get creative with his dietary choices, I’ve done it for him. I’ve taken the work out of going vegan on his behalf! Here is a special restaurant and menu I made just for our friend, Pennywise!
Alex H MittelmanPublished 8 days ago in FictionThe Longest Minute
A minute. Sixty seconds to say goodbye. That’s all the time that I had left with him as the needle slid into his leg. I stared into his drooping eyes, looked at the blood-tainted saliva dripping from the corner of his mouth. They said that this was the best thing that we could do for him, a last kind act for a best friend…but if that were the case, then why did my heart feel so heavy?
Stephanie HoogstadPublished 10 days ago in Fiction