A Question for Vocal Readers?

As writers on Vocal, we all have a reason to write. For some, it is purely financial, although I think they are in the minority. If that were their only motivation, they would not be relying on Vocal rewards to pay the bills.

For others, it is the challenge of writing, especially the challenges offered by the different communities. For the rest of us, it is the satisfaction and personal satisfaction that it brings. If we get a cup of coffee out of it, then that is a bonus.

So many stories and poems are published on the Vocal platform daily that you can't read them all. Despite my best efforts, I consistently fail to add new writers to my regular readers. Sometimes, I pick up something new if the title or image grabs my attention.

For the most part, however, my “reading time” is consumed by the creators with whom I have some relationship. They read my works, and I read theirs. For some, it is relatively simple. They are predominantly fiction writers, poets, or non-fiction writers. Others have a main genre but also delve into other genres. They might create love poems or narrative poems, or write horror stories or mysteries.

We all strive to get likes and comments; that is the currency of reward and recognition in which we deal.

I call myself a multi-genre writer – fiction, non-fiction, poetry; you never know what you will get. Within those, however, are sub-genres. That brings me to my question.

“As a reader, would it be helpful if the start of the title gave some indication of the nature of the content? By that, I mean a clue of what is to come by category?”

I understand that there are tags, but they come at the end of the story. I write stories in different sub-genre and across different communities. For example:

• The "Dirty Dozen" (in criminal) – those real-life stories about criminals and people with no ethics.
• The "Grumpy Old Men" (in Humour) – the most recent series that focuses on the rantings of two grumpy old men.
• The "52 Guiding Lights" series (in FYI or Motivation) – that looks at sayings and idioms and what they have to teach us about life.
• The most recent series I have started is "Ben Boa" (in Chapters) - a series of adventures of a loveable Aussie rogue that is going to get into heaps of trouble.

Would a title runner help readers understand what interests them and what to read?

Would this provide any latitude to free up some "reading time" to explore other writers?

Maybe it is just me; I am interested in your thoughts.

Till next time,

Calvin