Back to the Barn

Today I'm going to return to the "Barn;" and its native barn owl.

I had just discovered the "Vocal" community as an opportunity to share my writings with a broader community (and hopefully make a little money to boot).

I had no sooner found "Vocal" than I found out about its "Challenge" writings. "Challenges;" an opportunity for even MORE money and to drive me to hone my craft that much BETTER and FASTER!

I set out to quick scribble a last-minute challenge entry about a small-town boy looking to fit in, a group of local bullies looking to have some fun at his expense, and a barn owl that would soon serve as his only friend.

It wasn't my greatest piece of writing on "Vocal" as my first attempt; it would lead to more and more tales about coming-of-age where a lonely young child takes steps too far to try to fit in with a group that would never truly accept them.

I have made attempts at the same story again and again (changing characters, "challenges," and whether or not the main protagonist met a special new friend to supplement for the false friends).

Of course, "Vocal" was never just meant for Fiction writers like myself (At the time of my joining, the "Fiction" COMMUNITY didn't even exist yet and I had to think doubly creatively to shoehorn my personal masterpieces of fiction into OTHER communities). With my time on "Vocal," I learned to dabble in poetry as a new experience for me. Also, I tried my hand with a few articles as the more personal side of writing about my own struggles (Oh; and the "fun" writings about college, sports fan bases, dream dates, my musing about being a self-published author and unprofessional book salesman, music playlists, music in general, etc.)

My craft itself still has a long way to go before being the greatness that it can be. However, I am building confidence the more that I submit (and certainly the more different and interesting "Challenges" that I do). That being said, here we are at the Eleventh Hour and I am just NOW submitting my one and only submission to this Challenge. Oh well; live and learn...

My profile