Classifieds: The Ad Collab (Unofficial Challenge)

The Call to Creators Has Been Answered!

This past month eight fantastic and unique writers have participated in my unofficial challenge here on Vocal: “The Ad Collab”. “The Ad collab” is a challenge born from my desire to generate an opportunity for creatives to connect and collaborate. Vocal, for me, has been a place where I’ve found a home for my writing to flourish and community. This community has been encouraging, loving, and welcoming. It has made my heart happy. And I wanted to be a part of it coming even closer together. Thus, “The Ad Collab” was born.

The first round of the Ad Collab is over and gone. It was more than I could’ve imagined, an absolute success! Two phenomenal works were written from it. And collectively, between them ,including the original post, well over 20 people have interacted with the posts; over 100 comments were written; and 64 likes were shared (and counting :)!

Thank you to all the participants. Thank you to all who read our stories. Thank you to those who spread the word about the challenge. And thank you to all who have taken the time to share your sentiments whether it be words or encouragement, hesitation to participate, an unwavering desire to join, and more. Every single comment has been, and will be read, and they are all greatly appreciated.

The Winners:

The winning work of The Ad Collab unofficial challenge is “The Scorn of Mother Earth” by Mother Combs, Heather Hubler,Caroline Jane, ROCK, and Celia Underland! These writers are a force to be reckoned with. Their collaboration gives the vibe of all the women superheroes coming together at the end of “Endgame”. IYKYK #DreamTeam

Their powerful writing creates a world that grabs you. And in the most spectacular way, the story forces you to immerse yourself in its very being! As I read I felt an overwhelming eerie chill of hot anger that creeped up my skin. I was spellbound!

Check out "The Scorn of Mother Nature" in the link below and let them know what you think!

Notes from the Judges:

RM Stockton:

"The Scorn of Mother Nature" showcased the incredible talents of six brilliant Authors, and they delivered an intensely inspired tale. Amazingly, it flowed in one single voice. I am in awe at the high-level production these ladies created.

It was not especially surprising to me that there was only one official submission for the Ad Collab Challenge. Collaborative efforts take a tremendous amount of organizing and really challenge the authors. However, having collaborated with Jennifer David, I found the process immensely rewarding. We pushed ourselves as Authors to a higher level. I look forward to collaborating again with Jen.

I hope there will be future Collaborative Challenges to follow, allowing others to experience this same incredible opportunity.

Jennifer David:

The Ad Collab gave me the push I needed to write well. There are many challenges on Vocal. And they have inspired creativity. However, working with someone else held me accountable to producing acceptable work in a timely manner while also holding my own weight. It’s a different kind of push. And sometimes that’s exactly what I need. It’s what a lot of us need: "iron sharpens iron". I appreciate the melding of ideas. And from this process I’ve expanded my ideas. More importantly, I’m newly inspired.

The story that Rob and I told came alive on the page. I was in awe of how I laughed and cried as we wrote. Rob was one of the first people, that I remember, who truly interacted with me on a regular basis here on Vocal. I remembered his writing first for his rhyme scheme, in his poetry. As I continued to follow his writing I was introduced to more facets of his work and have since been so glad to have stumbled upon his page. I even found a new friend, and now collaborator :) Rob has a clear voice in his writing and on many occasions he has provoked my thoughts and made my mind wander. So when I came up with this challenge he was one of the first people who I thought of to ask to judge with me. Lo and behold, he commented on the post before I could message him. And the rest is history. Thank you Rob for not only being a judge but for collaborating with me on a piece that is so genuine.

Our story “Until We Meet Again” surrounds the journey of Marjorie and Leland.

Follow the link to read the story on RM Stockton’s (Rob) page.

The Ad Collab would not have been such a success without the diligent help of all of you. Special thanks to Vocal Voices in Minor (ViM). Thanks to alll who have connected with this challenge, whether it be reading the works submitted, commenting, liking, or sharing. Shout out especially to everyone who has left love in the comments!

Wait! There's more!

Just as I thought all was said and done, a final comment thread was made looking to continue these collaborative efforts! So let's continue the fun. The next round of the Ad Collab will start now!

Are you a creators interested collaborations? This is the challenge for you! In in the comments of this post, pitch your idea to find fellow writers to collaborate with on a short story. Your pitch should be in the form of a short ad. It can be creative and mysterious, or clear and to the point.Those interested will respond and you can go from there!

Once you choose your team of between 2-10 writers, produce a collaborative short story of any kind. You can collaborate however you see fit. Please keep in mind there is no perfect way to collaborate, yet, here on Vocal. Therefore, teams will unfortunately have to decide on whose page to post their final product.

Your writing can be any type of short story (600-3,500 words), that adheres to Vocal's guidelines.

How do you get in contact with one another?

I recommend dropping your instagram handle briefly in the comments, to DM, and then delete it (or an email that you don't mind being in the comments). You can also go directly to that writers page and comment on one of their stories ( to be more private). Then, you can find an effective way to write together whether it be through email, shared documents, etc. Once your team is solidified please comment below your ad "closed" , with the final names of your team. That way we know there are no more spots opened for that ad/writing.

1. Put your ad in the comments of this post:

ex.

"Looking for horror enthusiast. No happy ending in sight!"

"Poets wanted! Rhyme schemes welcome!"

"Mythological creature sighted! Reporters needed immediately!"

*BE CREATIVE!

2. No AI (I have no idea how to regulate this, so just be honest)

3. Must have a minimum of 2 creators, max 10

4. I will participate but win. Whoever writes with me cannot win either as I will ask them to be a judge.

5. Challenge begins February 22 and ends April 22!

6. Submissions can be a short story of any kind, between 600- 3,500 words

7. To enter your submission, leave a link to your post in the comments below your ad (theoretically this should be commented after your "closed" comment)

-Unfortunately, you'll have to choose whose account the submission will be posted on.

8. Once you submit I will add the link to your writing on the 2nd Edition of The Ad Collab which will be posted after April 22.

9. Please use "Ad Collab" as your subtitle along with the names of all the authors.

ex.

"By Thelma and Louise (Ad Collab)"

of

"An Ad Collab by John and Jack"

10. If you'd like to randomly be paired with a creator leave a comment that simply says "random". I will pair you based on your past writing and my curiosity.

11.This time around there will be no monetary prize however I will give special recognition. There will, however, be an honorary 1st place winner.

12. This challenge is about the joys of sharing ideas and seeing where our crazy ideas can take us. Please remember to always be kind and respectful, even when disagreeing. It's ok to disagree. It's not ok to ruin someone's day

*Please note that if someone is interested in writing with you but you are not interested, it is perfectly fine to politely say that you are uninterested or that your ideas are not aligned (anything to those effects)

13. If you have any suggestions please feel free to let me know!

The Ad Collab: Round 2! February 22, 2024- April 22, 2024

Will you answer the call this time around?