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Great Works of Literature - Vocal Style

Subtitle Required

By Everyday JunglistPublished 25 days ago 3 min read
You are welcome Vocal.media. Clever image by me.

In addition to my endless complaining about the absurd word count minimum for story publication on Vocal I also take issue with the nonsensical subtitle requirement. No matter how much I think about it, and it is actually way too much, I cannot for the life of me imagine what potential justification there could be to require every article or story published here to have one. This includes the poets community by the way. A poem with a subtitle is not a thing I even thought existed until I started publishing here. A story without a subtitle cannot even be submitted for screening by the censorship board (sorry I mean submitted for review to the moderators) without one. Can you imagine what the world would have been/be like if this were an ironclad rule of writing and literature, and had been since the beginning of the written word? Luckily, you don't have to as I have imagined it for you below. Normally I would have ended this introductory section right there. Right at the period after the word below. However when I had completed the piece and checked the word count I noted it was nowhere near 600 words. So, after a round of curses, head slaps, and sighs I had to think of a way to stuff more words into this crap fest of an story and the following was the best I could come up with. What you are now reading are the thoughts currently emanating from my brain. In other words you are reading the words coming out of my head currently, totally unfiltered, exactly as I experience them in my head, at this very moment. Or, I guess, actually for you the reader, it will be at some later moment but hopefully you take my meaning. Now, can you imagine having to live with this person 24/7 365 days a year. Ouch, right. Welcome to my world. Do you think I have hit 600 words yet? I am gonna say no, probably another one hundred or so to go. See how I typed out the word one hundred instead of using the numerals one and zero and zero. Smart right? And then I did it again in the sentence right after the first one. I could have typed out the numerals as numerals each time but that would not have padded my word count in the same fashion as fully typing out the words that the numerals stand for, or is it the numerals that stand for the words? Hmmm. That's a weird thing to think about isn't it. Which stands for which? Six hundred and ten. Nice.

Moby Dick

The Tale of a White Whale

or

A White Whale's Tale

or

A Whale of a Tale

Homer's The Odyssey

Not Homer Simpson, the Other One

Madame Bovary

A Guide to Pubic Hair Styling

The Divine Comedy

A Not At All Funny Account of Life in Heaven, Hell, and Everything in Between

The Catcher in the Rye

A Book for High School and College English Classes

Heart of Darkness

Apocalypse Now

David Copperfield

A Magician's Guide for Learning to Survive Challenging Encounters with Distress and Misfortune

The Count of Monte Cristo

A Swashbuckling adventure featuring a quick and easy sandwich with ham, turkey and swiss slices, dipped in an egg/milk mixture and fried to a golden brown

Lolita

A Perverts Guide to Middle Age

Catch-22

Yep, This is Where That Came From

1984

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About the Creator

Everyday Junglist

Practicing mage of the natural sciences (Ph.D. micro/mol bio), Thought middle manager, Everyday Junglist, Boulderer, Cat lover, No tie shoelace user, Humorist, Argan oil aficionado. Occasional LinkedIn & Facebook user

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Comments (1)

  • Kendall Defoe 25 days ago

    Okay, I'm stealing this... 😐😑😍

Everyday JunglistWritten by Everyday Junglist

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