How Cat Got Her Groove Back

I've loved reading as long as I can remember. My mother instilled a love of the written word in all of her children. Some of my earliest memories are of her reading to me. I was so enamored by the stories we shared that I memorized every word of my favorites before I actually learned to read. I started "reading" the story back to her, reciting from memory.

Reading fostered imagination, of course, so it wasn't long until I started to devise my own stories. Some of these stories were collaborative, group efforts during pretend sessions with my siblings. Some were just mine, though, and once I could write, I started recording them.

Putting abstract thoughts into words has always deeply resonated with me. The written word and freedom of speech are inextricably mingled, and they've both held deep meaning for me in my life. To me, there are few things I would consider more sacred. During my childhood and adolescence, I even considered the possibility of pursuing writing as a full-time career.

In high school, though, I found my true calling and began to pursue my current career path. Even so, writing was still important to me, and I took as many creative writing courses as I could fit into my college schedule while still meeting my course requirements for my major.

As I moved out of college, it seemed there was less and less time for writing. The ideas still came, and I noted them down in journals and Word files, but I never sat down to flesh them out. I began but failed to finish no less than three novels, although I did at least manage to finish the occasional poem.

My career advanced, and I began to author work-related publications. Seeing my name in print was deeply fulfilling, and the work did engage my creativity to some extent, but it wasn't the same rush as creating my own stories from whole cloth. I missed the freedom of writing fiction and poetry, but my long work hours left little time for anything else.

Thankfully, a new job position left me with a rush of free time. I vowed to resume writing creatively. I even set myself a goal for how often I would write, and I started off well. As with so many New Year's resolutions, though, the momentum didn't last. I found myself floundering and getting off schedule.

Then, in February of 2021, I saw a Facebook ad for my first Vocal challenge: The Little Black Book challenge. Hard to ignore a contest with that big a prize at stake, and it was short fiction, so it wouldn't require months of commitment. What was this Vocal thing, though?

As I explored the website, I became intrigued and inspired. I've always performed best with a clear goal and deadline, and I enjoyed the challenge of being handed a writing prompt. It brought back memories of childhood games when we would pass stories around in a circle, creating together.

I decided I would sign up for a Vocal+ membership and enter the contest. I didn't win, but I had a lot of fun putting a supernatural, vaguely horrific twist on the prompt in my story, "30 Days."

I resolved to enter every challenge, even the ones that weren't in my usual preferred genres. After all, the point was to get back into writing, and what better way to do that?

Yet again, I did pretty well for a few challenges, but then work got busy again, or I decided I'd rather relax, or any number of other things that suddenly seemed more important than writing. If you take a quick look at my profile page, it's easy to see when things broke down.

So, what brought me back 4 months ago? I had barely even looked at Vocal in the intervening 2 years. I kept futilely paying for the subscription, promising myself I would start writing again, but nothing ever changed, until I saw the ads for the 2023 Vocal Awards.

There were categories dedicated to all of my favorite writing styles/genres: poetry, horror, flash fiction. The prize money, as always, was appealing as well, of course, but what most drew me to the contest was the blinded judging. The social aspect of Vocal had always been intimidating to me. I'm a lifelong introvert with minimal social media presence. All of my social media friends are people I know in real life. Removing that pressure from the submission process by blinding the judging was like a dream come true.

So, I busied myself writing new content. I entered a variety of old and new work into a number of categories. Then, I waited, and waited, and waited, for what seemed like forever to see if any of my entries made the short list.

I actually missed the email from Vocal informing me of the short listing for my flash fiction story. So, when I was going through the entries to participate in the community judging phase, I let out an audible squeal of delight that my husband could hear across the house. The excitement was electric!

Then, it was another long period of waiting for the community voting to end. Would the community respond to my story as the initial judges had? Finally, the winners were revealed, and I placed second in the flash fiction category!

The spark was now fully reignited. I was revitalized and more productive. I resolved that I would never let myself falter again. Four months in, I've mostly kept that promise to myself. I've published a mix of challenge and non-challenge related work at a relatively steady pace, and I plan to continue.

But this post is about my Vocal resolutions for 2024, right? So what's with all the exposition? It's difficult to resolve to change if you don't reflect back first, so that brings us to now.

When I returned to Vocal, I found a lot had changed. There were far more options for interaction with other creators, including subscriptions, reader insights, and a plethora of other features. The social aspect that had so intimidated me was still there, but these new options felt friendlier, somehow. Some of my fellow creators were kind enough to like and comment on my work, which was so motivating and much appreciated.

Their kindness made me want to give back myself, so one of my biggest Vocal resolutions for the New Year is to do a better job of making time to read stories from other creators and to offer comments and insights to support them in their journey. In my time away from Vocal, the community aspect has grown and blossomed, and I want to be a more supportive and effective member of that community.

To that end, my resolution is that even if I don't have time to read a full short story, I'll make time to read a poem. And if I read something, I'll be sure to comment and support that creator. I want other creators to feel just as welcome as I've felt returning to Vocal.

2023 brought me back to Vocal, and I plan to not only stay and thrive but to become a support for others. I may have returned for the Awards, but I'm staying for the camaraderie. Thank you to all of those creators who have taken time to leave kind words of encouragement; I hope I can follow in your footsteps and do the same for others. I guess it's not so scary after all.