My Zombie Walk With Vocal For 2024

Every year at Halloween the city I now call home has the streets of downtown blocked off as a hundreds of half dead looking humans show up in to parade the streets. The Zombie walk is a big deal and a quite the spectacle for this midsize city. It is pretty cool to watch those involved dance to Micheal Jackson’s Thriller as they stroll past the library. I, myself have not become a dancing Zombie, but the image has been on my mind when I think about getting through the next year and all that I want to accomplish.

I returned to grad school in September of last year and I’m still trying to work full time. I also want to keep writing for Vocal which is still by far the best writing platform I have found. I want all these things and I do want time to sleep, eat, and pat the dog (which I always have time for as my pup is a cutie!) Some days I really have been the picture of a Zombie walking downtown. Somedays just a Zombie not even walking.

So, this year I want to get ahead of things because I need to keep these balls all in the air and I want to keep as much of my Vocal life going. I have been able to write a few poems and stories in the past few months, but not the volume I was writing previously. I was so bummed when I could not get my mystery story completed for a recent challenge when mystery/thrillers are one of my favorite genres to read and write. Ugh I can’t let that happen again!

Most of my writing now has been for research papers. While interesting it has not allowed me to do anything creative. I miss the opportunity to be creative and when that happens, I feel like I don’t have self-care and when I don’t have self-care, guess what? I become a Zombie! No, I do not want to be a Zombie! I need to write for Vocal. I need to read other creators work on Vocal as the platform has brought me such joy since I joined three years ago. It is such an engaging community with so many talented writers.

So, I am setting some goals, so I keep myself from becoming a Zombie.

My plan first is to support my fellow creators. Each day I will be reading at least one story and one poem. This may not sound like much, but consistency will be key. I have already started doing this and truthfully, I feel a bit better about staying involved with my Vocal friends and finding new creators. I am drawn to reading fiction and poetry but will try to read more of the non-fiction categories. There is something so uplifting when reading a great poem or a great story, it makes you feel like you have just experienced something special. I have felt that so many times with the creators on Vocal.

Now for my own writing I plan to write between one to four stories or poems per month. I know it doesn’t sound like much, but for me consistency is key. I truly admire writers who are writing a poem or a story a day or ten a day, but that is just not in cards for me. I didn’t want to set my goal so low as to say one story per month, but one to four sounds better. If I do more than four than I am a roll, but I don’t see that happening. I am also looking to venture more into non-fiction writing particularly in the History, Wander, and Feast communities as I enjoy the past, travelling and food. However, fiction and poetry remain my favorite genres to write. Anyways it is time to go pet the dog. I wish all my fellow friends and creators on Vocal a Happy Healthy Writing Journey in 2024!