Now, should I be flattered that I see my Black Creator spotlight story recreated in Chapters by a copycat?

Exasperatingly, I am scrolling through all the annoying obviously AI created stories in the communities to find new and relatively new people to highlight their stories on my humble endeavor to feel useful here. Honestly, I now feel like a dinosaur in the Vocal writing strata, so many of the tenured creators have jumped ship, or are taking hiatus-es, a lively revival is needed, something revolutionary is hoped and longed for.

Anyway...

We all know that there is hidden talent lurking in the shadows.

So it is that I am reading a few stories, searching valiantly for some likely candidates to pen a lovely creative portrait of magical prose, when lo and behold I see my story written by another in the Chapters community. It is not the first time, other times I have just pooh poohed and let it be. I mean, someone cloned my "Hi, I'm Justin at Vocal" parody, which was so glaringly ironic, so very noticeable.

This time they hit a nerve by stealing my Black Creator spotlight. Don't encroach on my color, especially if you be not of my color...that is wrong in so many ways. Time to reach for the big gun and my bag of frustration and come shootin' for ya.

Here is the stolen story from Catherine's spotlight. I know, reading it will earn this copycat creator a Ha'penny (as Hannah wisely said).

Now how in the name of all that is holy is the portrait of an obviously Caucasian man a depiction of a Black person in spotlight? I guess because the shadows are black. I mean they even use Catherine's words from her poems.

(I do like the "she moves fluidly between verbal realms"). A rewrite of my (she dances between worlds of words). This copycat obviously has talent. I wish he/she would use it to write their own words.

Dear copycat,

If you are reading this, which I guess you will, because you seem to be among the lot who read without commenting and may or may not hit the like button. Although you mainly prey on top stories. So it is a toss-up.

Here is some advice:

Even if you are not a trained writer, it is perfectly ok to start out writing in your own style. I wrote a lot of not so great stories, most of them getting no reads, before earning a top story. I keep telling people, writing gets better with practice and engaging with other people's stories. You can get ideas from other people, you can even learn from the different styles used by other creators.

What you cannot do is obviously repeat what another writer takes the time to create and earn a nod for their efforts.

I see your potential and you need to explore it.

Write your own stories, poetry, book review, explore the communities and get some ideas. Get your ideas from nature, from your life experiences and interactions within your life journey. Just do it your way. Believe me, you might just find that a great and unique writer lives deep down inside of you.

AARGH! I still need another 150 (one hundred and fifty-ish) words.

Here are some encouraging poems:

The heights of great men reached and kept

Were not attained by sudden flight

But they, while their companions slept

Were toiling upwards in the night

By: H. Wadsworth Longfellow

Phenomenal Woman - Maya Angelou

Phenomenal woman Pretty women wonder where my secret lies. I'm not cute or built to suit a fashion model's size but when I start to tell them, they think I'm telling lies. I say, it's in the reach of my arms, the span of my hips, the stride of my step, the curl of my lips. I'm a woman phenomenally. Phenomenal woman, that's me.

“Phenomenal Woman” is a celebrated poem by the fierce and bold Maya Angelou that highlights the confidence and inner strength of a woman, challenging the conventional standards of beauty. It’s a powerful declaration of self-worth and femininity.

Please don't copy this.

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