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My First Vocal Challenge Victory
Greetings, Vocal readers and subscribers! Eight years: that's all it took me to accomplish something that I achieved recently, which I'll explain in a bit. Over a week ago, I've written and published my 500th story, which you can read in the link down below. I previously told myself that if I were to win my first Vocal Challenge that we would celebrate it together. I logged into my account and went to my profile. All of a sudden, I found an icon that read HM. Turned out that I received an Honorable Mention for a story I've written and published. The challenge was called Twenty-Four Hours. I had to describe a place where I would spend 24 hours and the things I would do in that timeframe. I'll also post a link to the full story down below.
By Mark Wesley Pritchard 22 days ago in Writers
More of my writing ideas
I know I need to start writing my ideas, but when I start researching and reading my various books and materials I think of more ideas. This new maybe an old idea I have is to write articles sharing how what is old is new again. I am reading my nursing and teaching education textbooks and notebooks and wondered how skills that I was taught could still be used along with any changes that have made using various skills. I plan on sharing old ways with the new ways and seeing if there are any changes in the various skills.
By Mark Graham23 days ago in Writers
Memory
I remember September 11, 2001. I just got off from working a 32-hour weekend and just waking up and watching Good Morning America when I noticed on tv that those two planes were flying way to low on the screen. Then all of a sudden, those planes flew into those buildings. What a thing to see and at times after 25 years later still sends a shiver up my spine. One thing though how is one to move on when every year it seems we 'celebrate' the day. I believe those that died say thank you, but let us rest.
By Mark Graham23 days ago in Writers
A Trail
There I was stopped midway on the path. Was it getting colder or was it warmer for some reason when I went one or two steps to west it was warmer and if I went east, it was colder. I decided to try and go north, and I was able to walk for a short way up the path, so I decided to see if I could read any of the names on the few tombstones along the path. The names were hard, but they were highly decorated with crosses and other religious artifacts. One tombstone's name was initialed CD.
By Mark Graham23 days ago in Writers
The Trail
As I was walking down the path the wind was starting to pick up there even a slight cold breeze even though it was a warm night. All of the sudden I felt what felt like a hand touch my back. I turned around and there was nothing. I do not believe in spirits, but I started thinking there could be such beings. I continued down the path and stopped suddenly and could not seem to go forward, so I turned around and headed back from the way I came, and I felt a surge of something coming towards me.
By Mark Graham23 days ago in Writers
A trail
There is a trail that goes through the graveyard almost to the woods where there are some tombstones that seem that nobody wants to care for. I wonder why so one night I decide to go and see who is buried there on that edge of the property. The wind is picking up, and the clouds are getting thicker and the sky it seems is getting darker as each minute passes. There's a noise that was not an owl or some sort of growl. Not sure. There it was again still not sure what it is. Fog is settling in....
By Mark Graham23 days ago in Writers
I Used Four AI Models to Write a 10,000-Word Article in One Night. Here’s What It Cost Me.
At 11:07 p.m. last Tuesday, I pasted a 10,000-word brief into my writing tool and hit go. Half an hour later, a red bar appeared: quota almost gone. I scrolled the draft. Correct. Boring. I deleted a sentence. Typed it again. Deleted it. The cursor blinked. I made coffee. Forgot it.
By Jin24 days ago in Writers
The Draft Was Clean. It Was Also Dead.
I had two sheets of paper in front of me. One described what the story had to contain: childhood, betrayal, a goodbye that never happened. The other described what the language must never do: no “truly,” no “it’s worth noting,” no narrator stepping in to summarize a character’s feelings.
By Jin24 days ago in Writers
The Colonel’s Drawer, the Taisa’s Wound: How to Write Military Characters in Detective Fiction
A Fusion Writing Guide for Military Characters in Detective Fiction A writer sits at a desk, wanting to write a retired colonel. The first image that comes to mind is a country estate, rose bushes, sherry, a tweed jacket, a copy of The Times , and a hound asleep at his feet. Then the writer gets stuck. The image is too smooth. It fits into any story. The reader takes one look and already knows what comes next: either he is the murderer, or the victim, or the eccentric old man who supplies the crucial clue.
By Jin24 days ago in Writers
Who are counselors? What is counseling?
One of the best counselors is or was our teddy bears. Conversations that allow one to show ownership to issues and problems that lead to
By Mark Graham25 days ago in Writers
Where the Dreamwalker Treads Challenge Results
Things have been crazy busy for us here at ViM , and at Vocal too, over the last few months! Things have been absolutely topsy-turvy everywhere, to say the least! For us Vocalites, though, many have had their worlds ripped out from under them by the glitches Vocal's IT staff can't seem to work out, yet...
By Mother Combs25 days ago in Writers
The Pumpkins
Look Out! the night of the pumpkins is getting closer. When the sky is the color of pitch that is when you must be very aware of your surroundings. What looks like a normal pumpkin sitting on a neighbor's porch looking harmless by day, but at night could that funny one turn into one from you know where. "Uh, oh, did you hear something just now could it be it shouldn't be for it's still too early, but knowing today everything starts early it seems, so everyone you better start becoming more aware and keep your eyes open. Happy Halloween!!!!
By Mark Graham25 days ago in Writers