Process
Writers Block
Here's what I see the little cursor teasing me asking me to write. Write something moving, motivating or just plain weird. Where do I start? Maybe from the beginning, but where will that take me? Will I have an initial incident? A problem to solve? Again, I have no idea, but there goes that little text cursor blinking. Expecting me to write. Chat GPT, should I rely on the AI that has been taking jobs left and right? Forget about editing and rewriting when AI can do it for you. Forget about coming up with clever ideas, when Chat GPT can write that for me. Forget about the twists in my plot, the storylines that captivates an audience when AI can just do the hard work for me. I used to just stare at the blank page before me hoping something would come to me, but now I can ask Chat GPT "Hey there, give me an idea to write about?" and boom the AI immediately starts writing down ideas and splurging on without needing to think about it, I wish my brain worked like that.
By Adrianna M. Braun4 months ago in Writers
From Page to Podcast . Top Story - June 2026.
Ever since I joined Vocal I have enjoyed a variety of great experiences. What started as an attempt to hone my fiction writing became a hugely successful hobby. I'm also now a poet. So there's that. And an award winner too. With nine Vocal first-place wins, numerous runner-up finishes and honourable mentions, plus several placements in unofficial challenges.
By Paul Stewart4 months ago in Writers
Exposition
What is exposition? Exposition is writing designed to explain. In fiction, it’s often referred to as “information dumping,” and it’s usually indicative of a need for further drafting. Sure, it’s necessary sometimes, but unless you’re John Steinbeck, you’re not going to find serious readers who will tolerate much of it. It’s essentially announcing “here’s a bunch of information I didn’t bother crafting into story.” Exposition should always be evaluated for necessity with the most critical eye available. Nine times out of ten, there’s no justification for it. Steinbeck used exposition in his novels, but not as a substitute for developed story. Steinbeck also editorializes, but here’s the catch: he earned it. I certainly don’t flatter myself that I’ve accomplished or earned what he has. Exposition should be justified—not wholesale (totally not a thing), but passage by passage, and if you’re comfortably inside the word count, you almost always should bring the passage into narrative present.
By Harper Lewis 4 months ago in Writers
The Getting to Know Each Other Game Edition #4
It has now been nearly three and a half weeks since the last Getting to Know Each Other game, and during that time life has been moving in several unexpected directions. A lot has unfolded over these past few weeks—some of it heavy, some of it exhausting, and some of it surprisingly inspiring. It has been a season filled with emotion, reflection, and a renewed sense of how quickly life can shift beneath your feet.
By Rick Henry Christopher 4 months ago in Writers
Spinning Wheels
So you say you’re a new writer. How’s that going? Daunting, isn’t it? I hear you. I’m about a year and one month into my writing journey. The amount of information out there is mind-boggling. The quality of the information and advice is mixed, but more than that, the people writing it forget who they’re writing for. That is extremely frustrating. I’m going to give you some valuable information that won’t cost you anything. It’s coming from a very new writer who would like to see some improvements in the field. I promise to be honest and straightforward with you, so you can make informed decisions.
By Alexandra Grant4 months ago in Writers
Vocal Tips And Guides (And Prompts And Ideas And ...)
Introduction This has come about by people getting aggravated by Challenge Results being late, or the fact there are no new Challenges, despite there being a lot of unofficial challenges around. I run one each month.
By Mike Singleton 💜 Mikeydred 4 months ago in Writers
Bourbon with Bill
I had the honor of auditing (another story for another day, but too many credits) a 400/600 level Faulkner course my final semester of undergrad (and what a charmed semester it was). Margaret Yonce, affectionately known as Peggy, was my professor, and my soul sister Paige audited it with me. Paige and I had Shakes and our French courses together, even ditched French one day to go across the river to Aiken, kidnapping J.R. from another class to see Eastern Carolina’s production of The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Abridged. I do not digress. If you can talk about Faulkner without mentioning Shakespeare, you’re surface reading.
By Harper Lewis 4 months ago in Writers
Writing in the Quiet
Lately, I’ve been wondering if I should give up on writing. Not because I don’t love it. I do. Maybe too much. But there’s this quiet exhaustion that comes from pouring pieces of yourself onto a page and still feeling invisible afterward. Like no matter how honest you are, how hard you try, how much you revise, it never feels like enough. Not good enough. Not important enough. Not successful enough.
By Samara Pollyana 4 months ago in Writers
