Process
Le Guin Apprenticeship Journal III(a)
It was the best of weekends. It was the worst of weekends. You see, I have a vice. A peccadillo, a weakness, if you will. I'm a slut for sentence fragments. You may have noticed if you've skimmed my work elsewhere around Vocal. But since we're working for more control through practice in this little endeavour of ours... here I am.
By Lauren Everdell2 months ago in Writers
Writing Reflections: Sinking
Today’s Writing Reflection is going to be a little different. I want to focus on a particular kind of writing that I do a lot by analyzing a poem that I feel is the epitome of the theme of grief. If you have followed me for a while, you have probably noticed that I have been writing a lot on grief over the past year. From the short story “The Dreamwalker’s Mission” to the poem “The Hunt of Grief”, the theme of grief has dominated several of my works lately. That’s because my mother died last July, and the only thing that has been alleviating it has been to write about grief. That doesn’t mean that writing about grief has been easy; it just means that it has been coming more naturally to me than other themes and topics. It’s made everything that I write more personal, more me , and that is what I want to focus on today.
By Stephanie Hoogstad2 months ago in Writers
More Observations On Why We Publish On Vocal
Introduction I am not a very supportive Vocal Creator, if I were I would appear on the Vocal Leaderboard, I seldom get a Top Story, and maybe the odd honourable mention. Top Stories do generate reads but most of mine come outside of Vocal, probably because I don't comment enough on others' stories.
By Mike Singleton 💜 Mikeydred 2 months ago in Writers
I Write for Myself First
Ever since I started writing daily on Facebook, sometimes multiple times a day, I’ve noticed some followers drifting away. And that’s okay. Not everything I write will resonate with everyone. If my work no longer aligns with what they are looking for, I understand.
By Seema Patel2 months ago in Writers
Paul's Explicate My Poem Unofficial Challenge -The Results!
Well now. Writers. Friends. I had no idea what kind of response I would get when I ran this challenge. I am always grateful for the support I get on this platform with the various unofficial challenges I've run over the last few years. But this felt a little different. Like I may have asked too much or it may have been a little self-centred.
By Paul Stewart2 months ago in Writers
Musings, Jokes, and Dreams to Wake Me Up 1. Top Story - August 2026.
I have a certain routine that I like to keep, but that hinges on me waking up within a certain timeframe. Sometimes, I don’t wake up within that timeframe and it winds up being afterwards, but it isn’t as if I can’t still do many of the things that I want to do throughout the day. But everything gets pushed back, or I often wind up with less time for certain things, etc. That will bother me if I do it too often, because I’m not being so strict with the timeframe in which I need to be up and starting to get ready. It’s not like I’m asking too much of myself. As long as I’m up and starting the necessities between 7:30 A.M. and 8:30 A.M. I’m happy. Too often I am not starting to do anything until a half an hour or an hour after. Every once in a while is OK. But I don’t want it to become a habit.
By Stephen Kramer Avitabile2 months ago in Writers
Le Guin Apprenticeship Journal II. Top Story - August 2026.
Hmm, grammar. English grammar, at that. Notoriously, a shifting tapestry of inconsistently applied rules, as full of loopholes as the first hand-knitted jumper of an enthusiastic amateur. I myself am such an amateur. Of grammar, that is; jumpers I leave to the professionals. (One encounter with an ill-fitting bobble hat was enough for me, thanks.) I swear, I paid attention in class, but my grammar, like my handwriting, remains strongly a matter of instinct and vibes. I'm trying to make changes. I'm taking a proofreading course, and I'm reading up on those shifting "rules" I mentioned. Accidental Apostrophe by Caroline Taggart is, so far, very engaging and not at all schoolmarm-ish. I've made it to the "hanging hyphen," and I haven't given up yet. Next on my list is Bill Bryson's Troublesome Words , and after that I'll be looking for recommendations, so if you happen to have any, I'd be extremely grateful. (Especially relating to commas, which look set to be my nemesis.) So please do drop them in the comments!
By Lauren Everdell2 months ago in Writers
130 Stories and 5 Years Later
A bit over five years ago, deep into the pandemic - when we were so used to panic that it was just an underlying emotion we could ignore, and still surprising ourselves at how we could be surprised at the depth of people’s stupidity - an Instagram ad popped up on my feed for a website that paid per read. I had already been debating writing on Medium or Substack, but I found their systems and memberships convoluted. The Instagram ad for Vocal showed ease of use. I signed up. It was going to give me $0.003 per read, which was more than I was getting for posting on my own website Colochos de Flores anyways. Since signing up, I have grown my writing skills, community, pieces, into an allegedly positive digital footprint.
By Ariana GonBon2 months ago in Writers
Writing Reflections: The Lover's Enchantment
Welcome back, readers! It’s been quite a week for me. I’ve been slammed with work, so I haven’t had time to write, but I’ve had all sorts of ideas for my upcoming (eventually) short story collection pop into my head, so hopefully that will start coming together soon. I was also surprised by landing an Honorable Mention in the Posthumous Author Challenge. In honor of that, I wanted to use this Writing Reflection to look at yet another Challenge entry that did NOT win—this time, one from as far back as three years ago. So, strap into your DeLorean because I’m going to take you back to the year 2023 and my story “The Lover’s Enchantment” for the Under Purple Clouds Challenge.
By Stephanie Hoogstad2 months ago in Writers
