The Unread

Hey folks. Can you believe we are in the second half of the year now?

Doesn't time fly, blah blah blah I'll get to the point.

Who wants to have some fun and get more reads? Maybe by an arsehole Scottish Italian? 

I've been thinking lately about the community that helped me realise my writing was worth something—that maybe I did have something worthwhile to offer creatively.

Recently, I've been making a conscious effort to go back and read older pieces, especially challenge winners and earlier works by creators whose writing I genuinely admire but never seem to give enough time to.

Sometimes it's because those pieces get buried beneath notifications. Sometimes it's because they're longer, and I tell myself I'll come back to them later because, with limited time, I tend to gravitate towards shorter reads.

The irony isn't lost on me.

Many of my own stories are far longer than a quick 600-word piece. So how can I expect people to invest that time in my work if I'm not willing to do the same for others?

Like many people, I've noticed engagement on Vocal has dipped, particularly since the updates and glitches, although it probably began before then.

I genuinely love reading the work of so many people here, many of whom I now consider friends. I'm not going to apologise for being busy writing my own work—we're all trying to create—but I am going to apologise for not making more of an effort to give other people's writing the time it deserves.

Reciprocity doesn't have to be everyone's priority, and that's completely fine. Writing is, by its nature, a solitary pursuit. Vocal is something of an anomaly in that respect, and that's one of the things I've always appreciated about it.

So I'm going to try harder.

Alongside slowly working my way through people's work in my own time, I want to give everyone the chance to point me towards the pieces they're most proud of.

I've done something similar before, and it took me quite a while to get through everything, so here are the only rules:

• Leave a comment below with three pieces from your profile that I haven't commented on. • If I discover I've already read and liked one but never left a comment, I'll go back and rectify that—and, as a bonus, I'll read another piece of my own choosing.

There's no deadline. No rush.

Just send me three pieces you'd like me to read, whether they're your favourites, the ones you think deserved more attention, or simply the ones you'd most like someone to experience.

I also have another idea to help encourage a bit more engagement around the platform, so watch this space.

I'm not pretending to be a leader or suggesting I have any more influence than anyone else here.

I just feel I can do more.