What's on the Other Side?

I thought I closed out 2023 with a villanelle about writing with the Vocal community. Then I thought, why not write some thoughts about going forward on Vocal in 2024? So I did that. Then, Vocal posted a challenge about doing what I had just done. So, here I am, getting ready to do that stuff again. And I'm okay with it. I hope you will be, too and I promise to add some new, hopefully interesting, stuff.

The 2023 Recap

One of Vocal's cool ideas as 2023 came to a close was the Creator Reverb. A "year at a glance" sort of thing. When I anxiously downloaded mine, I was, to be perfectly honest, a little disappointed - at first.

I really thought I had written more last year. What's more, 54,000 words didn't sound like a lot.

Breaking it Down

With a bit more thought, I realized 4 things:

1. I didn't re-start writing on Vocal until February of 2023.
2. I write constantly, but it hasn't all been written for Vocal.
3. Quite a few of my 2023 stories were written in short form.
4. Reverb doesn't tell the whole story.

Each of those things has had some bearing on those Reverb stats and when I consider them, I'm not all that disappointed. Allow me to elaborate just a bit.

As my Reverb shows, I joined Vocal in 2021. I published a couple of stories. Overall, though I thought the stories were okay, it all felt a bit lackluster. At some point, Vocal added comments. What a game changer, folks! We could actually interact with other creators in discussions! The rest is history and in 2023 I got fired up again and haven't looked back.

I write constantly. 12 hours of it in a day isn't unusual. Most of that writing is for paying clients; creating website content, online articles, magazine articles, emails, etc.

That paradigm is currently shifting. In short, AI is not a good thing for the content writing market. I won't rant about it here. The important point is that I am not doing as much content writing these days.

So, today, I'm writing 12 hours a day, mostly for publication on Vocal, which means I'm writing for myself. There's another shift coming soon, while I start to devote time to books I want to publish.

I have done quite a bit of short-form writing on Vocal. Not because I'm lazy, but because I enjoy writing limericks, haiku, senryu, poetry and microfiction. Each of those forms, done well, requires just as much creativity as a short story and perhaps more skill, in order to tell a complete story. I feel no need to apologize for creating them.

On the other hand, they don't add to my annual word count on Vocal. I don't think I'll lose any sleep over that. It's a fun statistic, but personally, I don't see it as one to set goals by.

That brings us to thing #4:

Reverb doesn't tell the whole story

Don't get me wrong; I don't think it's intended to. It's a fun little gadget we can use to introduce ourselves as Vocal creators and share a few fun facts. It's not a resume/CV. Frankly, I'd rather direct an interested client to my Vocal profile if they want to see what I've created. (I do just that quite often, actually.)

126 stories? What did that paltry number accomplish? Obviously, I can't brag about my prolificness as a Vocal creator. (Side note: I'm positive that prolificity should be a valid word, because it sounds much cooler. I'll bet the powers that be don't care about my opinion.)

Several of my favorite Vocal creators are much more prolific. And I don't care. No offense intended; I love that I know so many who write so prolifically AND so well. I've wholeheartedly joined them in celebrating their achievements, milestones and the awards they've won with them.

As for myself, here's what I achieved with those stories in 2023:

30 Top Story awards: (I had to count that three times to believe it.) You may have noticed that I led with a "fun" one. There's been some recent scuttlebutt about the validity of Top Story placement, the gist being that there's a "preferred set" of Vocal creators that tend to receive this recognition regularly. I can understand the mindset, for several reasons. Vocal denies it.

I prefer to believe that my stories received this recognition for their content. In fact, if I believed I was somehow part of a "privileged few," I wouldn't be here. I'll leave it at that.

Now, in terms of percentage, 30 is less than 25% of the stories I published. So, I prefer to see it as more than two TS awards per month, on average. It's all about perspective, right?

2 Vocal Challenge wins and 2 Runner-Up placements: I entered several challenges in 2023. I submitted multiple entries to some. I was ablsolutely blown away to place at all in any of them, and I'm still pinching myself over the wins.

Here's what I can tell you about a challenge win: a) It's humbling, because to be picked means stories from many other extremely talented creators, some that you know are better than you, weren't picked. b) The prize money is only a small part of the reward and that takes a LONG time to arrive. c) The sincere congratulations from other creators means as much as the prize and that gratification comes instantly.

The fun of "unofficial" challenges: Several of those stories were written for the incredible "unofficial" challenges created and managed by other authors. Those creators go the extra mile with these, to say the least. They are always fun and inspiring, and it doesn't matter to me whether there's a monetary reward.

A few placements on the Weekly Leader Boards: These are special because they're based on how readers and creators interact with your stories. It's love from the Vocal community. And on the Leader Board for last year:

Most Discussed Challenge Submissions - #1

AND

"Popular Stories with the Most Likes - 1st Place": I'm sorry, y'all, but holy shit! Again, these placements reflect how YOU reacted to my story and that reminds me, again, of just how much this community means to me.

And that's exactly where I want to end this "tally," on the fact that those stories have provided me with an unprecedented amount of invaluable support from others, in the form of likes, comments that become discussions and even a few tips. That's the fuel my fire needs.

What's Coming in 2024?

The simple answer is, "More of the same." The truth is, I'm striving for much more. And, since we're halfway through January, I'll say it's off to a good start.

I do have a few specific goals:

More prolificity (It's my word and I'm sticking with it.): I intend to write much more on Vocal this year, because writing here inspires me, helps me keep the dust swept out of my brain and gives me the opportunity to connect to some incredible humans.

Life comes with surprises and it's hard to say how much more I'll be able to write, but since we're talking about aspirations here, I do hope to at least double that "Published Stories" statistic.

More ekphrastic writing: I have over 56,000 photo files on my main hard drive and many more on stacks of CDs. I used a few for inspiration in 2023 and I find that building poetry from my photos and/or artwork is great creative exercise. I'm hoping to make it a more regular thing, especially since I leaned a new word to describe it. Perhaps there's another angle for a poetry collection...

Step up the support for others: I believe I'm fairly good about encouraging and supporting other creators. I also believe I have more to give, and I know it's what makes this platform special. I also know I've missed some opportunities.

So, you can expect even more cockamamy comments and folderol from the old guy. Feel free to tell him to shut up at any time.

"Support," of course, also includes things like sharing and tipping, which I haven't been focusing enough on. That needs to be resolved.

Pay more attention to Vocal social media groups: I cringe a bit when I think about committing to this one. Social media has occupied far too much of my time in the past. I've written about it a few times, so if you know, you know.

That said, we have a good number of talented Vocal creators generously donating their time to managing groups dedicated to supporting other Vocal creators. Having administered and assisted with similar groups in both the distant and not-so-distant past, I can say that those efforts deserve support, too, and I have seen my own stories benefit from those channels. I hope you'll be seeing more from me in those groups, including [shudder] Discord.

Last, but far from least:

Publish my books: I know this isn't exactly a Vocal activity, but it probably would never have happened without the encouragement of the Vocal community.

There are 3 books in my head. I hereby aspire to make them real. Part of me still believes this particular aspiration is only a pipe dream, but I am working on squelching that voice.

This much I know for sure: If and when any or all of the 3 are published, the Vocal community will receive credit and there's room for individual Vocal creator credit, as well.

Maybe more. Who knows? Maybe I'll try an unofficial challenge or two of my own. At the very least, I may throw some writing prompts out there. Maybe (and this is a BIG maybe) I'll start another Facebook group, since my local art group disbanded last year. Maybe I'll be more vocal in the Vocal Chats [DANGER, WILL ROBINSON!] Possibilties abound.

I can positively say this much: As long as the old ticker keeps ticking, I'll be here.

***

As always, thanks for reading my [warning: upcoming unnecessary, annoying alliteration] random, raucous, rambunctious ramblings. The two stories I mentioned in the opening paragraph are linked below, in case you'd like to read them, and of course, if you reeeeeeeeally like what you've read here, check out those other 124 or so on my profile page! See you down the trail!