How I feel after writing 50 stories on Vocal
My thoughts after 50 stories. If you count this one.
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This is my 50th story published on Vocal. And with the publication of half a hundred stories, poems, and articles on this site, I have learned a few things about both Vocal.Media and writing in general.
Am I an expert writer, published author, or writing teacher?
No.
But I am a professional blogger, entrepreneur, and I have earned real money from writing on Vocal with my Vocal+ account over the last year.
What's the significance of 50?
For starters, that's a lot of content.
Think about that.
50 stories, most over 1,000 words. I've spent a lot of hours thinking about, writing, and finding graphics for all of these stories.
It's easy to get on a writing high with a site like Vocal.
The usage of Giphs in stories, the easy-to-use platform for writing stories, and the gratification that comes when you get good feedback on your work from fellow writers in the Facebook groups all make writing on Vocal a fun experience.
Also, for Vocal+ members, 50 stories is a pretty big milestone. It's the last story milestone with a bonus, and it's a $50 bonus at that.
I think that this is a great incentive to keep people writing, especially if they have gotten their hopes up and then swiftly crushed by a challenge they didn't win.
There are always bonuses, and that's a good reason to keep going.
Since this is less of a "Why use Vocal" post, and more of a "What my experience was with Vocal", I will leave the details for another day.
So without further ado, here is what I have learned from writing 50 stories on Vocal.
My thoughts on Challenges
Like many other Vocal members, I got into Vocal because of the Little Black Book challenge.
That was the first challenge I participated in.
Writing has always been a passion of mine, and most often just to express myself, and my creativity. So when I saw that there was a potential to earn cash prizes for my writing, I was like:
I tend to be an optimistic person, so of course, I thought I had a chance at placing for this esteemed challenge even though I had never used Vocal before.
Looking back though, the story I entered was good, but not prize-worthy.
I have now entered a lot of challenges (probably 20 or so) and have placed once. I am totally cool with this, because 1 out of 20 is not that bad, especially considering that these challenges are very sought after, and have so many great stories contributed to them.
Getting discouraged is natural, but as with anything, you can't expect to be everyone's cup of tea. Sometimes even a great story will be thrown by the wayside because it didn't strike the reader's fancy.
The best thing I've learned about challenges is just to enter as many challenges as you want, and enter all the ones that you feel you could write something fun from your unique perspective.
Because you never know when you might place.
Writing as a Blogger
When it comes to writing, I am first and foremost a blogger.
I have two blogs, one successful website and the other just getting started. Writing for Vocal.media is not my first experience writing on the internet, or writing for an audience.
That being said, it wasn't a great shock to me that I would place in a blog-style challenge here on Vocal.
The only challenge I've placed in so far, I didn't even think about after I entered. We were getting ready for dinner when I checked my phone and I saw the email from Vocal that said I placed.
This is the one challenge I have placed for so far (as of 10/05/21) and it was about spring cleaning.
This taught me where my strengths lie, and where I can learn to improve.
I think that one really cool thing about Vocal is that in a way, it shows you how you can improve your craft. My first published stories on this platform are nowhere near as good or well put together as my more recent ones.
And that's good!
It shows that by doing, you progress.
Fiction is very competitive
I've decided that if I am going to write a fiction story for Vocal, I will absolutely NOT be getting my hopes up about winning any prizes.
This is not because I am a bad fiction writer.
That's just not the case. But fiction, especially on platforms like this where there are cash money prizes, is very competitive.
This is my piece for the Vocal+ Fiction Awards, and while it's just over 600 words, I think it's a great story.
Do I think it'll place? Who knows.
But I'm glad I wrote it.
Writing a good piece of fiction is hard, and this is really where things get dicey. I've seen people go after each other because they thought their fiction stories were better than the ones that placed.
Well, sweetie, that's just how fiction writing goes.
You may not be a fan of Twilight, but it still sold over a million copies, and that means someone out there enjoys it.
And that is really what fiction writing is all about. Writing for the reader, and writing a good story that you're proud of.
Prizes are gravy.
My thoughts on being a Runner Up
I (kinda sorta) placed again in the If This, Then That challenge, but this time it was as a runner up.
Vocal doesn't typically do runner-ups, though one of the current challenges, the Vocal+ Fiction Awards, does have 25 winners and 100 runner-ups.
This article below is the one that won me a free year of Vocal +.
Another blog-style article. I've loved the sitcom Friends for a very long time, so this one was a lot of fun to write.
Learning from other writers
A lot of other stories are going to win prizes, be selected as a Top Story, and just get more reads than some of your stories. And you just gotta accept that and move on.
Also, learn from those other writers.
Never take for granted the opportunity to learn something from someone else. That means reading the stories placed in that challenge that you participated in, instead of getting mad at them for winning.
Seriously, I have read a lot of stories on Vocal, and there are some dang talented people here pouring their hearts out.
Take the time to read other people's work.
You may discover a writing style that you adore, a new genre to dabble in, or have your creativity sparked by a new and exciting story. Support your fellow writers as you would want them to support you.
And be gracious when you lose a challenge, and cheer on those that win.
Final thoughts on writing 50 stories
I feel pretty proud of myself.
That is mostly what I feel about this milestone. I think that taking the time to sit, contemplate, plan, write, re-write, and plot stories is worth every ounce of effort that it takes.
I love all 50 of my stories, and though, yes, only one placed out of those 50, they were all worth my time and I am so glad I wrote them.
Writing helps us create something that would have otherwise not existed.
And some of these amazing stories on Vocal would have never happened without the prompt from one challenge or another. Without Vocal, I would never have written all these stories that I'm so proud of.
So yes, Vocal has definitely been worth my time, and the investment in it, and I'll continue to recommend it as a platform for anyone who desires to become a writer or create something they never could have imagined.
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Thank you so much for reading! If you liked this article, be sure to click the heart button. Tips are greatly also appreciated! You can find more articles from me here on my Vocal profile.
-Leah H.
About the Creator
Leah Harris
Writer, blogger and artist. Inspirations for writing are Markus Zusak and Tyler Knott Gregson. Follow me on Instagram! @LeahNaturally
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