Process
Then and Now
The first ever piece that I published here on Vocal is “What a Glass of Merlot Can Hold: Seeing Past the Now.” As I am writing this, I see the irony in that subtitle; perhaps deep down I knew I would be referencing it someday in the future. Reading that piece two years after writing it, I still think it’s a solid short story. However, I also noticed quite a few things I would like to edit and improve upon. I didn’t remember every detail that I chose to include so, in a way, it was like reading something new to me, yet so familiar.
By Calista Marchand-Nazzaro2 years ago in Writers
Finding My Voice
"A Night Under the Stars: The start of something beautiful" was my first piece published on Vocal. When I decided to take a risk and enter a story in the Date Night challenge a couple years ago, I began the journey to discovering who I am as a writer and what I can create when given a prompt. At that point, this process was entirely new to me. I have always been a writer, but this was different. At that point, I was just developing a style of my own.
By Hailey Marchand-Nazzaro2 years ago in Writers
It started in Junior High
TW: Depression, death, fire. I remember it started when I was in Junior High; let's say around 13 years old. I was going through The Change. My feelings were bigger, my thoughts were deeper (or so I thought), and my perception of the world was, well, bleak. These were the precursor days of the teenage goth phase, and 14 years later I still say it is NOT a phase!
By Rae Janney2 years ago in Writers
Torn Pages
The words of my first story are forever lost in a landfill somewhere on Long Island. Maybe they still exist, if they haven't already been burned to ashes layered into the quickly forgotten history of mundane life. The pages disintegrated, piled on top of each other, just discarded trivial pieces of everyday life from more than twenty years ago.
By Alyssa Musso2 years ago in Writers
"Enchanted Aeries: The Winged Unicorns of Wonder". Content Warning.
**Enchanted Aeries: The Winged Unicorns of Wonder** Once upon a time, in a realm beyond the clouds, there existed a land of pure enchantment called "Enchanted Aeries." It was a place where dreams took flight and imagination knew no bounds. Here, amidst the soft pastel skies and twinkling stars, lived the Winged Unicorns of Wonder – ethereal beings with wings as delicate as gossamer and horns that shimmered like stardust.
By Esse Naeemah Ali2 years ago in Writers
My Pedantic Dragon. Runner-Up in Writers Challenge.
“I believe the road to hell is paved with adverbs, and I will shout it from the rooftops.” Stephen King, On Writing It is both exciting and daunting to experiment with writing fiction when one has spent many years teaching other humans to analyze and interpret it. There is a gulf between the gourmand and the chef, the critic and the playwright, the connoisseur and the musician. I tripped on the way across said gulf.
By D. J. Reddall2 years ago in Writers
Breaking the ice
I was a contrarian as a schoolboy. I hated to do what I was told. And in school, I was often told to write. So, I hated writing. After I left school, I took a gap year before I went to university. That winter, I lived in a vacation town on the Jersey Shore. Back then, people observed the seasonal landmarks. After Labor Day, the town was almost deserted.
By Pitt Griffin2 years ago in Writers
