As some of you may know, I post my side series (Lizzie’s Diary, Weird: Book of Secrets, etc.) and short stories (Eidolon) on Vocal. It’s a platform where writers can be paid for views, and can even receive tips from readers. Writers even receive bonuses when they reach certain milestones–for instance, when I published my 50th post on Vocal, they gave me a $50 bonus.
Sound cool? Okay, now forget all of that. The point of this post wasn’t to get you to join the Vocal community or send me tips. The purpose of this blog is to tell you about a Vocal feature that I’ve recently taken part in: writing challenges.
What are these challenges?
The challenges are simple enough on the surface: Vocal sets up either a premise–sometimes it’s the entire focus of the story, other times it can simply be a product or object being mentioned in passing–and the writers who choose to participate have to submit a story that adheres to the challenge’s guidelines within the allotted timeframe. Basically, they’re writing competitions that are exclusive to Vocal creators, and one factor the judges take into consideration is how many views and likes the submitted stories have.
How can you help?
You, beloved reader, can help me earn a much desired spot among the top three stories by doing the following:
Step One: READ the story
I try not to enter in writing competitions unless I feel I can use the competition to (1) further reveal lore for any of the stories I am writing for, or (2) share a 100% factual encounter or incident of mine. Of the three stories I recently submitted to stories, two of those contain canon lore for The Chronicles of Life & Death–one of them is even an excerpt for a future trilogy in the series–and the third is an embarrassing personal confession of mine. The TCoLD lore is exclusive to Vocal (until Solar Winds, Book Three: Cancer comes out, that is) and the confession is just an awkward teen incident that I thought would gain some laughs.
Whether you stick to my fiction or take a peek into my brief (and rare) soiree with non-fiction, I’m certain you’ll enjoy yourself!
Step Two: LIKE the story (optional)
Likes go a long way on Vocal. While views tell the judges that the submissions are being read, likes tell them that readers enjoy content similar to what they just read. Vocal currently doesn’t have a way to post comments or follow creators, but they’re looking into adding those features at a later date. The downside is that, as with all websites that share content, you would need to create a Vocal account in order to like the post. If you’re not opposed to it, it’s free to make and very quick. However, because I know that no one wants to sign up for yet another website and receive emails from yet another “do-not-reply” email address, I won’t hold it against you if you skip this step and move on to the final way you can help me.
Step Three: SHARE the story
Just as Vocal makes it easy to like and tip by providing a bar with the option to do either or both while you read, they also placed convenient buttons at the end of each post where readers can share the story on Twitter of Facebook. Sharing means that you enjoy my stories enough to share them with your friends! You can post the link to your Facebook timeline or tweet it out for your followers to see. Who knows–one of your friends could enjoy these stories nearly as much as you do!
My (Recent) Submissions
Instead of creating a new post every time I enter a writing competition on Vocal, I’ve opted to simply update this page with new stories and pin it to the top of my blog. I’ll leave the old posts up, but I’ll leave notes on whether the contest ended or is still ongoing.
Skip ahead to recent stories entered into ongoing contests.
These Vocal-exclusive stories are as follows:
An Accidental Injury (PAST)
A brief, embarrassing tale about the lengths humans will go to for self-gratification.
Life & Death (PAST)
An angel, a demon, and a dreamscape where they share everything.
Guided By Dreams (PAST)
Some dreams are more than wishes.
Recent
The Music That Kept Me Going
A countdown of the five artists that fueled my teenage angst.
The Evolution of Me
A poem about how a cliché icebreaker can define you.
Thank you for taking the time to check out this post! If you manage to check out the Vocal-exclusive content I shared above, I would really appreciate it. I hope you enjoy them, and stay tuned for more content headed your way.
Natty P. 🖤
P.S. – Want to join Vocal to take advantage of their member-exclusive contests? You can join here.
Sisters of the Shadows 
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