Challenge
Escape into the Night
The first story I ever recall writing was about a girl and a shooting star. It is a vague memory, like a split-second streak of light seen barely out of the corner of an eye. The kind that you're not even sure is a memory or imagination; seemingly divined only after someone you envy claims they just witnessed that illusive genie of the sky...
By Donelle Maloney2 years ago in Writers
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
That Poem I Wrote when I was 12
The first piece of writing that was very important to me personally was a rhyming poem, not the first poem I ever wrote, but the first one I went through the process and re-reading and editing a few times through. It was the first poem I wanted to be proud of, the first poem I wanted to share with others. I was 12 years old, and I had recently fallen in love with reading. I had a reading assignment in school, I don’t remember the book, but I know I went through it fast and talked about it a lot with my Mom, who had her own life-long love of reading fiction and literature. She saw a spark in me and gave me her copy of To Kill a Mockingbird and said, “Let’s see how you do with this book.” Harper Lee’s novel is not exactly written for 12-year-olds with its heavy themes of racism, ethics, and the law, but I managed her prose and vocabulary and found myself captivated by the story and its young narrator, Scout. I loved it. I loved the experience of escapism and learning at the same time.
By Julia Jankowski2 years ago in Writers
Little Witch, Little Witch
Do you remember reading the book “Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?” in elementary school? It was something of a staple in mine. I don’t think I could even come close to figuring out how many times that book was read to us in Primary and Grade One. Honestly, for someone who was consistently at a reading level a grade or two higher than the grade she was in, it was kind of boring. I can appreciate the rhythm of it and the artful illustrations now, as an adult, but little me got tired of it very quickly.
By Kelsey Clarey2 years ago in Writers
