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Top Stories
Find new, handpicked stories you’ll love, updated daily.
Just Another Monstrous Woman
I started this short story a year ago. For a different challenge. And was inspired by the story of Medea. And there really wasn’t anything wrong with it, I really loved writing it until I started to second guess myself. I’ve included what I had written below, as well as my thoughts about why it never fully got finished.
By Lane Burnsa day ago in Critique
📢 Raise Your Voice Thread: 06/11/2026
Our “Raise Your Voice Threads” are hosted most alternating Thursdays at 12PM ET to offer creators more avenues to uncover exceptional stories on Vocal. As we are continuously searching for fresh creators and inspiring stories, this thread provides an opportunity to exchange and discuss the stories that have moved and motivated us on Vocal.
By Raise Your Voice by Vocalabout 18 hours ago in Resources
Till Death Parts Us
I had hung all the flyers, I had talked to all the people, there was only one thing left to do. Meadow Brook Acres was a community that was mostly mobile homes, and it was secluded by trees and over grown brush and trees, and it known for crime, drugs. robbery, rape, and yes, even murder.
By Susan Payton7 days ago in Fiction
From Page to Podcast
Ever since I joined Vocal I have enjoyed a variety of great experiences. What started as an attempt to hone my fiction writing became a hugely successful hobby. I'm also now a poet. So there's that. And an award winner too. With nine Vocal first-place wins, numerous runner-up finishes and honourable mentions, plus several placements in unofficial challenges.
By Paul Stewart4 days ago in Writers
10 Years of Gawk
10 Years of Gawk The Album 2025 saw big milestones for the Vundaboys; not only did they drop arguably their best record to date, Surgery and Pleasure, but it saw the ten year anniversary of the album that’s home to some of the most infectious music on Earth: Gawk.
By Zack Graham2 days ago in Beat
Challenges
Enter themed storytelling contests to put your creativity to the test.
Out of the Dream
Write a horror story inspired by a nightmare, ending with the character waking up in an unexpected place.
$200 Grand Prize18 hours leftDon’t Turn Around
Write a poem about the feeling that something is behind you.
$200 Grand Prize12 days leftNot Quite There
Share a story that never fully came together, along with what’s holding it back.
$200 Grand Prize21 days left
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Resources
Discover tips, guides, updates, and spotlights from our team.
📢 Raise Your Voice Thread: 06/11/2026
Our “Raise Your Voice Threads” are hosted most alternating Thursdays at 12PM ET to offer creators more avenues to uncover exceptional stories on Vocal. As we are continuously searching for fresh creators and inspiring stories, this thread provides an opportunity to exchange and discuss the stories that have moved and motivated us on Vocal.
By Raise Your Voice by Vocalabout 18 hours ago in Resources
Out of Order Challenge Winners
Some challenges are easy to judge because you can immediately tell what’s working. This was not one of them. Out of Order asked writers to disrupt sequence while still creating poems that felt intentional, and many of the strongest entries only revealed their full shape after a second or third read. We found ourselves flipping back through poems, reconsidering connections, and thinking carefully about why a writer chose to place one moment before another. It made for a challenging judging process, but also a rewarding one. Sometimes the way a story is told matters just as much as the story itself.
By Vocal Curation Teama day ago in Resources
Stay a While Challenge Winners
We had an absolute blast judging Stay a While. The challenge attracted an impressive mix of horror stories spanning everything from supernatural and cosmic horror to creature features, folk horror, and full-throttle splatterpunk. There were a lot of memorable entries and more than a few difficult decisions along the way.
By Vocal Curation Team7 days ago in Resources
I Made It Worse Challenge Winners
I Made It Worse invited writers to explore a familiar impulse: the belief that one more action, one more fix, one more attempt will set things right. The strongest entries understood that making things worse rarely comes from malice. More often, it grows from confidence, guilt, misunderstanding, stubbornness, or the belief that the next fix will work.
By Vocal Curation Team14 days ago in Resources
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