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Vocal.Media - Blog Posts
I've Joined Two More Writing Websites.
I recently decided to take the leap and join Medium and Vocal Media, which have both been added to my Linktree. I’m grateful to be a freelance writer. I love what I do, and I enjoy working with my clients. But sometimes, I need a creative outlet to just express myself and interact with others. I can do just that on Medium and Vocal Media. Now, I don’t expect to make bank on either website (I was just accepted into the Medium Partner Program and Vocal Media pays per view. I’ll have to elaborate on each website at some point). It would be a nice little side hustle; spare change to add to my savings account. However, I know that’s going to take time to get to that point. I’ve been freelance writing since 2009, so this isn’t my first rodeo. I took my time gaining followers on Medium, so I can take my time with earning on both websites. Right now, I’m enjoying having other places to share my thoughts, feelings, and experiences. :) And hey, maybe I’ll make some new friends! I don’t really have a lot of friends in the writing community because it’s not something I thought or knew to branch out in, so maybe that’ll change on these websites.
I did link both of my pages in the opening paragraph, so you’re welcome to follow me on either if you have an account and want to (but no pressure or obligation). Okay, I do have a freelance writing order for a client to work on, so I need to get that finished. I may catch you all a little later. :)
another Vocal Media piece on baklava, but with the recipe included at the end
Procrastinated on writing this Vocal Media piece about volunteering for the 2019 School Strike for Climate for over 2 years. Published it on the last day of 2022, am sharing it with the outside world on Earth Day 2023.
New Vocal Media story! (despite the title I promise it has nothing to do with dried fruit) Submitted this to the Remarkably Real Challenge
The abridged version of this piece that I hastily submitted to the (No) Regrets Vocal Media challenge
Wrote this piece in a hurry for Vocal Media’s The Perfect Pair challenge. It got removed from the challenge a couple hours after being accepted as a story, but oh well. I wanted to write about one of my quirks that I picked up in college.
Officially a published writer on Vocal Media! Hopefully the first piece of many to come! I originally wrote this for the Outdoor Shots challenge, but decided to spend more time polishing the ending. There’s no such thing as good writing, only good rewriting.
New story on Vocal:
New microfiction on Vocal:
New horror story on Vocal:
https://vocal.media/horror/dr3-m-inc0l0r
Inspired by a crazy dream I had last night:
Zori had no idea what she was getting herself into when she stole an extra roll at dinner:
Hazel slashed her borrowed sword through the spiny, overgrown vines, creating a jagged path to the crumbling castle. She was grateful for her secondhand armor–she could hear the thorns scraping angrily against the metal, longing to tear her flesh but unable to gain purchase. She wondered how many knights had failed simply because they could move no further without a steed (surely, no horse would endure the torture of a thousand tangled scratches) or blinded by forgetting to secure the visor of their helmet. Hazel’s visor may have been twisted in spots and rusting in others, but she had ensured it would hold against the terrors of the vines. She was thankful for the months of studying she’d ensured prior to her quest. She’d snuck into her father’s shop to repair her brother's weathered armor as best she could, and she appreciated her efforts had not been in vain.
Hazel was panting by the time she reached the other side of the vines and beheld the castle. She heard rustling behind her and turned to watch the foliage wrapping unnaturally around itself to fill the hole she’d made.
“Well,” she breathed, “that’s unnerving.”
In spite of her misgivings, she moved toward the castle. The keep was surrounded by a moat, and the only access an aging drawbridge that was shut tight. Hazel peered over the edge of the moat. There were no monsters lurking in the murky waters, but if she fell in with full armor, she would quickly sink to her death. She could see the remnants of metal within the muddy depths and glimpsed what may have been a bony arm. The water wasn’t deep, but it was enough.
Undaunted, Hazel pulled her crossbow from her back and checked the knotwork on the rope she'd tied to the bolt. She put her foot in the stirrup and pulled the string back to the catch, loaded the bolt, aimed, and fired. The bolt shot true and lodged itself firmly between two large stones at the top of the wall. Hazel yanked the rope as hard as she could, and when it held, she leaned back with her full weight. The bolt remained solidly in place. She wrapped the rope around her arm. This was a moment of truth–she could walk away now and avoid the possibility of a watery grave, or she could take a literal leap of faith. She closed her eyes and lept...
https://vocal.media/pride/the-knight-s-error
Moonlight rippled unnaturally on the lake as the car rounded the curve to the final stretch of dirt road before we reached the township of Elishire. I appreciated the ride–I knew I would have gotten lost in these twisting country backroads. I already longed for the lights and traffic and pavement of my city.
My name is Mary Ingstaff. I am a marriage consultant. I am here to assist with the marriage of Michelle Springs to Ezekiel Banks. I repeated these sentences like a mantra in an attempt to calm my nerves and stave off homesickness. I normally loved traveling for work, but leaving my own new wife at home put a strain on this trip.
If this job works out, Renee and I will be set for a while, I reassured myself, no more out-of-town gigs, no more flights, no more weird little towns. I looked over at my partner, Jake Stevens, who was somehow dozing with his head resting against the cold window. Aside from his many other talents, he was able to sleep anywhere. I’d always envied this ability.
We’d taken this job because of the pay–the entire township was chipping in for this wedding because of…reasons. Ezekiel Banks basically owned this place, so the townspeople had no choice but to contribute. The recent disappearance of his first wife, Constance–whom he’d supposedly divorced before her extremely convenient exit–had put extra pressure on the town to make this wedding special.
Banks’ very young wife, Michelle Springs, was barely out of high school. Poor Michelle, I thought, there must be rumors. There were always rumors in these small towns...
