Stream of Consciousness
Plagiarist!!
**EDIT** THE USER AND HIS STORIES HAVE BEEN REMOVED FROM VOCAL It has come to my attention that we have another serial plagiarist. Michelle first reported it in our plagiarism group chat on Facebook Messenger this morning when she noticed one of her stories had been stolen by this user. We immediately went into action.
By Mother Combs7 months ago in Writers
Are You Building a Career or Just a Brand?
Let’s face it: we’re all living double lives. There’s the version of you that gets up, does the work, and delivers results. And then there’s the curated, polished, LinkedIn-friendly version of you - the one who seems effortlessly successful, constantly grinding, and always "on." Over time, it feels like this second version of ourselves has taken center stage. We’ve become performers in our own career dramas, and honestly, the show is exhausting.
By Narghiza Ergashova7 months ago in Writers
Naming Fiction Characters
Anne Bernays and Pamela Painter — What if? Writing Exercises for Fiction Writers prompts — The Exercise: Name the following characters, keeping in mind that you can plant, within a name, a clue to their role in your fiction. * A petty, white-collar thief who robs his boss over several years. * An envious, bitter woman who makes her sister miserable by systematically trying to undercut her pleasure and self-confidence. * A sweet young man too shy to speak to an attractive woman he sees every day at work. * The owner of a fast-food restaurant who comes on to his young female employees. * A grandmother who just won the lottery. The Objective: To recognize that the names you give your characters should not be drawn out of a hat but carefully tested to see if they "work". Sometimes you may want to choose an "appropriate" name (Victoria for a member of the British aristocracy) and once in a while it's a good idea to choose a name that seems "inappropriate" (Bruce for the child of migrant farm workers). In each case, you are sending a message to the reader about who the character is, where he came from and where he is headed. A name can send a message as powerful as a title.
By Denise E Lindquist7 months ago in Writers
May 21st
I am sitting on a wood fence. It is simple, a standard two-pole, two wide-spaced-slat affair made of roughly hewn, generally rectangular-shaped odds and ends of wood. It has been recently edited; the inexperienced, pale tan and peachy slats show where the new bits are. The rest is weathered and grey, splinter-less and with varying shades of lichen dotting its underside. I am sitting on a grey slat, my shorts a little too short to protect me from a splintery new piece.
By ThatOne_Girl7 months ago in Writers
