How Vocal Media Helped Me Write A Book

I don’t know about you, but I have so many books inside me just bursting to get out. One of my greatest fears is that I will die one day with the words trapped inside of me, lost forever. On my wall is a giant sticky note with titles of books I am working on. Some I am still formulating in my head, others I have actually begun getting words onto paper.

These prisoners of mine have a similar theme. Well, two similar themes that are very intertwined with each other.

Theme one is all the stories.

I come from a family of storytellers. No one can just say, “Hey, I grabbed milk at the store today.” Oh no. There is almost always a tale to tell about all the interesting details that transpired during the mundane errand. Our lives are our story. I saw a beautiful quote recently by Scott Keeble, “When someone tells you their story, you’re standing on holy ground.” This is exactly how I feel when someone is sharing a small fragment of their life with me by allowing me to catch a glimpse of their story.

Interestingly, I am not one to embrace frivolity. I dislike wasting time. And mindless entertainment is not my favorite. Stories however, are something I value greatly. Stories are a window into the soul of another person. They are themselves because of their story and how they have interacted with it. Something else I have come to appreciate so much about our stories and our memories is that they are a connection to our past and thus they offer us purpose and meaning. This is never as important as in cases of trauma, grief and loss. One of the ways people are able to process losses is through their memories. Not just our own memories either. By embracing the stories of other people we are given a framework and perspective with which to heal and build our own lives and stories.

It has been said that you will be the same person you are today except for the people you spend time with and the stories that you read (or watch). This is powerful.

We are the authors or our own stories, however one of the ways we choose our paths is by choosing our input inthe way of friends and media. Stories shape us.

This is why I am so compelled to write; my stories, as well as other people’s stories. Giving people anecdotes of humor and resilience and perspective on life, is my passion.

Theme two is information.

My life experience is broad and I have been blessed with a wide base of knowledge which is often sought after. As a lifelong learner, it brings me great joy to digest useful information and then return it to the world in a friendly and easy to assimilate format. I think this is a gift many writers espouse. Our thirst for information is insatiable and sometimes exhausting, but taking the time to funnel it back out provides us with a purpose for these gifts. If you are a person who finds yourself just burning to let some of the words inside your head leak out onto the paper, you will understand exactly what I am talking about.

Let me share a tiny piece of my journey. I have been a writer since i was a child. My first chapter book was completed at age 13. (In case you wanted to know, it is terrible though hilarious.) But not to be daunted, I have continued writing. The piece I have struggled with is accepting the idea that people would actually want to read what I have written. I suffer greatly from Imposter syndrome. I seriously love my stories. Honestly, I enjoy reading my own writing. My kids are my biggest adoring fans and beg for me to read stories I have penned to them every night at bedtime. But somehow this has not been enough. My reluctance to widely share my words, combined with lack of a clear pathway to do so has held me back for decades.

A few months ago, shortly after I had decided to finally fully embrace my writer's identity, I stumbled upon the ad for the Little Black Book Challenge offered by Vocal Media. This was at a time when I was processing a difficult family situation, and this challenge offered an amazing outlet for the story I had already written to help myself heal. While I did not win the challenge, my relationship with Vocal served to catapult me into a frenzy not just of writing, but of sharing my writing with a group of supportive and encouraging writers. This further inspired me to begin sharing my writing with friends on my personal social media.

Three things are coming out of this.

1. I have been receiving realistic and helpful feedback and a ton of encouragement to “please keep writing.” This has boosted my confidence significantly.
2. I am writing stories that have been on my list for years.
3. Because of the (No) Regret Challenge specifically, I am well on my way to writing a book of humorous and endearing stories.

How Vocal is helping me write my book.

Every time I write another story for the (No) Regrets Challenge it seems like three more ideas pop into my head. It’s amazing I let myself stop and write this article as i have two stories half written already in my Google Docs! With 7 entries already, and very positive feedback for at least 5 of them, I expect that by the time the challenge closes, I will have an almost completed book. The realization that I was organically writing a book without being overwhelmed by the momentous task of “writing a book,” was life changing.

As I conclude this piece, it is my hope that the writing bug is contagious and that many of the writers here, similar to myself, will use this platform to stretch their writing, receive feedback, gain confidence and share their stories far and wide. And maybe we can all get some of our books published. I want to read your book as soon as you write it!

Just for fun here are my 7 entries so far to the No Regrets Challenge. Every single time someone reads one it brings me encouragement to keep going. Thank you. And if you'd like to leave a heart, I always appreciate that too.

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