A Transparent Look at Vocal Challenges and Top Stories
A look at how challenges work on Vocal and an invitation to help shape what comes next.
Almost three years ago, we shared a resource article that served as a place for people to suggest new challenge prompts. We thought it would be a good idea to refresh that thread, and take the opportunity to answer a few common questions about top stories, how challenges are judged and how submissions are reviewed.
Every Qualifying Submission Is Read
First and most importantly, every qualifying submission is read.
If a challenge is tied to a specific community, it's reviewed that way. For example, if we run a haiku challenge for the Poets Community, we are not evaluating pieces that were written for another community. Submissions are reviewed based on the rules, requirements, and intent of that specific prompt.
It may sound obvious, but it's worth stating clearly.
One thing to note is that you will not see a read on your submission reflected in your stats or wallet. That is because challenge entries are reviewed in a separate backend system, not through the standard reader-facing experience on Vocal. Even if no visible read appears on the story itself, qualifying submissions are still being reviewed there.
We also don't moderate challenge submissions before a challenge closes. That means people sometimes submit work that does not match the prompt, the community, the format, or the word count requirements. Those pieces may still appear in the challenge while it is open, but they are not considered during judging if they do not meet the criteria.
Judges Change, but the Standards Stay Consistent
We rotate judges regularly. That helps keep the process fresh and brings different editorial perspectives into the mix over time.
Even as judges change, the standards stay generally the same to keep the process consistent. We are not treating challenge submissions like school assignments with a hyper-detailed rubric. We are looking for pieces that clearly respond to the prompt, follow the challenge requirements, and feel intentional in the way they are written.
Challenge judging is also done blind. Judges review the work without seeing the writer’s identity attached to it, so the focus stays on the piece itself.
Across challenges, we are generally asking the same core questions. Does the piece actually respond to the prompt? Does it follow the structure or format required by the challenge? Does the writing feel controlled and purposeful? Does the piece feel complete within the form it has chosen?
And yes, word count matters. More than a few strong entries have fallen out of the running simply because they missed the stated range.
These guidelines help keep the process fair and consistent while still leaving room for editorial judgment.
Why We Don’t Publish the Full Process
Challenges work best when writers are focused on the prompt itself, not trying to reverse-engineer a scoring system. Publishing every detail would not really make the process better. It would mostly encourage people to write toward what they think we want, instead of writing the strongest possible response to the challenge.
What we can say is straightforward. Each qualifying submission is read. Judging is blind. Entries are reviewed within the same general framework, even as different judges rotate in over time.
How Top Stories Are Selected
Top Stories are selected by our curation team and as many of you are aware they are the primary way stories appear on the front page of Vocal. Every Top Story is chosen by a person, and sometimes we schedule them to go live later so they’re spaced out across the day or week.
There isn’t a strict formula behind these selections. We look for pieces that feel complete and interesting to read, we like to keep a mix of formats like poetry, fiction, and essays in rotation, and try not to feature the same creator more than once a week.
Over the past couple of years, the flood of AI-generated content and spam has made curation harder in some communities. As a result, a few of them have fallen a bit out of the Top Story rotation while we sort through the noise.
Challenge submissions often are selected as Top Stories, but that has no impact on whether or not the piece will place in the challenge. Sometimes a story just works as a great standalone read, even if it didn’t follow the prompt closely enough to qualify.
From time to time we also experiment with themed selections. For example, on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day in 2025 we scheduled a series of Top Stories featuring pieces that had placed in challenges over the previous few years. We might do it again this year, we’ll let you know.
We do pay attention to what our power users are engaging with, but Top Stories aren’t based on clicks alone. It’s just one signal the curation team considers.
Feel like we missed something that should have been Top Storied? Let us know in the latest 📢 Raise Your Voice Thread.
A New Place to Suggest Challenge Ideas
With that in mind, we’re opening a new thread for challenge suggestions. We’re getting ready to release more challenges at the end of the month and would love to hear what kinds of prompts you’d like to see.
If you have an idea for a challenge, consider things like:
A specific form A constraint or structural rule A theme that could lead to interesting interpretations Or just something that aligns with your writing goals in 2026
Your idea can be simple or a little unexpected. If you have a prompt in mind, drop it in the comments below.
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Comments (48)
I think it would be interesting to have a challenge focused around a generation gap, where two or more characters from different generations have to face the political, historical, or social barriers between them.
April is Autism Awareness month; I'd like a challenge for the Psyche community, writing about some form of Neurodiversity
As many would expect, who has read my writing, i love ambiguity and hate spoonfeeding. Probably.more extremely so than others. So challenge idea one - write a story that is ambiguous. In keeping with the theme I am not going to suggest anything else. Challenge idea two. Write a nonlinear story. Simple really. Not a usual start middle end. Challenge idea three. Cohost a challenge with Paul Stewart. You know you want to , Vocal 🤣👀👀 Challenge idea four - write a romance. There. I mean.it and I am serious no bullshitting. A romance to rival classics through the eras.
This is refreshing.
A Story about being part of something huge yet belonging. as a person. Fifteen years ago I was part of Lighting Hadrian's Wall so something similar. This is my tale, which obviously won't be an entry if this becomes a challenge https://specialxdealspot.live/wander/lighting-up-hadrian-s-wall%3C/span%3E%3C/span%3E%3C/span%3E%3C/a%3E%3C/p%3E%3C/div%3E%3C/div%3E%3C/div%3E%3Cdiv class="css-w4qknv-Replies">
I would really love to see a Critique community challenge, something like: Share a story that has been stuck in your drafts. Include what feels incomplete. I feel like we don't use that community for what it's meant for often enough, and it would be nice to see Vocal actively encouraging us to support each other with feedback and draft sharing there.
I would like more challenges that aren't Fiction or Poetry. We have plenty of other Communities that are feeling ignored right now.
Love this peek, Vocal! Have always loved this platform, always will! So much gratitude for the opportunity you have provided—for how I have changed/developed as a writer because of you! ✨🩷✨ Challenge idea: Submit only one poem— your favorite. Any length. Any style.
I really hope that some of these challenge ideas will be verified and go live! It’s making me nervous that there’s only one left!
I find myself needing to live in worlds of fantasy without violence death and unrest. To write of such things gives hope to the restless minds of today. Return beauty, wonder and imagination to the writer's souls.
Ideas are still arriving slow. All I can think of is that I want to laugh some more, some humorous challenges (which I have suggested before) I love detective forays into mystery, Challenges of men's view of women's perspective and vice versa - matters not which side writes which. Can we get less psychological challenges right now, mix it up with exciting, uplifting topics, I am thinking on a few, be back soon. Thank you.
Challenge idea: What’s your tattoo? Write about a character that gets a tattoo. What’s the tattoo detail? What are the circumstances that led to getting it?
Challenge idea: Mirror Mirror. Write a story where a critical moment involves looking into a mirror or other mirrored reflection.
Challenge idea: Dreamscapes. Write a story from a perspective of a dream. Is it a good dream or a nightmare? It should have the standard aspects of a short story, but elements that make us feel like we dreaming.
I would love to see a challenge in a community that’s not featured much in top stories or challenges currently. A wellness-focused essay sharing how everyone is balancing self-care in all the turmoil going on these days would be interesting. An essay in the style of a motivational speaker/writer giving advice on a subject you know well could be cool. It would be nice to branch out from poetry and fiction from a challenge for a personal essay in general.
I'm just seeing this and having a think. Will comment later. Really great to be engaging with ideas, it's midnight...so, ideas to be given. BTW. I can tell when you rotate judges. I did ask that some time ago. Feelings become different. Thank you.
Challenge idea: The wish gone wrong. Evil djin? Bad coins in the fountain? Maybe the wish came true, but there were unexpected consequences.
I've been a busy bee, so a bit late on this, but wow, thank you for this! It was really needed. And I love the approach to keeping the challenge details out of it. It makes a lot of sense. Hmm, prompts...here's a few! For the Horror Community: Write a story inspired by a nightmare you or someone you know has had. You must end the story with the character waking up in an unexpected place. For the poetry community: Write a poem without using the letters P O E M. Any format is welcome. For the fiction community: Write a fictional story inspired by this image [ an image made by a human artist, whether illustrated or a photo ].
Good to know. Thanks
Challenge Idea: The unhappy ending. Not all stories have a happy ending, give us a tearjerker, make us angry, let the bad guy win.
Even though I haven't yet subscribed, Our currency is weak to the dollar. How about occasionally making the challenge Freestyle. This could inspire more great stories that would otherwise just be voted "Top Story", the monetary gain, an added incentive. Otherwise same rules can apply.
Informative read. Thanks.
Thank you for this. Some challenge suggestions: 1. Write a poem where opposites are the focus in some way. 2. Write a humorous poem based on something that really happened to or was witnessed by the author. 3. Write a story involving food and then share a recipe. 4. Write a piece for FYI based on a current or past occupation or experience. Also, I think the disparity between a win and other prizes is too great. How about giving winners $150, runners-up $25, and honorable mentions $15? Make us "always a bridesmaid, never a bride" people feel a bit better. 😊
I love the transparency of this article and all the changes you previously have announced you are working on. Thank you for all the hard work I'm sure you're doing behind the scenes. I know there's been a lot of frustration expressed by many creators and they are often a little impatient. But I'm sure it's not been easy to navigate the new challenges of AI infiltration and solutions always seem much easier on the surface than they really are. I always thought it would be interesting to do a second chance challenge for pieces that were entered into a previous challenge and didn't place. The author should include an honest self-critique of why they think it didn't place and then a brief argument for why they believe it deserves more recognition.
Elegy poem. Either for a person or concept like a past life to mourn or say goodbye to.