100 Top Stories and Other Accidents

On March 9th, an entry I published for the "Everyone Is Acting Normally" Challenge, Silken Chains, was awarded a Top Story. I was delighted. For various reasons. It is one of my best-written stories, and it helped me achieve another Vocal milestone.

What milestone is that, Paul?

100 Top Stories.

I am a big advocate of writers celebrating their achievements, no matter how big or small they are.

Now, I am aware that Top Stories do not always enjoy the best reputation. There are some debates about the legitimacy of Top Stories. I will not be focusing on that here. Vocal has just published their own article about transparency that discusses this that I think you should take a look at if you have any queries.

I am also not going to list and discuss all 100 because who the fuck has time to look at all 100 of my Top Stories?

Instead, I am going to highlight some of my favourite and most notable Top Stories since I joined Vocal in March 2021.

Where it All Began

My very first Top Story was awarded on May 18th, 2022.

Unexpected Villain of the Piece.

Although the reason I joined Vocal was with a view to test or improve my fiction (and eventually poetry) writing, the first pieces I posted were all introspective non-fiction articles. Unexpected Villain of the Piece was an article that discussed how it feels to be the villain in your life story.

Don't Give Up On What You Feel

Awarded on January 20th, 2023.

I had not written any serious poetry since I was a kid, not until I joined Vocal. Although it is not a patch on any of my more recent work, it still stands out as a big moment, as it was my first poetry Top Story and was well-received by readers.

The Writer's Writing Guide

Awarded on March 21st, 2023.

Anyone who knows me well enough and my creative output will know that while I am serious as I am about my craft, I am also a bit of a subversive ass. I noticed a number of writing guides appearing on Vocal. And while I am not really against people sharing their thoughts about writing, while offering tips and advice, what I usually take exception with is when people consider their opinion, thoughts, and experience definitive, and that is casually what gave birth to this writer's guide.

I love that it got Top Story and love the small amount of fuss it caused within the comments section. While most of the points I make are at least based on some sort of sensible thought process, it's mostly bullshit. And was a lot of fun to write and open that particular can of worms.

Time is Running Out

Awarded on February 16th, 2023.

This was fucking great. It was an admittedly slightly leaning towards completely subversive entry for the Time Capsule Haiku challenge.

Inspired by the swearfest intro to Four Weddings and a Funeral, it consists almost exclusively of the word fuck in various forms.

And Vocal awarded it a Top Story.

Need I say more about why I highlight this? The comments section was a joy to read through.

Vocal Deep Cuts

Awarded Top Story on July 12th, 2023.

One of my big joys before I placed in challenges was promoting people. I did that through the hugely successful Vocal Deep Cuts series. I racked up Top Stories for most editions.

It was a great chance to dig for underappreciated work in creators' profiles, and I made new friends and found favourite writers through doing it.

I Kicked a Girl and Didn't Like It

Awarded a Top Story on May 8th, 2023.

I have no idea what prompted this. I think I have always tried to cultivate an attitude of leaving nothing unsaid when writing. This was inspired by real events and has a very to-the-point title, though I still like the Katy Perry riffing. The kicking, spoiler alert, was an accident and connected between the legs of the girl in question.

Not my finest hour.

A Different Kind of Heist

Awarded Top Story on June 12th, 2023.

This was one of several entries into the Micro Heist challenge. My idea was to show how abusive relationships are like a heist. It also has the distinction of being the first Top Story I received for a fiction piece.

Sat on the Bed

Awarded a Top Story on October 13th, 2023.

Written for the Unspoken challenge, this was the first Top Story I got for a longer fiction piece, as the above was a micro. I am still enormously proud of this one, as it covered a very serious topic that is not discussed as much as it should be.

The Accidental Poet - The Book

Awarded a Top Story on December 5th, 2024.

This was the piece I wrote as an introduction to my first self-published poetry collection. Something I would never have thought was an actual thing before joining Vocal.

But here it is. If you haven't bought a copy of this beautiful and diverse collection of grounded and open-wounded poetry, some will make you laugh, cry, think, or feel angry. Etc etc.

Paint Me!

Awarded a Top Story on May 12th, 2024.

I have decided to highlight this one because it is still one of my favourite poems. It is quite unhinged, subversive, arrogant, and self-deprecating. I also believe it is very funny.

Although it was definitely meant as a humorous poem, there are aspects and themes running through it that are core my view as a writer and hopes and dreams for my craft.

Say It Loud and Clear

Awarded a Top Story on June 5th, 2025.

Another poetry Top Story and another very personal one. This is a tribute to my dad, Hugh Stewart, who passed away in 2025. We were estranged and then he was diagnosed with vascular dementia and I lost any chance of reconciling. Or at least thought I did.

Since his death, I have come to terms with his failings and my own failings and realised we were not as different as I thought.

Semantic Satiation & Other Fatal Ejaculations

Awarded a Top Story on July 18th, 2025.

Need I say more than look at that title and consider the fact it's about bee sperm, among other things, and has an excellent bad joke.

I cannot remember why I decided to write this but, I guess I thought it would be a funny bit of wordplay and an interesting experimentation - given that in the subtitle of the piece I suggest it be made a Top Story.

Hunters by Matthew Fromm - Jon and Stephen Recorded Readings Special Episode In Review

Awarded a Top Story on August 15th, 2025.

A more serious Top Story, this one. As I've said before, one of the greatest joys I've experienced in using this platform is the friends I've made. Stephen A. Roddewig and Matthew Fromm are two that I consider my closest friends. Another of my great joys is celebrating their successes. That is why I've highlighted this Top Story as it is a review of an audio version of a story by Matty on Stephen's podcast, read by Stephen's voice artist of choice, Jonathan Kilgore.

This Was My Best Fucking Piece (And It Still Lost)

Awarded a Top Story on December 1st, 2025.

This was a piece I wrote about why it's not being a bad sport to feel bad when you didn't place in a challenge or competition.

Silken Chains

Awarded a Top Story on March 9th, 2026.

My most recent Top Story, an entry for the Everyone Is Acting Normally challenge. This is one of my favourite stories, so I am glad it was awarded a Top Story.

Conclusion

I have wanted to do a piece about Top Stories for a long time now. When it was clear I was approaching the 100 milestone, I figured that was the best time to do so. I am proud of every Top Story I have achieved. In general, I am proud of every piece of writing I have published. If I wasn't, I wouldn't publish them.

There is obviously a lot of debate and discussion about Top Stories. Like many people, I am often surprised by the selections, including my own. There are also people who wonder what they need to do to secure Top Stories.

In my humble opinion, based on my own experience, aside from the information provided by Vocal, anyone can get a Top Story if they write something interesting and engaging.

There are different factors the team obviously look for, but the first thing you could do is write to try and get a Top Story rather than write something good.

So, if you have been sitting there wondering why Paul Stewart has 100 Top Stories, now you know. I write a lot, and write well. I also write for me first and foremost, then if anything, others second, not for algorithmic pleasure, or gaming the system success.

If I was - would I have written a poem about bee cum?

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Thanks for reading and for your support since I joined and started publishing on Vocal!