S. A. Crawford
Bio
Writer, reader, life-long student - being brave and finally taking the plunge by publishing some articles and fiction pieces.
Achievements (15)
Stories (221)
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The Perfectionist Diaries - 2
Vocal has proven to be so much more than a platform, for me. It was the place I first won a runner-up prize for writing (a love poem that I am immensely proud of, though I have now learned more about poetry and can see its flaws), it's where I first uploaded an original short story for everyone to see, it's where I took the plunge and entered a folkloric horror story into the Vocal+ Fiction Challenge, coming as a runner up (and bagging a cheeky free year of Vocal+).
By S. A. Crawford3 years ago in Confessions
Enforcing failure to avoid self-rejection. Top Story - March 2023.
I have never considered myself to be a perfectionist; my motto, professionally, academically, and personally has always been that my best is good enough. If I fail at work, as a person, or in school (which in all honesty I rarely, if ever, did), I was good at forgiving myself and picking up the pieces.
By S. A. Crawford3 years ago in Psyche
Writing for Your Life
Just like in real life, fights in fiction tend to represent a dramatic change of atmosphere and pace. Even if you're writing an action-packed thriller or a war-filled epic, the reality of close combat is something that should stand out starkly on the pages. Getting the balance right, keeping your reader up to date with the position and condition of your characters, maintaining a realistic pace... it can be daunting.
By S. A. Crawford3 years ago in Journal
Unbroken
"If walls could talk..." the woman whispered and stroked my pitted, battled scarred side, "what would they say?" She turned her head, red hair flashing in the sunlight, and smiled at her companion. He grunted something and moved on, uninterested, but her smile, sad and weak, stayed with me for days.
By S. A. Crawford3 years ago in Fiction
The Sellar Winds
If walls could talk, we would speak of the children of the barley and the wind-buffeted lands that their seeds left to be carried on the winds of change. I was never beautiful; built roughly with stone hewn from the corpses of long-dead volcanos, backed by wattle and daub, topped with highland heather.
By S. A. Crawford3 years ago in Fiction
What I Learned From Failing my Personal Vocal 2022 Challenge
At the start of 2022, I was in a rut; I was broke, fat, and depressed, and I was worried that my writing would never go anywhere. So I set myself a challenge to write 3 Vocal Media posts a week and join as many Vocal+ challenges as I could.
By S. A. Crawford3 years ago in Humans
