10 Medium Questions Because “Inquiring Minds Want To Know”

Honored to be tagged for this writing challenge…

1️⃣ Do you follow a routine every day for writing on Medium? 🗓

Typically I write in the evenings after my 9–5 job. If topic ideas emerge while I’m at work, I’ll jot them down in my notes app. Being on Medium daily is routine for me, but I’m not always writing. A majority of the time, I’m reading and interacting with stories.

2️⃣ Do you choose your title before or after writing your story? 📝

Titles usually come to me before writing the story but change more often than not as the story unfolds.

3️⃣ How long do you spend thinking of a title? ⏳

Thinking of the final title takes some time. Without having an exact figure, I think I spend maybe 15 minutes total. Typing out a bunch of options to choose from helps me.

4️⃣ Do you choose your main photo before or after writing? 📷

Choosing the main photo is around step 3–4 for me. I write the title and part of the story then take a break to search for photos on Unsplash.

Finding photos takes me longer than I’d like but I don’t yet have any good strategies for it. Photos that I like on Unsplash tend to come up under random searches, and when I’m searching a specific topic the ones that come up aren’t appealing. I like bright photos but have trouble finding them.

I welcome any tips, please!

5️⃣ If you are writing a story about yourself, do you try to choose an image that looks like you? For example, would you use a photo of a man if you are a woman or vice versa? 🖼

Photos that I choose rarely have humans in them. If they do, the humans are usually silhouettes or far away. If I did choose more photos with humans, I don’t think I’d choose any that look like me, and gender would have no impact on my decision.

6️⃣ How many drafts do you write of your stories? ✍

First drafts slowly become final drafts. I can’t really calculate how many drafts I write. I start out in Google Docs and then move the initial draft into Medium. Once it’s in Medium, I’m editing bit by bit for a few days. Eventually, I publish.

7️⃣ Do you ever start a story with something in mind and it turns into something totally different? Please give an example. 🔀

In my story, J.Lo Inspired Me to Use These Affirmations, I had planned to write the story of how Jennifer Lopez inspired me with the affirmation she spoke during an interview. The story beautifully expanded into a list of affirmations and a how-to guide on using affirmations.

Lately I’ve also started experimenting with different genres of writing. An essay might turn into a poem plus essay.

8️⃣ Did you ever get an idea for a story because of a comment you wrote to someone? 💡

Ideas pop up all the time — while I’m writing a story, when I see something interesting, when I read other stories, when I comment or read a comment, literally any time of the day or night.

9️⃣ How long have you been writing on Medium, and how many stories have you published? 📑

As of right now, I’ve been on Medium for 3 months and 1 week. I’ve published 67 stories and have 4 drafts ready. I’ve published 11 of the 67 stories with 5 different publications.

🔟 If you could change or add one thing to Medium what would it be? ☑

Graying out the articles that I’ve already read and notifications that I’ve already clicked on would be helpful.

My article was inspired by Pamela Oglesby, who tagged/challenged me in hers:

The questions were made by Lynn L. Alexander. You can find her article at the bottom of Pamela Oglesby’s post.

Thank you for spending your time, hopefully 30 seconds or more, reading my story! I am grateful for your comments, highlights, claps, and engagement. Wishing you the best day ever!☀️