10 Reasons Why I Won’t Subscribe To Writing Courses On Medium

This one is for the newcomers

Hello everyone. I am back with a story, especially for newcomers. People who are writing enthusiasts but do not write professionally. Well, Medium as a platform, is a blessing for us.

No one to deduct our marks for grammatical and spelling errors. No one to judge us on our looks and backgrounds. It is therapeutic in a genuine sense.

But when given so much freedom, we lose our tracks easily. We see hundreds of stories about how people make huge loads of money in less time. And that undoes the blinds in front of us.

We forget our purpose here. To write. To learn. To find ourselves. Money sure is a motivation, but not the end goal.

So, I present to you 10 good reasons one should never take up easily available courses to become a better writer.

1. The Curiosity Killer

I had just started reading ‘Harry Potter and the Half-blood Prince’. Bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, I asked my roommate, ‘’Isha, have you read this one?’’

Her answer felt like a punch to the gut.

‘Oh yeah, totally read that one. He killed poor Dumbledore. That Professor, wait-a-minute, what was his name, yeah, Snape?’

Argh! I instantly regretted asking her. We hate it when such things happen, don’t we? No one loves to listen to the spoilers before we have a first-hand experience ourselves.

Subscribing for readymade material will not be any different. These courses will bring medium elements together. Successfully slaughtering the curiosity in you.

2. Inverted Learning Curve

I am obsessed with the learning curve’s concept ever since I learned it. I have been subconsciously tracking my learning curve in every sphere of my life. It is a straightforward way to track your progress and see where you stand in the longer run.

As school kids, we learn things from scratch and hence have a sharp learning curve. But when we learn from other’s findings instead of exploring, the curve rather steepens. Which is never the ideal case.

3. ‘I Can’t See A Thing’

If you show me the movie’s climax in the trailer, I will not watch the movie. I need the theatre experience as an audience. Staring at the screen for hours while munching popcorn aimlessly.

The above process has its own thrill and charm.

Writing on Medium and getting a first-hand experience of what works and what doesn’t is equally important. You learn much more than just writing here.

4. What’s Yours Is Mine

You joined a platform such as the medium years ago. Worked off your asses. Researched day and night to understand what it takes to make it big as a writer. Worked earnestly to get there.

And then I enter with an eminent rockstar attitude. Overtly excited. Looking to make big with little to no efforts. I look around Medium. I find your writing course.

‘’Oh, there’s my Hero!’’

I pay your fee and start taking your course. Reaping all that you harvested after years of hard work.

5. The Super Shortcut

Shortcuts are thorny, creepy, and dangerous. The long ones are well, long, boring, and need patience. But who has patience nowadays? (Me yawning) Sorry, please don’t mind. Just the thought of taking a long route made me sleepy.

I want to reach my destination at the earliest.

Therefore, the prospect of relying on the top writers for success is a topnotch idea, isn’t it? It inclusively states,

I can have my cake and eat it too.

6. Where Are Thy Warriors?

The new writers on Medium are like untrained Ninjas. They’re ready to take part in a war despite knowing that they suck at it. No offense. But as amateurs, we know we have a long way to go before we end up in the real battle-field. But then, we remind ourselves,

‘’Hey, get yourself together. You’re a warrior’’

So we subscribe to a tailormade writing course for Medium, which puts our warrior into a deep slumber.

7. I Ain’t No Christopher Columbus

I am not fond of traveling at all. I would rather be at home. Going out and searching for fresh places is out of the question for me.

Medium is no different. Authors keep emphasizing on reading topics of different genres and writing on a variety of topics. This will help us explore which category we really love to write about.

But wait, I already have someone tell me what to do and what not to do. Who needs exploration now, right?

8. Mom, Feed Me, I’m Hungry

As a toddler, I cried when I was hungry. My mom used to rush to feed me. I loved sitting there watching her run around the kitchen like a maniac.

‘’My poor baby is hungry. I have got to feed her now.’’

Fast forward 28 years, I am hungry for attention on Medium. I cry. And guess what, I get a course worth a few dollars which would more than satiate my hunger. What else do I need in life, huh?

9. I Am Who I Am, But I am Not Whom I Am Meant To Be, Got It?

Our writings represent who we are. How we think and see the world. But someone else guiding us even in these matters makes no sense. How can one teach us how to be ‘US’? Travel alone and find which station to get down at, simple.

It’s a journey after all, not the ultimate destination.

10. It Makes You Proud

When I attended a webinar by a top writer, he shared some points for success. Out of three, I was already following two of them.

And towards the end, I was like, ‘’I already have it in me what it takes to be a skilled writer.’’

Why scratch our brains unnecessarily. And I stopped trying to my optimum capacity.

These courses give you a false sense of achievement.

It creates an illusion that you’re halfway there. But in fact, ‘’ You have just taken a few steps from the start line’’.

PS: This article is not to take a dig at the top writers here. I have immense respect for their talent and dedication. This story is merely an eye-opener for the newcomers on medium. They have the tendency to get attracted to such readymade materials. They want to make it big in less time, thus ignoring all the other steps necessary for one’s overall development as a writer.