About Me — Mary Chang Story Writer
A mom & writer inspired by exercise, humor & people. Fueled by cartwheels, the F-word & defying middle age.
I keep trying! (Updated: Feb 2022)
On the day I turned f*cking 50 — my 10-year-old son summed it up with this question, “Mom, can you believe that you’ve been alive for 50 years?” Nope, I still can’t believe it, but with age comes wisdom (in theory) — I’m still growing up as I navigate this earth trying to figure out who the heck I am.
I’ve learned that the thought of turning 49 launched my butt off the couch to embark on a personal fitness journey and that during the process, I lost 19 pounds, revived my confidence and strength, and discovered that the only way to defy and embrace middle age is to write about it, “put myself out there” and keep trying.
I can do 69 consecutive cartwheels, cross the monkey bars, and do a headstand —three things I never thought I could do over a year ago. I coasted and stayed within my comfort zone for decades, but when I realized that if I live to be 100 — that means my life today is half-over, and I woke up!
I could keep coasting and give in to the fatigue that comes with aging, or I could reclaim myself, fight for that spark I lost and invent my own self-mantra. I chose the latter, created “Try, Mary, Try,” and when I followed my mantra, it became the “secret power” towards bettering my life through exercise, writing, and encouraging others to shine.
On Writing
My first true love is short-story fiction and I’ve won a few rewards for my stories in fiction writing contests. I’ve published memoir articles, health and lifestyle pieces in magazines such as Teacher, Westcoast Families, HerStry, Elephant Journal, and a few local newspapers. In the past, I wrote print ads for an entertainment newspaper, 30 and 60 second commercials for a radio station and occasionally talked on the radio about community events.
I write about inspiration, creativity, and self-empowerment. My stories are driven by exercise, nature, people, parenting, life lessons, growing up in the 70s & 80s, and humor. When I say “humor,” I confess that my 10-year-old son is way funnier than I am and that my writing reflects on the engaging conversations we have.
Since I joined Medium in 2020, my blog, www.marychangstorywriter.com has transformed into an “organized shoebox” collection of my past stories (pre-Medium) along with links to my recent Medium articles, as most of my writing time has been devoted to this platform.
On Medium
My stories have been published in: Age of Empathy, An Injustice, The Ascent, Better Humans, Live Your Life on Purpose, P.S. I Love You (self/personal growth), The Brave Writer, Inspired Writer, The Writing Cooperative (writing/self), Modern Parent (parenting), Fitness and In Health (fitness) The Bad Influence, The Haven, MuddyUm (humor), Feedium, Illumination, Writers’ Blokke (general/writing about Medium), About Me Stories (bio), Counter Arts, For Awe, Snapshots, (photo stories) and self-published (self/life lessons).
My Publication
I’m the creator and editor of the Six Word Photo Story Challenge publication which was inspired by the popular original 6-Word Photo Story Summer Challenge writing prompt (2021) on Medium. The publication’s philosophy and writing style, “Can you tell story in six words inspired by a photo taken by yourself?” has manifested a spark-driven passion, obsession, and creative addiction for many writers.
Since the pub’s launch in September 2021, a village of readers and writers are intertwining through the vibrant photographic short stories and have created an intimate web of encouragement and support. My beach headstand below is the photo that’s featured in my submission guidelines, and if you’d like to be added as a writer, please leave a comment there.
How I Stay Fit
I’m an active parent (but I still haven’t outrun my son during any spontaneous foot race), a fitness enthusiast with a passion for cold wild water swimming, forest hikes, yoga and cycling. But sometimes a brisk walk, good set of push-ups, squats and jumping jacks do the trick to get my mind and body pumping.
I snap a good photo sometimes, am constantly taking photos for ideas for new prompts and appreciate the art of photography, but I’m not an expert. I love creating monthly challenges whether it’s related to writing, photography, fitness or food. I do a high jump, cartwheel or headstand every time someone reads my stories!
How to Support Mary Chang Story Writer’s Writing
You can read, clap 1–50x, highlight sentences that resonate with you, and write comments on her stories if her writing connects with you in some way. You can follow her, subscribe to get her stories via email, or read and follow her Six Word Photo Story Challenge publication. To do this, you can create a free Medium account.
Want to support Mary Chang Story Writer with a membership?
If you’d like to support Mary Chang Story Writer further, you can sign up for a membership using the referral link below. A small portion of your membership fee directly supports Mary Chang Story Writer and other writers you read. You’ll also get full access to every story on Medium. https://marychang-10894.medium.com/membership.
Gratitude for your reading time. Mary Chang Story Writer.
My writing experience & self-mantra
My Jan 1, 2021 original bio: I’m an a published fiction and memoir article writer and I have a secure non-related day job that pays the bills. I’m not a prolific writer on Medium like some of those kick-ass writers here who publish daily. I can’t keep pace with them, but I exercise and write almost every day, and I can bang out a few articles a month that I’ve put my heart into.
A big thing I realized since I’ve been following my self-mantra “Try, Mary, Try” is that every person is on their own individual life journey. Whatever that is, it will look different on everyone because each person has their own perspective, purpose, passion, vision, wishes, and goals. I believe this is what enables self-empowerment, and I believe this is what makes people shine.
I appreciate and respect this belief, and in my personal life, I try to inspire others through positive words and encouragement to help them shine brighter.
I try to clap 50x for articles I read, make positive comments, or follow writers back (when time allows and my brain and eyes aren’t fried from overdosing on social media) because I want to “make their day!” It’s a way to encourage people to keep them going at whatever stage they’re at. I might be the only person or the hundredth person who engaged with their story that day, and in either case, that can brighten a writer’s day, knowing that their stories have been read. Whether or not they do the same for me, that’s beyond my control, but when they do, it makes my day!
The truth behind my first two months on Medium
Nov & Dec 2020: I’ve received 7 rejections to date on various submissions from 5 different Medium publications, published 6 articles in 6 different publications, and haven’t self-published any articles since I started writing here in November 2020. I’m exploring different publications to “get a feel” and see where each story takes me on reader-writer engagement through comments, claps, and stats.
When I launched my personal blog in 2019, I introduced myself through “6-word stories” on my first blog post because that’s how I got my first story published in 2009. Today I’m showcasing the first 6 stories I published on Medium in 6 different publications over two months (3 in November/3 in December/2 of the stories were curated). Each article received between 313 to 785+ claps and between 3–12 comments per article. For each month, I earned enough to buy my son a handful of items from Dollarama!
I hope this gives new Medium writers (like me) some inspiration. Who doesn’t love Dollarama? I don’t publish every day on Medium, but I write most days. Sometimes it takes 6 stories to put yourself out there and get your stories read, sometimes it takes 69, but it all starts with writing at least one.
In any case, whenever you start letting readers read those stories you wrote that you’ve been too scared to share, you’re off to a good start. You may still be anxious, nervous, or scared after you hit “submit to publication” or “publish,” but being scared is part of the writing journey. Plus, the “scare” makes me feel f*cking alive! Do you agree?
My first 6 stories published in 6 different Medium Publications over 2 months (Nov-Dec 2020)
“I’m 50 — fabulous or f*cked? Giving the finger to middle age.” Published in a humor publication, The Haven. Thank you, Page Barnes, Editor of The Haven — you rock my middle-aged world with your kick-ass humor!
“Life Lessons from the Crow: More than just a yoga pose. On Parenting, Writing & Perseverance.” Published in Inspired Writer and curated. Thank you, Kelly Eden and Ash Jurberg, Editors of Inspired Writer, for working with me on the final edits and title. I have a crush on your publication; I dream of stalking you (ahem, visiting you) in New Zealand and Australia. I’m proud to be part of IW.
“The Dirty Truth Behind My Medium Debut: Breaking my virginity with The Brave Writer” Published in Writers’ Blokke. Thank you, Benny Lim, Editor of Writers Blokke — you look half my old age — but who cares? You’re cute and inspired me with your stories to write on this platform!
“How Mastering a Headstand Improved My Writing: Turning upside down to turn yourself around.” Published in The Writing Cooperative and curated. Thank you, Justin Cox, Co-Founder & Editor of The Writing Cooperative, for selecting and curating my story on the TWC, one of Medium’s largest publications — wow! I dedicated my daily headstands to you for the rest of November.
“My First Published Story: Hooking the editor’s attention in six words, without getting down on my knees.” Published in The Bad Influence. Thank you, Reuben Salsa, Editor of The Bad Influence — there’s nothing better than a good “fuck off teddy bear.” Your writing and sense of naughty rocks!
“The Beauty, Truth & Ugly Behind My First Year of Blogging. Braving the Weird WordPress World.” My debut article on Medium was published in The Brave Writer. Thank you, Alexander Boswell, Editor at The Brave Writer — oh, you were patient and wonderful with your guidance. Always a soft spot in my heart for you!
Lastly, thank you, Quy Ma, for inviting me to write a bio here at About Me Stories and allowing me to introduce myself on Medium. I loved reading your bio and stories, and I’m honored to be a part of your fast-growing publication giving new and experienced writers a chance to interact.
More about the author: Mary Chang is an award-winning short story fiction writer, memoir writer, blogger, and editor of the Six Word Photo Story Challenge publication (Sept 1, 2021), inspired by her 6-Word Photo Story Summer Challenge writing prompt (July 1-Aug 31, 2021) on Medium. She’s also a parent, fitness enthusiast, obsessed with rock stars, and wants to learn to sing one song someday — beautifully.
Her stories are inspired by exercise, humor & people. Fueled by cartwheels, laughter, the F-word, and defying middle-age. Read her blog at www.marychangstorywriter.com.
