Summary

The Shortform is a Medium publication dedicated to short articles of up to 150 words, offering a platform for quick, engaging content and aiding writers in maintaining a writing habit.

Abstract

The Shortform is a unique Medium publication that exclusively features shortform posts, which are concise articles limited to 150 words. This platform caters to readers seeking quick, digestible content, akin to what one might consume while standing in line. It serves as a creative outlet for writers to share immediate thoughts, quotes, photos, or summaries of longer articles. The publication emphasizes the value of brevity, encouraging writers to refine their language and convey their message effectively within the word limit. Writers are invited to join The Shortform, with a simple application process, and are encouraged to produce content that is entertaining and easy to understand. The Shortform also provides an opportunity for writers to hone their editing skills and potentially improve their longform writing.

Opinions

Burk highlights shortform writing as an opportunity for growth on Medium and a tool to maintain a regular writing habit.
Adelina Vasile likens writing shortform posts to getting paid for tweeting, emphasizing the concise nature of the content.
Patricia Rosa points out that shortform writing can keep writers motivated, especially when they only have limited time to write.
Kristina God suggests that writing short stories can be a quick win for writers who are struggling to produce longer articles.
Alastair Williams believes that the discipline required to write effective shortform content can also enhance a writer's longform writing skills.

Welcome to The Shortform

Info and Guidelines — We’re open to new writers!

Hi everyone, and Welcome to The Shortform!

This is a publication dedicated to shortform posts only. For all of you who didn’t hear about it yet, shortform posts are tiny, in fact up to 150 words.

I want to run this pub exclusively for these articles because we have a niche in Medium when it comes to short content. The content you would consume while waiting in line at the grocery store. The quick thought you would enjoy after a hard day of work when you’re not in the mood to dive deep into the wisdom of the classic 8-minute read.

And exactly for this, the shortform post is made. Give a quick shoutout about the thought that lingered with you all day you want us to know. Link an article you liked, tag the author and give us a quick summary. Share a quote or a picture that carries meaning to your life. Feel free to experiment with this feature and how you can provide value to your readers.

What our fellow writers are saying about shortform

There is a ton of value for writers in writing shortform. Let’s see what some of our fellow writers are saying:

“Think of shortform as an opportunity to grow on Medium. As an aid to stay in the writing habit, to hit your personal goals.” Burk (Source)

“Shortform posts feel like getting paid for… tweeting.” Adelina Vasile (Source)

“If you’re motivated to write, but only have 10 minutes, short-form keeps you motivated.” Patricia Rosa (Source)

“If you can’t manage to write a longer article, writing a short story ‘quick and dirty,’ gives you a nice kick and is an easily accessible goal.” Kristina God (Source)

“Good shortform must be mercilessly edited, every unnecessary word stripped out. This is a skill worth developing. If you can write good shortform, your longform will improve too.” Alastair Williams (Source)

Minimum requirements for a post in The Shortform

The article has to follow the Medium Guidelines.
The word count can’t be higher than 150. You can check this in draft mode by pressing Ctrl+a. Headlines do count into the word limit, whereas image captions do not. Also, the words in embedded links do not count into the limit.
Please add a picture to your story. Make sure the image has a caption stating the image source.
Please write in clear language which is easy to understand. This publication is dedicated to entertainment, which needs not much time or energy to enjoy.
The article has to be spell-checked and free of grammar/spelling mistakes. You can use a free tool like Grammarly to make the spellchecking way easier.

When it comes to embedded links, please limit yourself to a maximum of two. Make sure they appear at the end of your story.

The Shortform is Open to New Writers!

Just fill out the form below and submit your data. We will check your profile to see if you’re a fit and then add you as a writer. Piece o’ Cake ;-)

Once added, you can send us your stories. If you don’t know how to submit a story, here are the instructions:

When writing in the Medium editor, click the three buttons on the top right of your screen and then hit “Add to publication.” Scroll until you find “The Shortform” and check the box. Confirm and then submit your story for us to review and publish.

Please make sure to follow the Submission Guidelines below when submitting a story to The Shortform.

Content Guideline

I don’t want to limit the creativity of writers. Nevertheless, to provide some direction when it comes to this publication, you can start with the following types of content:

Thoughts of the day

Just let us know what mattered to you today. Do you have a bite of knowledge that you just realized or that helped you master the day? This may fall into the category of self-help or productivity tips, but it hasn’t to be limited to these topics. Please share with us what made you think this day.

Quotes or photos

If you stumble upon a remarkable quote that touched you, let us know. Share your feelings while reading this quote and what it could mean to the readers’ life. You can also share an astonishing picture you want us to see. Just make sure you keep the readers’ value in mind.

Short article summaries

Write a summary of an article that had value for you and share it with us. Give us one or two key takeaways and why it matters to you. Tag the author of the original article and provide a link to his story. Please make sure that your shortform post could stand on its own when it comes to providing valuable content for our readers. I do not want the shortform to be just a sales funnel for another article. When unsure, read your draft without the embedded link. Does it still make sense as a story?

Final Thoughts

Thank you for your interest in this publication. I hope you’ll enjoy it both as a reader and a writer. If you have any suggestions on the appearance or missing something, just let me know.

That’s it for now. Cheers and have fun!

PS: If you’re not a Medium member yet and want to have full access to the great content over here, you can sign up via my referral link. It gives me a small commission with no additional cost for you.