Personal Stories | Writing

An Unexpected First Week on Medium

I found a supportive writing community that I never expected to be a part of

I joined Medium because I wanted a place to express the ideas that I never got a chance to pen down anywhere else. I contemplated starting a self-hosted blog and I researched extensively on that. Ultimately, I chose Medium because I wanted a place where I could build an audience. I deemed Medium to be the fastest and surest way of obtaining feedback on my writing and I was not wrong.

Yesterday, I posted my seventh Medium article and concluded my first week on Medium. I am about to do the most cliche thing that has been done over and over. I am here to reflect on my first week on Medium (as if the title wasn’t a giveaway).

An Unhealthy Obsession with ‘How-to’ Articles

As with most writers new to Medium, I spent much of my first week here searching for and devouring listicles proclaiming to be the secret recipe for success on Medium. I found myself going down a rabbit hole with a long line of writers who have ‘made it’ and are generously offering advice for how others can replicate their successes.

Several days in and I realised that I was becoming so obsessed with consuming writing advice that I was falling behind on the issues that I care about. For instance, I previously mentioned that I was reading Michael Walzer’s Just and Unjust Wars but six days later, I am still on page 70. The Medium algorithm flooding my home page with writing advice based on my reading history only fuelled my unhealthy obsession.

But that’s enough. Moving forward, I am going to forge my path. I am going to write what I am passionate about, in a style that I am comfortable with and I will see where that takes me. I am going to trust the process. Sure, I may click on one or two writing advice from time to time but I am going to treat such articles as timely reminders and nothing more. I resolve not to let an hour pass by mindlessly reading ‘how-to’ articles instead of writing or reading about the issues that matter to me.

Finding an Unexpectedly Supportive Community of Writers

Out of all the clutter, it was by a stroke of luck that on my first day here, I found a publication that embraced writers from all niches and backgrounds. I found ILLUMINATION, a publication seeking to build a “social circle of content development, dissemination, and consumption with joint effort”. Again, I did not expect much. If you haven’t realised by now, I tend to be cautiously optimistic and I try to let myself be pleasantly surprised whenever something good happens.

And I wrote.

As much as I was looking for feedback and meaningful conversations, I managed my expectations. I genuinely thought that writing on Medium would be a one-way process, akin to shouting at a wall. Who would even be interested in what I have to say? I am just a 22-year-old finding my voice and figuring out my passion(s).

I couldn’t have been more wrong. Soon, the first responses and highlights rolled in and I found myself engaging with other writers on Medium, mostly from ILLUMINATION. Just to name a few:

• Jessica Cote encouraged me to keep writing and letting my thoughts be known.
• Holly Jahangiri brightens up my days on Medium and Slack with her jokes and occasionally self-deprecating humour.
• Chris Hedges showed me that knowledge is even more powerful when shared.
• Noah Levy shared life lessons and offered alternative opinions to mine that broadened my horizons.
• Desiree Driesenaar taught me that as writers, we need not be fiercely competing to be top writers. Guided by the mantra of cross-pollination, we can be supportive and encouraging of one another in our writing journeys.
• Most importantly, I am appreciative of the work of the publication’s founder and editor, Dr Mehmet Yildiz, who selflessly works to promote all writers under his wing while offering helpful advice in our private messages on Slack.

These are just six of the many writers I have interacted with in the past seven days on Medium. Even if I did not mention you, I know who you are and I do remember our mini conversations on Medium.

I only know these people by their words and perhaps their display pictures but nothing more. Yet, through all of our interactions, I am struck by their warmth and commitment towards holding up one another without putting anyone down. They have demonstrated to me how a supportive, online writing community looks like and for that, I am truly grateful.

Hopeful and Excited for More

Seven articles later, my heart still skips a beat whenever the notification bell lights up. Is it a response? Is it an encouraging clap? Who is it? I celebrate the little wins and I do a little victory dance in my head each time. Unfortunately, I am not above checking my statistics several times a day. I am not past that new-to-Medium phase yet and it is thrilling and even addictive to be here.

I am hopeful and excited about the connections I have established, the people I have yet to meet, and above all, the conversations we will have through our writing. Writing on Medium has thus far (there goes my cautious optimism again) been one of the best decisions I have made all summer and I can’t wait to see how things will pan out from here.

If you have read till the end, thank you! You are a real gem and I hope you’ll have a wonderful day ahead!