Deep Dive Prompt: My Story with Medium: Subhi

Several weeks ago, I started to post every now and then a prompt called “ Deep Dive” to create bridges with other fellow writers, open discussions, exchange experiences, and a safe place to safely share writings, minutes, and parts of the heart.

Here are my own answers to the below prompt:

The focus today is on Medium and your experience with it.

1. How did you hear about Medium? If there is an interesting story behind it, please share it.

I have a super nice friend who smokes cannabis all the time (remember, we are in the Netherlands, and this is legal). His apartment is very close to where I live. In one of my visits to him during the COVID time, he told me while he was holding the joint happily and looking from a window to the empty street despite the springy weather thanks to the quarantine: “This is a tough time, but it could also be interesting to take care of your hobbies." I know you read all the time, but you also like writing. You don't write because you are lazy, so what might help is to start blogging. There is a website called Medium." "It is a great platform to write, share writing, and meet those who love writing." I found that super interesting, but I totally forgot about it despite having a memoria de elefante (elephant's memory in Spanish = good memory). That was in the spring of 2020.

When I created a course of reading on the Skillshare platform in 2022, I wanted to inform others about the course. From nowhere, the name “medium” came to my head like an unexpected email or Facebook invitation from a classmate that you have not met in twenty years.

I wrote my first article in May 2022 and that was the beginning of this healthy relationship, I hope.

2. How long have you been writing on Medium?

On May 24, I will complete one year on Medium.

3. If you have to choose one of the articles you wrote on Medium, which one will it be and why? ( Please don’t forget to share the link.)

Certainly all my pinned articles, but if I have to choose one, I will go for the story of my survival during the Syrian Civil War.

4. How do you measure success on Medium?

I do not measure it with the number of followers (although it is nice to see many people following you) or the money I make (although it is great to have some money). My real measure of success is genuine interaction with writers who can give constructive feedback.

5. How do you choose your publisher(s)? Any secret recipes?

I am not super good at this. I usually pick the publisher based on the kindness of the people there, their interaction, and their willingness to help and support.

6. What is your strategy: a big publisher leads to more visibility, or a small publisher leads to more focus and real interaction?

No strategy. See the previous answer.

7. If you could give one single piece of advice to a newcomer to Medium, what would it be?

Be yourself, no matter what they say.

8. What is the most pleasant experience you have had on Medium?

Meeting nice people and reading different articles that provoke thoughts, tears, smiles, and more.

9. What is the least pleasant experience you have had on Medium?

Seeing some people stop publishing or writing despite their great potential. This is very understandable, but it is a bit painful.

10. In one word, how do you describe the experience with Medium and why?

Medium is real. In the medium, like in life, you can find kind and frustrated writers, optimists, and pessimists. All walks of life are represented, which makes the experience very authentic.

10. You write on Medium because writing provides you with something special. Could you share the fruits of your experience so far?

Medium helps me to write every day, something I used to ignore while waiting to have the proper mood. Since I started writing on Medium, I have forced myself to write almost every day. This made me more keen to note my thoughts, metaphors, and dreams.

How to participate

1. Copy and paste this list of questions into an article entitled something starts with Deep Dive into …..
2. Answer all the questions. If you struggle to find only one answer, don’t worry, you can add more.
3. Please tag me — Subhi Najar, the @ symbol then “my name”
4. Publish your article.
5. If you are curious about the answers of a fellow writer who is not on the list, then please tag them.
6. If you found this article by chance and would like to answer the question, please feel free to do so.

I am so grateful to all those who consider joining the prompt and those who read, interact with me, or provided me with any feedback.

There will be a highlights article in a week (May 9th) where I will post the links to all the articles of the writers who join the prompt, similar to what I did in the last prompt.

If you are interested in joining such “deep dives,” please add a comment, and I am more than happy to add you.

Here is the first prompt we had:

Here is the second prompt:

Subhi Najar is an Alchemist of words, Little Prince, Public Speaker, storyteller, content Creator, and war survivor.

Kindly follow me on Medium & Twitter

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If you like my work, please subscribe here! Also, medium permits you to read 3 articles per month for free. If you wish to have unlimited access to my articles and thousands of great articles, don’t hesitate to get a membership for 5$ per month by clicking my referral link: https://medium.com/@subhinajar/membership

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