How Writing Shorter Articles on Medium Improves Your Fiction Writing.

Starting From The Beginning.

The ominous hook, painstakingly crafted by countless fiction writers, only to find itself discarded into the digital wastebasket.

How does article writing help with this?

When writing an article on Medium you begin from the top. In this context: The Title.

As writers often learn, the success of an article is predicated on the title.

The title is the promise that the writer gives the reader.

It’s the promise of gripping action, intriguing dialogue, and much more all rolled into one succinct title.

All setting the stage for an immersive experience.

Intriguing and captivating the reader.

So, mastering the art of the Title, similar to writing the hook, teaches the fiction writer how to grab the reader's attention.

On Medium, every article requires its hook.

And because of the turnover in short-form articles, the writer gets a lot of practice.

Short Form Content

Growing an audience is a huge part of why people join Medium.

To do so, it's important to pump out content as consistently as possible.

Unfortunately, if every article is a few thousand words, it can be difficult to be consistent — especially if the process takes a whole day or days on end.

In a world of shorts and quick media, books have gotten shorter and people are more easily distracted.

So, here comes the saviour of the situation: Short-form content.

The art of specificity is required when forming short-form content.

And what might seem restrictive at the beginning, typically blossoms into the writer making better choices.

Just like in fiction, you learn to cut the fat and learn the importance of every word, paragraph and punctuation.

Consistency

Consistently posting articles and transitioning between topics contributes to enhancing one's imagination.

When writing fiction, considerable time is often dedicated to a single piece at a time.

However, by jumping from one article to another and fleshing out ideas from start to finish, this practice helps with the agility needed to switch agendas in writing characters and plots.

For Those Writing Books

This is a bonus for those writing long books that seem to go on and on with almost no end in sight.

The literal pursuit of a book is amazing, and when it’s completed, the beauty and relief are incomparable.

But before the completion, the process can be exhaustive.

Here is where Medium comes in.

Crafting short-form articles provides immediate gratification and the fulfilling joy of completion.

This has proved therapeutic for fiction writers like myself creating a book.

Conclusion

At first, when I started writing on Medium I had a defeatist mindset as I did not make any correlation between articles and my passion for fiction. However, what I soon realised is how much my writing has gotten better since getting on the platform.

Now I see short articles as part of the journey. Like a swordsman sharpening his blade.

Thank you for reading