Introspective Impressionism

I Don’t Write Poetry

Plus a lesson through clickbait I’ll never repeat again

My life takes a turn; the bus must keep riding over 80Km/h, or all laughter briskly stops.

But why doesn’t this bother me?

Because your laughter never began!

Now you’re wondering, what is the point of this piece — nay, of the author’s existence? This is good; anything to keep you from introspection.

Fix your eyes on the following sentence:

We feel glee!

Your day advances now. 🖤 🙏

But seriously, as stated in my last submission to this pub, I’m undergoing changes and need time to sort it all out. Perhaps I came into the writing game with too vague a plan, and shouldn’t be shocked by my difficulties to settle on a single path.

Or — is that really so? One might say I started with a clear goal. I wanted to share my journey, to inspire others to rise with me, on this platform and in life!

Somewhere along the way, I became sidetracked.

It’s easy to happen here.

Poetry alone was never my intention, even if I’d unknowingly been writing it already — the evidence is private, don’t ask.

The biggest move away from my original goal came when I decided to open up as a writer. A Shayens Abran invited me to the Be Open publication, I joyfully accepted, and suddenly I was expressing myself for my own purposes. My mantra had become “fuck you, reader, I need to do this”.

Though I’d come to uplift others, I was now devaluing my audience to their face.

But it needed to happen.

Fuck, this piece is even addressed to me.

My current phase is of purging.

Sometimes, you need to break old habits, and the best way to achieve this is to stop and take a break.

For example, the piece you’re reading now: yet without subtitles.

My next phase will involve caring for a wider readership, and that includes the use of easier-to-read formatting. This is key; I don’t want to stop writing my preferred styles of material, but simply make it more digestible.

If you already clicked on the link earlier featuring my first Medium story, then you might already notice slight difference compared to this current writing.

It’s mostly in the length of my paragraphs.

While I first laughed it off, shortening your paragraphs is amazing advice for new writers.

Reading online, especially on a regular basis, takes more energy than reading a book, where readers are ready to settle down for the long haul and take everything in.

Just looking at the Medium homepage is tiring. There are so many decisions to make, and in such a short amount of time.

There’s also the why behind people reading online that affects their energy while they read. Most of us are looking for information, and with so many options to pick from, it’s normal to skim.

Skimming long paragraphs is a pain in the ass.

Unfortunately, most of my writing is unskimmable. Oh, you can do it, but with how it’ll affect your understanding of myself and the piece, you might as well not read it at all.

Maybe it’s just me; skimming through my old works doesn’t help me to understand what’s going on.

The new ‘copywriter’ in me is incredibly unimpressed at this time. I mean, remember the title?

I Don’t Write Poetry

It has little to do with the story, so now I’m — minimally — basically forced to tag is as clickbait.

What a disaster!

100% of my submissions to this pub have been clickbait. There’s another scene now playing in my head:

It’s 2025, and I’m a serious writer.

With so many articles, thousands of them, one might think I couldn’t fail, except —

works such as this appear, chasing readers away before they can uncover the true value I have to offer!

Solution?

As mentioned in my recent article about taking a break from Medium, I need to start deleting old pieces. The system I suggested was to create a list of articles to be queued for deletion, then to let people clap them out of existence. Any article that reaches one thousand claps is out of here!

Another system I’ve entertained is simply to redact problematic stories in a way that leaves the gold untouched.

I’m officially choosing a mix of both.

It’ll be interesting.

The Point

There isn’t one, and I want this piece to end.

Everything after the ‘🖤🙏’ was an afterthought. I had only intended to keep this story short and nonsensical to symbolize the awkwardness of my transition as a writer.

I guess that wasn’t enough.

Will anyone get past the intro to discover the rest? I have no way of knowing as I write. My old system says I don’t give a fuck; the new way begs I reconsider.

There’s only one way to see what happens.

Are you in?

About the Author:

🔍 ㅤGustave Deresse Is a Truthful & Theatrical Métis-Canadian Writer, Editor, Wanderer, Cook, and Musical Artist Who Enjoys Exploring Themes as Spirituality, Logic, Love, Life, Philosophy, Nature, Art, Neurocognitive Psychology, Creativity, Writing, Humour, Inspiration, Music, Wellbeing — and the Weird.

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I appreciate you, take care.

Sincerely, — G