Medium is the Only Way to Improve Your Writing

When I published my first article, my followers were in second digits; even my first language was not English.

My writing journey and inspiration:

“Writing is its own reward.” _Henry Miller

I never wrote a single paper in my academic career apart from my academic syllabus. And I never thought it would be required for me after graduation. I am a science student, and my native and first language is Hindi. I have done my primary schooling in Hindi Medium and +2 in English Medium. Being a Hindi medium student, you will not get any difficulties pursuing the science stream. I have completed my B. Tech in Mechanical Engineering, so this stream also requires less English, but once you enter the corporate world or you want to prove any skills or endeavour, you must be fluent in English,

English is just any other skill: Like dancing, swimming and driving.

English is not rocket science; it's a skill you can learn or develop at any stage of your life, just like any other hobby or craft. You were never born with dancing, cooking, or swimming skills; you acquire them through rigorous practice. English is as simple as that. You can learn English through every single day of practice. Being a Hindi medium student, I always feared writing anything in English, and I used to live with it in the corporate world at the beginning.

Being a mechanical engineer, nobody complained about my English, but as a self-evaluation for myself, I always use to work on my weakness. Either your English is good or bad. Other people do not matter, and some circumstances never help you to improve it. Even some people will only laugh at you while you try to speak, so once I entered the corporate world, I feared English writing, so I was always looking for the opportunity to improve my writing.

Lockdown and Medium Partner Programme

But suddenly lockdown happened, and I thought this was a good time to develop my writing habit; whatever knowledge I have of grammar and tense in my school days, its enough to build a writing habit, it's not only applicable for me, it will work for anybody those who studied grammar and tense in class 10th. It's enough knowledge to write in English; the rest improve your writing through daily practice. So in May 2021, I joined Medium partner programmer. At that time, Payoneer was working of Indian origin, or if you live in the USA or a Payoneer-supported country, you can join the Medium partner program. If your country is on this list, do not bother about it. You can self-publish; it would be best if you continue for at least 90 days, then you can see the magic of continuing writing for 90 days.

My Writing Habit:

When I wake up in the morning, the first thing I used to do is write. Usually, I wake every day at 4:55 AM, 5 minutes up and down, and I start my writing from 5:15 till 6 AM. Being a Hindi medium student, you always procrastinate, but I know procrastination only kills if writing becomes your habit. Earlier I aimed to write every day but published three times a week because as a newbie writer, it's hard to post every day, but over the practice of after 90 days, you can easily publish 1 article every day; first, 90 days is challenging if English is not your first language.

“Start writing, no matter what. The water does not flow until the faucet is turned on.” _Louis L’Amour

How Medium helped you to write better:

A new writer can only self-publish; after publishing a few posts, you can approach publications; of course, you will get some rejections, but it will improve your writing. If the Editor of the publication marks your errors, you must correct them, then re-submit again, sometimes it irritates you, but it is part of improving your writing journey. Still, my writing is not good because, after lockdown, I cannot continue writing every day due to my other projects; these days, I only write on holidays or weekends.

Rejection from Big Publication:

The below picture inspires me to write better next time.

Rejection from anything re-direct or re-work on your draft, at an initial stage, rejection is good for you; still, I am getting rejection from prominent publications. I accepted that my writing is not up to the level of that publication, but once I should manage the time to write every day, then hopping in the next 30 days, a prominent publication will accept my draft.

Followers and Comments:

Whatever you want to write, write authentic and genuine incidents. You never cheat your followers and do not write any misleading message; in the beginning, you can write your personal experience related to your area of endeavour. Followers want to read actual incidents, and whenever someone comments on your post, you must reply to them. Sometimes few people criticize your English you react to them. Thank You!

“The first draft is just you telling yourself the story.” _Terry Pratchett

Conclusion: Do not procrastinate to write anything; writing anything is better than nothing; fear and rejection are part of the successful journey in any endeavour. There are no other platforms like Medium, you only need to pay $5, and your writing will improve over the six months. Thank You for reading!