Medium Should Be Where We Can Improve Our Writing

A plea for the help we writers need

Almost everyone writing on Medium has something important to communicate. A story may have information we need or may present a viewpoint we need to consider. Writers may want us to take a course of action, to recognize their efforts to make things better or to empathize with their situation.

All well and good. However, when information is lacking, we as readers are unlikely to do what is asked. If a viewpoint is not clearly and logically expressed, we will not recognize its validity. And perhaps most importantly, if a feeling is foisted upon us rather than being as subtle and delicate as feelings are, well, we won’t feel it.

Clear, persuasive and impassioned writing is good writing. Good writing is what we strive for — and what we need help with. Every single one of us writing on Medium, no matter how much experience we have, needs help to write well.

That’s what comments are for: to help a writer write well.

To help me write well.

When I write creative nonfiction, it feels good when I read in comments that somebody “really enjoyed” my story or found me to be “strong and caring.” Comments like these make me understand you are reaching out to me, supporting my efforts. But I also want to know what word, sentence or paragraph let you know that I’m strong and caring, and what, if anything, made me seem weak or unconcerned? And if you enjoyed the writing, why did you, and could I have added or removed something that would have made the emotional content stronger?

My writing on politics engenders more trenchant comments. There are the “thank you for writing” comments, and I do thank readers for these; they give me a pat on the back. But I read carefully other comments that provide more evidence for the point I’m trying to make or present opposing arguments. Comments in agreement with my article provide me with information I might add to a new article on the same subject. Disagreements let me know I need to provide more evidence or make the writing clearer or more persuasive — or even abandon my viewpoint because it’s wrong. Still, almost no comments on this type of writing are prefaced with, “In paragraph 3, you need to include xxxx” or “The information in sentence yyyy does not seem to support your argument because zzzz.” Comments like these would help me to become a better writer.

I want to improve my writing. I think I have some important things to communicate, and I want to write like an expert so I can communicate these things clearly and with feeling. Please do continue to let me know when you like my writing, or don’t like it, but also let me know how I can improve it.

Medium readers: Please give all of us writers the help we need to improve our writing.