Medium, S’up With This?
On slogging through a pile of crap.
I wasn’t going to write another story about Medium because, if you check the curation guidelines, you’ll note that “stories about Medium don’t get curated.” Guess what? For the most part, neither do my other stories, so balls-out it is!
That said, I can’t help but address The New Algorithm. (Cue heavenly chorus.) How much time should I spend on addressing this? Lots, I’m guessing. Because it’s all about read time now, right? So, stay with me! Stay with me, you bastards!
Read time aside, so far, it appears that TNA is all about the same writers making the same big bucks that they’ve been making all along, while the rest of us ass-busters continue to churn out the best work we can, for a pittance, and oh yeah — the occasional curation which, for this writer at least, happens only when I gyrate, buck-naked, under a harvest moon.
Did I say that I hope you read this all the way through? No? Okay, then! Consider it said.
There is favoritism on this platform. I have no doubt. The writers who slavishly suck up to the Medium powers that be are the writers who are most successful. The writers tell us to “Just keep at it. Write more. Write every day. Write five times a day, if that’s what it takes. In fact, screw sleeping. Write! Write, dammit!”
I’m sorry, but I don’t think anyone gives enough of a shit about what I think for me to try to pump out multiple stories in a day.
Still reading? Good! Stay with me folks, so I can make another $1.40.
There are writers here who I absolutely love. They are the ones who stay true to themselves, take the algorithm shift for what it is and keep going. Writers like Helen Cassidy Page, Kristi Keller, Michelle Monet, Katy Velvet, P.G. Barnett, Estacious(Charles White), Stephen Sovie, Robin Klammer, Susan Brearley, Elle Fredine, Bebe Nicholson, Charlene Fate, Shelly McIntosh and Jun Wu.
Even though adding more names will in turn add to the read time of this story, I’ve left out many people, who I not only consider to be stellar scribes, but friends now, as well. I credit them for keeping me here, as, when the going gets tough, community is everything. I also don’t want to give up and give in, just yet.
But here’s the deal. In many instances, I’m seeing quality being trumped by utter crap. Writers, many of whose names I’ve never seen before, are squirting out ever-longer, navel-gazing pieces that, after two minutes in, leave the reader thinking: “Who gives a Flying F?”
Write some good stories for Christ’s sake! Stories with some meat to them. Or a great piece of flash fiction. If nothing else, write a story that elicits a laugh. We all need to laugh. Even, or especially with an ass-clown in the White House. What’s more, if you’ve crafted a compelling, well-written piece, I’ll be happy to put in the read time. But know this: I will not read your hastily-written, over-long crap. Life is too damned short for that.
On the other side of the coin, and this is where it gets a bit nuts, there’s the ubiquitous, single, five-line Haiku or teeny-tiny poem. Where’s the read time in that?
I enjoy writing Haiku, I do. It’s an oddly satisfying challenge trying to fit big thoughts into such a small space. But, I’m not going to throw out one Haiku and expect people to pee their pants over it. If I write Haiku and want to engage my readers, I’m going to publish at least five on the same topic, in the same story. Give readers the impression that I put a little thought into my work. Get a little read time.
Yeah. I say that now, but that, like Medium, could shift. Next week, you might spot one Haiku from me, something along the lines of:
I went to the john. The toilet seat was so cold. I thought I would shit.
I don’t mean to offend anyone, although I probably have, and it won’t be the first time, but that’s what happens when we put ourselves “out there.” You gotta suck it up. I sure do.
Okay, I’m done. I apologize to those who actually did take offense. As penance, send me a link to one of your longest, crappiest stories (or teeny tiny poem) and I promise to read all the way through. I’ll read the poem three times so you can get the proper stats.
But, consider my magnanimity one and done.
Sherry McGuinn is a slightly-twisted, longtime Chicago-area writer and award-winning screenwriter. Her work has appeared in The Chicago Tribune, Chicago Sun-Times and numerous other publications. Sherry’s manager is currently pitching her newest screenplay, a drama with dark, comedic overtones and inspired by a true story.
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