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Returning To Writing On Medium

What I learned about my writing process in my first few months

Photo by Nick Morrison on Unsplash

Top 10 Observations

I write a lot about intersectionality from personal experience, social commentary and critique of current events. My original goal was to sharpen my comedy writing skills, but that quickly faded as I realized:

  1. My writing has primarily been a stream of consciousness and catharsis.
  2. Talking about being a woman of color and slowly finding a community of women writers who are sharing and bringing their truth to power is a balm to my weary soul.
  3. I need a tutorial on the platform because my post-publishing edits often aren’t saved.
  4. I could blame my errors on the glitches and freezing, but I actually don’t mind publishing flawed work because I’m rusty and I look at all my pieces as a work in progress…
  5. This is a bad habit and counterproductive if I want to take the craft, and profession of writing seriously and I want my work to be respected. Therefore, it’s an insult to my fellow Medium writers (who work hard and publish polished pieces), editors and readers… My apologies
  6. Medium is a GLOBAL community of writers and although I’ve been lucky to have a few articles curated and published in An Injustice, P.S. I Love You, and Top 3, the editors are super busy, so pieces need to be print-ready. (Shoutouts to ZUVA, Kay Bolden, Dan Moore, and Daryl Bruce).
  7. If you want extensive edit notes (like me) you might need a writing partner or a writer’s group. Some publications have Facebook groups and Medium has a lot of helpful articles.
  8. Medium is not a quick money maker. One of the editors suggested that you think of it as a vehicle to sharpen your skills and expand your network and audience. This is especially true if you’re a niche writer or talking about deeper issues like race and equality.
  9. Good writing should be your priority because it will take a while to generate a following unless you’re already well known or create a solid marketing plan and a lot of time to execute it.
  10. I enjoy reading the stories on Medium as much as I love writing them.

A Soapbox Sidebar On Intersectionality

I love Medium and I’m very happy I found this platform and community, but I would like to see more diversity in the editing pool (and possibly the mysterious curating team). Although I see stories from people of color, they seem to focus on our anger, and injustice, etc. I appreciate the exposure, but I’d like to see diversity in our stories, too. I know we write about more aspects of Black and Brown life because I do, but I don’t see it as often…

This is not by no means a complaint, but an effort to explain: I write about the intersections of Black life and our struggle for equality as an American and global citizen. Yet, I’m listed as a top writer for “BlackLivesMatter”. Once again, I’m not complaining because I love it — but I feel that the title oversimplifies and limits the scope of my work and implicitly keeps me in a “Black” box.

I know I’m not the best writer, but I write about far more nuanced and varied topics and I feel a more diverse editing and curation pool would see that. I’ve also talked about love, food, feminism, dating, parenting, self-care, vegetarianism, etc. Black lives, experiences, cultures, traditions, religions, languages, etc., are not homogenized thanks to the African diaspora.

Whether WE identify as Black, African, African American, Carribean, Latino, Asian, Native or Indigenous, European, or some other race, identity or combination not listed — our lives are just as diverse as the injustices and isms’ we face. We encounter discrimination, bias, and abuse based on our age, abilities, gender, sexual orientation, marital status, education level, perceived and actual identities and socioeconomic class and cache…

I write to share my experiences as an educated, older woman and self-proclaimed bougie, Black hippie… Intersectionality is how I view the world and the key to OTHERS seeing my humanity. Yes, BlackLivesMatter! But in order to open hearts and minds, and create a greater understanding of why — people need to see themselves in our lives. Black and Brown people’s stories need to be shared beyond our pain and struggles. I laugh, love, garden, read obscure history facts and sing Pat Benatar songs at karaoke.

This was just my very long-winded way of asking Medium to diversify Black and Brown stories. We are more than our skin color, stereotypes, and struggle.

These are just a few of my observations. I hope to grow as a writer on Medium as it continues to provide an invaluable platform for writers around the world.

Thank you

P.S. This is why diversity in stories and voice are important. The perception and backlash of being accused of writing “racist clickbait”. I write about this experience:

Equality
Intersectionality
Writing
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Writing Process
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