avatarA. T. Steel

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Abstract

thers.</h2><p id="ba64">I wanted to read those same things too. I was on the lookout for a like-minded tribe of writers and readers eager to share their original and meaningful work. I didn’t come here to <i>learn how to be a better writer</i> or how to replicate someone else’s success. You can’t think about this platform without acknowledging that kind of content overflow. It’s overwhelming — and somehow underwhelming at the same time.</p><p id="0e1b">I only read articles on a few topics now (<i>LGBTQIA, philosophy, mental health, fiction, etc.</i>) and am always on the lookout for passionate literary artists writing about things that are meaningful to them. That excites me. Sometimes, it feels like it’s the reason that I’m alive. A compelling essay on the daily struggles of coping with alcohol addiction can change the direction of my day — or my entire week. It can inspire and motivate me toward creative expressions in my own work.</p><h2 id="cda1">I love literary art and literary artists.</h2><p id="2c5d">I’ve been writing recreationally since I could read. I feel a kinship with literary artists. I want to know more of them — to read more of them — and to create life-long friends. The romance of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bloomsbury_Group">The Bloomsbury Group</a> has always appealed to me — a tribe of thoughtful writers and poets sharing, discussing, and critiquing each other’s work with verve and passion. It’s a dream.</p><p id="4136">I (<i>we</i>) could start my (<i>our</i>) own group here. It wouldn’t even be that hard: a publication where we freely post our best and most intimate work and regularly get together to discuss and critique. We could put out a monthly wrap-up of the most poignant essays and critical breakdowns. Celebrate and uplift each other through honesty and enthusiasm.</p><p id="a2db">Would you join something like that? <b>Let</b> 👏🏽 <b>Me</b> 👏🏽 <b>Know</b> 👏🏽.</p><p id="cc03">In the meantime, I’m going to keep writing into the void about the things that I know, love, and am passionate about (<i>none of which are mutually exclusive</i>)</p><p id="e28a"><b><i>If I’ve ever read your work, clapped, and commented then it’s because I felt like it was worth my time. I was enriched by it and very appreciative of that.</i></b></p><figure id="3856"><img src="https://cdn-images-1.readmedium.com/v2/resize:fit:800/1*ZHBwbj19fTRQZiXpGfOcww.jpeg"><figcaption>Photo by <a href="https://unsplash.com/@sevenshooterimage?utm_source=unsplash&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_content=creditCopyText">Seven Shooter</a></figcaption></figure><figure id="337e"><img src="https://cdn-images-1.readmedium.com/v2/resize:fit:800/1*MsF8BsLRo1MidW7iLNlgRg.png"><figcaption></figcaption></figure><p id="087e">Link up on <a href="https://www.instagram.com/oldxanadu/"><b>Instagram</b></a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/atickysteel"><b>Twitter</b></a>. We out here. ✌🏽💯</p><p id="0ce1">Some of my dribble ⤵</p><div id="3d20" class="link-block"> <a href="https://readmedium.com/a-witch-begins-9dbc17b48295"> <div>

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            <h2>A Witch Begins</h2>
            <div><h3>I Was Introduced To Witchcraft At Seven Years Old</h3></div>
            <div><p>medium.com</p></div>
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            <div style="background-image: url(https://miro.readmedium.com/v2/resize:fit:320/1*xe5owpOO-7ItNxPtZ_a7bw.jpeg)"></div>
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      </a>
    </div><div id="1ff5" class="link-block">
      <a href="https://readmedium.com/dissociation-an-essay-e3d3a3419128">
        <div>
          <div>
            <h2>Dissociation: An Essay</h2>
            <div><h3>Dissociation Feels To Me The Way That I Imagine It Must Feel To Be Dead</h3></div>
            <div><p>medium.com</p></div>
          </div>
          <div>
            <div style="background-image: url(https://miro.readmedium.com/v2/resize:fit:320/1*TI8OP1gsLVbgx2PfdTEmkw.jpeg)"></div>
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      </a>
    </div><div id="6d0e" class="link-block">
      <a href="https://medium.com/@a.t.steel/ive-written-an-unpublishable-manuscript-a6736cb84d55">
        <div>
          <div>
            <h2>I’ve Written An Unpublishable Manuscript</h2>
            <div><h3>LGBTQ / Transgender, Literary Fiction Romance Novel</h3></div>
            <div><p>medium.com</p></div>
          </div>
          <div>
            <div style="background-image: url(https://miro.readmedium.com/v2/resize:fit:320/1*C1N9mY0yyQ0qH1JGPBt74Q.jpeg)"></div>
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      </a>
    </div><p id="7836">An excerpt from my LGBTQ literary fiction novel ⤵</p><div id="280e" class="link-block">
      <a href="https://medium.com/@a.t.steel/the-life-of-alma-b64ad908541f">
        <div>
          <div>
            <h2>The Life Of Alma</h2>
            <div><h3>An Urban Transgender Literary Fiction Story</h3></div>
            <div><p>medium.com</p></div>
          </div>
          <div>
            <div style="background-image: url(https://miro.readmedium.com/v2/resize:fit:320/1*GFZ9jheq0SsOEspHNBrNYw.jpeg)"></div>
          </div>
        </div>
      </a>
    </div><p id="0f9c">My blog <b>Metallically Black<i>. </i></b>If you’re a literary artist that also has a blog, please let me know so that I can bookmark it! ⤵</p><div id="cbb9" class="link-block">
      <a href="https://metallicallyblack.com/">
        <div>
          <div>
            <h2>Blog - A.T. Steel</h2>
            <div><h3>A Queer, Black Literary Artists Blogs About Life, Social Anxiety, Depression, LGBTQ &amp; Transgender Issues And…</h3></div>
            <div><p>metallicallyblack.com</p></div>
          </div>
          <div>
            <div style="background-image: url(https://miro.readmedium.com/v2/resize:fit:320/0*5gbejZpXOoucG5W7)"></div>
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      </a>
    </div><p id="c707"><i>Thanks For Reading!</i></p></article></body>

Quantity Over Quality

So Many Low-Quality Posts, So Little Time . . .

Chimpanzee At A Typewriter | Wikipedia — No Known Publication Restrictions

I never understood how to write multiple 500–1000 word articles a day with substance because I don’t really have that much important stuff to say. I realize now that the majority of the people that do write like that don’t really have anything important to say either.

There’s a lot of pretentious and didactic nonsense about becoming a better writer that leads nowhere, blueprints for writing high-earning pieces that never work because everyone is trying them, and tips and tricks for increasing your income this month. Always this month.

Most of it is willfully misleading and impossible to replicate. I know because, like most writers struggling for an audience, I read them — way too often. They seem to be more geared toward increasing the views and reads of the author than helping any of us find success.

I’ve taken the advice of one too many self-proclaimed prolific writers and I am worse off for it.

Writing 3 articles a day is not for everyone. Writing 1 article a day isn’t for most people either. It can be stressful, creatively draining, and demoralizing. Unless you’re some kind of pop-culture guru or the most interesting person in the world, 2/3rds of your articles will be regurgitated nonsense. You can eventually delete them when you get the following that you want, but you can’t make those people unread them.

The consensus for that elite group of high-earning writers seems to be quantity over quality.

I won’t name any writers here but you know most of the people that I’m talking about. Spitting out a senseless rant about your cat’s diet, the guy that cut you off in traffic on the way to Wawa, or your freelance earnings for the month isn’t what I came here to read about. Every time I mindlessly scroll through the platform, I get these images in my head of celebrated scientific authorities like Michio Kaku and Brian Greene doing TED Talks to an auditorium full of eager enthusiasts, except I’m seeing their knock-off counterparts Brandon Thomas and Marion Gucci floundering about to convey the secrets of their success without actually saying anything worthwhile.

I joined this community to write about the things that are important to me and that I think could impact the lives of others.

I wanted to read those same things too. I was on the lookout for a like-minded tribe of writers and readers eager to share their original and meaningful work. I didn’t come here to learn how to be a better writer or how to replicate someone else’s success. You can’t think about this platform without acknowledging that kind of content overflow. It’s overwhelming — and somehow underwhelming at the same time.

I only read articles on a few topics now (LGBTQIA, philosophy, mental health, fiction, etc.) and am always on the lookout for passionate literary artists writing about things that are meaningful to them. That excites me. Sometimes, it feels like it’s the reason that I’m alive. A compelling essay on the daily struggles of coping with alcohol addiction can change the direction of my day — or my entire week. It can inspire and motivate me toward creative expressions in my own work.

I love literary art and literary artists.

I’ve been writing recreationally since I could read. I feel a kinship with literary artists. I want to know more of them — to read more of them — and to create life-long friends. The romance of The Bloomsbury Group has always appealed to me — a tribe of thoughtful writers and poets sharing, discussing, and critiquing each other’s work with verve and passion. It’s a dream.

I (we) could start my (our) own group here. It wouldn’t even be that hard: a publication where we freely post our best and most intimate work and regularly get together to discuss and critique. We could put out a monthly wrap-up of the most poignant essays and critical breakdowns. Celebrate and uplift each other through honesty and enthusiasm.

Would you join something like that? Let 👏🏽 Me 👏🏽 Know 👏🏽.

In the meantime, I’m going to keep writing into the void about the things that I know, love, and am passionate about (none of which are mutually exclusive)

If I’ve ever read your work, clapped, and commented then it’s because I felt like it was worth my time. I was enriched by it and very appreciative of that.

Photo by Seven Shooter

Link up on Instagram and Twitter. We out here. ✌🏽💯

Some of my dribble ⤵

An excerpt from my LGBTQ literary fiction novel ⤵

My blog Metallically Black. If you’re a literary artist that also has a blog, please let me know so that I can bookmark it! ⤵

Thanks For Reading!

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Writing
Writing Life
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