Start writing for 10 minutes every day to become a writer

Summary

A young writer shares their journey of overcoming self-doubt and language barriers to establish a daily writing habit and publish on Medium, finding joy and self-discovery in the process.

Abstract

The author, a non-native English speaker, began writing on Medium about a month and a half ago and earned their first income from writing, which initially boosted their motivation. Despite the initial excitement, the writer struggled to maintain a daily publishing schedule due to the lack of a strong writing habit. Inspired by habit-forming literature, they adopted a more manageable approach by committing to write for just 10 to 15 minutes each day. The writer has published several personal stories in English, aiming to reach a broader audience, and has discovered profound self-insight through writing. They acknowledge their limited life experience and English proficiency but have found encouragement in the positive reception of their articles and the personal growth experienced through writing. The author advocates for aspiring writers to ignore self-doubt and start writing, emphasizing the supportive Medium community that values diverse perspectives.

Opinions

The author believes that starting with small, manageable writing habits is key to long-term consistency.
They express that writing in a non-native language, despite challenges, can be rewarding and improve one's skills over time.
The writer has a modest view of their own experiences but recognizes the value in sharing personal insights and advice.
They feel that the act of writing is a powerful tool for self-discovery and organizing one's thoughts.
The author has experienced imposter syndrome, doubting their worthiness to write and share advice, but has worked to overcome these feelings.
They see Medium as a nurturing platform that supports writers and fosters connections with like-minded individuals.
The writer is committed to self-improvement, actively seeking to enhance their English writing skills through courses and practice.
They encourage others to adopt a writer's identity and to not let fear or self-criticism prevent them from writing and sharing their work.

Don’t let your negative self-talk hold you back

I have started writing on Medium a month and a half ago. I made 0,54 dollars in my first two weeks. I was so happy when I received an email with my payment summary. I couldn’t believe I made money from something I created with my thoughts. I got paid for sharing my experiences and thoughts in a community where people read and appreciate what you have to say about life.

I was proud of myself. I thought earning a little money would have helped me keep motivated to write more and more, but that didn’t happen. It worked at first but didn’t last long. I couldn’t bring myself to write daily. I don’t think I could publish one article per day as some people do. I wouldn’t last more than a few days and that’s not because I’m lazy, it’s just that I don’t have the habit of writing that much every day. Publishing daily would be so exhausting.

Something I learned from reading a book about habits is that if you want a habit to stick, first you need to take baby steps and start with the easiest version of your desired habit. That’s what I’m doing now. I only write for 10 to 15 minutes, but I do it every day.

I published a few stories on medium, mostly about my life and the little experience I have. My native language is Spanish but I saw the Spanish-speaking audience on Medium is quite small, so I decided to write in English to reach more people and get more reads. For a long time, I was hesitant about writing on Medium, I didn’t think I had enough to write or enough experience to give life advice to people. I am almost 21 but I feel I am low in experiences. What I shared in Medium so far are some practices and habits that have worked for me and made my life a bit better.

I have to say it’s quite liberating to finally write about my perspective on life. I discovered a great deal about myself and the reason behind the things I do or think about just by writing. I never realized those things by thinking, it was only by writing that I discovered hidden things about myself.

Writing forces you to organize your ideas, thoughts, and opinions until you start creating connections between them that actually make sense. When you see your writing on a screen, even if it has many mistakes, you feel proud that you created something that comes from the real you.

Being afraid of having nothing to write about was one of the reasons that pushed me back. I see people on Medium that have tons of experience, they are successful people who know stuff about life. I know nothing, but I am trying to learn as much as I can every day.

The other reason was that I didn’t think my English was good enough to write articles and express my ideas in a precise and engaging way. That is true. My English writing skills are not good. My reading and listening skills are far superior to my speaking and writing. When I first started writing in my journal three months ago, I realized I tend to use easy and basic vocabulary, I struggle to find the right words or the right sentence structure so my ideas are expressed in the way I want them to be expressed.

Despite the low quality of my writing, some of my articles were well received, more than I thought, so that makes me happy. I didn’t know I liked to write until I started doing it. I know I can improve my grammar skills and increase my vocabulary. I am enrolled in a writing course in Edx. Since I starting writing a journal three months ago, I notice a small improvement. I may be at a disadvantage since English is not my native language, but that’s okay. I have all the resources in the world ( thank you internet) to learn to write better.

So I guess my message is that if you’ve been thinking about writing on Medium, I say you should give it a try. Don’t let your negative self-talk tell you that you are not ‘‘good enough’’ or that you don’t have anything worth writing about. That was my mindset for a long time, but with every story or article I write, I’m slowly getting rid of that useless mindset and instead I tell myself ‘‘you are a writer’’. That’s the identity I want to adopt.

Slowly, I am getting more comfortable writing in English. I might not publish daily, but I’m writing every day. Medium it’s a great community to share your thoughts and opinions about life. People will read your work and will like it, that’s what I love from this community, it’s full of like-minded individuals who appreciate you for who you are by reading your writing. I’ve written about my perspectives on life, and it’s heartwarming when you get a response from someone who values the way you think and resonates with your ideas.