The 30 Types of Medium Articles

From years of reading and writing as much as humanly possible

Here’s the secret to writing— you’re always doing it. There’s no one way to write, and no single formula.

There’s no “best” process or genre.

There’s lots.

Success does come from finding a niche and establishing good habits. But the best habit is extreme flexibility.

Here’s another way to put this secret — writing is reading is living, and vice versa. You’re always doing it.

The second best habit is a relentless pursuit. If you really want something, you’ll find a way. And the best, most successful writers have one relentless pursuit in common. They read all the time — probably 10–20 times as much as they write. They read things they like, and things they don’t. They read outside their comfort zones. It’s the absolute best way to learn.

You know what my reward is for publishing something? Reading. After years in the wash cycle, here’s what I’ve learned. The first half of the list came from writing a lot, the second half from reading. It’s not a catch-all list, but hopefully, it gets you thinking.

So, without further ado…

1. Articles You Think Will Go Viral

Everyone sits down with a pipe dream smoking in their little head: “today’s the day I finally break the Internet.”

The ideas and words come together in perfect matrimony. You feel excited. And then it goes kaplunk.

2. Articles That Don’t Go Viral

Guess what? You don’t need anything to go viral. Just lots of articles that do pretty well. Articles that speak to readers.

It’s fine to get excited about your writing. Wanting something to go viral just means you think your story will resonate — make a giant splash. If it doesn’t, don’t get pissed. Write it again later.

3. Articles You Write in One Sitting

Inspiration strikes, and you have a block of time. So you sit down and bang out something beautiful. You don’t even think about what you’re doing. We love when that happens. It spoils us a little.

4. Articles You Write Over Many Sittings

You start writing and get stuck — distracted. So you do some chores, run some errands, go to that stupid meeting.

You come back later and write a few more paragraphs. You add something, delete something else, tweak the title and format. It takes you 45 minutes just to find the right cover image.

5. Articles You Write in Peace and Quiet

Finally, you’re alone for two hours. Nobody’s bothering you. Maybe you planned for this by waking up at 5 a.m.

6. Articles You Write in Chaos

Your kid must’ve read Marcus Aurelius, because she’s also up at 5 am. And she wants your full attention. Maybe she’s sick, or the daycare closed because the power went off. Whatever. You can write in a hurricane — as long as you have the shape of a solid idea. The distractions even help; they force you to stop and think through your points.

7. Articles You Write in Your Head

Driving over to your in-laws, five states away? You can write in your head for the next five hours. Seriously, let your mind pull up a screen. Or visualize the story you’re trying to tell.

Type out the first paragraph. Outline your points. Every time you finish a sentence in your mind, go back to the beginning and read it to yourself. You can do this in your back yard, too.

8. Articles You Didn’t Know You Were Writing

So you wound up watching YouTube all night. It feels like a giant waste of time — lights up your guilt. Turns out, you were writing. You were gathering up ideas and feelings.

The same thing goes for life. All the little distractions, the things you don’t want to do. It could all turn into an article.

9. Articles You Didn’t Plan to Write

You were going to take a break. Then this idea strikes you. You’re afraid if you don’t draft, the moment will pass. You steal 30 minutes — maybe during nap time — and draft it out on your phone. You flesh it out later. These are the moments where the dishes can wait.

10. Articles You Start in the Middle of Another One

So you’re writing one article. You feel meh about this one. Then you tune out for a minute. Another idea pops in. Go with that one.

11. Articles You Write From Research

You start with a question. It leads to actual research — as in reading a few books or articles. Maybe you even interview experts. It takes a week or two to pull all the pieces together.

12. Articles You Write From Experience

Write about something that happened to you or something you did. Maybe you dealt with trauma, or just a coworker you couldn’t stand. Or maybe you did something awful to someone else. You might pull in some sources, but mainly you’re reflecting.

13. Articles Where You Cite Nothing

Maybe you did a ton of reading and research, but you want to write something catchy and poetic. You want your piece to sing to the human experience. So you nix the references. Sometimes they just don’t fit.

14. Articles That Answer a Question

You can make an entire career out of taking things people want to know and researching it for them. See above.

15. Articles That Answer Another Article

Ideas don’t come from nowhere. You get them from living, observing, and reading. Sometimes you’ll disagree with stuff you read —that’s perfect fuel for an article, or part of one.

Sometimes you’ll want to add something to what someone else said, or apply their idea to a new situation. It’s all fair game.

16. Articles That Make People Think

You have something to say about politics, gender, culture — something that people need to hear. Something you’re fired up about. Note: fired up doesn’t mean angry, you just care a lot.

17. Articles That Make People Laugh

Everything hides a little humor. Find the funny in bad or difficult situations. Polish it up. Write about your own life, or try onion-style satire and allegory. Humor often speaks truth.

18. Articles That Make People Feel Smart

Take some piece of obscure science or philosophy and put a cool spin on it. Make it new again. Make it relevant.

19. Articles That Remind You of What You Already Know

There’s a line in the Bible that says, “There is nothing new under the sun.” Some of the most gripping, insightful articles just remind us of something important we forgot. They make old new again.

20. Articles That Tell You About the World

They show you something important going on, maybe something you didn’t even know about — something that affects you.

21. Articles That Show You How to Live Better

They’re not your average self-help listicle. They talk about overcoming demons, learning to love, and doing more than you think you can. They focus on the big picture — not some diet trick.

22. Articles That Focus on the Practical

They show you how to actually do something — navigate a marriage problem, save more money, discipline your kid, deal with a nasty coworker, find more time in the day. Maybe they don’t light the same candle inside you as other articles, but they’re helpful.

23. Articles You Submit to Publications

Magazines promise a big reach. Editors can help with that final polish. So you send your stuff off and hold your breath for a response.

24. Articles That Get Rejected

Honestly, some magazines don’t even send you a no. They just leave you hanging. So now you decide whether to self-publish or to rewrite. Only you can make that judgment call.

25. Articles You Publish Yourself

Maybe your stuff doesn’t fit into a box. Or you like breaking rules and taking chances — connecting directly with readers. You sacrifice the big reach and endorsement of a publication, for total creative control. Fingers crossed you know what you’re doing…

26. Articles You Write in the Morning

You’re a night owl. But sometimes an idea just kicks you out of bed. Maybe you’ve been tinkering with a story for days, and the final piece lands in your head Sunday at 7 a.m.

27. Articles You Write at Night

Everyone’s finally gone to bed. You did the dishes. And the laundry. It’s 10 p.m. An idea’s been calling you all day. Now you can answer.

28. Articles You Write in an Altered State

Bourbon. Shrooms. Why not? It’s worth a try. You never know what ideas and writing styles can be unlocked with a little micro-dosing. Disclaimer: I’m not telling anyone to do drugs. Just say no…

29. Articles That Nobody Reads

You’ll write lots of these, especially starting out. That’s fine. You can write about the same idea lots of times. You can tell the same story a hundred ways. Each time, you make it a little better.

30. Articles You Never Write

These are the saddest ones — the ones that stay in your head. The ones you tell all your friends about, but never actually show them. The books and articles that could’ve been.

Why? You’re probably afraid. Frightened of rejection. Worried that it won’t turn out the way you always dreamed.

Scared that nobody will actually read it.

And that’s all true. It could happen. Don’t spend your life wishing for more time, or the perfect little nook to write in. Read and write whenever and wherever you possibly can — that’s the secret.