The Coolest Thing About My Medium Writing Experience —
The heartfelt connection I’ve established with my fellow writers
When I first began writing on Medium in June of 2020, I never would have envisioned writing an article with the subtitle above. The idea of forming heartfelt connections with my fellow writers didn’t even cross my mind.
My entire focus was on improving my writing skills, and on writing articles that would help my readers.
With all due modesty, I’m confident I’ve made significant progress in achieving those two targets.
As a new Medium writer, I suspect the same two goals are high up on your list of objectives. No doubt, you will experience great pleasure as you notice your progress — definitely cause for celebration.
That being said, there’s a special type of joy I experience from making heartfelt connections with my fellow writers — one I can only describe as magical.
My wish is for you to experience that same sense of joy.
How to Make Heartfelt Connections With Your Fellow Writers
Here is my suggested action plan that will lead you to the promised land.
- Write heartfelt articles. (duh!)
- Consistently give heartfelt replies to comments on your article.
- Comment on heartfelt articles you read.
Make a habit out of doing these three things, and you will find yourself forming mutually supportive relationships with an ever-expanding number of writers.
Writers who not only value the quality of your work but equally value you as a person. That is because your heart and soul shine through both your articles and your supportive comments.
Without further ado, on to the nitty-gritty details of the three strategies.
Write Straight From Your Heart
That’s how I love to write. Nobody needed to teach me how to do that — it came naturally. I suppose that’s because I’m a “wear my heart on my sleeve” type of guy. That personality characteristic effortlessly flows into my style of writing.
I’ve been writing heartfelt articles since the very first Medium piece I wrote on being present, back in June of 2020.
I’ve gotten better at writing heartfelt articles since then. As evidenced by the caring comments and words of appreciation that are coming in at an ever-increasing rate. I treasure each and every supportive reply.
Here are the strategies I’ve employed to make that progress. I hope you find them helpful.
Suggestion #1: Make sure the words in your title reflect the heart you put into the article.
If you’re unsuccessful at doing that, then those readers who cherish reading heartfelt articles will bypass reading yours. That would be a shame.
When searching for a heartfelt article, I scroll through titles. If I don’t sense emotion in the wording, I’ll scroll right past it.
As I know that in a short time, I’ll find a title that gives me confidence that upon clicking on it, the words of a heartfelt article will pop up on my screen.
Let’s imagine you wrote a heartfelt article about how your anxiety has wreaked havoc in your life for decades.
Your article details how anxiety destroyed your marriage and severely impacted your health — until you finally reached the point where enough was enough. Through painstaking effort, you found a handful of effective strategies you want to share with readers so they will no longer suffer as you had.
You’re done writing the article. Now on to finalizing the all-important title.
A title such as Five Ways to Decrease Your Anxiety will not cut it, as your article is anything but a listicle. It’s far better to have a title such as My Anxiety Was Beating the Living Daylights Out of Me.
Now that’s a title that would motivate me to read on. Heck, I’d already feel connected with you, simply as a product of reading those few heartfelt words.
Suggestion #2. Include your personal experiences in your article.
Many writers fear if their article is all about them, that they will be perceived as self-indulgent, uncaring about their readers.
Quite the contrary. If you want to touch the hearts of your readers, the most effective way to do that is to write about yourself. That is, as long as you do so with the intention of being of service to your readers.
When you write from your heart about your life experiences, your readers will more than appreciate your words — they will feel them. Often down to their very core. So much so that tears may flow from their eyes.
That is evidence of great writing.
Here’s an excerpt from an article written by Deb Fiore, about her relationship as a child with her abusive mother.
My mother was so strict that I was not allowed to leave our yard without permission. I was not even allowed to sit on the sidewalk and talk with my neighbors. I could only sit on my porch and watch all of the others outside playing games, having fun.
Deb’s words brought tears to my eyes. She so skillfully painted a picture with her words that they triggered memories of painful experiences I endured as a child. Well done, Deb.
Suggestion #3: Even if you have sadness in your story, do your best to include a message of hope.
It doesn’t need to be advice. It’s actually preferable that it not be. You’re not in the reader’s head, so how would you know what advice they’d find helpful? Or even if they need any, for that matter.
Instead, write about what you learned from your experience — how you’ve grown from it. When you do this, you instill hope in the hearts of your readers that they, too, can make progress in overcoming their unique set of challenges.
For example, a while back, I wrote an article about how prone I am to beating myself up, In the article’s closing section, I wrote: I’m learning to see through the lies I was taught to believe about myself, replaced by seeing the truth. That I have so much to offer the world.
Respond From Your Heart to Comments On Your Articles
I’ve been blessed to receive a number of loving, caring comments on my articles. That is what makes all the hours of writing and the countless re-edits worthwhile — knowing my words have impacted my readers.
Here is an example of a comment I recently received from my friend Sahil Patel on my article about working on one's inner critic:
Great insights and tips. I especially love the sentence you wrote, You’re worthy exactly as you are. Thanks for sharing this.
My reply to Sahil was:
You are so kind, Sahil. I can always count on getting supportive, appreciative feedback from you. My apologies for not yet getting around to writing any articles for your pub. Rest assured — it is on my to-do list.
My reply came from my heart. Sahil is one terrific guy, and I wanted to express my heartfelt appreciation for him — how much his support means to me. I believe that’s what I did.
It’s no coincidence I can count on Sahil to read all of my pieces. It is because he feels connected with me. He knows I care about him, and I know he cares about me.
Give Heartfelt Comments on Articles You Read
Highlighting and claps are not enough. Fifty claps and ten highlights fall woefully short of the value of your giving one heartfelt comment.
That is how you connect with and show your appreciation to your fellow writers.
I’m not talking about a general comment such as I really enjoyed your piece. That’s more or less the equivalent of telling my wife I love you because you’re a very nice person.
I’m talking about leaving a heartfelt comment that indicates how strongly you were impacted by the words you read.
Once again, I refer to Deb Fiore’s article on her relationship as a child with her abusive mother. Here is an excerpt from that article:
She told me how worthless I was and how it was a mistake bringing me into the world.
You don't get any more disgusting than that. There was no way I was going to pass on commenting on that line. I felt so bad for Deb and what she had to go through, and so furious at her mother. My thought was I gotta find a way to show Deb how much I care, how much I feel her words.
That is precisely what I did, with my comment: I don’t want to tell you the words that instantly popped into my brain regarding my thoughts about your mother.
Deb replied back: I am guessing the words were more than narcissist, haha
That exchange of comments illustrates what heartfelt connection with our fellow writers is all about. I love you, Deb.
In Closing
If you are a new writer, welcome aboard. You are most fortunate you’ve discovered this marvelous publication New Writers Welcome. There is no better place to start on the Medium platform.
Thank you so very much for reading this article through to the end. I hope you will encounter the same level of joy that I have through establishing heartfelt connections with your fellow writers.
I promise you those writers who write from their hearts are out there. Seek and ye shall find. Reach out to those writers with your heartfelt caring and supportive comments.
You will be amazed at what you get back in return.
Wishing you well,
Art
A giant shoutout to Umme Salma — a terrific person and writer. I knew that from how authentically she shared her writing journey in this recent article of hers. And how well-written her piece was.
It was abundantly obvious how much Umme cares for and wants to connect with her readers. Well done, my friend.