This Halloween Marks The Big Bad Return of Badform
It’s time guys…but with a difference
For anyone who remembers Badform (I know, it’s been a wee while), I want you to know that it’s never been far from my mind.
I was overwhelmed with…well, life for a while. A very big while. And then, one day, as if by magic, I had lots of space in my life again. And I’ve done lots since then. Except return to get Badform going again.
The main reason being was that I wasn’t sure what direction Badform should go in, or what Badform’s true identity was. I kind of saw it as the kid that sits at the back of the class, distracting anyone they can by playing tricks on them, and then still getting 97% in all the class tests. Really annoying, in other words, but in a nice way.
With a combination of humour and some outspokenness, it worked. Poking fun at those who deserved it but not in an unkind way.
The problem really was what Badform was trying to be, and that was where things fell down. I stated in the original submission guidelines that humour was essential. Not all of our writers took that onboard, which actually turned out not to be a problem, because some of the best-performing pieces ended up being heartfelt essays that the writer was inspired to write because of how they perceived Badform — as a publication that gave them license to speak up about issues that aren’t brought to light enough.
Alicia Domínguez thanked me for giving her the space to write about the other side of childbirth that is rarely spoke about, because it brought her in touch with many women who had also had very difficult experiences. Connection — isn’t that why we write in the first place?
There were also some submission guidelines that became tired and pointless after a while. It was therefore becoming a little blurred around the edges and lost its pizazz.
The other issue with Badform being positioned as a humour publication was that I am not primarily a humour writer and there are already excellent humour publications on Medium. I didn’t really want it to try to become a new humour publication but since that was the initial flavour of the pieces we were publishing, that was how I positioned it. Yet, it’s clearly not the full story.
So here’s what I see Badform’s role as, going forward:
- A place for fun outspokenness
- A place for kindness mixed with fun and/or outspokenness
- A place for quality essays and reflections with some kind fun and/or outspokenness
- A place to express your gripes but with a great big dollop of objective reflection (and kindness)
- A place to express your gripes but with a great big dollop of objective reflection (and kindness) with some fun blended in
- All of the above to include anything you need to get of your chest but in a well-constructed way; humour-smothered and/or heartfelt social and political commentary written with self-awareness and consideration; intelligently-written rants; fiction or nonfiction with an underlying message in line with the fun and/or outspoken gripes idea, and digs and rants done well and with kindness.
- Details here in the new and updated submission guidelines.
It will remain a place to laugh but it will also encompass those aspects of our lives that we may feel don’t quite fit into a traditional personal essay publication.
For a typically well-concocted piece of Badform humour, see Nathan Chen’s recent piece and Alex Praytor’s personal experience travelling in Romania.
For a well-constructed piece of Badform outspokenness, see Alicia’s fantastic piece on women and childbirth.
I have written some new submission guidelines to reflect this. Please know that we are now accepting new writers again (we never officially stopped but it happened to stall). Comment here (or on the submission guidelines) with your username if you wish to write for us.
And with that, Happy Halloween to you all! 🎃🦇👻
Tagging the current active editors at Badform — The Sturg | Vidya Sury, Collecting Smiles | Mike Butler