Using Your Comments as A Jumping Off Place for New Posts

When I first joined Medium, I created articles like I’d always created them. These were based on topics and lots of research, written in an academic voice. While they got some traffic, for the most part they didn’t seem to garner a lot of interest. I began reading more on Medium and saw that the posts that had the most engagement were more like blog posts. This was a bit intimidating for me, since while I had a blog for a while, I had trouble writing for it and only did so sporadically.

The big problem for me was that creating posts that were more personal in nature, more conversational was something I wasn’t comfortable with. I had worked so hard for so long to write objectively and remove any type of subjectivity, in essence to remove any traces of me from my writing. Any time I noticed so much as a hint of me creeping in there was a knee jerk reaction, and I immediately edited it out.

As I read more posts I realized that I really liked the personal approach of many writers. With several writers, I quickly got a feel for who they were based on the picture they painted through their writing. Some wrote poetry, others opinions of what was happening in our world, and still others reflected on normal every day struggles or activities that we all have. It was such a nice feeling to engage with these writers as I felt the comments I was making were real and not just forced attempts at creating an exchange that would get me more views.

I began to warm up to the idea of writing these types of posts myself. I really liked the possibilities that this approach opened up for me, the ability to just say what I had to say, contribute information based on my own experiences, provide my opinions on things, and share things that had helped me solve or cope with problems in my life. I would also have my area of psychology to fall back on, which I could use to add to all of these ideas.

Still though, I wasn’t exactly certain where to start. For someone who had never written from a personal standpoint coming up with ideas was a sticking point. It seemed like there almost too many options in terms of types of posts and a variety of voices but how did I narrow down a topic?

I buried myself in reading others articles hoping inspiration would come. And it did but not from where I thought it would. I realized my comments on posts were getting lengthier, and were turning into little discourses on the topic of the article. Then one day, I looked at one of the comments I had just made and realized, “Eureka!” There was an idea!

Since that time I began collecting certain comments and use them to generate new posts of my own. It’s an amazing wealth of possibilities. It also connects me more closely to other writers on Medium.

Strategy

I have developed a system for using my comments as the basis for other articles which simplifies things for me and keeps things organized. I start with the title of the article, author and link so I can go back later if I’m not sure what I was thinking about at the time. This also makes it easy to thank the author of the original post for the inspiration. I think it’s important to acknowledge and support each other whenever possible, especially if another writer did something that helped you create something new. I then give a basic idea of what the article was about. This is followed by copying and pasting the paragraph I was commenting on along with the actual comment I made. I expand on the comment and list ideas for developing the article.

Examples

I have already completed a few articles using this strategy. One of the first ones I wrote came from an article on success. My entry for that one went like this:

Article: Defining Success

Author: Dan Pedersen

Link: https://readmedium.com/defining-success-5fb925a1a46a

Simple Summary (Original): Letting go of what others believe success to be lets you define it for yourself.

Inspiration: “Is success defined by you or is it defined by other people? If it’s defined by other people, what wisdom do they have that you don’t?”

Expanded Comment : “I think it’s a bit complicated — it’s obviously defined for us at first by our parents or other important adults in our world. Then depending on the degree of individuation we’re allowed/helped to achieve we may to on to develop our own ideas of success.” At some point, we all re-examine them and either decide we are okay with the way they are or that they don’t fit us as well as they once seemed to.

Additional Points:

• Our idea of who we are is largely defined by our ideas of success.
• Include Personal story of announcing to family I was going to grad school in psychology not medicine or law and their distress that I wouldn’t likely meet a future doctor or lawyer.
• I decided I had the right to determine what my own goals were and how I would achieve them.
• Success is a process not an end point.
• Other possible definitions of success — what success means to me

The completed article was just titled On Defining Success.

Another example is a post that what inspired by a simple comment on a friend’s Facebook page. The statement was, ‘Children Will Play With Anyone Until Someone Tells Them Not To.” This reminded me of an experience I had doing trauma work with a group of kids in a Louisiana bayou after hurricane Andrew. That article can be found here:

Changes in Reading Habits Bring a Wealth of Ideas

I have found since I began doing this that my reading habits have changed. Before I tried to read as many articles as possible so I could provide a quick, drive by comment and some claps, likes or whatever. Now I read what I am drawn to, what I have an interest in, and read much more carefully. I stop in places and consider the points they are making and think about my reaction to it. When I comment now, I make sure it is not just supportive but reflects on something they have said.

This has also opened me up to seeing the potential for articles in reactions to replies, posts and quotes on other social media sites, blogs and websites I visit. As writers we are also readers. These things naturally go hand in hand and this relationship can provide you with all sorts of inspiration. If you keep your eyes open and really think about the things you are reading, you will find that your comments on others articles can trigger ideas for your own writing.

Pay attention to your reaction as you read. Is it positive? Negative? Why is it one way of the other? Is there something missing that you might be able to write about? Can you expand on what they have said? Does something you’ve read really hit home for some reason? Reading and carefully considering the way you feel and what you think about as you read may cut down on how much material you go through each day. But it will make your reading more meaningful and provide an endless supply of ideas for posts that are genuine, leading to greater engagement and connections with your readers.