Viral Articles Are Exhausting

Don’t read comments until you’ve finished writing for the day

There is something deeply rewarding about writing something that strikes a nerve and allows you to wake up to dozens of comments. I’ve been fortunate in that I’ve had articles go viral on a couple of occasions, and it is exciting to see your read count shoot through the ceiling.

On typical days, I feel pretty good when I see 400 to 500 daily views. That’s a good amount of engagement and it keeps me motivated to write more and participate in intellectual discussion. However, today I woke up to this:

Perhaps it’s generous to call 5,000 reads in a few days “viral,” but as exciting as it has been, I’m kind of looking forward to things returning to normal.

Fickle popularity

One strange thing about having an article “hit” is that it never seems to be one that I would expect. It just goes to show that the internet is unpredictable and it’s very hard to try and decipher what stories are going to trend, and what stories are going to flounder.

Almost without fail, the work I’m most proud of gets nary a whisper…go figure.

I wrote the article in question because of a rude comment I received in response to a statement I made that Kamala Harris was “competent, charismatic, and intelligent.” In this day and age, that’s the sort of thing that will incite packs of wolves to come charging out of the woods intent on ripping you apart.

You can read the article here:

The genesis of the article was that I wrote a comment, a person insulted me, and I wrote an article in response to the insult. From there, the whole thing has taken on a life of its own.

The first few days

The story got a good reaction right away, but it has been steadily on the rise in the last twenty-four hours. Yesterday I crested 2,000 views. Honestly, if it had ended there I would have been very satisfied. However, today’s count is closing in on 3,000 and who knows what tomorrow will bring?

I’ve been trying to keep up with the comments, but I’m starting to feel like I won’t be able to manage much longer. The vast majority of the comments are positive, but there is the occasional lunatic who seems to think the best solution to any disagreement is to launch a blistering personal attack.

I’ve gotten to the point where the moment I see something I don’t like, I just retort and block the user. My retorts are getting sharper. There’s no way I can predict if that will have a detrimental long-term consequence.

I’ll have to adjust my approach

Until now, I’ve always allowed myself to wake up in the morning and check my messages before I proceeded on to the articles I had planned for the day. This latest experience has made it clear that I’m going to have to shake up that system even though that’s the system that produced the trending article in the first place.

Today, I managed to write a freelance article that a small publication requested last Friday. I had two more articles planned for Medium, but I got bogged down answering comments and became too tired to tackle them.

I do really, really appreciate comments. I think the problem with the engagement on this particular article is that anything that has a political slant is going to become the subject of a blistering conservative assault. Conservatives don’t seem to see political discourse as an opportunity to achieve a common ground, but instead appear overly preoccupied with bogging you down with insults and frustration. I have to say, it works pretty well.

The articles are more important than the comments

Time spent responding to comments comes from a finite reservoir of creative energy. The more comments you reply to, the fewer articles you can create.

Usually I’m fairly tired in the evening and I don’t feel as if I can write an article up to my normal standards in that mental state. However, it takes far less mental energy to reply to comments. I think reading and responding to comments when the work is done would be a nice way to wind down in the evening. The important thing is to not let answering comments get in the way of completing your other planned tasks.

As a writer, I almost always go to bed thinking I didn’t accomplish enough. That sensation has been worse lately.

Always get the writing done

Writers are inclined to flights of fancy including, but not limited to, paranoia. Sometimes it feels like the whole world rises up to prevent you from finishing an article or a manuscript. Distractions can consist of anything from an interruption at the door to getting pulled into an argument on social media. More insidious demands on your writing time include generating the requisite amount of money necessary to have a comfortable life.

There are always, always, always distractions that keep you from getting the words down on the page. It’s odd to think that perhaps success is the biggest distraction of all. I’m not entirely sure how I should feel about that, but I’m looking forward to reading your comments on that thought later this evening.

As always, thanks for your support and comments! I’ll try to catch up when things get back to normal!