Weekly Wisdom from Karen

#writing

It’s what we are all here for, us writers and us readers, here to read writing! This week’s wisdom comes from a budding new writer, some experienced writers who’ve been on the platform for a while, and another who joined a month ago and is already attracting attention!

Clément Bourcart encourages writers to tell their story.

The very words people use in their daily lives have a direct correlation on the quality of their mindset, which flows through to their actions and the end results that follow.

Shamar M generously shares what she learned in her first month on Medium. Totally agree with her about niches. The only point from her excellent points that I disagree with is about following about 50 random people per day. I did this for my first few months.

Six months later I went through all the 1.3k I was following and unfollowed the ones who I had never had any contact with. I now have my group of followers who do actually read my work and engage with me. It’s much easier than trying to keep a spreadsheet!

Like Shamar, I found it impossible to pick a niche. You could say my niches found me. Standing up for what’s right. Life experience and sharing it in the hope it helps someone.

One thing I was advised when I first started is pick a niche. Yeah, not happening. My mind is overly active and full of wonders. There’s too much in the world to talk about to only talk about one thing unless you’re just a poet, writing about business/marketing, science or politics.

My new friend and fellow ILLUMINATION senior editor CR Mandler MAT’s writing skills have made quite an impression on both me and many other readers and writers. This article made quite an impression on me. I know I am biased in my writing. I want people to think the way I do about the chaos our world is in but is writing with bias the right thing to do?

Follow me through my thought process as I explore the lost art of recognizing writers’ bias. I share my biases by using italics throughout this article.

Writers Bias 101

In the age of total subjectivity, it is difficult to recognize your own bias. I am extremely disappointed with the media, and I feel like yellow journalism has returned.

Tyler Fountain’s very first piece on Medium and ILLUMINATION offers all writers some sound advice for when we are stuck for ideas.

As someone new to writing, I’ve found it incredibly difficult to find topics to write about. That might sound strange to some, considering this site alone is full of great writers providing valuable insight on a wide variety of topics.

Neera Mahajan tells us a story of how she rediscovered skills she hadn’t used since university. Also, a piece of wisdom I love; most reading should be for pleasure!

Imagine you board a plane, take your seat and find that next to you is sitting your favorite writer. This is your opportunity to have a conversation with him and to learn from him firsthand. You are hoping to get a tip or two from him to improve your own writing. But he is so engrossed in the book he is reading that you dare not interrupt him.

I especially enjoyed this article about punctuation from Kathry A. LeRoy. Writers might find it an interesting read. After all, variety is the spice of life, so I’m told.

Kathryn LeRoy is also featuring as the publication of the week!

Publication of the Week

Kathryn A. LeRoy, PhD is one inspirational lady. I was delighted to discover her fresh new publication.

Weekly Wisdom is for new writers with less than 1000 followers. I hope you enjoy reading their work as much as I do.

Here are all the Weekly Wisdom bulletins in one handy place.