The day my writing habit died
Medium has a way of both inspiring and killing the writer habit. The platform provides both a means to publish your blog or stories but…
Habits
The day my writing habit died
Medium has a way of both inspiring and killing the writer habit. The platform provides both a means to publish your blog or stories but also at the same time sets up a gauntlet for those with an ambitious or addictive streak.
I’ve been writing my whole life. In high school it would have been short stories, poetry, and melodramatic fantasy fiction. By university I had finished writing my goal of a novel. I come from the bygone era of Geocities and the early days of blog writing as an online journal. My friends and colleagues used to follow all of my rants, adventures, joys, and sorrows.
When I started writing for medium, it began as a personal search for rediscovery. Three kids and a career in Science and Tech spanning more than 15 years had blunted my creativity. My stories would have consisted of “Why does my toddler cry” or “How to make the best cup of tea”. Instead of writing about a life of travel and adventure, I sought to write about my everyday — food, spirituality, and motherhood. Only on my second article, I was picked up to push my work to a Food publication.
To date, 2.5K views. Medium changed its monetization structure within my first year on the platform. But my goal for writing had been corrupted into something where I was more curious to game the system to earn money. I quickly started writing with a goal to publish in publications. How can I expand my reach? How can I earn just a few dollars more? I felt like this was proof that I can write.
Even just today, having drafted a story, I am battling with the temptation of looking up submission guidelines and pushing it to a wider audience.
In the last couple of years, the rumors and then truth of Medium’s policy changes and the piracy of content from publications for re-posting on foreign sites became a reality. Searching for a phrase I had crafted resulted in three or more hits containing my now pirated content.
My articles are small beans compared to the more successful authors. Many jumped off the platform entirely out of disgust and betrayal for both losing out on revenue but more importantly because they felt Medium had somehow failed to protect the writers who had helped build the platform to what it is.
I felt this too.
I too stopped writing. What was the point?
Time passed.
Today, I return with the inspiration that: Imitation is the highest form of flattery.
I have to ask: WHY do I write?
I’m one of the lucky ones. My writing does not pay my bills. I write because I love expressing my thoughts. Re-centering myself, I realize that its not important to reach for success, influence, followers, or dollar bills, as much as its important that I continue to express myself. Some articles may be a hit and some a miss — but who cares what other people think.
I’m doing this for me.
