I Write Because …
Creative Sparks #16
I’ve been wondering how to distinguish between locking my stories on Medium versus making them free.
If we writers lock everything, what’s the difference between the free content and the premium content? Or maybe the question should be: “why should people pay to read your stuff?”
Which I think goes back to the fundamental question: “Why do you write? What value are you bringing to the table?”
Here are the 7 stories that resonated with me this week.
1. I earned a whopping $0.13 my first month writing on Medium by Victor Ha 🇸🇬
I think this was the story that made me ask myself “Why do I write”?
Of late, there’s been a lot of debate about the direction of Medium for the smaller, independent writers.
The rise of Medium’s editorial team and appointed columnists. The introduction of established authors on Medium’s featured stories.
I won’t lie, some of it got me pretty dejected about writing.
Probably one of the reasons why my output has definitely dropped over the last couple of weeks — along with other changes in my life.
In this story, Victor Ha 🇸🇬takes a step back and looks at the value of Medium to us smaller writers:
“Medium is, in essence, paying you:
For what you would have provided for free elsewhere anyway.”
A great reminder that value should not be measured in only dollars and cents.
2. How I Started Writing Again after a Two-Year Hiatus — by Susan Bahaduri
The need for a creative outlet and self-expression was causing me to burst at the seams. I realized that I don’t need to write for anyone else’s approval — I need to write for myself.
3.’Your Friends at Medium’ are unfriendly. by Sarah Nderi
A sobering read and a reminder to “check my privilege”.
We bitch about not earning enough on Medium and being ‘victims of the all-powerful algorithm’, but have we thought about the situations faced by people from other parts of the world?
As Stripe supports Singapore, I never considered this issue faced by other countries not supported by Stripe.
Once again, I am challenged to widen my worldview and think about the everyday things I often take for granted here.
“20, 10 or 50 dollars may not seem like a lot of money in an American or Canadian economy but in Nairobi, that would go a long way”.
4. How to Configure Your iPhone to Work for You, Not Against You, by Coach Tony
A mammoth article standing at almost 18k words and a whooping 73 minute read about optimizing your phone?
Wow.
There’s lots to think about here, but as with all productivity and life hacking advice, its always better to take some of the advice here, rigorously test and see if it fits into your life before taking it as gospel.
5. 100 Websites That Shaped the Internet as We Know It by Gizmodo
As someone who grew up when the Internet was in its infancy, read this round up and you’ll be sent on a trip down the Internet memory lane. Lots of old classics here like GameFAQs, Newgrounds and Runescape, but loads more I haven’t heard of!
Fantastic way to think about how the Internet has progressed since the 90s and a great lookback at the sites that have shaped our current version of the Internet.
6. The Week in Good News: #ThisIs18, America in 24 Hours, Sea Turtles by The New York Times
A weekly reminder of what’s all good in the world despite all the upheaval around us. Sometimes we need to document and pay attention to the little moments.
7. The Real Reason You Should Capture Your Moments by Trisha Traughber
On that note, Trisha puts forth a compelling case why you need to document your days — both for a richer examined life and to improve your own creative flow.
When you realize you don’t remember the smell of the bread you bought, the rambunctious warmth of your children’s hugs. That you’d forgotten the way the light fell across your dashboard as you drove past frosty fields. That you can’t recall the details of your daily existence because you were paying attention to…something else.
Each week, I share 7 articles, videos or books I’m reading and write out my thoughts on them. Want to get them as they’re released? Follow the publication! You can have a look at the previous editions in the publication!
