Translating Your Expertise Into Stories
A framework to get started writing what you know
So, you’ve promised yourself it’s finally time to start writing about your profession, passion project, or industry on Medium. Hooray! Taking the leap from idea to post is less of a stretch than your inner critic might have you believe. What matters most is simply showing up and beginning. Feel free to scratch the lofty goals that might be getting in your way and proceed with baby steps. We think the following four steps, in particular, offer a helpful framework for translating your expertise into Medium posts.
And in case you missed it, we recently shared these tips in a Creator Workshop hosted by Medium team members Kate Green Tripp and Kaushik Viswanath — here’s the recording:
Use what you have
The shift from thinking about your material to actually writing it down and hitting publish may feel like a big one. We get that. All new habits take time to build and getting comfortable writing on Medium is no exception.
But in truth, you are likely writing for, or about, your work in some dimension already — in emails, presentations, curriculum, notes to yourself, or some other format for clients, students, patients, or colleagues. So it may be that the raw material for your first post, or even your first 10 posts, is at your fingertips right now. Start there! Consider repurposing what you already have. Maybe that means transforming a conversation into writing, as Bo Stapler, MD, physician and Medium writer, does in this piece and Dr. Bat Sheva Marcus, sex therapist and Medium writer, does here.
Write in small bites
There’s no need to say it all at once. Instead, we recommend approaching posting on Medium with the intention to start, and maintain, a conversation with your audience about your subject matter.
We see Edward Slingerland do this around the history of alcohol and Kaki Okumura around lifestyle and well-being in Japan. Hal Harris finds endless ways to address the topic of Black personhood, and Brandy L Schillace always has a new story to share from the world of the medically bizarre.
Short, well-crafted posts with smart headlines can pack just as powerful a punch as longer ones. Sometimes readers even prefer them. A great post length for Medium is anywhere from 500 to 1,500 words (which translates to a three- to seven-minute read). What also matters is cadence. We know readers want to hear from the writers they enjoy on an ongoing, consistent basis. So figure out what posting cadence works for you and stick to it. We also suggest these tips for finding, and building, your audience.
Show and tell
If you take a moment to reflect on the best teachers you’ve ever had, chances are you don’t conjure memories of folks who talked at you. The teachers you recall likely taught (in part) through story — using their time with you to both tell you about a concept and show you the concept in action.
This is a great way to approach writing on Medium: weaving together voice (story) with substance (expertise). Yes, you want to share your knowledge about auto mechanics or data science or nutrition but ideally, you want to share it in a way that is both digestible and relatable. You want your reader to follow where you lead them and care about the information you reveal. Two stories that do a great job of this are Gillian May’s “The First Signs of Alcoholic Liver Damage Are Not in the Liver” and Michele DeMarco’s “Is It A Panic Attack or Anxiety?”
Test and learn
And finally, remember that coming to Medium should also be fun! So make time to experiment while also discovering trusted voices to read. There is no one right way to frame or structure your posts. You’re welcome to veer off course a bit and play around with new angles or topics. Laura Khoudari, a trauma-informed personal trainer and Medium writer, did a lovely job of this in a recent piece about accidentally getting locked out of the house and writing haiku to calm herself down. Jane Garnett, LMFT, a psychotherapist and Medium writer, did something similar in “The Real Magic of Psychics.”
We encourage you to try fresh approaches and discover what suits you and what engages your readers. You might feel your way into a column or series. You might post as a way to showcase illustrations, conduct interviews, review books, make lists, or write pieces that build off of big moments in your career. All options are fair game. Feel free to dabble!
And if you can’t figure out where to get started, here are some prompts to help you generate ideas:
- Write out your resume as a story: What are some unexpected turns you’ve taken in your career? What’s the most important piece of career advice you would give your younger self?
- Write about your little wins: Not every post needs to contain a major epiphany. Tell readers about how you solved a minor challenge, or what you changed to make work 5% easier for yourself or a colleague.
- Write about something you read recently: Most of us have to read for work constantly, whether it’s books, reports, or research papers. What’s the most interesting thing you read recently, and what did you take away from it?
- What are you talking to clients, junior employees, or students about? As part of our jobs, many of us have to communicate information to people within and outside our organizations. Put some of your insights in writing or find the ones that are already in writing to share with a wider audience.
- Write about your challenges: You can write about problems without always having a solution. Consider writing about your challenges to work through them in public, and get advice and feedback from readers.
Maybe you tackle one of the above prompts each week until you find a topic flow all your own. Maybe you start drafting a prompted post and suddenly elect to take a different approach. Getting started may excite or relax you or it may feel like pulling teeth. It’s all normal and all subject to change. Remember that you’re learning as you go.
To that end, keeping tips, tricks, and supports close at hand as you get started can sure help. We recommend the Medium Writers Starter Pack, a few choice snacks, and maybe a stretch or two of airplane mode. Good luck!
