New Writers
Highlights From Medium’s Newest Writers
Hello, new friends. We’re glad you’re here.
Thousands of times a day, someone will publish on Medium. There are stories about whale populations and living in a windmill and the trouble with tipping. Many of these stories are written by writers who’ve hit the publish button for the very first time. To those fine folks, we’re here to say: Hello and welcome to the party! Please make yourself at home.
We wanted to highlight some stories by our newest Medium writers. Read, clap, and follow their words.
“Why everyone hates the word ‘influencer’ and what it really means” by Kasia Furlong
The word conjures images of reality celebrity, artifice, undeserved riches, wastefulness and vanity. … The fact that these imagined people are also making a ton of money from ‘influencing’ (read: manipulating) others into consuming products just adds insult to injury.
“How sharing my darkest secret made me the strongest man in the world” by Christopher Boyd
I was going through the motions, focused on being the person other people wanted me to be so I could make them happy. I was assuming love was conditional and acted accordingly. And I was good at it. The ability to hide had become a shield that separated me from other people. What I had once deemed a superpower had become a defense mechanism.
“Stop Romanticizing Your Freelancing Career” by Natasha Nichole Lake
No one clapped when I walked out of my glass-encased office for the last time, searching for spiritual sustenance and a sustainable living as a writer. I knew walking away from that kind of stability seemed ridiculous, I did it anyway. For any creative who can’t quiet that inner-voice crying out for a more intentional existence, being relentless is the only way forward.
”Rhymin’ nerdy: network analysis of rhyme pairs in rap lyrics” by Fuaad Coovadia
Last week I was listening to the radio and heard Megan Thee Stallion rhyme ‘wine’ with ‘fine’ (“Lookin’ fine, sippin’ wine” — Beautiful Mistakes by Maroon 5 ft. Megan Thee Stallion). Like a sleeper-agent with a trigger-phrase lodged unknowingly between the folds of their cortex, I was awake; aware that this rhyme between ‘fine’ and ‘wine’ must have been done dozens of times before, surely. Which made me wonder; which rhyming pairs are most popular in rap?
”Finding Emotional Duality During the Gabby Petito Investigation” by Aaliyah Hernandez
When I listen to the conversations about Petito’s case and missing women of color, there seems to be this idea that you have to pick which one to care about more. That we can’t report about one while also reporting about the other. TikTok especially drives this narrative of “why is she getting so much attention?” There is apparently not enough space here for the two of them to hold importance. I highly disagree with this. There needs to be space for both of them.
Thanks for being here and for sharing your stories. If you’re publishing your first post on Medium, add the tag Hello World and it may be included in a future roundup. And for more resources, advice, and inspiration for writing on Medium, check out the Medium Writers Starter Pack.
