What I learned in My One Month of Writing on Medium
Writers, are you too facing the same challenges? You are not alone.
When I started writing, I was super excited. All the articles I’ve put out so far, I’ve written in just one day. It felt like my mind was bursting with ideas, and my fingers were racing to get them all down on the page.
I’ve read a lot of articles on Medium by other writers about their writing journey. Most of them talked about struggling at first, finding it hard to come up with ideas or losing motivation to write.
But for me, it was different. I had so many ideas, my notes app was full of them. I was really motivated, and those struggles didn’t seem to affect me.
I’ve always believed in learning from other people’s mistakes, rather than making them myself. It’s better to learn from others and move forward than to waste time making the same mistakes.
Learning from people who are a few steps ahead of you, shifts your starting line a little forward.
So, even though it’s not easy, I’ve managed to publish four articles this month. And I’m proud of myself because, with my busy schedule, I honestly thought I wouldn’t be able to write even one.
But I did it.
It might not seem like a lot, but for someone like me who used to think they could only consume content and not create it, it’s a big milestone.
All day I used to think about writing only.
Then it happened
After being really motivated for a couple of weeks, life got in the way and I lost my consistency.
Now, my mind is blank. I have a bunch of drafts with only a few sentences in them. I’ve got titles for articles, but I’m struggling to come up with further narrating them.
I felt I had nothing new to contribute. Other writers know their game. They are much ahead, I’m very late in my journey. I should have started 10 years ago!
All these doubts crippled my mind and I went down this rabbit hole again that had prevented me from writing on Medium in past.
I’ve learned that you can try to mimic and reverse-engineer other writers’ work, but for me, it’s a problem. When I study other writers too much, I start thinking and writing like them, which doesn’t help.
Why did I start writing in the first place?
As you might have heard the things you do without any motive only for your pleasure, you enjoy doing it more instead of feeling forced to do as we all feel in our jobs! (at least I feel!!)
When I was in school my father got us English newspaper subscriptions to cultivate reading habits in us. I started reading them, not for the news, but for everything else — lifestyle, entertainment, opinions.
Everything but the main news.
I was hooked, especially by how writers could express themselves. At one point, I even thought about joining print media. But life took me in a different direction.
I joined engineering college and forgot everything.
Then, when I started my new job, I got into digital content. Since then, I’ve been consuming digital content more and more. I struggle to finish a book, but if I find a good article, I’ll read it all the way through.
Writing on Medium
Now, coming back to writing on Medium. I had hit writer’s block. And as the days passed without writing, I found it harder and harder to even open my laptop and start.
I was again gone to my lurking phase where I was just reading on Medium instead of writing.
Writer’s block is real.
Imposter syndrome is real.
After reading the accounts of writers who shared their early struggles, I found myself resonating with their experiences. It became clear that many have traversed the same path I find myself on now.
But they didn’t stop and neither should I.
Yet, they persevered, and so must I.
In this little journey of writing, I have learned
Writing is a solitary pursuit, requiring self-motivation and resilience in the face of adversity.
I’m from India. Here, the Medium Partner Program is not available so no monetisation for my work. I knew this before I had started. It didn’t deter me from writing here.
Writing is my sanctuary.
Sure, I’ve faced mental barriers, but when I force myself to sit down at my desk and open my laptop, I’ve already won half the battle.
Finally
Are you facing similar struggles with writing?
Don’t let imposter syndrome or writer’s block hold you back. Take a moment to reflect on why you started writing in the first place and find that motivation within yourself.
Share your writing journey and tips for overcoming challenges in the comments below.
Let’s support each other in our creative endeavours!
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Thank you for your time. Much appreciated.
