How To Support Stories And Writers That Make An Impact
If it moved you, let it move others too.
A simple exchange with Luke Wiese urged me to write this article. It was so simple, it only took a few clicks to see that he read a few articles and typed a response.
To a writer, receiving feedback from a reader is like finding an oasis in the middle of the desert. Okay, maybe this is an exaggeration. My point? Writing is a lonely job. We can only do this when we are by ourselves, when the doors are closed and when our thoughts flow freely without distractions. Hearing from people who read our work tells us to keep writing.
You must be here on Medium to read great content. Here are some simple ways to support the creators that stir your mind.
Clap
I’ve read articles that say writers here on Medium are paid by claps, one article says it’s by views, another says it’s by the number of reads. I’d like to say that I don’t care, but I do. In fact, I had to stop myself from checking my stats because I was doing it 15x a day, no joke.
We are curious. We want to know who reads our work. Does he write too? What’s the latest article she wrote? What is this reader like?
Claps mean you liked what you just read. That something about it made you feel something. Maybe it made you feel good, or it inspired you towards a better decision.
Click on that tiny clap button if a story moved you, even in a little way.
Highlight
We love quotable quotes and tweetable tweets. The short sentences that encapsulate age-old wisdom are worth remembering and sharing.
When you highlight your favorite lines from a story, you’re telling the writer that this made an impact on you and you appreciate that it was written down.
Respond
While we write to be heard, we also write to be read. We are readers ourselves and we love interacting with our favorite authors and writers. We read their tweets (Anne Lamott’s tweets are beautiful, Stephen King’s are controversial), like their Instagram posts (Elizabeth Gilbert likes to post book recommendations and her author friends) and wait for what they’re about to do next.
This is probably the closest that we can be to our writing heroes who are alive. With social media platforms, we can interact with them at any time of the day. Now whether they interact back to us is another question.
If an article compels you to write a response, even if it’s just ‘Inspiring article, I loved it,’ do it! Every writer appreciates genuine feedback.
Respond with what you really want to say and ask if you have to.
Share
In my bi-weekly newsletter, I make sure that my friends receive not only my content but other people’s work that made an impact on me. I got this from Austin Kleon’s Show Your Work.
Sharing other people’s content is generosity. It’s not only showing your appreciation to the one who made it but it’s giving to people who might enjoy it the way you did.
Stories are not only words on a page. Stories are made and they exist to change lives. Clap for, respond to, highlight and share what you feel is worth your and other people’s precious time.
I hope this encourages you to do these for the next great story that you read.
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