Writing advice is everywhere on Medium. Much of this focuses on how to make your writing better. But how do you actually start?
Every person is unique, and what works for the experienced writers might not work for you.
I did a bit of a deep dive, that involved a lot of reading and some experiments, and I found these next 7 actions to be working for me.
Finding a niche is really hard
“Niche down”, all the gurus say on online writing (and for most online ventures, for that matter). But I still have a hard time picking a niche. Writing about writing (like I’m doing here)? It’s definitely popular, and lucrative, but not easy to stand out. There are many writers teaching this on Medium, and have been doing it for years.
One piece of advice I’ve heard is to, at least in your first year, NOT niche down. Write about whichever topic you want, and see what gets the most traction or engagement. Then double down on that. Just make sure your posts are:
Entertaining
Informative
Educational
That way you will attract more readers and figure out what you should write about.
Reading helps, but doing is where the action is (pun most definitely intended)
Be careful of falling into the ‘endlessly learning’ rut. I agree, it’s much easier to read and learn about online writing. But that won’t put your words onto paper (or online, as it were).
There is only so much learning you can do before putting it into action. Putting it into action also reinforces what you learned.
I didn’t do this at the start, so I don’t remember what I learned a month ago. Because I just consumed, and didn’t act.
You will learn a lot quicker if you action what you learn, especially if you do it on the same day.
https://x.com/jg_pienaar/status/1842435913755906177
Find what time of day works for you
You have to figure out when is the best time to write for you, what Eve Arnold calls the ‘Golden Hour’. Only you will know what that time is - be it first thing in the morning, or in the evening when the house is quiet and everyone has gone to bed. Experiment to see what works in your situation.
I am best in the mornings, say 5 AM or so. But the nature of my job means anything can happen at any time. I might attend to a burst water pipe, or a sick staff member, or fix the fence the elephants broke. When I can’t write at 5, I make the effort to write later in the day.
During lunch, when I have an hour.
After I get back from work.
In the evening, after dinner and the house settles down (we don’t have kids, just a hyperactive GSP).
These times are not as productive as at 5 AM, but it’s far better than not writing for the day.
Find unique solutions
For this you can zoom out a bit, and take a look at how your day is normally structured. A common ‘excuse’ I have given is that I don’t have time to write in a day. But then, I read Medium articles for 2 hours…
Most people I’ve worked with take a smoke break every hour. This is usually for 15 minutes or so. Since I don’t smoke, I use this time to come up with topic ideas, brainstorm a potential newsletter, and so on. Derek Hughes shares his article on 10-minute breaks for headline brainstorming. See what you can do in short spurts.
If you can’t put fingertips to keyboard, why not use a dictating app on your PC? As Viktor says in his article, if you can’t speak it you can’t write it.
There is a solution for every obstacle you may encounter in your online venture, if you are willing to look for one.
If you are still working a 9-5, just don’t forget you still have that to do during the day! A story for another day…
Take Notes!!
Taking notes has been a game-changer for me. You should find what works for you, be it:
Journal
Pocket notebook
Note-taking app on your phone
Screenshots of posts or websites you visit
Take photos of something interesting you see (no, not for Instaglam!)
Even something out of the box, like Lipika Sahu using a WhatsApp group to take notes
For some authors, taking a walk in nature gets the creative parts of their brains working, since you’re not sitting and staring at a screen full of words and forcing yourself to come up with something. Your subconscious is powerful, so give it the space and opportunity to do its thing.
Publish as often as you can easily handle
When you first start out, you have no idea how often you can publish. So, as Maxim Spasskiy says in his article, start slowly.
Start with 2 articles per week, 1 long and 1 short, and do that for a month. Or at least until you are comfortable publishing that regularly. Then, increase to 1 long, and 2 short per week. If you enjoy the long form more, try 2 long and 1 short per week. The point is to find what works for you. Gradually build up until you are comfortable publishing 5 articles or more per week.
These don’t all have to be long, in-depth articles of 3000 words. Write a 200 or 300-word article about 1 idea. This also helps you to formulate your thoughts succinctly.
A course helps to wrap your head around everything
A writing course, if you can afford it, can help immensely. I got the ‘High-Income Blogging’ course, by the Solo Creator. As a bonus, he publishes regular newsletters to help you build your online writing business, if that’s what you are aiming for. Disclaimer, I am NOT an affiliate for this course.
Courses cut through the fluff, and you don’t have to look in different places to find all the info. This also prevents ‘Doom-scrolling’, and going down the rabbit hole of Medium articles (or YouTube videos, or blog posts, or podcasts, or… Ahem, I digress).
A well-rounded course should have sections on research, creating headlines, formatting your post, optimizing your profile, and more. All in one, easily digestible place. But, as I said above, don’t get stuck in ‘continuous learning mode’. Put it into action.
Final thoughts
Remember, every writer’s path is unique. Embrace the journey, be patient with yourself, and keep writing. Find out what works for you, and do more of that. Everyone has a story to tell, or advice they can give. With perseverance, you will find your voice, and your audience will find you.
Let me know if you found this helpful!