You Should Know, This is What Sets Me Apart From Other Writers

Yes, I am a beautiful and unique snowflake with many assets

Photo of author and by author, in author’s workspace.

I just finished reading an article on why — as a new writer on Medium— people may not be reading my stories. The main piece of advice was to, “Write a personal story that lets people get to know you.”

After all, why would someone invest time reading your 8 minute article when you’ve given them nothing to set you apart from the thousands of other writers on this platform?

New Writers, Have You Wondered Why No One Bothers to Read Your Stories?

Personally, I don’t commit to reading articles longer than 5 minutes unless I’ve established a relationship with you, know more about you than the short description your bio gives me, and truly enjoy your content.

And although I wouldn’t consider myself a new writer, I imagine it’s similar for those who read my work. There is a reason my shortest articles have had the most success.

After reading this piece by Scot Butwell, I started to think about what information might be useful for readers to know about me. I do a pretty good job weaving personal narrative into my articles, but what have I left out?

Instead of telling you a story, I’m going to give some insight into what sets me apart from other writers.

I started writing in my journal when I was 8 years old

My mom and I were separated for a couple of years after her divorce from my dad. One of the last times we saw each other, she handed me a journal and told me to write everything down so she didn’t miss anything. My first journal entries all began with, “Dear mom.” I still cannot read them without crying.

Writing is the place I am most vulnerable

As a child, I constantly felt misunderstood by those around me. It seemed my thoughts were too much…like I was too much. My healthy way of coping with this insecurity was through writing. Writing remains…