Probably because it’s not very interesting. But that doesn’t mean you should stop writing.

I recently started publishing short pieces of writing on Medium. I felt the need to express myself with written word and I was tired of using Facebook as a means to post my thoughts.

A friend of mine once said:

Taking a shit is a ‘dump’ for your body, writing is a ‘dump’ for your mind.

And thats what it is to me. In the dark of the night, in my moments of self-reflection, in my morning showers, in my evening runs, my head becomes filled with all sorts of thoughts that need to be put into place. Even now, on my caffeine induced high, I have to urge to write something. Anything.

But you know what sucks?

When you spend an hour, a day, a week, any length of time writing something and no one reads it.

It sucks so fucking much.

On the 3 articles I’ve published on Medium, one has 1200 views, another has 200 views, and the third has merely 76 views. The latter actually being a piece of interest. And that doesn’t bother me too much.

Wait. That’s a lie. It bothers me a fuckton. When you publish something, you want people to read it. Even if it is a ‘brain dump’. So what am I doing wrong?

It’s probably because the content isn’t interesting enough. Or maybe I’m not a very good writer. Or maybe I’m not advertising it enough. Or maybe something else. There are a million factors to consider.

But should I be thinking about these problems? Should I be worried that my ‘reach’ isn’t as far as I want it to be? Nah.

Should you? Should you care how many people read your work?

That’s difficult to answer. Yes, of course. You should care about how many people read your work. It’s a good indication of whether it’s a good piece of material. It’s a good indicator of the content and how well you match your content with the target demographic.

Should it bother me/you?

Probably not. But it does and I need to ignore it. I need to focus on improving my technique and my content. I need to focus on creating a unique writing style. I need to pick content that I find interesting, not you. I’m writing for myself. And as selfish as that may be, its the only way I know how. I don’t want to write about something I don’t find interesting.

In the digital age, we feel the need to share, for constant validation from our online investments. When we post something on social media, we want ‘likes’ and ‘shares’ and ‘retweets’ and so forth. It’s created this consistent need for acceptance and validation of our posts and our musings. It makes us want to post things that may be of interest to our audience, but not for ourselves. Our own self and our own opinions can get lost in the sea of audience acceptance and group-think because we seek this validation.

If I’ve learnt one thing from Medium and all of this social media bullshit, it’s that unless you find meaning in the work you do, in the posts you make, and the shit you share, it’s not worthwhile.

Write something you’re proud to write.

For now, I’m not going to think about views and reads and keep writing, because I find solace in putting pen to paper. And you should too.