How I started writing on Medium

If you had asked me a week ago, I had no plan to start writing on Medium. No goal, no schedule, no preparation — I was not even clear on what I would write about.

The first article started very simply: the topic seemed fun, and I thought, "why not write it down." That was it. No announcement about "building a Medium presence," no #Day1 declarations. I just felt like recording something.

Then one article became Day 2, then Day 3, and now this piece on Day 4. Only after writing three articles in three days did I actually understand what "starting to write on Medium" feels like. These are the small things I learned.

1. I thought I needed long preparation. I did not.

I used to believe you had to figure out your positioning, choose a column theme, set a weekly quota, and study how experienced writers work — and only then write your first piece. It turned out to be nothing like that.

The first article was "this experiment is fun, I want to write it up." The second was "this comparison is worth recording." The third was "writing for a few days in a row actually makes me happy." Every one of them started from "just begin with whatever is on my mind."

Writing taught me that starting is the preparation. If you never write, you always feel unready; once you write, you discover most of the reasons blocking you were never real.

2. Most Traditional Chinese writers have left Medium

I only discovered this after publishing. I assumed Medium still had as much Traditional Chinese content as before, but after actually looking around: few articles, fewer writers updating regularly, and I could not even find a Traditional Chinese publication to submit to.

That should have made me think "maybe I should leave too." Instead I thought: maybe that is exactly why I should stay. It is not competition — it is scarcity. If what I write gets seen and someone finds it interesting, that already feels warmer than the hyper-crowded platforms like Instagram or Threads. An unexpected bit of positive feedback.

3. "One article a day" is easier than "when I have time"

If I tell myself "I will write when I have time," the first article slips to Saturday. But "one article a day" carries no pressure at all: no overthinking, no agonizing over topics, no pile of "tomorrow" debt, and my brain naturally stays in topic-hunting mode. Writing daily is much lighter than it sounds.

4. Writing is really about organizing yourself

My biggest gain from these three days was not readers. It was that writing forced me to organize thoughts I never say out loud. Why do I have so many opinions about technology lately? Why did I want to start KeepOnFirst? Have I been hiding my expectations for the future?

Writing is a quiet moment. More than output, it feels like pulling the tangled threads in your head straight again. I like that feeling a lot.

5. I discovered I actually like writing

I could not have said this before, but after three days it is true: I genuinely enjoy writing. Not for traffic, not for followers, but because the moment something is written down, my mind suddenly becomes clear. So this is what writing feels like. And apparently I really can write one piece a day.

If you want to write too, just write the first one

Do not overthink it. Do not wait until you are ready. Do not settle your positioning first. Do not study what everyone else writes. You only need one thing: write the first article. The rhythm, the style, and the courage all show up on their own in the second and third. That is my most honest takeaway from three articles in three days.