Goodbye Medium, It’s Not You, It’s Me

When I began my Medium journey approximately 60 days ago, my primary goal was to reignite my passion for writing.

However, if you decide to check it out, please do me a favor: right-click and open the link in a new tab. This way, it won’t mess with my read ratio—yes, I still care about that, even if I claimed I wouldn’t. Oops, spoiler alert!

So, after that rather grand announcement—which was definitely not intended to be clickbait—what progress have I made in the last five days? If you’re subscribed to my posts, you might have seen this recent article in your inbox:

Today, I Wrote A Suicide Note

And it turned out to be the most challenging 115 words I’ve ever penned.

If you haven't subscribed yet, I encourage you to consider it. Not for my sake, but for yours. I’ll be sharing updates about my novel as I write it, in chronological order. If you happen to read an article out of sequence, you might spoil the experience for yourself. I’m just trying to help you here!

I’m rambling a bit, but it’s because I’m genuinely thrilled. I’m making strides on the most significant project I’ve ever undertaken in my life.

Back to the Progress

To recap, I wrote that aforementioned ‘note’, which was quite emotionally taxing. After gathering my thoughts, I took the productive route and reorganized my notes using a new piece of software.

This image might not perfectly capture my office, but it reflects my chaotic mind beautifully. Especially the Gremlin in a top hat—that's my favorite!

Let me clarify why this wasn’t a waste of my time. I discovered, with immense pleasure, that I’ve written a total of 38,143 words so far. It’s worth mentioning that not all of these words are part of the narrative; many are scenes and research notes. Still, they exist, and that’s what matters.

The novel’s structure is planned out, and it works. The characters have names, and the themes and purpose have already been established by my past self. For the first time in ages, I don’t feel resentment towards my past decisions—he actually took care of me this time. Thank you!

The Not-So-Good News

Tentatively titled ‘The Forest’, my novel is divided into ten parts. I plan to discuss the premise and structure in a future article. Currently, parts 10 through 4 are fleshed out to some extent, while parts 3 to 1 remain underdeveloped. In simpler terms, I have a beginning and a middle, but no satisfying conclusion—yet.

Did I get the numbers backward? No, I didn’t. This should pique your curiosity! Why are the parts numbered in descending order? What are they counting down to? Am I going to reveal that here? Nope!

Did I just take a screenshot of my own article while writing it for comedic effect? Yes and yes! Who needs a marketing degree when you can create buzz on Medium, right?

Over the upcoming bank holiday weekend, I’ll be sharing more insights about this project, so stay tuned. You can follow or subscribe, or if you prefer a bit of randomness, just hope that the Medium algorithm delivers my updates to you when it sees fit.

There’s a real sense of change in the air, and I am incredibly grateful to have each of you accompanying me on this journey. Thank you all!