On Medium: How a Commercial Success Can be an Artistic and a Moral Travesty
Read on about how Ayodeji Awosika’s writing advice traps new writers with a bait-and-switch tactic, as he presupposes the dubious neoliberal standards of copywriting.
You should write an article on 'How Not to be a Hack'. Not only would it be a good counter Awosika's advice, I would really like to understand how you are able to consistently turn out such quality essays at the rate that you do. I wish I could write a tenth of the content that you manage.
I did write a sarcastic one that indirectly addresses the question of how not to be a hack, called "How to be Popular and Fake on Medium." Some of my other ones on writing talk more directly about the artistic side (links below).
But as to why or how I write so much, it's like asking why some folks have more to say than others. It's a perspective I'm sharing, combined with a lot of practice that's built up some writing skills, and I'm applying that perspective or vision to lots of topics.
How did I acquire that perspective? It's like asking how I became the character and the person I am. I studied philosophy a lot, which gave me background knowledge. But there's also plenty of personal experience that goes into formulating not just a bias but an inspired vision, a mental map that's able to direct you in the realm of ideas while illuminating the places you thought you already knew.
Some of my recent writings have made me think the real mystery for a pragmatic theory of knowledge is the nature of understanding. This is what Kant was talking about, the subjectivity involved not in passively receiving percepts but in understanding them. I think we can compare forms of understanding, perspectives, or visions in aesthetic and perhaps ethical terms. How rich and original are they? How insightful and profound? How complacent and pedestrian? How propagandistic and dishonest?
Over the years I've tried to elaborate on my philosophical perspective, and it's become a hobby, at a minimum.
You should write an article on 'How Not to be a Hack'. Not only would it be a good counter Awosika's advice, I would really like to understand how you are able to consistently turn out such quality essays at the rate that you do. I wish I could write a tenth of the content that you manage.
ReplyDeleteI did write a sarcastic one that indirectly addresses the question of how not to be a hack, called "How to be Popular and Fake on Medium." Some of my other ones on writing talk more directly about the artistic side (links below).
DeleteBut as to why or how I write so much, it's like asking why some folks have more to say than others. It's a perspective I'm sharing, combined with a lot of practice that's built up some writing skills, and I'm applying that perspective or vision to lots of topics.
How did I acquire that perspective? It's like asking how I became the character and the person I am. I studied philosophy a lot, which gave me background knowledge. But there's also plenty of personal experience that goes into formulating not just a bias but an inspired vision, a mental map that's able to direct you in the realm of ideas while illuminating the places you thought you already knew.
Some of my recent writings have made me think the real mystery for a pragmatic theory of knowledge is the nature of understanding. This is what Kant was talking about, the subjectivity involved not in passively receiving percepts but in understanding them. I think we can compare forms of understanding, perspectives, or visions in aesthetic and perhaps ethical terms. How rich and original are they? How insightful and profound? How complacent and pedestrian? How propagandistic and dishonest?
Over the years I've tried to elaborate on my philosophical perspective, and it's become a hobby, at a minimum.
https://benjamincain8.medium.com/how-to-be-popular-and-fake-on-medium-32003dadfedb?source=friends_link&sk=493c8284999d94287f3be673e030a65c
https://medium.com/publishous/writing-with-grit-against-the-digital-tide-82ef73ee45a2?sk=84147e5226b07f929ec00bb295f6a3b9
https://medium.com/publishous/how-to-find-childlike-wonder-in-your-writing-6e76e4f0f831?sk=bd5dd5fe6c72d3cbfe3f30fec59e00dd