SELF

My Top 12 Stories: Reflection on a Crazy Year

My personal favorite stories published this year

Photo by Dan Boțan on Unsplash

Oh, 2020. What a long, strange dumpster fire of a trip you’ve been.

I joined Medium at the end of February 2020. I’d tried other writing platforms that were clunky and fell short of expectations. I’d read many stellar articles and stories from writers here, and so I decided to plunge in. I had no idea of the positive changes Medium would bring to my life.

I was actively submitting short stories and entering fiction contests outside of the platform, but turn-around times are agonizing. The anticipatory week-of-waiting for submission results in larger publications here pales in comparison to the months of waiting elsewhere. I experienced moderate success, but I wanted to actively, consistently, write and publish. And, I lacked a network with other writers too.

Initially, I thought I’d found a spot to showcase my short stories, but it’s evolved into so much more. Ironically, I share little of my fiction here. In March, I had my first short story published in The Junction, and I’ve never looked back. My first ten months on Medium have ushered in: three top writing badges, multiple curations, two Medium Featured/ Medium Editor’s Picks, a semi-viral article, a phenomenal co-editing…