How To Write A Non-Viral Medium Article — And Be Happy About It

“Viral” writing has become synonymous with formulaic magic … do this, not that, and presto, your article’s gone viral. As a writer, I REALLY want a piece of the magic, but sometimes, I flinch at the idea of writing “viral content,” which feels like the ol’ “bait and hook.” The digital ocean is stocked with hungry readers, and into this wide deep of noise and static, many of today’s writers drop viral-shaped banalities masquerading as wisdom.

And yes, I’m definitely a hypocrite. I’ve written my share of “bait,” and I’m not finger-wagging at those who do. Much of it’s tired and threadbare, but at the same time, much can be beneficial, especially when someone’s writing from their wheelhouse. What I am wagging my finger at is the twofold gospel that 1) everything you write must be viral, and 2) to be viral, everything you write has to lack a soul.

Non-Viral Induced Panic: A Writing Disease

I cannot help fearing that men may reach a point where they look on every theory as a danger, every innovation as toilsome trouble, every social advance as a first step toward revolution, and that they may absolutely refuse to move at…