A Story That Broke The Rules and Got a Boost

Find the hope and you find the best stories

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Some Stories Break The Rules and Still Work

I want to share a powerful story with you from a new writer Rebecca Drohan, and I hope it will inspire you as much as it has inspired me.

Rebecca brought her story to me in July. She wanted help preparing it for publication.

Her original draft was almost 4000 words so we had to find places to cut. In the end, we decided to publish on Medium but not restrict it to the typical length.

Some pieces deserve more space. This is one of them.

It’s a 12 minute read, but it was boosted and instantly took off on Medium.

You can read it here:

What Happened to My Daughter Was Tragic, But I Won’t Let it Be a Tragedy

Apart from sharing this courageous story, I want to point out a couple of things.

We often think we know the “rules” on Medium for a successful piece.

• Keep it within a 4-7 minute read time, unless it’s deeply researched.

• Use short paragraphs and simple wording.

• Use headlines of 5 words or less.

• Stick to popular topics—like tech or self-improvement or newsworthy events.

But again and again, I see pieces go well that break the “rules”.

Rebecca’s story is a 12-minute personal essay. Not an explainer or a deep dive from an expert. It’s a story written by a mother about a moment when her family’s lives changed.

Her paragraphs are long—sometimes 9 or 10 sentences. She used medical language and wrote naturally, the way it came out on the page. No tricks or thinking about optimizing for a particular reading level.

I helped her with her heading and suggested a particularly long one because it fit with the core message of her essay.

It’s a parenting topic, which typically don’t go well on Medium.

So Why Does it Work?

What’s great about this piece is it connects emotionally with readers.

People are looking to feel something.
Connected.
Moved.
Grateful.
Encouraged.

And the most important in my opinion—Hope.

Reading the comments on Rebecca’s story you can see what I mean:

“I am in awe of your courage and determination to share your experience with us. Thank you.”

“I feel honored to have read this story about Grace and your family.”

“Your journey is profoundly inspiring.”

This is Rebecca’s offering of hope to the world, but you’ve got one too. We all do.

You don’t have to write about a tragedy for readers to feel emotionally connected. My piece on finishing my studies connected with so many readers. It offered hope. (Here’s the friend link if you’re not a Medium member yet).

Tap into a moment that changed things for you.

How did you find hope in that moment?