The Internet is a dark, scary, vicious, wonderful place that I thoroughly enjoy. Here's some advice for new writers on how to slay the many trolls you'll encounter.
I'm fairly new to web writing myself, so the struggles involved starting out are fresh in my mind. I've been at it a few months. My brother has been doing this for years now, and between us, we've run the gauntlet of much of what can be encountered on the internet. We've covered sports, politics, video games, movies and more, and the feedback (as you'd expect) isn't always positive.
Here's my first bit of advice: grow a troll-thick skin. Don't let the various comments you recieve get you down. The internet is filled with trolling idiots. Remember, they clicked on your article's link, so whether they agree with you or not, they just helped your view-count. Not everyone will share your opinion, and many people hide behind the pseudo-anonymity of the internet to take out their frustrations on other people. You just happen to be a high visibility target.
So far, I've been lumped with terrorists and liberals, I've been called a liar and a shame to my profession. I've been called scum. I've been accused of fearing Trump because I wrote an article against him. I've been falsely accused of taking bribes to post positive reviews of video games (I only wish I made that kind of money). My brother has received death threats over articles on sports teams/players. Yes, that was plural "threats." Seriously, over sports.
Don't let trolling get to you. As a writer, I know words can hurt. But why should trolls matter to you? They're words are just a foul stench seeping up from the cracks in the internet. Keep writing and consider it a validation of your skill that you can get a reaction out of people. A poor writer will be made fun of for grammar and spelling. A good writer gets mocked for content.
Another choice piece of wisdom: Keep writing. It gets discouraging, and can do so quickly. I still struggle with putting out content some days. But as I've kept at it, I've been able to develop sources to find stories. I've gotten better at writing quickly. The more you write, the more tricks you learn to turn out better content quickly with less of a struggle.
Keep a couple ideas set aside for a rainy day. Sometimes you just won't be able to think of a topic. So put some stories with a long shelf-life on the side. Me, I go for politics when I'm having trouble finding a topic. With the presidential nominations and election coming up, somebody somewhere is going to say something (whether you agree with it or not) that you can write something about.
You don't have to write massive articles. With the average attention span of Americans being less than that of a gold fish (8.25 seconds to 9 seconds, respectively), most readers want something short. A word-bite, if you will.
Ultimately, the thing to do for a writing job is to relax. You can do it. You can do it well. Don't be bothered by trolls, keep on writing and make the web a better place.
If you want to post some of your experiences below, be my guest. For the sake of other new writers, if you want to add how you have handled the stress of web-writing, I welcome your input too.
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