Editor’s Choice — Top 10: Five Things People Think Before Reading Your Story

Do you think people will like to read these top 10 stories?

Do you really think that you can make somebody read a story with a catchy headline or an attractive image?

The truth is that why your readers are looking for meanings — something they can use in their lives. They’ll click on the clickbaity headline once or twice, but they’ll not read your stories from start to end. The readers want to be entertained, but that is not the real reason why they’d love to read your stories.

So what are the things that readers think before they start reading your story?

(1) They want a writer to capture their attention with a nice image and meaningful headline.

(2) They require the writer to state why he or she is writing a piece and what they can get by reading the article.

(3) They think that the writer will arrange the article in a logical way.

(4) After that, they use their freedom to choose and decide if they want to read it right now or they want to bookmark it.

(5) If the readers are satisfied with all of the above, only then they commit to read your story and pay attention to your words. But if they don’t like what they are reading, they can disengage themselves at any time.

When you readers pay attention to what you have to say, only then do they begin to taste what you want them to feel. Your readers do not want to escape from the reality of life. They want to see it with your eyes, smell it with your nose, taste it with your mouth, and touch it with your hands. They want to feel how your heart beats, and they want to experience your truth as their own.

Here is the list of top 10 stories that requires your attention:

10. Forensic Linguistic Evidence

Naouress Akrouti is a blogger and a linguist. Her style is formal and informative. She is a brilliant writer and you’d love her story.

Forensic linguistics is a rising forensic science that has been growing fast since the 1950’s. A forensic linguistics definition lies in the interface between the science of language, law, and law enforcement. The forensic linguistics meaning consists in the relationship between the legal context and language used by humans.

Spoken language or written text become forensic items when present in a legal or criminal context; hence, the need for a forensic linguist. The term forensic lignuist meaning the role of who does the forensic linguistic investigation has entered the job market.

9. 7 Truly Bizarre Books that Changed My Life

Valerie King’s informal style is absolutely charming. I think you’ll become friends with her in a minute. You can read it to know about the 7 bizarre books.

I’m obsessed with listicles, but one of my pet peeves, as a lifelong reader, is reading a million book listicles that all have the same generic classics in it. We get it, Heathcliff is your fictional crush. You relate to Jane Eyre. You managed to get all the way through Moby Dick.

I want to share 7 weird books with you. Books no one talks about. These are books that disturbed me, but changed the way I look at the world.

8. This Bed Isn’t Mine

Emma Tuftin loves to tell stories with a dash of magic. Like the young man in Franz Kafka’s Metamorphosis, she is facing a predicament when she wakes up. Don’t miss this one.

This bed isn’t mine.

With a yawn, I rub my eyes in an attempt to clear the sleep away. Nope, it’s not my bed or even my room. Where am I? Looking around, my half-conscious mind shutters like a camera, taking in my surroundings.

7. The MAGA Conundrum

Phil Rossi writes both fiction and nonfiction. Here he is predicting the future like a political oracle. Her writing voice is authoritative and logical. I hope you’ll love to read his masterpiece.

For every clown car waving flags, praising Trump, and crying election fraud, there are multitudes and a majority of Trump voters grounded in reality. They know the 2020 Presidential Election wasn’t rigged. Disappointed Trump lost, but remain grateful that our institutions held up.

Why? These are normal, decent, and honest Americans. Hard-working who play by the rules. They believe in our constitution, rule of law, and process.

6. My Migraines Led To A Near-Fatal Overdose On Prescription Medicine

Jennifer Friebely is a writer, editor, and coach. She is sharing a personal experience that all of us have faced at some point in our life. Read carefully and follow her advice. Someday your life, or the life of someone you love, might depend on what you are going to read today.

I began to write this, hours after being released from the hospital from a near-fatal accidental overdose from one pill of medicine I take to prevent migraines. I am finally well enough to finish writing four days later.

Please don’t make the same mistake I did. And please, do not ever think that “just one extra pill by mistake” is nothing. It’s holy sh*t not.

5. Quest for The “Best Jokes Ever” and How They Can Heal Us

Joe Moody wants you to enjoy the hidden benefits of jokes. If you haven’t read it already, now is a good time to go for it.

To learn about the power of laughter, I went on a quest for the “best jokes” out there.

I already had glimpses of how laughter benefits us. Sometimes, when something outrageously bad happens, the only thing left to do is laugh. “If I didn’t laugh, I’d have to cry…”

Sure, we can react with anger or frustration, but that usually just makes matters worse. Laughter shines a bright light on a negative incident, helping us both accept it while downplaying it.

4. So You Think You’re Anti-Racist But You Support The War On Drugs? You’re Kidding Yourself.

Nicole M. Luongo is an author, academic, and a self-styled mad woman. Her story is strongly backed by extensive research and she is showing you the other side of the argument. Don’t miss this one.

Since the pandemic began, the West has been in turmoil. First, confusion about the severity of Covid-19 divided communities and families, and disagreements about its consequences still rage despite overwhelming evidence that even among the “recovered,” the virus isn’t good.

In the United States, interpretations of Covid — that is, its seriousness and the extent to which we should worry about its impact — are split down partisan lines. Unsurprisingly, Democrats have capitalized on the pandemic to point out that President Trump, who has long been a source of mockery among world leaders, has displayed bumbling incompetence in the face of adversity.

3. Making Sense of the Pro-Life Movement

Dr. Dion is unbothered, unapologetic, and unashamed. Her writing voice is confident and sane. This masterpiece is about abortion rights and explains the difference between the terms Pro-Life and Pro-Choice in more detail. If you haven’t read it already, go ahead and read it.

Pro-Life and Pro-Choice have been the terms of record for the abortion movement for decades. Pro-life means no right to an abortion — except in certain circumstances usually beyond the woman’s control. Pro-choice means the woman gets to decide to terminate a pregnancy or not and — for the most part — other people butt out.

Many — perhaps even most — of the members of the no-abortion group tie their position on the issue to their religious faith, whether Christian or some other religious tradition. They often say it is their faith that causes them to vehemently oppose the taking of a human life.

2. Why Consciousness Is the Ultimate Frontier of Human Evolution

If you enjoyed this story by Shivendra Misra, chances are that you’ll read every other story written by this master writer. He is fond of bending the reality through his work.

According to what we call science today, the Universe appeared out of nowhere. Everything fell perfectly into its place — the matter, the energies, and all the laws that govern them.

While only a few of us take time to question this hypothesis, it’s worth contemplating. Whether this statement is true or not will determine what kind of lives each one of us leads.

To give you an analogy, thinking that the Universe came out of nothing would be like saying that the device you’re reading this article on also appeared out of nowhere — where all the hardware and the batteries running the device fell into a perfect position governed by the laws of circuits that were also defined out of nowhere. Seems crazy, right? Thought so.

1. Dave Chappelle’s “Unforgiven” Is A Masterpiece Of Persuasive Writing

At number two, Steve QJ is a wonderful writer. His work is an inspiration for all of us. Writing killer sentences comes naturally to him. Enjoy.

It’s easy to forget that comedians are writers first. Before they get up on stage in front of thousands of people and make us laugh, they sit in a room, alone, and figure out how they’re going to do it. The good ones do it so well that it feels like they’re up there just getting things off their chests.

Dave’s Chappelle’s Unforgiven is no exception, but he takes the concept to a whole new level. What feels like an impromptu set, casually thrown up on Instagram in the middle of the week, is really an eighteen-minute and twenty-eight-second declaration of war against the corporations he feels have wronged him.

Final Thoughts

If your story was selected as one of the Top 10, please share another one of your stories in the comments with a brief introduction and a short review that can convince a reader to read your piece. (Please write the review in the third person and start it with your name.)

I must have missed something today. I cannot read every story on Illumination and Illumination-Curated. Dr Mehmet Yildiz, the Chief Editor and Founder of Illumination and Illumination-Curated, read, highlighted, and applauded every good story when he started his publications. He still reads almost all of the good ones. I try — and fail daily — to read all of the masterpieces.

Dr Mehmet Yildiz has kindly allowed our top 10 series a full shelf on the front page of Illumination-Curated and Illumination:

So, help me. Help me to find and rank the best work of the writers of Illumination and Illumination-Curated.

Happy reading.

To improve your odds of success as a writer, read these curation guidelines.

You can read my curated stories here.