Editor’s Choice — Top 10: No Matter How Little You Write, Write Something That Matters

Becoming acquainted with these 10 brilliant writers will benefit you in your writing life

I always stop writing when I want to write the perfect sentence. Writing does not go from 0 to 1000 words in 3.5 seconds like the new Tesla Y model goes from 0 to 60 miles per hour. Writing happens in sentences. Sometimes the sentences consist of only two words:

“Start writing.”

This two-word sentence can change the life of a writer. It can give him an outline of what he or she is supposed to edit and refine — or throw away. Francis Bacon said, “Writing makes a man — or a woman — perfect.” When you start writing, you start becoming better at it.

“Write what matters.”

This three-word sentence will make you think about what matters to you. Your reader’s time matters, so your words must matter too. Tell them about how their mind works, how they can sleep better, how they can be mindful, how they can eat better, or how to manage their finances. Tell them how to relax, how to exercise, and how to love and connect with people around them. When you start writing about what matters, you’ll think of new ideas that matter for your readers.

“Write 100, 200, 500, 1000, or more words.”

This four-word and four-digit sentence is your key to becoming a writer. Writing moves from one sentence to the next. An idea can pop into your head but after that, it is the sentences that matter. Compose smart sentences. Write a little and then stop. Breathe in and breathe out. Take a walk. Drink a glass of water but don’t start watching Netflix. Stay connected with the idea in your head. You started writing because the idea matters and deserves to be written.

“Start writing, no matter what. The water does not flow until the faucet is turned on.” ~ Louis L’Amour

Here is the list of Top 10 stories today. These excellent writers remained in touch with their work and produced these masterpieces. Their stories can change the way you think and motivate you to write:

10. The Currency Of Time

Nikhil Dhawan is a story-listener and a story-teller. Here is an interesting take on receiving notifications. Don’t miss it.

On a recent Fall evening, I was out for a stroll in the crisp weather. The clouds in the sky were scattering, crunchy leaves sprawled the ground, and a distant lake reflected the setting sun’s orange. It was a moment I was content soaking in.

Meanwhile, a friend was walking near me, texting and catching up on his phone. He was actively focusing on his messages, which might have been his only opportunity to do so. My instinct was to understand his situation and why he chose that moment to engage in said activity.

9. How The Right Volunteering Experience Can Change Your Life and Remind You That You’re a Person.

Aaron Nichols is an excellent writer and a teacher. His style is simple, engaging, and he has a message for us — perhaps the most important message of all. Don’t miss this one.

Most of what I know to be true about love and our capacity for change came to me as I stood on a hillside in Thailand, digging a grave for a dog I’d never met.

Do I have your attention? Good. This is a story about hope.

Last year (when things like this were still possible) I took a three-month backpacking trip through southeast Asia. Before we left, a friend and I signed up for Workaway, a fabulous website that can connect you with amazing volunteer experiences across the globe (when pandemics aren’t happening).

8. Why is TikTok is so Addicting?

Kate Cohen writes about life. She is a talented writer and you are going to fall in love with her simple and direct style. If you did not read this, here is your chance.

POV: You downloaded TikTok as a joke and now you are here reading this article about why TikTok is so addictive.

Congrats and welcome to the club!

Before COVID, TikTok just seemed like a Gen Z app with teenagers doing random dances. However, as people are craving escapism from all that is going wrong in the world, many are starting to understand what makes TikTok so unique.

7. Why I Quit Social Media for A Year

Insaf Ali is sharing his personal experience of social media addiction.

From January of 2018 to January of 2019 I quit using social media. Mainly Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. But I was still doing things like watching the occasional YouTube video and using email.

This is a topic that often gets people quite worked up. You have people that demonize social media and applaud anyone who quits. Then you have other people who say that social media is amazing and quitting is stupid, or that you should just use it less.

I’m not trying to convince you that social media is the devil or that everyone should quit. This is just a reflection on my own life about why I quit, what I learned, and how I use social media now.

6. Why Electronic Voting Is Still a Horrible Idea

Matt Stevenson is a superb writer. He is trying to explain why electronic voting might still be a horrible idea.

You’d think by 2020 that electronic voting would be a feasible reality, but this is far from the truth. Here’s why electronic voting is still a horrible idea.

Elections have some very unusual requirements. There are two key features that are almost opposed to each other — anonymity and trust.

5. I Wouldn’t Have Survived My Teenage Years in This Age of Social Media

Daniella Mini wants to help us know ourselves. Her style is simple, direct, and engaging. If you read her story from start to end, you’d want to read all her stories.

In addition, the hormonal and brain changes that come with puberty hit me mighty hard, as they do a lot of people, girls in particular. Add the brace and a strong genetic predisposition for depression and you’ve got yourself a real confused teenager.

I channeled my acute sense of inadequacy by withdrawing and becoming — and I mean this in a descriptive, not negative, way — a shy nerd. I lost my two best friends since the second grade and had no real close peers to talk to, call, or go out with for nearly three years.

4. The Relationship Of Millennials With An Early Midlife Crisis

Kashish Mehta’s style is simple and elegant. His questions are great and he is pointing out why we may be pursuing the wrong objectives in our lives. Please do read this great story.

We spend all the time and effort in the world trying to figure out everything around us but seldom put in half of that effort and time in figuring ourselves out. The lesser time we invest in knowing ourselves, the harder it gets for us to cope with the changing times and their relevance in our lives. Millennials like me fit into this description perfectly.

We compete with everything and everyone around us and make the external environment and its stakeholders our holy grail. In a way, our fire is fueled not by our own innate abilities and desires to grow and get better, but by the accomplishments of those that we know and hear of.

3. Three Japanese Habits That The World Could Benefit From Right Now

Tom Matsuda is a British-Japanese writer from London. He has been published in OneZero and Human Parts. Don’t miss this interesting take on how Japanese culture saved the people from the pandemic’s impact.

During my year abroad in Japan, I realised how my upbringing as a person of British-Japanese descent imparted onto me certain traits. Previously, I thought that these were my own idiosyncrasies but as time went past I began to see these reflected back to me in Japanese culture. I’ve been back in my birth country of the UK for less than two weeks now and immediately found myself in reverse culture shock.

Whilst Japan and its people are diverse in character and ways of thinking, there are certain habits and ideas that offer guidelines on how to live. Ones that perhaps people raised there aren’t even conscious of.

2. Why Uber Isn’t Built to Last

Matt Stevenson is a superb writer. It seems he has discovered a flaw in Uber’s business plan. Would you like to know more? I think you would. Don’t miss this masterpiece.

Uber has been so successful because it doesn’t sell car rides, it sells time and convenience. Just open the app — almost anywhere — and you’ll be able to find a ride. And for the most part, they’ve found a way to keep prices low.

Uber’s way of calculating the ride cost is really quite simple, they start with the regular base fare, add the per-minute rate multiplied by the time spent in car, plus distance times the per-mile rate. All of this is — of course — dependent on the city.

1. How Tony Hsieh’s Death Is A Reminder Of How To Build A Great Company And Life

[arlie] PEYTON helps brands to grow — through his writing and SEO skills. Tony Hsieh has left behind remarkable leadership advice. If you haven’t read this story already, do it now.

When I was a college business adjunct, I had many discussions with my students about startups and what makes them work.

I also had a penchant for talking ad nauseum about how startups fail since most of them do. I felt people ought to brace themselves for difficult times.

Startups are odd beasts and there is no perfect formula. Of course, value creation is very important. We also love billion-dollar markets and low saturation. Dozens of things can make or break a startup.

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 this top 10 series a place on the front page of 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.

Note: The headline is inspired by Bernard Burchard’s quote: “No matter how small you start, start something that matters.”