Editor’s Choice — Top 10: Write Even When Nobody Is Reading
Support these top writers who refuse to remain silent
Victor Hugo said, “Not being heard is no reason for silence”.
What if you started a political party? You had a plan, you wanted to meet people, and you wanted to tell them about their rights. But at the first meeting, not many people turn up. Would you stop saying what you believed? Would you quit your dream of changing the status quo?
It is hard to continue writing when nobody is reading. You start questioning the worth of your content. You cannot justify — to yourself — the time you are spending writing — and editing — your stories.
The waning enthusiasm shows as the freshness of your writing style starts to wither. You start procrastinating, choosing to write stories that don’t require special effort.
My writing passion hinges on giving meanings to scientific researches. Since I have read a lot, I believed I could write my insights — supported by science yet easy to understand. Even when I am talking with somebody, I often start with the story. Then I generate questions — and when I notice my listener is interested — I answer those questions. The expressions on their faces please me — like when I tell somebody about 3d printed living cells.
If nobody is reading your articles, it is not a reason to stop writing. You knew — in a way — that not many people will read your stories initially. You hope your piece will go viral every time you hit the publish button. But it takes time to develop a relationship with your readers. With time, they start trusting your writing.
It took Thomas Oppong ten years to write the way he writes — almost perfect. Tim Denning has been writing for seven years. Dr Mehmet Yildiz is an author of several books. Sinem Günel made it in one and a half years —you can follow her model. But remember this, she earned a trifling amount for more than a year — she didn’t quit.
Think of this stage — when nobody is reading your work — as a kind of apprenticeship. Reflect on why you want to write? Reconsider your options. Unearth the real reason why you want to write. Is it money? Or is it Fame? Or is it because you wouldn’t like life if you did not write what you want to write:
“We must do our work for its own sake, not for fortune or attention or applause.”~Stephen Pressfield in the War of Art
Here is a list of our top 10 writers who would not quit even if nobody is reading them:
10. 10 Signs of a Fake Skeptic
Phia Eleni thinks life is a collection of paradoxes. She is teaching you to spot a fake skeptic in this fine story.
“You can never be too careful.” So the age-old saying goes. It’s a good reminder, for children crossing the street and teenagers learning to drive — and now, for everyday adults reading the news.
In a modern world where “alternative facts” and “fake news” run rampant, there’s been a major push for critical thinking and skepticism. This is certainly warranted. But hyper-vigilance is a double-edged sword that sometimes becomes the very thing it seeks to destroy.
9. Fear Of Success: Overcome It And Live Your Life To The Fullest
Amanze Collins is passionate about his writing. You must have missed it, but this piece will overcome your fear of success.
Do you know what is referred to as “fear of success”? Nikephobia. It is a term introduced rather recently in dictionaries, but which was created by combining the two ancient Greek terms “Nike”, victory, and “Phobos”, fear. In short, “fear of winning”.
Nikephobia is when you have an ongoing fear of succeeding, it’s not that you think you’re incapable of succeeding. It’s more about the fear of change that may come and whether you’re up for it.
8. Can Smoking Cannabis Damage Your Brain Cells?
Viktor Marchev loves to write about psychedelics, mental health, and self-improvement. He is an expert on what he is talking about. Don’t miss this one.
When Matthew went to the local Stop & Shop that warm summer morning to buy a couple of avocadoes and a Doritos packet, he returned home only with the tortilla chips, completely forgetting about the other product he went to the supermarket for. The week after, for a couple of days in a row, Matthew kept completely forgetting his appointments with his friends, his girlfriend, and his dentist.
He had always considered himself a daydreamer, which sometimes, he said, was a problem, as he wasn’t really able to fully focus on his daily tasks. However, his forgetfulness and absentmindedness had become a “glitch in his system.”
7. Get Out Of The Dark Place And Start Taking Responsibility For Your Healing
Esther George is a writer and a dreamer. In this masterpiece, she is guiding you to take responsibility for your wellbeing. Do read it.
Healing. Restoration. Growth.
These are not outcomes of knowing more. These are results of acting upon the information you know. It’s about getting up and putting what you know into practice.
Everything sucks in the beginning. It all takes time. The trick is to let it suck and do it, anyway. Your mind will scream ‘No’. Of course, you still want to think about that person. You want to relive that horrific moment. You want to wallow. You want to cry a river and then float yourself downstream. You allow the lyrics of those sad songs to pierce into you, inch by inch, creating unbearable pain, draining out every bit of mental and physical energy you have left.
6. Do You Know the Hidden Motivation Behind Steve Jobs’s Success?
Shivendra Misra loves to bend reality. In this masterpiece, he is going to reveal the hidden motivation behind Steve Jobs’s success. If you read his story, you’ll become his fan for life.
A short time after Steve Jobs passed away, Nabha Cosley’s friend at Crystal Clarity Publishers, received a phone call.
“We’d like to place an order for 500 copies of The Autobiography of a Yogi. Do you have that many?”
As it turned out, the books were needed for Steve’s memorial service.
And by now, the story of Steve’s memorial service is known to a lot of people. Being the control-freak that he’s often portrayed to be, he planned every detail of his own memorial.
5. 4 Stoic Concepts to Help Manage Anxiety
Austin Harvey is trying his best to make sense of life. His writing voice is inspiring. He is an excellent writer and you should not forget to read his other work.
“I made a prosperous voyage when I was shipwrecked.”
Zeno of Cyprus found himself devoid of his Earthly treasures, all lost to the sea, on the shores of Athens. With nowhere else to turn, he sought solace in the library and discovered the works of Socrates which altered the course of his life forever.
Enthralled by the writings, Zeno began teaching his own philosophies from the steps — or the stoa — of the Athens marketplace.
4. I’m 60 — And With Each Passing Day Getting Closer to the End Than the Beginning
Cristo Lopez, Ph.D. is a dreamer, thinker, and excellent writer. Do read this fine story and don’t forget to check his other work.
This morning, I read an excellent article by Joe Duncan titled It Took Me a Year to Make Nearly $10,000 a Month on Medium. I recommend the article to you, my friend, not because Duncan reveals technical secrets or templates to write viral articles on Medium.
Rather, Duncan teaches us to take chances, be authentic, dig deep into “…the depths of myself, unearthing the dark stuff we don’t usually talk about and put it into a story.”
Joe Duncan is a successful writer on Medium with almost 11,000 followers as of this writing. He became successful by being authentically Joe Duncan.
3. How Psychedelics Could Become The “New Weed”
Another one from Viktor Marchev. As psychedelics are trending, Victor is your guy to know more.
Recently, I’ve written a lot about weed and psychedelics. However, I never (until now) managed to get around to write about the connection between them both. Cannabis, in the past couple of decades, had become the savior for many people suffering from different mental & physical conditions, including anxiety, stress, PTSD, glaucoma, and so many more.
The same could be said about psychedelics, as well — numerous studies and personal stories so far have shown that substances such as ayahuasca, LSD, MDMA, and psilocybin (the active ingredient in “magic mushrooms”) have had a positive impact on its users’ health.
2. How To Instantly Create Better Content
Jim Woods has published more than 1000 articles on Medium and he writes books. He is not only an excellent writer but also a wonderful human being. To get writing advice — that can help you deal with the initial phase — he is your mentor.
The bar for posting content online is at an all-time low. If you have a phone, you’re posting content. It’s that simple. So how can you create great content that grows your business or builds an audience when EVERYONE is posting content?
It’s not as hard as you think.
Most people just post content without much rhyme or reason to it.
1. A Leader Who Believed in People First
At number one is Paul Myers MBA’s story. He is a top writer in Business, Ideas, Future, Innovation, and Leadership. If you read this story, I can bet you’d like to read his other stories as well.
Competitive advantages that large corporations once held have faded. Today big brands are following the Zappos model, direct to consumer (DTC), the very model startups and entrepreneurs adopt from the outset.
Zappos founder, Tony Hsieh, “was an internet pioneer” who developed “a banner advertisement company in 1996” after graduating from “Harvard University with a degree in computer science.”
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.
If you think you are an excellent writer, leave a link to your best work in the comments.
Happy reading.
You can read my curated stories here.
Note: The heading is from Victor Hugo’s Les Miserables.