Editor’s Choice — Top 10: Seth Godin’s Advice To Publish More To Be More Creative

Read our top 10 stories today to be inspired

Seth Godin says we become creative when we ship. If we don’t send our final product to the consumer, we’ll never develop our creativity.

The magic of the creative process is that there is no magic. ~ Seth Godin in The Practice: Shipping Creative Work

The act of trying to create a story sparks your creativity. It is like thinking. When you think, your thought starts to develop on its own.

He says your early work may not be the masterpiece you wish to write. The stories you write when you start writing have only one purpose: to help you hone your ability to write well.

As you write more and publish more, you become more creative. When you realize you have to convey your intent to a reader — and you want them to read you — you start thinking imaginatively.

He says we are like that.

If we don’t feel the need or urgency to finish, we’ll never get over the initial phase. You have to pass through your initial phase by writing as much as you can. If you are trying to finish the initial stage without writing, it is like trying to swim without getting wet.

Your labor may not bring you a lot of money at first, but it is supposed to be like that. The baby learns to crawl before it walks. You are a baby writer, and your writing is like an attempt to crawl.

The good thing about any initial phase is that it ends.

When you have written your way out of this starting period, you’d be ready to do your best work. But you’ll have to trust yourself. You’ll have to embrace your imperfection.

“It is better to follow your own path, however imperfectly, than to follow someone else’s perfectly.” ~Bhagavad-Gita

Every writer is a visionary leader. She tries to visualize something — and tries to express it — before most of the other people start seeing it. But looking through the fog that surrounds everything, the process always requires a leap of faith. A writer must trust her inner muse.

You may feel stressed. But this stress will make you more creative if you trust your ability to create something worth reading.

To become a writer, you have to write. To become more creative, you have to publish the final product.

You have to do your best work and hope that someone likes it.

We do the work, and then we become creative. ~ Seth Godin says

Let’s read our top 10 writer who did their best work today:

10. Living With a Vegan

Garry Lee is a digital and data marketing geek, ex-CEO, mentor, coach and he is always thinking about helping people.

He is an excellent writer. His writing style is simple, direct, and very engaging. Do follow him and check his other work.

On the day of my 14th birthday, I ate a lovely roast chicken dinner made by my Gran. It was delightful. It was also my last meal before becoming a vegetarian. A year ago, my wife converted from being a meat-eater to a vegan, bypassing the vegetarian element altogether. My wife has lived with me as a vegetarian for over 20 years without complaint, I have not been as patient in my 12-month trial.

9. Advances in Biomedicine that Interest Us All

Fadoua Soussi is a full-time scientist. She writes to make science accessible for everyone. She advises you to be critical and always check facts first.

The biomedical sciences have progressed at a dizzying speed in recent decades. This makes it difficult even for specialists to keep up with new developments. For the general public, this can create a sense of confusion, as it is not uncommon for the ordinary citizen to be immersed in an informational maelstrom of increasingly surprising (and almost always unfulfilled) scientific promises. However, I believe that our society needs “ordinary people” to be properly informed about scientific progress in all areas of experimental science.

8. How to be a Migrant

Rebecca Ruth Gould writes about politics. The Caucasus, Iran, Islam, Palestine. Professor Islamic World & Comparative Literatures.

It’s a great short story.

Ever since Hossein Malekzadeh turned in his visa application, any knock at the door, any phone call, and any time he heard his name yelled in public made him jump. Were the police after him again? When the IRGC inevitably arrested him, would he be so lucky to get released a second time?

So he heard a knock and jumped. He tiptoed to the door. He straightened his posture in a way he thought an innocent person might. Then, he cracked it open to find Mariam, his old girlfriend. She was holding bananas, mangos, and his favorite: pomegranates.

7. Beans, Greens and Cornbread A Southern New Year’s Tradition

Tee, Conscious Creative is editor of Conscious Creatives: Matriarch, Educator, Advocate, Strategist, Humorist, Foodie, Nurturer, Dreamer, Lover of Art, Music, Humanity, Healing Survivor.

She is a superb writer. Her writing style is tasty, delicious, and finger-licking-good. Savor her style as well as her recipe.

I’ve got beans, collard greens, and cornbread — I’m ready! This is a Southern American New Year’s tradition. According to some food historians, the tradition of serving black-eyed peas with rice is called Hoppin’ John and originated from the Carolinas. Black-eyed peas are cooked with white rice, aromatics, spices and pork and often served with a side of collard greens and hot buttered cornbread. It’s delicious!

6. How Beyond Meat Is Saving the World One Hamburger at a Time

Deborah Oyegue is a freelance writer. She is a master of her craft. Her style is full of suspense. If you start reading his story, you’ll forget everything else for the next 10 minutes.

Try to check her other work if you like this story.

Young Ethan Brown didn’t have to read Animal Farm or come across its phenomena quote, “All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others,” to know there was something wrong with the disparity in treatment between the dogs in his house and the cattle on the farm.

He sometimes wondered if their biological differences were reasons enough to merit the partial treatment. And even though young Ethan lived with his family in the city and only visited the farms during breaks, the thoughts never strayed far from him.

5. Why I Watch For Signs From Life

Zul Bal writes to collect, capture, and curate ordinary beautiful ideas. She is an accomplished writer. Her writing style is honest, direct, and very engaging.

It is impossible not to write her work. Read her, follow her and wait for her next story. One of the future stars of Medium.

I have a ritual of hiking at least every other week. But I fell into a bit of a rut last December and didn’t hike at all. I resolved to get back to the trails starting on January 1st, which I did.

As I walked on the narrow muddy trail along a dense forest ledge, I hugged moss-covered trees whenever I thought no one else was watching. It felt so good to be out in nature again.

4. You Quit Drugging, Drinking, or Smoking, So Why Are You Still Dreaming About It?

Tracy Stengel is an exceptional writer and a freelance editor. Her style is gentle, charming, engaging, and heartwarming. This is a masterpiece and you shouldn’t miss this one.

I didn’t start smoking until my early twenties. Dumb move. It was something to do during the slow periods of my serving or bartending shifts or in between college classes. I’d bond with my peers in freezing Midwestern winters, huddled together in circle on the leeward side of a building. That’s where we shared secrets and cracked jokes. We made plans for our future while potentially shortening it.

3. How to Recognize the Mask of Smiling Depression

Gary McBrine is all these things: Writer, Photographer, Musician, Creative, Teacher. He is always trying to see outside the box and a top writer in photography and art.

He is an excellent writer. His style is almost PERFECT — too good to be true. He writes like a best-selling published author. I am sure he’ll write a bestseller in the future.

The news that Robin Williams, our beloved comedian and Academy Award-winning actor, had committed suicide shocked the world.

How could he take his own life? He brought so many smiles to people and warmed our hearts in his dramatic movie roles.

Robin Williams was hiding his depression from the world. While the rest of us could only see the smiles, behind closed doors he was deeply depressed. His depression worsened when he heard a medical report. He had an advanced form of Lewy Body disease, causing memory loss, paranoia and delusions. According to Robin’s wife Susan Schneider: “Robin was losing his mind and he was aware of it … He kept saying, ‘I just want to reboot my brain.’”

2. The Promise of the Ketogenic Diet in Treating Brain Disorders

Ashley Richmond is an athlete, writer, and Psychology Master’s student. She is passionate about helping people to be happier and healthier.

Her writing style is easy to follow and highly engaging. You’ll fall in love with her work. Follow her, read her, and wait for her next story.

While the ketogenic diet has historically been used in the treatment of epilepsy, it has now found success in the treatment of other neurological disorders. This diet leads to a switch in the body and brain’s metabolism from using glucose for fuel to using fat, and this has many subsequent neurological benefits. Recent literature on the use of the ketogenic diet in epilepsy, Alzheimer’s disease, brain tumours, and traumatic brain injury was reviewed and shows success in minimizing the impact of these disorders and potentially treating them. The ketogenic diet often has fewer and less harsh side effects than medications used in the treatment of these disorders, as well as providing reprieve in disorders that are not responding to medication or other treatments, thus making it an appealing treatment option.

1. Want to Decode Your Dreams? Psychoanalytic Research Suggests You Ditch Your Dream Dictionary

At number one, it is Brittany Beringer. She writes about spirituality, love, and metaphysics through the lens of a twenty-something.

She is an outstanding writer. Her writing style is engaging, full of suspense, and palatable information that inspires you to take action.

Read her, follow her, and check her other work.

My love for psychology and curiosity for understanding my deepest self led me to a seat in the back of a college course called the psychology of dreams. It was a gripping experience; having to be vulnerable for an A was not exactly what I’d thought college was going to be like, but the reward was massive. By the end of it, I was motivated to quit my dreadful day job.

At the beginning of the semester, my professor urged us to give away our dream dictionaries and expressed how useless they are in our quest to understand our dreams. This was a promising viewpoint from someone with glowing reviews on ratemyprofessor.com. He familiarized us with dream archetypes and symbolism; the textbook screamed definitions I’ve never heard of. This is what dreams are made of, I thought.

This post is part of the Top 10 Series:

1–2–3–4–5–6–7–8–9–10–11–12–13–14–15–16–17–18–19–20–21–22–23–24–25–26–27–28–29–30–31–32–33–34–35–36–37–38–39–40–41–42–43–44–45–46–47–48–49–50–51–52 –53

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 some good stories. 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 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.

Kindly help me to find and rank the best work of the writers of Illumination and Illumination-Curated.

Attract your writing success this year. Happy New Year.

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

You can read my curated stories here.