Editor’s Choice — Top 10: Stay Faithful to the Stories in Your Head

Follow these top 10 writers, they are going to be big names in the near future

Writing is hard. Looking for the perfect start, researching for the body, and finishing at just the right time is tough. But as you read more, you learn.

Knowing more increases your self-confidence; your sentences showcase your confidence. If you are writing about a topic that is close to your heart, you’ll make your readers cry or laugh or think.

The hardest part is telling stories from your life — you believe people should know about your experiences to see a reality other than their own. But you are not sure that what you have to say is relevant. Reading good writers lets you realize how their seemingly ordinary life experiences can influence your life.

Becoming a writer involves an occupational hazard that you’ll start questioning your wisdom way more than you’d like. The process of continuously doubting every word and every sentence causes you to panic sometimes. The stories in your head deserve to be written — your readers and the whole world deserves to read what you have to say.

Keep asking yourself: ‘What makes me a good writer?’ Keep listening to your inner voice that’ll answer this question differently every time. Trust in the power of reading other talented writers and stay faithful to the stories in your head.

Here is a list of 10 stories written by writers who answered all of the above questions and produced these masterpieces:

10. Why Do So Many Love Vaporwave Music?

Isaiah McCall is a brilliant writer and a USA Today reporter. If you read this story, you are definitely going to read his other stories.

Vaporwave is strange. It’s likely what a postmodernist would envision music to become. I say that because in many ways vaporwave has surpassed what we know as a traditional genre of music. It evades proper meaning and is sometimes too abstract for its own good. However, it is in this polarizing niche that vaporwave thrives.

9. Writing Roots

Lisa Wathen is dedicated to storytelling. Her writer’s voice is calm and composed. If you have a headache, read this story to cure it.

I bought a large spiral notebook, with pages lined the way I like them — not too wide, but big enough for handwriting to still be legible. I bought a set of three very nice ball point pens. I set some ground rules for myself: it was okay to cross things out, scribble, and interrupt one narrative with another when inspiration strikes. Then I rolled up my shirt sleeves and began a new novel.

8. Writing Isn’t a Job. It’s a Religion

Dustin T. Cox loves to write about movies, books, and politics. He is a writer who knows his own mind. You must have missed it. So, please read it now.

I was raised a Southern Baptist. That means I was conditioned for fundamentalism — the SBC was and is deeply dogmatic. While I have long since left the church, that conditioning is to some extent permanent.

That means I tend to frame things with religious logic — I take an all or nothing approach to most aspects of life. While I have had mixed results in most areas with that mentality, it has served me well as a writer. I admit no compromise; I refuse to ‘sell out.’

7. How I Surrendered to the Creative Flow and Wrote a Book

Miri shares her experiences hoping to heal us all. She is an accomplished writer and writes mostly in German. She has her fears and doubts. Please read her story and tell her that she must write more.

Even throughout my corporate career and as a mum of toddlers, I had never really ceased to write. In fact, there are at least three unfinished novels, a few children’s stories, and countless poems sitting on my computer, waiting to be released into the wild.

Still, I had never made the conscious decision to call myself a writer. Maybe because I did not trust my skills? Maybe because I did not think my writing was worth sharing?

6. Twelve Star Trek Characters We Need To See Again

Brian E. Wish, Ph.D. is a skilled writer and you should follow him. His work is entertaining and informative. Don’t miss this one.

For Star Trek fans, we’re living in a new age of glory. There are no less than four series in production: Discovery, Picard, Lower Decks, and the recently announced Strange New Worlds which will feature Captain Christopher Pike’s Enterprise.

5. 4 Truths to Live by to Become a Successful Writer

Kristina Segarra is a writer and an editor. She is sharing what she has learned from her writing life. Read her and fall in love with her style.

To become a successful writer takes time, patience, and effort. You can’t expect overnight success — becoming better is a gradual process.

You have to take writing seriously and that means you treat it as a business — something you can grow in overtime — rather than as a hobby.

Here are the four truths about writing you have to embrace.

4. Stop Draining The Energy Out Of Yourself By Constant Complaining

You’ll love Esther George’s frank and simple style. Most of us are not happy with life. But all that complaining is making you weak. Don’t miss this amazing account.

Do you complain, thinking that venting does you good? You gripe when things go wrong, when your feathers are ruffled, or when you encounter someone’s behavior or actions that you considered to be less than intelligent.

We know everyone is doing the best they can, and it’s fine if you want to make lemonade occasionally from the lemons life throws at you. If you’re a regular lemon magnet, then it’s all on you.

3. Be More Creative. Think Like Goldilocks

Neil Pavitt is an author, speaker, coach, and teacher. He is a Fast Company contributor as well. Read his work to learn more about writing and creativity. If you like this story, you’ll read every other story he has written.

The unconscious mind plays a very important role in coming up with ideas. But you need to create the right conditions for this to happen. There’s no guarantee ideas will pop up from your unconscious, but it’s like planting a seed; if you plant it in a sunny spot in good soil and give it plenty of water, you’ve given it the best chance to grow.

One of the most common misconceptions is that “creative” people have these “light bulb moments” that just pop into their heads as if from nowhere. But no one has great ideas without thinking about a problem for a long time. It only seems to come out of nowhere because it comes from your unconscious. They never just appear without a lot of hard work.

2. The Real Reasons People Resist Change (But Won’t Tell You)

Jessica Donahue, PHR is a talent management consultant. She is a talented writer. If you have missed her masterpiece, please read it now.

Imagine this — You’ve come up with a brilliant new idea, technology, or way of doing things that has the potential to do tremendous things for the team, the business, and the company.

You jump up and exclaim, “Great news, everyone — I found a better way!” expecting the team to applaud your innovative thinking and rally around you to make your idea a reality.

Instead, you’re greeted with blank stares and variations of, “No.” Why?

“Now’s not a good time.”

“It’s been done before.”

“That’s not the way we do things around here.”

“It’s complicated.”

1. The 3-Stage Model For Acquiring New Skills Very Quickly

At number one, Thomas Oppong is telling us to new skills very quickly with a 3 stage model. Don’t miss it.

The ability to acquire new skills quickly is an important skill in a rapidly changing world. If you are at an important stage of your career, there are probably more skills you want to learn than you have time for.

As information becomes more readily accessible online, it’s important to focus on a few approaches that can accelerate your learning.

Final Thoughts

I cannot read every story that is published in Illumination and Illumination-Curated. I have probably missed some excellent write-ups. To help me create these lists, you can suggest stories in the comments. I would love to add them to my daily list of top 10 in the future.

Happy reading.

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

You can read my curated stories here.

Note: It was Paula Hawkins who said this: “Stay Faithful to the Stories in Your Head.”