Editor’s Choice — Top 10: Well-Written Stories Take Less Time to Read
You must support 10 writers daily
When you start reading a story that hooks you instantly, time flies. You look at the clock, and ten minutes had passed in one minute. Good writers have this common trait to hijack your time.
Not only that time passes quickly, it is time well spent. If you reflect, you’ll notice that sometimes a well-written story makes your day. You feel happy without any apparent reason.
Dr Mehmet Yildiz, the Chief Editor and founder of Illumination, is regularly telling the editors of Illumination and Illumination-Curated to appreciate the excellent work of our fellow writers.
One more thing, the stores listed here should be swallowed whole. Don’t waste them and throw them away. They are too good for the waste bin. Taste them, relish them, and savor their taste. All of these writers knew the recipes of what they were cooking with their words.
Now while I have you ready to gobble these darlings, imagine Top 10 written in red letters fifteen feet tall.
Here are the ten best stories I read today. It is the best work — that I could find — on writing, self-improvement, self-awareness, feminism, and race:
10. 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.
9. 6 Amazing Hobbies for Lonely and Anxious People
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 the hobbies.
In 2020, everyone is a little more anxious and a little more lonely than ever before. Usually, a little solitude is great- you can eat a pint of ice cream without judgment, walk around naked, and can generally do whatever you want, whenever you want. But sometimes those bouts of loneliness, boredom, or anxiety get super overwhelming and you feel bad for not being productive. When this feeling of (totally unwarranted) guilt overwhelms me, I turn to my more casual hobbies. Hopefully, some of these activities can help you out, too.
8. How to Stay Positive When Dealing With Negativity
Adebayo Ijidakinro’s story is related to a topic that every one of us faces at some point: effectively dealing with negativity. Don’t miss it.
Negativity is everywhere. We all have to deal with it. Some of us have to deal with it more than others. Growing up, I always struggled with dealing with negative people. I always felt like I had to defend myself against people who looked down on me or viewed me negatively. And it was difficult because I had a very negative view of myself. So dealing with so much harmful criticism would cripple me mentally.
It was very difficult. And there were times when I honestly felt I couldn’t go on. But a few years back, I decided I needed to figure out how to deal with this. Not just for myself. But for the many people who have the same struggle.
7. Why Are Some Women Still So Afraid Of Personal Power?
You’ll love Nicole Chardenet’s style. It is simple yet compelling. And hopefully, you’ll remember the Bonobo females before casting your vote next time.
It seemed the perfect visual metaphor for an article on the pervasive female fear of personal power. There’s strength in numbers. Did you know that, ladies?
Er, no you don’t.
Pigeons and songbirds are smaller and weaker than a mighty hawk but banded together, they can chase his ass halfway across Ontario.
When there’s a threat to another woman, too often we react by telling her to back down because ‘You could get hurt!’
6. Ways to Re-Envision the Traditional Thanksgiving Day Celebration
Kristy Lynn’s masterpiece will provide you a unique perspective on Thanksgiving this year when 4 in 10 Americans are experiencing food insecurity.
We need to be honest about Thanksgiving. Especially this year. The problems are confounding and hard to deny.
First, there’s the obvious: a deadly pandemic that continues to spiral out of control. It doesn’t make much sense to travel and have intergenerational gatherings indoors this year. That’s a potential recipe for illness and death, not cranberry sauce.
5. How My Best Friend and I Gamed The World With Her White Privilege
Rebecca Stevens A. is a fabulous writer. If you read this, you are probably going to want to read more.
My best friend and I met at work. She had grown up in a white-only environment and hadn’t met many black people in her life. We hit it off immediately because we were similar: young, easy-going, vivacious, energetic, and kind-hearted.
We traveled often together, and I would ignore instances of racism because I didn’t want to make her uncomfortable. I did realize that she seemed oblivious to racism. Whenever someone would treat me poorly, she would attribute it to that person being stupid, being a sexist, or an upper-class snob.
4. What Can You Learn By Writing Online?
Thomas Dylan Daniel is a brilliant writer. He wants to share how writing has changed him. If you forgot to read it, you can do it now — a must read.
Are you satisfied or happy with your life right now? Are you really okay with things continuing as they are? Do you want more?
Sometimes we choose not to grow further because the answer is, yes, everything is pretty much as perfect as you’d like. It’s a rare satisfaction, but I’ve known more than one person who was just fine where they were in life and had no good reason to be anything or anyone else.
3. 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.
2. The Left Still Doesn’t Understand Trump’s Appeal
Steve QJ’s superb insights that you have to read to know why Trump got so many votes.
As I watch America wrestle with the task of un-electing an orange-tinted ball of insecurity and pettiness, I’m trying to figure out how to sum up my feelings in a way that does more than express frustration and/or despair. Try as I might, I don’t think I can do it directly. So let’s try an analogy or two.
1. Tales of Nāgārjuna
Mac Daniels is at number one with his masterpiece. I wish I could write like him. This story was featured on the front page by Medium staff.
He is taking you on an unusual journey. I know nobody recommended it to you, but here is your chance now. Enjoy.
Come on a journey with me. Suspend your traditional notions of cause and effect. I will reveal the one cause of a billion negative effects. The idea is not my own. Its truth is not new. In fact, it is very old — to be found under stones left unturned, in quiet places, away from the hustle and bustle, in niches and nooks where truth can hide.
Final Thoughts
Illumination and Illumination-Curated publish hundreds of stories daily, and I cannot read all of them. I want the other editors — writers and readers too — to help me. If you read something that you rated fantastic, please share that story in the comments below.
If you want to provide a short review, you can do that too. I’ll publish it with your name if I like the story.
Happy reading.
My curated stories about writing — before Medium pulled the plug on its curation program:
You can read my curated stories here.
You can visit this week’s lists here: Top List 1, Top List 2, and Top List 3.
