Editor’s Choice — Top 10: Write One Sentence in One Minute to Be a Writer

Our top writers are becoming more creative with every passing day

You can do it. You can write one sentence in one minute. If your typing speed is 40 words per minute, you can write seven sentences in one minute — if you knew what you wanted or needed to write.

How do we lose our ability to write a smart sentence? Sometimes, we fail to write one sentence in one minute.

Margret Geraghty says, in her book The Five-Minute Writer, you have to train your mind to write daily for at least five minutes.

Raymond Carver explained his writing process: ‘For several days I’d been going around with this sentence in my head: ‘‘He was running the vacuum cleaner when the telephone rang.’’ I knew a story was there and that it wanted telling † I made the story just as I’d make a poem; one line and then the next, and the next. Pretty soon I could see a story, and I knew it was my story, the one I’d been wanting to write.’

If you write your first sentence, it encourages you to write the next and so on.

Stephen King’s The Stand has more than 1,000 pages, and it is as thick as a telephone directory. But he writes in the preface: “When asked, ‘How do you write?’ I invariably answer, ‘One word at a time,’ and the answer is invariably dismissed. But that is all it is. It sounds too simple to be true, but consider the Great Wall of China, if you will: one stone at a time. That’s all. One stone at a time. But I’ve read that you can see that motherfucker from space without a telescope.”

If a 4-minute read had 800 words — 100 sentences on average — we could write a story in one and a half hours. Most of the successful writers do just that. In three hours, they can write two articles.

Let’s read some unforgettable sentences to inspire you to write your own:

• Death seems to have solved my posture problems — and improved my muscle tone. ~Martin Amis, London Fields
• We try, as my sister said. We try. All of us. We try. ~ Richard Ford, Canada.
• I seldom discover feet protruding from the top of my washing machine. ~Tamar Myers, Thou Shalt not Grill
• I haven’t killed anyone for years . . . it was just a phase I was going through. ~ Ian McEwan, The Wasp Factory
• I’ll pray, and then I’ll sleep. ~ Marilynne, Gilead Robinson

Here is the list of the top 10 writers who wrote one sentence at a time and kept writing until they produced a masterpiece:

10. Editor’s Picks — Top 10: The Worst Enemy to Creativity Is Self-Doubt

Today Medium staff chose this list to distribute it to their readers across all channels. It’s the proof of Dr Mehmet Yildiz’s leadership to encourage this Top 10 series. It is good news for all the writers whose stories were selected.

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?

9. Why Breathing Exercises Are So Important At Reducing Stress

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.

Today, everyone copes with stress differently. It’s highly individualistic, depending on each person’s traits, emotions, lifestyle, and much more.

Some drink alcohol to the point that they forget about the stress, some start to exercise, others smoke cannabis. There might not be a “right or wrong” tactic for handling difficult moments, that’s why it’s of no use for one person to judge another how she/he is coping.

8. If Cardi B’s Music Is Obscene So Is What Makes It Necessary

Andrew Jazprose Hill writes with heart but edits with mind — a perfect combo. His writing style is fluent, entertaining, and opinionated. Do check his other work.

It is one thing to say, “God is great,” as Cardi B does in the profile blurb on her Instagram account. But anyone can say that. Only those who have faced some dark hour of need and found themselves gazing upward understand why God is great. Those three words come nowhere close to describing what they point to. But words are all we have. And as T.S. Eliot tells us, words strain, crack, and sometimes break.

That’s why the photograph on this page may be my favorite of all the Cardi B images I have ever seen. Those upturned eyes say more than words. Even if God is not on her mind at the captured moment, the camera sometimes has a way of telling the truth.

7. 4 Narrative Tools That Trick Our Brains

Aaron Meacham is becoming an excellent writer. He is a natural storyteller who believes in the power of storytelling. Does his style convince you? Don’t miss this one.

It’s a well-established claim that humans are narrative animals. Artists, neuroscientists, ad designers, psychologists, and even political scientists are aware of the uniquely powerful relationship that we have with storytelling. As an English educator for over ten years, exploring the tools and influence of narrative has always been a central feature of my work. And as much as educators encourage children to read for pleasure and language fluency, understanding narrative also helps to navigate the world by understanding relationships, traits, meaning, and values.

6. Why Your Writing Matters — And How It Can Transform Lives

Clément Bourcart writes about business, productivity, and personal development. He is a superb writer. In this masterpiece, he is going to convince you to never quit. A must read.

I was listening to a recent interview of Barack Obama, for the publication of his new book, “A Promised Land”.

In it, he described how having the potential of “touching somebody’s life” is such an incredible position to be in. And a life-enhancing experience.

Writing — your writing — can do just that. It can touch and transform people’s lives.

5. Does Our Natural Scent Influence Other People?

Liberty Ann knows a thing or two about writing — her words. But I think she a superb writer. Her style is very entertaining. Don’t miss this one.

In one episode of the X-Files, a murderous man lured victims so he could take over their bodies. He was able to get anyone he wanted because he was endowed with an unearthly amount of pheromones. (Season 1, episode 14)

But what exactly are pheromones? Do they really affect humans?

4. What I Learned From a Year Dedicated to Writing a Novel

Luke Beling lives in Hawaii and finds joy in his stories. He is a superb writer and he is sharing with you his personal experiences. If you read this story, you are definitely going to read his other work as well.

I began 2020 with a simple mission: write a novel. I settled on a manageable word count per day (250) and started a story that had long been brewing under the surface. I’m a short-term goals oriented type of person. It’s difficult for me to stay with projects, ideas, or pursuits that span over months. I like to get things done immediately, then move onto the next task. Writing a novel wasn’t only out of my comfort zone; it was out of my universe.

“Writing a novel is like driving a car at night. You can see only as far as your headlights, but you can make the whole trip that way…”

3. I’m a Performer with Social Anxiety

Jae Nichelle is a writer and a lover of sweet potatoes. Her poetry video went viral. Her style is friendly and engaging. If you read this story, you’ll like to read her other stories as well. Don’t miss it.

As a touring spoken word artist (before Covid, of course), I spent a lot of time traveling to different venues to perform poetry, to host open mics, and to compete in poetry slams. Truthfully, I love to perform, but it’s not always easy. In addition to being on stage in front of however many people, going to events comes with socializing, marketing myself, and answering questions — three things that my anxious mind does not like to do.

2. 5 Ways How Writing Can Recharge Your Soul

At number two today, you can read 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.

Are you writing right now? I hope not, only because you should be reading this article. Or maybe you’re doing both.

Do you agonize about not being able to write? Many authors do, some even record depressive experiences, spun through whining journal entries to express the torment of not being able to assemble a single sentence.

We call this writer’s block. A label that writers use when we can’t seem to get the words out, let alone string them together in a coherent fashion. Writer’s block is a generic term that means something different to every writer, but it happens to everyone from time to time.

1. The Power of Mindful Minutes: How To Bring Joy To Your Day

At number one it is Shivendra Misra, who loves to bend reality. In this masterpiece, he is explaining the power of mindfulness. If you read his story, you’ll become his fan for life.

Here’s one of my favorite Zen koans that I throw at people when they tell me they’re too busy to meditate:

“Meditate for an hour every day unless you are too busy. In that case, meditate for two hours.”

Ironically, the busier you are, the more you need to meditate, not less. All of us are constantly doing something. This makes me think we should change the name of our species from human beings to human doings. (Proponents of the hustle culture sure would love that!)

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.

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 chances of success as a writer, read these highly recommended curation guidelines:

You can read my curated stories here.