Editor’s Picks— Top 10: Bad Stories Don’t Hurt You, but Good Stories Make You Famous

Let’s read our top 10 writers who tried and succeeded in writing a worth reading story

What you dread the most is writing a bad story. Right? That is why you quit writing after a few lines. You think, “why write a bad story?”

But writing bad stories — I mean really terrible stories — is the first step towards writing good stories. It is like falling from your bicycle when you start. Every time you trip, it changes your mind’s internal balancing system.

Every bad story is a fall. It changes you. I can guarantee this: Writing well involves way more falling down than riding a bike.

But there is something good about your bad stories. They come when you are learning to write — at the start of your writing career. Do you know what is the best thing about shitty writing when you are a newbie?

As a newbie, nobody expects you to write a great story. Everybody kinda expects a poorly drafted, unreadable hunk of text. Many writers wish to delete their early work — it is pathetic. But they also know they couldn’t have improved their skill if they had not written those terrible stories.

In a world full of mediocrity, when we find a good piece, we pay attention.

When people pay attention, the first thing they do is follow the writer and check their other work. A single well-written story will give you hundreds of followers. These fans will read your work even when you are not happy with what you wrote.

Very few readers will unfollow you for writing a bad story. But whenever you write another great story, it will get you more readers. Sometimes these readers start sharing your work. It can make your good stories go viral.

The revelation I want to share with you is that your readers don’t mind a shitty piece, but they remember your name for writing a good article.

The fear that your readers will not like your work is the biggest obstacle when you are starting your writing career. You don’t have to fear your readers. Indeed, they will not read your poorly written stories, but they’ll not hate you for writing them. They’ll even forget your name. How can anyone hate you or dislike your work if they don’t remember your name?

But with every good story, some more people remember your name. They see that you are struggling to improve your game. They love seeing someone try so hard. They respect you for giving them an entertaining piece with some new information and profound insights.

Throw caution to the winds if you are just beginning as a writer. When everybody knows your name, only then would you need to worry about not writing well. Until then, you’d already been a master of your craft.

10. If You Want to Grow Your Following, Then Give More Than You Take.

Dr. Jeff Livingston is an excellent writer. This story is a 1-minute read and a masterpiece of short-form writing. If you are not following him already, here is your chance. After you read this story, do check his other work.

His stories have been published in Elemental, Medium Coronavirus Blog, The Startup, P.S. I Love You, and more.

If you want to grow your following, then give more than you take. We all want to grow our followers and get more eyeballs on our work. We share our stories on Twitter and other social media channels. We need to remember a fundamental truth in life.

9. 5 Writing Tips From a Published Academic Writer

Ana Writes is a 23-year-old kid. Master Student. Likes to talk a lot.

But she can write well too. Her writing style is frank, honest, and very engaging. She is very new to Medium and needs your love. She is going to be a big name on Medium.

It is from Illumination’s Mirror.

As a graduate student, my main priorities are reading and writing. I basically get paid to do research and then write about it in a way that it can be understood by people who are not familiar with the scientific concepts.

During my 3rd-year of college, I was the only undergraduate student in my program who had a published article. My writing skills stood out to a professor and he added me to an existing project regarding pedagogical research and turning that research into writing.

8. Decisions

Jason Bowling writes about technology and history. He is a tinkerer, network guy, and photographer. He is an outstanding writer. If you like good science fiction — like me — go ahead and give it a read. Do check his other work.

“Probability of match, 67.34%.”

The engineer sighed, and shuffled across the room in his tiny apartment to pour another cup of strong, black coffee. He was exhausted. The apartment was overly warm, and a fan in one of the dozens of desktop computers buzzed loudly. He hadn’t been able to track the damn thing down. The place had seen better days — the paint on one wall bubbled near the ceiling from an old leak, and it smelled faintly of mold. He didn’t care.

7. My Sexual Assailant Comes Over For Tea Every Weekend

Zee Praise says, “Most days I can be found writing direct sales copy in bed with my new puppy. I also write about copywriting, productivity & the occasional rant or two.”

She is an excellent writer. Her writing style is honest, direct, and very engaging.

If you have time to read only one story today, read this one.

Writing this piece feels like an out of body experience. I’ve also written and re-written it about 10 times so far. I don’t think I will ever be satisfied with how this turns out. But I’m not perfect and this is the best I can do.

He was my best friend and cousin. Let’s call him Aaron.

Our parents are twins and growing up, people often remarked how the two of us were as good as twins ourselves. I can still hear my mom yelling at us after we’d successfully uprooted her precious veggies in the backyard. The smiling neighborhood shopkeeper as we ran in for our favorite popsicles in the summer heat.

6. How to Survive the Annual Performance Review

Matt Inman is a success coach, TEDx facilitator, and travel nerd. He meets with amazing people to encourage you to take action in your life.

He is an extraordinary writer. His writing style is frank, informative, and engaging. Follow him, read him, and wait for his next story.

As the end of the year approaches, it’s coming to that time we all love to hate. The day your manager is required to call you into a room and have a somewhat awkward conversation. Yes, I’m talking about the annual performance review.

As you look through notes, try to recall the goals you set months ago, feeling the need to justify your actions to continue getting a paycheck. But when was the last time you benefited from the review process?

5. Why You Should Be Continuously Redefining Your Dream Life

Casey Winans is a business strategy and experience advisor. He is a superb writer as well.

His writing style is simple, direct, and engaging. Don’t miss this one.

A small town of 8,000 people, in its heyday, surrounded by dairy farms and Amish communities. That’s where I grew up.

My earliest memories are of the trailer park we lived in until I was in junior high. I recall the bus rides to school, stopping at houses, and thinking how rich they were to live in a home without wheels.

Then in junior high, engaged to a farmer, my mom moved us to a dairy farm in a new town and new state. I now lived in an even smaller farming community yet had upgraded to a genuine farmhouse.

4. The Day I Faced My Mortality

Sarah Seweryniak believes one piece of content can change a reader’s life. She writes about marketing, self-improvement, and parenting.

You’ll love her work. Her style is informative, direct, and very engaging. Don’t forget to check her other work.

We have three deaths in our lifetime. However, my three versions of our deaths differ slightly from American neuroscientist David M. Eagleman’s version.

David believes the first is when we leave our bodies and the second is when we’re buried. I believe our first is the moment we have a brush with death. It’s the enlightening moment when we realize we won’t live forever. It’s our wake-up call. I believe the second death is the moment we die and leave this earth.

3. 5 Goal Setting Steps to Move You Closer to Making Your Dreams a Reality

Dawn Bevier is a teacher, thinker, learner, and writer. She loves literature and all things “wild, airy, and beautiful.”

Her near-perfect style is informative and highly engaging. If you started reading this story, you’ll not click away until you reach the end.

Read her, follow her, and wait for her next masterpiece. It is always a masterpiece when Dawn Bevier is writing.

I’ve never quite understood those people who say they don’t believe in goal-setting. I envy them a bit for having such a relaxed attitude towards life, but I don’t want to be them. I want my best life, and that involves making sure I’m doing the things I need to do to have it.

An article in Entrepreneur states that “not having goals is an excellent recipe for average living.” And I have no desire to be average. I need more for myself, and goal setting is one of the main ways I satisfy this urge.

2. How to Have a Mindful Morning

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.

We’ve all heard the numerous benefits of practicing mindfulness. What we hear less of is what this actually looks like in practice. How can we structure our day in a way that helps us to live mindfully?

The morning is a great time to incorporate mindfulness into your day. I always prioritize my mindfulness practice in the morning as I find that it to be the most beneficial at this time of day.

1. 4 Writing Lessons From John Fante — The Great Unknown Writer

At number one today, it is Alvin Ang. He is a martial artist, entrepreneur, and an exceptional writer. He has thousands of followers.

His writing style is full of charming suspense that makes his pieces very engaging. He has some writing lessons to share.

Don’t miss this one.

I read Ask The Dusk by John Fante some weeks ago, and I’m still reeling from the experience. By God, Fante is the best writer that nobody knows.

He has been called “the most criminally neglected writer of our times” and I am inclined to agree. I, like so many others, only got introduced to Fante because of Bukowski’s high praise of him. Bukowski discovered Fante as a young man, and the Italian master’s rogue writing inspired him to no end. Bukowski famously said that,

“Fante was my God…here, at last, was a man not afraid of emotions.”

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 –53–54–55–56

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 allotted the top 10 series a full shelf on the front page of Illumination-Curated and Illumination:

If you find any mistake, typo, or other error, please leave a private note for correction. Thanks.

Happy New Year!

To be included as a top 10 writer, read these curation guidelines.

You can read my curated stories here.