Editor’s Picks — Top 10: Trickster Writer vs. Martyr Writer in Elizabeth Gilbert’s Book

Reading 10 top writers daily will give you the advantage

I shall destroy myself and everyone around me in an effort to bring forth my inspiration, and my martyrdom shall be the badge of my creative legitimacy. ~ Elizabeth Gilbert

Elizabeth Gilbert doesn’t like the stereotype of the ‘Tormented Artist.’ She rejected the cult of artistic martyrdom early in her writing career. She says this stereotype works fine until it kills you.

She wants us to let go of our addiction to creative suffering.

“Better a trickster than a martyr be.” ~Caroline Casey

After rejecting the agony of creativity, she introduces a more playful writing stereotype: The Trickster.

My work loves me as much as I love it — that it wants to play with me as much as I want to play with it — and that this source of love and play is boundless. ~ Elizabeth Gilbert

Then she instantly defines the energies of the martyr and the trickster: ‘Martyr energy is dark, solemn, macho, hierarchical, fundamentalist, austere, unforgiving, and profoundly rigid. Trickster energy is light, sly, transgender, transgressive, animist, seditious, primal, and endlessly shape-shifting.’

What follows is an extremely entertaining dialogue in her book, Big Magic Creative Living Beyond Fear. The essence of the dialogue is that a martyr is willing to die for art. But the trickster only wants to have some fun. Sir Thomas More is an example of a martyr, but the trickster is more like Bugs Bunny: “What’s up doc?”

The trickster enjoys writing because she trusts the universe. She trusts in chaotic, lawless, ever-fascinating ways of the universe. She knows the universe wants to play with her for some time. The trickster knows what the martyr can never understand: “It’s all just a game.”

When Brené Brown, the author of Daring Greatly, heard of the trickster theory, she felt its power. She explains: “Hey, I come from a background in academia, which is deeply entrenched in martyrdom. As in: ‘You must labor and suffer for years in solitude to produce work that only four people will ever read.’”

Brené Brown adopted the trickster approach for one of her books. She knew she was a natural storyteller. To finish her book before its deadline, she invited two of her colleagues to join her at a beach house in Galveston. She told them stories and asked them to take notes. After finishing each story, she would close the door of her room, and write it down. She discussed the stories with her colleagues again to improve the narrative.

Brené Brown had lots of fun writing her book in the beach house with two of her best girlfriends — and colleagues. After writing the book, using the trickster energy, Brene told Elizabeth, “I’m done with all that. Never again will I write about the subject of human connection while suffering in isolation.”

Brené Brown had discovered how she could game the system.

“That’s how a trickster gets the job done.

Lightly, lightly.

Ever lightly. “ ~ Elizabeth Gilbert

Read our top 10 writers and guess from where their writing energy comes — from artistic suffering or artistic playfulness:

10. How Big Are Your Problems?

Adam Clayton is a student of counseling psychology who also loves to write. He is a superb writer. His writing style is thought-provoking and engaging. Don’t miss this masterpiece.

One of my favorite things to do costs nothing, when looking into the starlit sky I find peace. To me, it’s healing, a therapeutic exercise. Gazing up into the unknown I find myself in unusual territory. At long last, I’ve arrived in the NOW, I am present! Nor the past nor future has a hold on me. Finally, I get an opportunity to press the mute button on any inner chatter — I think we all need to find a happy place like this. After all not to be thinking is the only way to be free.

These evening strolls are normally a solitary experience, but not so long ago a good friend accompanied me. “Look carefully there, can you see the formation of the stars, they look like a frying pan!” I said. To me, it was so clear, but he saw no pattern, no figure nor shape. Just a scattering of stars.

9. How to be Master of your Anger

DISHA GARG writes about Design, Technology, and Mindfulness.

There was a time when I was exploring the emotion called Anger in myself. I came across an article by Shona Keachie. I loved the way anger was rightfully expressed as a double-edged sword.

It’s been a year, and I feel I can add my learning and let others read my thoughts too.

On one side it has the ability to damage and destroy relationships, on the other, it has the ability to open wounds and allow deep healing and understanding to take place.

8. Why and How to Publish Stories As Frequently as Possible

Here’s my relevant but shameless plug. It explains what happens when you publish your 401st story — don’t you want to know?

If you think you can not publish more stories, then you may not be the person who wins the ‘online writing game.’

Tim Denning published seven stories in one day — who was counting? One post in each of the top seven publications. He publishes his articles as frequently as he can, and so should you.

Publishing a story — the pressure you feel about putting yourself out there in front of all those people — pushes you to be more creative. It becomes a challenge to write something people may want to read.

7. The Animal With Many Brains That Makes Us Rethink Intelligence

Simon Spichak is a neuroscientist and science communicator.

In 2016, a daring New Zealand inmate planned a careful escape from its prison. This inmate decided to slip away at night. The stunning disappearance of this inmate did not go unnoticed. A small trail of water was left behind, leading to a narrow drainpipe.

Inky, the octopus, escaped from a New Zealand aquarium. Slipping through a small hole in the aquarium, Inky slipped towards a narrow drainpipe leading to the open ocean.

6. How Thoughts Turn to Things — According to Quantum Biology

Simona is passionate about sharing insights from science to help bring more mindfulness, joy, and self-compassion into the lives of others. She is a brilliant writer.

Her writing style is simple, direct, and engaging. Follow her, read her stories, and wait for her future work. She needs your energy.

It’s a question people have been asking for thousands of years. How — if at all — do our thoughts affect our everyday reality?

Over the past couple of decades, attention to topics such as the law of attraction and the mind-body connection has exploded. Yet while the methods that supposedly teach us how to manifest our dream life are countless, the scientific data that explores this field is relatively scarce.

Every personal development book out there reiterates the importance of mindset. But have you ever wondered WHY exactly mindset so important — from a biological standpoint?

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

Dustin T. Cox writes about movies, books, culture, politics, and the intersection between them. He is an excellent writer. His writing style is honest, direct, and engaging. Do check his other work.

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.’

That unbending attitude allows me to write with energy and conviction; I put the work before myself and it shows. For me, writing isn’t a job — it’s a religion.

4. The Two Most Important Skills, If You Want to Thrive in the 21st Century

Haris Mohammad is a coach, trader, and engineer. He writes about personal growth, money, and business. He is an excellent writer. His writing style is thought-provoking and engaging. Do check his other work.

A little over twenty-five years ago, Jeff Bezos saw a trend. The internet was growing in usage at an incredible rate (like “bacteria in a Petri dish,” he says). He realized it was set to change the world forever. Bezos didn’t want to be left out of the action. He quit his job and founded Amazon. Today he is worth almost $200 billion.

Around the same time, Elon Musk was pursuing his Ph.D. when he had a similar realization. He dropped out and founded his first company, Zip2. Today he is worth almost $100 billion.

3. Stages of Language Acquisition

Chelsea Mandler MAT is an everyday mortal, person, human, eccentric, unconventional, and educated. She is an exceptional writer and an editor of Illumination as well.

Her writing style is thought-provoking, elegant, and very engaging. If you like this article, do check her other work.

The very essence of being human incorporates language. Language is the catalyst for humans to connect and understand each other. Without communication, limitations of human understanding would place invisible barriers that could jeopardize intimacy and closeness that humans crave. Fortunately, we are born with a hard-wired ability to learn a language (Denahm & Lobeck, 2013). And while learning language is paramount to civilized communal living, the acquisition of language is acquired in stages. (Denham & Lobeck, 2013).

2. Why You Should Stop Using Duolingo

AJ Krow is: Teacher. Writer. Editor. Future Author. CS Grad Student. Progressive Voter.

He is an excellent writer as well. This story is one of his masterpieces. If you read this story, you’ll love to read his other work. Don’t miss this one.

I’ve been attempting to learn Italian for a few years now. Note that I said attempting. Frankly, learning a language is not easy. Like any other skill, language learning requires dedication and time, something not always available to full-time workers.

When looking for resources available to learn a language, I came across Duolingo. Duolingo is a free app that sends you daily reminders (should you choose to do so) to learn vocabulary for that language.

1. How to Spot a Preemptive Strike

At number one, it is Barbara L. Ciccarelli. She is a writer, faculty, Ph.D., and a lifelong learner. She is an extraordinary writer. Her writing style is informative, thought-provoking, direct, and exceedingly engaging.

Don’t this masterpiece of writing. If you like her piece, follow her, and check her other work. I hope you’ll love her style.

Remember back in early 2000 when Bush came up with the Bush Doctrine regarding the Middle East to counter terrorism and justify the invasion of Iraq (remember the threat of mass destruction?)? The Bush administration had stated previously that the

“greater the threat, the greater the risk of inaction — and the more compelling the case for taking anticipatory action to defend ourselves” (The White House, 2002).

It was a strategy of “preemptive strikes” as a defense against an “immediate or perceived future threat to the security of the United States.” But Bush didn’t invent this maneuver. It was probably operating in social relations long before he came along and has been long since.

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

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

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

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

You can read my curated stories here.