Editor’s Picks — Top 10: Writing and Trying To Write Are Two Different Things

Read our top 10 stories today

In the movie Matrix, Morpheus tells Neo, “Come on. Stop trying to hit me and hit me.” You might think I’d say, “Stop trying to write and write.” But that’s not what I am trying to tell you.

Let’s get one thing out of the way: finishing what you start is necessary. Yet, trying to write is where you should focus your energy.

Trying to write includes reading, brainstorming, collecting research materials, learning from the great writers, writing, and editing. It is the process.

When you are reading this, you are trying to write. You wouldn’t read this if you were not trying to write. You want to know about the process of writing and how others do it.

Reading others is a sure way to spark your imagination and get new ideas. The more attentive you are while reading, the greater the chance of coming up with a new idea. Every article or idea — ever written — can be improved.

Brainstorming will commence the moment you start reading. The only requirement is that you keep a pen and a piece of paper with you.

When you get a brilliant new idea, search Google for more. In 99% of the cases, your great idea would already be the topic of numerous pieces. In some cases, you may find entire books written in the 19th and 20th centuries. But that is a good thing.

You can use their work as the base of your piece. If you see the latest researches on the topic, you may find new perspectives contrary to your brilliant insights. But again, that is a good thing.

You are on the right track. You are free to modify your piece if your original idea has been proven incorrect.

By learning from the great writers of the past, you can see the more nuanced aspects of the topic. Read the greats and improve your piece.

Writing your nonfiction article is essentially deciding how to present the information you have collected in a more readable way. In the case of more personal stories, getting the emotions right is the key.

Once you have words on a page, you can start adding and removing things. Your final piece can be entirely different from where you started. But that — you know it by now — is a good thing. It means you learned a lot during the process of writing. When you discover new things during your writing sessions, you are more likely to keep coming back for more.

When your readers scan your article, they expect to see something unique. Trying to write encompasses everything you do — from reading to final editing.

What about what I am trying to write? I have more than 2000 drafts sitting quietly in a folder. I know I may never finish some of those pieces. But my unfinished drafts are a part of my ‘trying to write.’

Your work-in-progress pushes you to learn. Some of these pieces will mature. Then I’ll say, ‘I have written a story about it.’ But what about the time I spent trying to write all that crap?

The time you spend trying to write is a more accurate measure of how successful you’ll be as a writer.

The way a tree has a network of roots that supports it, your finished story springs from the seeds you sow when you are trying to write.

Here is the list of our top 10 stories today — written by writers who are always trying to write:

10. Top 6 Trends Which Every Writer Should Expect This Year

Yewande Adeleke is a lawyer, academic researcher, and an excellent writer. Her writing style is frank, to the point, and honest. Do check the top 6 trends.

The writing landscape changes every year, even if it’s a bit.

These changes could be ascribed to a number of causes such as yearly progress in technological advancements, public perception towards new events, and other unexpected occurrences.

With the 2020 pandemic, we dare say a lot has really changed as most writers have had to conform to newer, less strict modes of writing. In the same way, new writers have also emerged and are daily making indelible marks on the writing scene.

9. 5 Traits of Terribly Time Anxious People

Zane Dickens is a storyteller in paint, pixels, and prose. He writes about habits, psychology, creativity, writing, and art. He is a superb writer.

His writing style is frank, uplifting, and very engaging. If you haven’t checked his recent masterpiece, here is your chance to read it.

I’ve struggled with Time Anxiety for years without even knowing what it is; last year, I decided to fight back. This is what I learned.

Time Anxiety at its core is a paralyzing awareness of our mortality.

A self-imposed pressure to use each moment so well that deciding on how to spend it best is often impossible.

8. How I Quit Smoking On Psilocybin

Michael Papas is learning about his reality through writing. As I said in the intro, if you learn through your own writing, you are always willing to write some more.

He is an excellent writer. His writing style honest, engaging, and professional. Do check his other work.

The glowing sun began to set over a green-brown plain. A small herd of cattle meandered nearby, grazing. The flamingos, so near before, had moved on.

I held my partner close as we sat atop the roof of the 4x4 we’d borrowed from our host, the farmer. It had been a long, beautiful afternoon near the side of a shallow pan. We’d spent it tripping on 2 grams of Psilocybin.

I learned a lot on that trip — three months later and I still feel its impact. I’ve shared the lessons in self-care that landed hammer-like while I was up. And I described how those realizations followed from an ‘enlarged’ awareness.

7. 3 Life Lessons From McConaughey’s Memoir That Help Me Recognize Green Lights in My Life

Rob Cyrier is a husband, father, grandfather, writer, and technologist, who is inspiring others to live their most fulfilling lives through personal and family enrichment.

I have always admired Matthew McConaughey. He seems to be so down to earth and genuine during interviews, and you can even sense his wisdom in the many roles he has portrayed.

When I heard he wrote a memoir called Greenlights, I immediately ordered a copy and was anxious to dive into the details when I received it.

6. Five Lessons Poker Teaches You About Life

Kevin Lee is a lover of life and coffee. He is a former investment analyst and a persistent risk-taker. He is an outstanding writer.

His writing style is frank, honest, and engaging. I have selected his work in the past as well. Do check this fine piece.

When I was in college, I played an obscene amount of poker. I often joked that I majored in Economics and minored in poker. I devoured countless books, articles, forum posts, and instructional videos to improve my skills.

At times, the obsession and fascination with poker may have resembled more of an addiction. I used to play from early evening until early morning when the sun came up. That was usually my cue to catch a few hours of sleep before I needed to get up for class.

5. All My Possessions Were Thrown Out and I Think I’ll Survive

Nihan Kucukural wrote a dozen TV shows in Turkey. Now she lives in New Zealand. She writes about storytelling, parenting, and whatever touches her.

She is an accomplished writer. Her writing style is honest, mature, and very engaging. Don’t forget to check her other work.

In Turkish we have a saying: Property is a chip of the soul. It does hurt when you lose stuff.

I lived in Turkey for the first 45 years of my life. In these 45 years, I collected countless items. I got rid of some, but I kept lots of them. Until recently.

4. Simple Advice on Living Well and Aging Gracefully

Jackie Badilla is an ecofeminist. She loves Physics. A Lover. A Wannabe poet. MS Environmental Studies and Sustainability.

She is an exceptional writer. Her writing style is honest, personal, and creates an immediate connection with the reader. Do check her other work.

My maternal grandparents lived a captivating life.

My grandfather, an Ashkenazi Jew, lived through Nazi-occupied Romania during World War II as a child. He also fell off an icy mountain twice and lived to tell the tale. My grandmother was a chemist and a damn good one. They escaped communist Romania when my mother was 12 to give their family a better life.

My grandmother passed away seven years ago from Alzheimer’s. My grandfather is still alive and is working on his fourth book. He is an active and intelligent 87-year-old who doesn’t seem to be going anywhere anytime soon.

3. My 2nd-dose COVID-19 Vaccine Experience

Julie Nyhus MSN, FNP-BC is a nurse practitioner and writes about health. She is trying to inform us about her 2nd dose of the vaccine in this excellent story. Don’t miss this one.

I received my first dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine on December 16, 2020, and my second dose exactly three weeks later, on January 6, 2021.

Once again, it was an exercise in frustration for me. I was hoping for a robust, full-fledged immune response with a low-grade fever and chills but . . . nope. Instead, I got another 24-hour sore arm along with a slight headache and (maybe) a minuscule flash of fatigue. I’m not certain about the fatigue, but I’m going with it.

2. The Physical Side of Writing

Chris Wojcik loves to write about philosophy, martial arts, and everything in between.

He is a superb writer. His writing is simple, direct, informative, and engaging. I think every new writer should read this story if they want to stay healthy after a few months of writing.

When you become a writer, everyone tells you it’s really hard.

Everyone tells you that you’re going to fail a lot, you’re going to get rejected, and at first, you’re going to be terrible. If you hear all of that and decide to keep going anyway, you’re either really stubborn, determined, or crazy.

One of the most common types of writing advice is to approach writing “like a sport”.

1. The Racist Friends We Need To Leave Behind

At number one, it is Rebecca Stevens A. She writes about racism. She says, ‘But there are so many other things I would like to write about instead. Help me dismantle racism so that I can get to that.’

She is an extraordinary writer. Her writing style is frank, honest, and thought-provoking apart from being intensely engaging.

Follow her. Read her. Wait for her next story.

My husband and I have been together for 27 years. He is white and I am black. As I have shared in my previous articles, when we met, we were surprised to learn that many of his white friends and my black friends were racist. At first, we tried to change these people but soon realized that that was an impossible task.

We made new friends, and deeply enjoy and value the genuine bond that connects us to them. When I think back to pre Covid-19 times, I recall our parties, all of our mixed-race children playing and laughing together — for me, a vision of the future of mankind. This is what I most miss in these lockdown times.

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 –53–54–55–56–57–58–59–60

Final Thoughts

If your story was selected in 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 carefully.

You can read my curated stories here.