David B. Clear’s Stories

Complete list of all my long-form stories in reverse chronological order

2023

June 2023

How Keeping a Daily Journal Makes You a Better Writer

May 2023

The Power of Storytelling — Or Why You Should Be Telling Stories No Matter What You Write About

Why Some Content Goes Viral

April 2023

The Problem With Advice From Successful Writers

March 2023

Stop Confusing a Writing Niche With a Topic

Why You Should Work on a Million Drafts at Once

February 2023

3 Essential Tools Every Writer Needs

Dear Writer — Be Wary of Using the Wrong Tools

January 2023

Kill Your Perfectionism with an Abundance Mindset

How to Change Someone’s Mind

The Creator Economy Is About Selling Pipe Dreams to the Average Loser

2022

December 2022

Getting Started is the Hardest Part About Writing

Dear Writer — You Don’t Have the Luxury Not to be a Marketer

Caribbean Marketing Lessons for Writers

November 2022

Writing Online Won’t Change Your Life

Why Time Flies by so Fast

Dear Writer — You’re Probably Not Experimenting Enough

October 2022

Why Spending Your Money on World Travel Is an Investment

7 Tips for Aspiring Humor Writers

The Joy of Traveling with No Plans

Why “Publish Consistently” Is Sometimes Horrible Advice

September 2022

Why Your Personality Is Nothing But Meat

Why Brand-New Writers Shouldn’t Seek Feedback

You Have It Way Too Easy — And That Screws up Your Happiness

Is Going Viral All Luck?

August 2022

First, Do No Harm — It’s Excellent All-Around Advice

Why Your Writing Sounds like Rambling — and How to Fix It!

One Piece of Terrible Writing Advice I See All the Time

July 2022

The One Thing that Distinguishes Real Writers from Wannabes

How to Deal with Angry Comments from Readers

Why Quantity — Not Quality — Is What Will Make You Money as a Writer

June 2022

Forget Writing Well — Aim to Write Poorly in New and Exciting Ways Instead

The 6 Ways to Make Money As an Online Writer

May 2022

How to Stop Being so Freaking Boring by Adding Some Personality to Your Writing

Why We Misjudge People All the Time

The Danger of Building an Audience You Don’t Even Like

April 2022

Why the “Improve by 1% Every Day” Mantra Is Bullsh*t

Writers — Stop Smothering Your Muse with Envy

Why “Love at First Sight” Is a Relationship-Killing Belief

Love Writing? Here’s How to Kill Your Joy for It.

March 2022

I Grew up Sounding like Arnold Schwarzenegger

Why SEO Is a Waste of Time for Most Online Writers

Stop! STOP Checking the News Already!

I’m Sick of Hustle Culture — Why Can’t We Be Slackers Anymore?

You Don’t Need an Audience — You Need an ENGAGED Audience

February 2022

Don’t Waste Your Time on Details Readers Won’t Notice

How to Fall in Love with Writing

Quitting Your Job Is Less Risky Than You Think

January 2022

The Key to Making Your Writing Less Boring

Don’t Let Publication Editors Stifle Your Creativity

What to Do If Someone Steals Your Writing

2021

December 2021

How to Make Your First $1,000 by Exploiting Aspiring Writers

Can You Predict How Many Readers You Will Have in a Year?

How to Travel Cheap and Long-Term

A Lot of Blogging Advice Is Pure Superstition

November 2021

Why I’m Glad I’m Still Struggling as a Writer

Dear Perfectionist Blogger — Stop Being so Damn Precious about Your Blog Posts

Don’t Be Stupid — Post Your Words on More Than One Platform

Why Most Self-Help Advice Is Useless

7 Reasons Why Twitter Is So Great for Bloggers

What the Heck Is Prosopagnosia?

Why Follow Your Passion Is Stupid Advice

October 2021

Dear Newbie Writer — This Is How to Connect with Other Writers

How to Grow Your Twitter Following

Good Writing Is All about Surprise

Why Perfectionist Writers Should Focus on Quantity

Why Penguins Sneeze so Much

A Quick Tip for My Fellow Perfectionist Writers

3 Types of Block That Keep You From Writing

The Tombstone Test — A Simple Trick to Ensure Sure You’re Not Wasting Your Life

September 2021

Can a Headline Be Too Good?

Do Horizontal Stripes Really Make You Look Fat? Or Is that Just a Myth?

The Simple Trick to Come up with Writing Ideas

When Penises Become Skin-Piercing Weapons

August 2021

3 Big Problems With Binge Writing

Hot Dogs and the Real-World Problem They Solve

You’ll Always Struggle As a Writer and That’s Great!

How I’d Improve the Medium Partner Program

How Science Explains Ouija Boards

July 2021

Dear Writer — Your Life Isn’t Boring and It’s Worth Sharing

How a Teenage Girl Destroyed an Entire Nation

Why Most Writing Advice Is (Kinda) Useless

How Messenger Pigeons Work

Why Your Writing Doesn’t Need to Be Great

June 2021

The Ideomotor Effect — Or How Science Explains Dowsing

Why Some Writers Give up and Others Don’t

Medium’s New AI-Powered Headline Autocompletion

What Exactly Are Saturated, Unsaturated, Trans, and Omega-3 Fats?

Why You Can’t Trust Successful Writers and Their Advice

May 2021

Why I Regret Playing with My Five-year-old Niece

The Creative Cliff Illusion

What Exactly Is Fire? Why Do Things Burn?

Making It As a Blogger Is Way Harder Than You Think

April 2021

Why Butterflies Suck On Eyeballs

Two Simple Ways to Stand out As a Writer

Can You Really Go Blind from Drinking Bootlegged Alcohol?

3 Reasons Why I’m Glad You’re Writing Too

Supernormal Stimuli —Why TV, Social Media, and the Modern World Captivate You

March 2021

How Caffeine Works

How to Keep Your Readers Hooked

Why You Always Have Room for Dessert

Why You Don’t Need to Overthink Your Headlines

Why a Time Machine Would Instantly Kill You

Why Third-Place Winners Are Often Happier Than Second-Place Winners

February 2021

The Best Advice I Got As a PhD Student Applies to Writers Too

Can You Survive an 18,000-Feet Freefall without a Parachute?

How Octopuses Have Sex — It’s Really Weird

Dear Writer — You’re an Entertainer First

Why among the People You Date the Most Attractive Ones Tend to Be Jerks

Golden Rice — Science’s True Superfood

January 2021

7 Advantages of Combining Writing with Another Art Form

How I Became a Nuclear Refugee

The One Emotion to Be Wary of As a Writer

Why Dogs Kick Dirt In The Air After Pooping

Why Is the Ocean Salty?

How to Ensure Readers Root for and Not against You

2020

Smart Gift Giving — How to Be Perceived As Generous While Spending Less

Writing Every Day Is about Staying Creative

Why Is Gold so Valuable?

Why You Don’t Need Talent to Write

How One Animal Kills Its Prey with Flatulence

Writer’s Block Comes from a Lack of Inputs

Why Your Body Sometimes Jerks As You Fall Asleep

The Online Writing Hustle Is a Cargo Cult

The Horrific Mating Habits of the Anglerfish

Why Birds Don’t Get Cold Feet

What Exactly Are the Tropics?

Why Avocado Seeds Are so Ridiculously Large

Why You’re Unable to Locate Sounds Underwater

Why Cats All Look Alike While Dogs Don’t

Why Fake Medicine Often Seems to Work — Even Though It Doesn’t

How the Matthew Effect Explains Writing Success

Why Is the Human Penis Shaped like a Mushroom?

Previous Generations Were Not This Work-Obsessed

3 Science-Backed Ways to Become More Trustworthy

The 3 Factors Conspiring Against Aspiring Writers

Why You Should Try to Make Your Writing Funny

The Problem with Generic Writing Advice

How to Write without Motivation nor Willpower

How to Deal with Argumentative Individuals

Why Playing the Lottery Is Silly

Why You Should (Maybe) Lower Your Writing Standards

The 7 Types of Writers — from Delusional to Perfectionist

Zettelkasten — Wie ein Deutscher Gelehrter so Unglaublich Produktiv War

Zettelkasten — Cómo Un Erudito Alemán Fue Tan Increíblemente Productivo

Why You Should Write about Boring Topics

How to Sleep in a Bedbug-Infested Hotel

Idiosyncrasy Credits — or How to Change a Group’s Opinion

Writing Success: Five Insights on the Role of Luck

The Breadcrumb Method of Self-Promotion

The Problem with Writing for a Target Audience

Should You Buy It? Use This Simple Trick to Decide

Why You Need the Courage to Fail As a Creative

Why I’m (Kinda) Glad Life Isn’t Fair

Not Every Hazard Is a Risk— Or Why People Freak out over Silly Things

Why ‘Never Give up’ Is Bad Advice

How to Ensure Your Readers Root for You

Why I’m Glad I Didn’t Have a Job and Kids after College

How My Productivity Guilt Is Ruining My Quarantine

How Not to Bore Your Readers to Death

5 Mental Hacks to Help You Get Through these Depressing Times

How to Play Imaginary Hide and Seek

Why One Side of Your Nose Always Feels More Congested Than the Other

Why Some People Faint When They See Blood

How to Greet People in a Post-Apocalyptic World

Why You May Underestimate How Much Effort It Takes to Succeed

What to Do with All the Toilet Paper You Bought

The Best Gift for a Female Travel Companion

A Typing Injury Almost Killed My Career — Don’t Make the Same Mistake

What the Buff Guy at the Gym Taught Me about Writing

Why You Don’t Have To Write about Niche Topics

Quantity or Quality? Use Both to Improve Your Writing

How to Deal with Touts When Traveling the World

7 Ways to Kill That Urge to Buy New Stuff

How to Get Notified When Your Favorite Medium Writer Posts Something New

We Almost Drowned in Bali — Don’t Make the Same Mistake

Demons — Explained by the Science of Sleep

Surplus Killings — a Troublesome Behavior of Cats

Loss Aversion Beats Motivation

2019

Success Is All Luck — Always

Zettelkasten — How One German Scholar Was So Freakishly Productive

Out of Creative Ideas? Try Flashcards

Warning: You Can’t Trust Your Memory — Here’s the Science That Proves It

Why You Should Add Entropy to Your Life

How Not to Freak out — Using a Combination of Stoicism and Mindfulness