Writer Focus

Breaking All the Rules, Redefining Labels and Going to the Dogs

New writer spotlight and update on June writing challenges

I am breaking a few of my own rules today. Generally, for these features, I primarily look for writers that have less than 200 followers. Today we have some stuff that was too good to not mention, even though the authors are a bit more “established” on Medium.

One of my other informal rules for this feature is to stay away from stories about Medium specifically and writing in general (along with sidestepping Coronavirus, politics and almost anything with a number in the title — you know; “17 ways to be a better lover”, etc.)

I am breaking one of those today as well by featuring an article about writing (but not specific to Medium at least). I have read hundreds of articles about writing, and this one just jumped out as special to me, so I am sharing it with you; along with several other great pieces as well!

Each day in June I hope to feature a few articles from writers that have just recently been added to the publication. I am doing this because I want to make a point of welcoming and getting acquainted with the new writers, and doing a feature allows me to read some of their work and pick items that catch my eye each day.

My hope is to get these authors a few extra eyes on their writing and perhaps gain a few fans that otherwise might not have seen their work. If these new-to-Illumination writers don’t have bios yet, we hope they write one soon so we can add it to our growing list:

But until then, my aim is to choose a handful of writers from the ranks of the newly added to Illumination and highlight one of their articles. Then I will have an ask of them afterward (Hint: I will ask that they pay it forward by doing the same thing for other writers).

Plus, an ongoing list of writer challenges follows the feature articles below! So, without further ado:

New Writer Spotlight

Let’s get write to it, shall we? Here is what is technically a “how to” article about writing that manages to entertain and make you feel like the writer knows exactly what you are thinking or feeling when you hesitate before the pen ever hits the paper.

That is probably because she totally DOES know what that feels like, and Megan Preston Meyer has no problem explaining why writing is a big deal, and therefore might be a bit scary sometimes (maybe all the time?) in this great story:

This next piece explains some of the science behind why we are inclined to rally around and stick with our family in difficult times and side with them even when the decision may compromise some of our other values.

The phrase, “blood is thicker than water” is commonly used to describe these kin associations, but in world of expanding global communication, are those bonds being loosened somewhat? Adrian Janiszewski asks us questions about how we define “us” versus “them” in this introspective piece:

Our next article shares how certain labels just don’t apply, and that determination and heart do a much better job of defining a person than any sort of physical difference.

Let Ruby Melone share how being in wheelchair doesn’t make her friend “disabled” but rather inspirational and powerful:

Next is a rather sad, but necessary, story about an experience no one likes to go through: Pet Euthanasia. For anyone that has ever had a pet, this is a sad but inevitable part of the journey.

Pets bring us so much joy, which is why parting is so tough. Wendy Van de Poll provides some very insightful tips for how to manage yourself and family through this heart wrenching process and also provides a link to a help network at the end for additional support and research:

And as a follow up, here is a piece written from a dog’s point of view to provide us a bit more perspective on the human — animal relationship.

Ghostwritten by veterinarian Dr. Jackie Greenwood on behalf of all dogs, please take a moment to read this piece:

Let’s Make a Connection

Next I want to broker an introduction of the new writers tagged in this article and one of our editors and/or writers who has been at Illumination for a bit.

Someone who has been a contributor and supporter from the beginning at Illumination is Holly Jahangiri. Holly is an accomplished writer off and on the Medium site and a fantastic addition to the publication.

A writer who can dispense satire beyond comparison, then turn around in the next moment and help us all keep our moral compass aligned with her compassionate commentary on world events, she is someone you will want to follow and read a lot of her work. I know I do.

I am linking one of her articles with a lighter approach here, and also including her for the first time today in our writing challenge section. She cleverly hid it in her newsletter, but she offhandedly tosses us down a gauntlet to write a short story and/or poetry couplet. That’s right, two poems, two short stories, or one of each. Catch her challenge link below, after you read this:

If you want to connect with me or any of the editors, please consider joining the Illumination Slack workgroup. You can request an invitation to Slack by contacting Dr Mehmet Yildiz from this link. Please type “Request for Slack” on the heading as Dr. Yildiz has many other requests from this link.

I am always willing to answer questions and provide information for anyone. The other editors and writers are as well. Slack is the best way to interact if you have questions.

If you need some tips to get up and running on Slack, this article is a good starting point:

The Big Ask

As promised, if I featured your story here, or are reading this and feel inspired, I encourage you to pay forward the concept of highlighting the work of others.

Please consider choosing another writer (or writers) and creating a story that emphasizes aspects that you appreciate about their work. It could be their style, topic choices, voice, technical aspects of writing, or maybe you just like their profile picture.

I am confident that when you do this you will find that your own writing work gets better. In many ways I believe that the person that brings attention to others’ work benefits even more than the recipient. That is one of the core premises and values of Illumination, and when you engage you will find that you reap dividends. I encourage you to give it a whirl. And, when you do, tag me in your article. I love being exposed to stuff I might not have otherwise seen.

Bonus Gift — The Writing Challenge

There are two types of writers in the world. Those who have experienced writer’s block, and those that will.

One of the great remedies to the question, “What do I write next?” is responding to a prompt or challenge provided by another writer. I personally have benefitted significantly from this and, to some extent, this section is a bit self-serving because I want to have some handy prompts to write about occasionally.

Older prompts

Some older prompts I have been involved in are: If I wasn’t a writer I would…, Self-Discovery during lock down, a funny video prompt, and a musical prompt.

List of New Challenges and Prompts

I am hoping to develop a list of newer prompts with their originators. Send me your writing prompts! Here’s what we have so far:

Kevin Buddaeus

Sarah E Sturgis

Sherry McGuinn

Tree Langdon ♾️

B. A. Cumberlidge.

Holly Jahangiri— A challenge, sneakily hidden in a newsletter!

If you are participating in or originating a challenge and you want to include it here for people to find, either respond to this article or hit me up on Slack (@timothykey).

Next Group

Tomorrow I will pull from this new group of recently added writers:

Dowan Simon, Esra’a Hammouri, Rania El-Badry, Nisha Karthigeyan, Eeva Metssalu, Eman Elrefai, Marriorkenneth, Kashif Iqbal, Niam Arora, Manar Bekeer, Boniface Ugwu, Heidi Nite, Marwa Youssef, Tai Colodny, McCain T.E., Andrew Briley, Radwa Roushdy, Froyle Davies, Matt Anzai, Aboelez, Muhammad Ahmed Ihsan, Mayank gujran, Abhishek Verma, Heidi Malone, Eric Overby, Ben Mcharo, Yomna Elsayed, Caroline Malisani, Sadhanandavel Ramdoss, anas kunda, MegannTeoh_ 张舒媖, Malinda Navaro, Nikita Alexandrov, BChem, MBA,

If you want me to highlight one of your stories in particular, or have any questions just respond to this story, or better yet, find me on Slack!

Thanks for reading, I am enjoying getting to know all the new writers on Illumination!

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Timothy Key spent over 26 years in the fire service as a firefighter/paramedic and various fire chief management roles. He firmly believes that bad managers destroy more than companies, and good managers create a passion that is contagious. Compassion, grace and gratitude drive the world; or at least they should. Follow me on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter, and join the mail list.