Writer Focus

How Far Would You Hike for a Perfect Grilled Cheese Sandwich?

New writer spotlight and update on June writing challenges

Ever wonder why people don’t laugh at your jokes, or give you funny looks when you dispense a compliment? It is all about the perspective today as we talk about interpreting fables, a classic logic question, a long hike to the top of the world and finally the quest for the elusively perfect grilled cheese sandwich.

Grab your rose-colored glasses, hiking boots and lab coat and let’s go on an adventure created by new writers on Illumination!

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

Our first story today takes us into the jungles of Peru for a trek so arduous that it reminds one of the Proclaimers song about walking 500 miles. Courtney Mooney says that her trip felt more like 5,000 miles when she ventured seemingly straight up a mountain on a trip that was initially billed as a “Two hour hike”.

Check out Courtney’s amazing photo from the top of here journey, plus a cute dog photo in this story of mountains climbed and goals attained:

Next we have a couple of stories that illustrate the differences in perspective that can allow others to misconstrue our intent. First, Gaurav Jha relates to us the Unexpected Hanging Paradox and how meanings differ when evaluated through diverse filters.

Take a trip to hangman’s row and ponder the thin difference between life and death and see how perspective can cloud reasoning here:

Next Mitva Patel ⭐ shares with us how a remark intended as a compliment was received as an insult by a friend. Mitva explains that she had always harbored a positive meaning from a particular oft-used parable, while it seems others interpreted it with a negative connotation.

Learn how Mitva realized that her well-intended statement came across as a slight rather than the much-deserved kudos she thought she was delivering to a friend:

Google is watching you. We all know this, right? But even so, the extent of how our online and GPS data is retained is downright scary when we look at it on the whole.

Come along with Toon Vos as he describes how he downloaded the complete data set that Google has retained on him and demonstrates just how much information can be gleaned by anyone about your daily routine:

And finally, no one likes a soggy grilled cheese sandwich. That is just wrong. So, it makes perfect sense that any respectable scientist would use any means available to achieve that crunchy, buttery, cheesy perfection we all know and love.

Bob James gives us a satirical view into how to use science for good. Mmmm, grilled cheese:

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.

Today I want to put the spotlight on someone that is relatively new in the editor role and has been doing a phenomenal job at working behind the scenes to make sure your stories are published as quickly as possible, and that your work has the best chance of being seen and appreciated.

Ann Venkataraman has been a dedicated contributor to the publishing workload in the last few weeks and still has time to put out some thoughtful and entertaining writing as well. Check out her writer and editor bio.

And, here is one of her recent stories that takes a satirical look at what people really WANT to say at commencement speeches, but probably shouldn’t:

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.

Supporting others 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.

List of New Challenges and Prompts

Send me your writing prompts! Here’s what we have so far:

Kevin Buddaeus

Sarah E Sturgis

Sherry McGuinn

Tree Langdon ♾️

B. A. Cumberlidge.

A new one today from Brian as well. What is one day that makes an everlasting memory?

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

INFJ Elder One person that made a positive impact on us.

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:

Concierge Jo-Anna~ Communications Connector, Tonia Nem, Ragnsan F. Valla, Merve Alsan, Robert Bush, Vera Laurent, Heather Wargo, Evamarie Augustine, Scott Colvin, Mauricio Matiz, Amy Caswell, Susie Ray, Jacquelyn Lynn, Jaded Dahlia, Teah, Niccolò, Gregory A. Austin, Amiitdhanraj, Kelaiah Amador, Eva Dietrich, Reba Marg, Jaded Dahlia

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.