Writers’ Community

Illumination Brought Me Hope, and Teeny, Tiny Steps Forward

A peek into my work and life. And inspiration by other writers on Medium and Illumination

For those of you new to Illumination, we’re a tribe of supportive writers who think that every writer should have readers. And because we’re also readers, all of us, we support each other.

We read and we clap. We comment, giving valuable additions to stories and we boost each others’ confidence.

And I want to say to all of you: do it with enthusiasm! Do it in abundance! What have you got to lose? One clap is okay, but why not hold the button and give 20? Or 50?

Why not highlight some passages that speak to you? Why not tweet some passages that your twitter followers might enjoy? It’s all in the little bar. Easy peasy…

Read with attention, these words have been created with love. Especially for you, the reader. So please, let’s read each others’ stories and enjoy without limit! Allow yourself to be touched…

In this story I want to ask you, my fellow writers, to help me get some hope out there in the world.

I just started a new series. ‘Hope Is Life’. I think we need new stories for our world. On how it can be. On how to survive. On how to be loyal and supportive of one another and build the new decade.

We need to have hope that life will go on. No matter what.

So can you please help me write these stories of hope?

Can you help me give hope to my 85-year-old mother? Or to your own children? Give hope to our next-door neighbors? Or to a mother of four children living in the slums of some big city?

It doesn’t have to mention the virus, we can just give hope in a little poem. Or a story. Or it can be a big vision as well.

I’m curious what you’ll come up with.

“Like a bridge over troubled water. I will lay me down.”

— Simon and Garfunkel

If you tag me in your story, you can be sure that I read and support and clap. And of course, that’s not just me. That’s all of us in this great community of supportive writers.

Let’s all look beyond our own little box of hope to become a successful writer. We’re a curious bunch of word devourers. Let’s eat!

And to inspire you on hope as a subject for stories, here is a poem by Dipti Pande.

I read many stories recently. I read work by Priya, Karen Banes, Ksenia Sein, Henery X (long), Harley King, Daniella Mini, Sebastian Mueller, Mary Dalton Selby, Josef Hortnagl, Christine Graves, Kevin Buddaeus, Kerry Martin, Terry Mansfield, Drew Spangler aka Orlando Laser Lipo Services, Terri DelCampo-Nelson, Rasheed Hooda, Shantanu Kulkarni, Selma, Erin King, Ksenia Sein, Joe Luca, Ryan Justin, Max Klein, Francesca Brandani, Jordan Gross, Jill Ebstein, CJ Kowalski, Gurpreet Dhariwal, SF Ali, Cathren Killedjian, Lynette Clements, Elisabeth Khan, Amy Marley, Chris Hedges 🦄, Kevin Buddaeus, Charles Roast, and many others.

What inspired me this time?

This story by Priya made me laugh out loud and cry at the same time. So recognizable and so sad! Is this what our lives have come to? Men worrying over money and women trying not to cry?

Beautifully written, Priya!

But I really hope that in our own lives we can do better than this…

I love the stories of Rasheed Hooda. They’re written in a natural style. They make me smile.

Like this one about marrying the girl of his dreams. The literal sense of dreams. And while you’re at it, check out the story about his roommate. Who died the day Elvis died. It’s a special one.

For me no big plan. No BHAG. No big, hairy, audacious goals. Although one of my colleagues always wanted me to make some. Karen Banes writes about an alternative. Teeny, tiny steps…

I know what path I’m on. And it’s dynamic for me. The route can change. But I take teeny, tiny steps in the right direction. And after 365 days, I will have made a big leap that brings me closer to where I want to be in life.

And then I found Elisabeth Khan. Or rather, she found me. And I’m glad. She writes the most beautiful stories about exotic places and objects. And she can write! Oh, girl, can she write!

What did you read and comment on recently?

We all want to make a living writing. How wonderful would it be, we think, if we could just do what we love best and people will be hooked to our words?

In my last story about my endeavors on Illumination, I talked about synchronicity. And how it all starts with giving.

So what did you give this week?

Really give? Without a thought about results. About what’s in it for me. And all that utter marketing shit.

I’m really convinced it starts with giving from your heart.

And with making movement.

One excellent way to create movement is giving comments on other people’s stories.

Read stories very carefully to the end and then try to add something to the story. Something that enhances it, makes it even more valuable for the person who reads about this subject.

Add something that illustrates your personality. Something to illustrate your thought train. Or your expertise. Anything that’s you. Really you!

This something might trigger the people who read your comment to become curious about your writing. And then they might go to your stories and be hooked!

It’s cause and effect. But just concentrate on adding value. The effect will come. Try it. It might work for you too.

I love giving comments. It makes me a better reader, a more attentive reader. I try to be short in the comments. Just giving one snippet. One trigger. It sharpens my brain.

What else happened in my week?

I’m really glad to see that many of you are also putting fingers to keyboards and share honestly about your writer’s journey and stats. So great to read how everyone’s at first struggling and then finding their path.

It means I’m not all alone in this world of tiny steps and stats…

Ksenia Sein gave me permission to use the beautiful artwork I saw in her story about turning ‘career’ into ‘carer’.

I want to use it for a story about my own Right Livelihood.

It will be about my freelance career, alias care-work-life, in which I combine several income streams to make a living for myself and my family.

Thanks, Ksenia, that story is in progress.

I looked through my older English fiction stories and found one written in 1995 in Ireland. Oh, how that brought back memories! And I found the courage to publish ‘Purpose in Life’ on Illumination.

Some of you who read my bio, asked what my first story published in Cosmopolitan in 1991 was like? Well, it’s kind of like this one. Same style. Suspenseful and sensual…

Then I read Amy Marley’s story and was inspired to write about the Tao of Pooh. This story resulted.

And if this life lesson stuff of Asian wisdom is not for you, still have a look. I liked my brainwave to put the girl-picture in the middle.

I was looking for a picture of someone pulling his/her hair out in despair, but this one was even more of a twist. It might inspire you to do some unexpected twisting in your stories as well. A good twist can make a lot of difference in any story.

And of course, I would love to read in the comments what this twist did for you. Did it work? Did it make you laugh, lighten the serious tone? And what twists do you use in your stories? Feel free to share.

I started on my new ‘Hope Is Life’ series. And I’m doing lots of research for longer, more in-depth stories about Indonesia and environmental issues. It’ll take me a while to publish, though.

Behind the scenes, the keyboard is rattling…

Oh, and an extra thanks to Lets Save Earth for commenting that my motto would be something that everybody should read. I bow. It gives me courage if a student says it.

She/he “believes the masses have the power to make all the difference”. Well, here we agree completely! For those of you that don’t know my motto yet, here it comes again:

“Let’s restore ecosystems and learn as human beings how to live within the boundaries of our planet”

And for those of you who want to dive into the why, how and what, here’s some further reading for you.

Thanks for reading again, great friends! Let’s be out there. Giving hope to our fellow humans.

If you want to connect, you can find me on LinkedIn, on Facebook or Twitter. Or somewhere reading a story that flowed from your keyboard… And holding the clap button until it feels right… 👏

Thanks, Mike, for adding your wise energy to my enthusiastic words for writers.