ILLUMINATION Writers
Interview with Desiree Driesenaar
Featuring creative writers of ILLUMINATION
Purpose of the Story
Dear readers and writers,
I have introduced many writers since 2019. Meeting inspiring writers each day delights me. Since I founded ILLUMINATION, which supports 18,000+ writers now, one of my writing goals in this and other platforms is to introduce influential writers to my readers by conducting interviews with them.
In this story, I share with you an interview that I conducted with Desiree Driesenaar. I have been following insightful stories of Desiree since she joined ILLUMINATION.
Reading informative and thought-provoking content on sustainability and ecology hooked me to Desiree’s stories.
I also found Desiree a collaborative, supportive, and motivating writer on Medium. She also has a focus on holistic and sustainable health.
I am grateful that Desiree accepted my offer to participate in this interview.
Why do you write on Medium, Desiree?
Medium is a great platform for writers with a purpose, like me.
My motto is “Let’s restore ecosystems and learn as humans how to live within planetary boundaries.”
Medium gives me a chance to publish my stories in completely different publications. Thus, reaching a wide audience of diverse people and cultures. My business stories find a different audience from my more emotional stories or fiction. And some of my readers like them all…
I love to connect with like-minded people from all over the world. And to cross-pollinate with completely different-thinking people.
All in a supportive atmosphere, I must say. I really feel at home here.
What are your values as a writer?
Fun, support, and a positive tone. I write about the environment. Not a very happy subject. How we’ve made a mess of it! But I don’t want to judge, I want to nudge. In my view, inspiration brings more movement than slashing.
So, I give examples of new business models to re-invent our economy. I give a podium to indigenous people who should be allowed to re-invent the future for their own countries in their own way. I write about ecosystem restoration and planetary boundaries.
In short, I show how a growing group of change makers is aligning the economy, ecology and the human spirit.
Fun to do. Great to combine with my practical sustainability projects in the Netherlands, where I live. And my traveling projects in Spain, Greece, Germany and Indonesia.
Easy to combine it with my projects as a Blue Economy expert for the European Commission and in other collaborations.
The fun thing about Medium is that I can combine all this serious stuff with experiments, poems, or suspenseful fiction. That’s also me. And I love to be all of me.
What are the top three books affected your life?
The first one is The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success by Deepak Chopra. This book shaped me when I started on my personal journey finding my values and my purpose in life.
The second one is The Systems View of Life by Fritjof Capra. This book gave me my view on systemic solutions. We, humans, are part of nature. And if we want to live within the planetary boundaries, we have to understand how everything is connected to everything else.
The third one is Story by Robert McKee: This book about the structure of film scripts helped me a lot in shaping my fiction stories.
What are your hobbies?
Nature is my playground. I love to explore with our three grandchildren (1, 3, and 5 years old). Or walk long walks with my partner Mike. Or just sit silently and listen to the birdsong.
Meditation keeps me sane in this over-crowded, fast-spinning world.
I love reading.
And I love everything creative. Colors shape my world.
How do you connect with your readers?
On Medium I read a lot, show my appreciation and write thoughtful comments.
My main social medium is LinkedIn, where I receive a lot of requests to connect and have a lot of interaction with people.
Many people on LinkedIn follow my Medium stories and then connect. Often, it leads to inspiring skype talks and sometimes to collaboration on projects.
My Medium stories make it so much easier to explain what I do and why. Apparently my work and drive resonate with many people who are speeding the transition.
Why did you join ILLUMINATION and how do you find it so far?
I was invited at the beginning of the publication. The approach of active cross-pollination and diversity suits me. It creates serendipity. But I hadn’t expected that it would go flying so fast!
8,000+ readers in 2 months’ time. Extraordinary!
The collaboration on Slack is also something I enjoy. There’s lots of interaction, we inspire each other with crazy ideas and the vibe is invigorating.
Who are the top ten writers you follow on ILLUMINATION?
In the first weeks, I gained many friends. Do I have to limit it to ten? Whoah, what a choice. There are so many more than ten!
But let me give you at least a few names I regularly follow: Selma, Elisabeth Khan, George J. Ziogas, Michele Thill, Rasheed Hooda, Henery X (long), Eliot Kersgaard
I hope all the others know I love their work too. I comment on their stories often…
What are your top five stories that you want to share with your audience and why?
It’s the first story that went flying in July 2019, and it’s still very popular.
Food and regenerative farming are the bridge between natural ecosystems and human designed systems. It is a subject close to my heart. I work with a lot of farmers on the transition to healthy, living soil and resilient business models.
I really believe that success comes automatically when we start giving. It’s also the kind of success that doesn’t have a price. It’s fun and gives us friends. So I enjoy stimulating the Illumination in this direction.
My fiction is very dear to me. And this is a story how I like them best. Suspenseful and sensual. Full of feeling and the sense that there’s some surprise lurking around the corner.
The thread in my Medium stories is now becoming visible. A book is in the making. A new chapter in my life so to say…
What are the success factors for you as a writer on Medium?
My tone of voice apparently strikes a chord in my readers. They like my style. Explaining difficult concepts and still trying to make them fun to read.
Furthermore, I think that being active on Medium and on social media together is being a win-win. My focus is on giving support, giving perspective. On reading. On finding the strengths in other people and giving them confidence to dare.
The biggest success factor I think is joy. Having fun in what I do. It shows, I guess…
What do you recommend to the new writers on ILLUMINATION?
Read, read, and read.
Write, write, and write.
Connect to others. Keep learning and growing as a writer. And stick with it for a while. I just completed my first year on Medium, but I think only after two or three years you’ll really see the results.
What are your plans as a writer?
I’m working on a book around my central motto: “Let’s restore ecosystems and learn how to live within planetary boundaries.”
I want to write more fiction. Touching the hearts of my readers.
And I’ll always be out there and combine my writing with practical action.
Thank you for your valuable time, Desiree. I learn a lot from your informative and engaging stories. I look forward to reading more stories from your creative pen. Your participation in our Slack channel also means a lot to me and is greatly appreciated by our writers. You are an inspiration to our writers and readers on ILLUMINATION.
You may also check writer bio by Desiree Driesenaar from the attached story.
If you are a writer on ILLUMINATION and would like to be interviewed, please send a request via this link with the title of “Interview Request”.
Other Interviews
You may also check other interviews I conducted with inspiring writers of ILLUMINATION recently. These stories can provide a great opportunity to learn more about our creative writers and connect with them.
Holly Jahangiri
Ming Qian
P.G. Barnett
Jill Ebstein
Bill Abbate
Kevin Buddaeus
Explore and connect with other engaging writers
You may also check other interviews that I conducted with inspiring writers of ILLUMINATION recently. These stories can provide a great opportunity to know more about our creative writers and connect with them easily.
About the Author
I am a technologist, postdoctoral researcher, author of several books, editor, and digital marketing strategist with four decades of industry experience.
I write articles on Medium, NewsBreak, and Vocal Media. On Medium, I established ILLUMINATION, ILLUMINATION-Curated, ILLUMINATION’ S MIRROR, ILLUMINATION Book Chapters, Technology Hits, SYNERGY, and Readers Hope publications supporting 18,000+ writers on Medium. You can join my publications requesting access here. You may subscribe to my account to be notified when I post on Medium. I share my health and well-being stories in my publication, Euphoria.
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