Writer Focus

My Fears of Cat Poetry May Drive Me to Drink

New writer spotlight and update on June writing challenges

That’s right, cats! I know I have your attention now. Plus here are some great stories about trust, poetry, horror films and booze (now you are hooked for sure); and, all of this is from writers new to the Illumination Publication!

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 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).

Also, in this series I would like to keep a running list of any writing challenges going on in and around Illumination. That list will follow the feature articles below.

So, without further ado:

New Writer Spotlight

No matter where you are, it’s happy hour somewhere. That is why our first article today is one from Ash Jurberg and answers the question of why celebrities turn to alcohol — to sell at least (and let’s face it, probably to drink).

From Bryan Cranston and Aaron Paul’s Dos Hombres Tequila to the Ryan Reynolds backed Aviation Gin, it seems like plenty of celebrities are lining up for shots at making lots of dough selling booze. Check out the clever review a customer sent about Aviation Gin and learn which of your favorite celebs have a favored spirit in this piece:

Once you have a cocktail on board, it might be time to set your spine a-tingle with a thrilling horror film. Sandra Szubert explains the strange draw we have to horror films and the way a great film noir romances the viewer.

There is something alluring about a good thriller that gets your heart rate up and has you checking the shadows and under your bed before you go to sleep. Find someone to hold your hand if you need it, then dig into Sandra’s story here:

Just to show that I am not overly dog biased, here is a good cat tail (yes, I just did that). John O'Neill tells us right up front that he isn’t an animal lover, but by the end of the story you may be convinced that he is shining us on. At least a little bit.

Meet Max and Andy, two felines that warmed their way into one family’s heart and their ability to make their humans go the distance to do their feline bidding. Read about the “cattitude” here:

Next, Suellen Wheless Estes takes us along with her to Mac’s Tire Center to learn some lessons about building trust. I have to say that I share her opinion about the level of customer service that is probably available at your local tire store.

In an industry where margins are thin and brand loyalty probably isn’t as big a factor as the tire moguls would like, it is the customer service aspects — and in particular trust — that can set a business apart.

Spend a few moments with Suellen to learn how to take those lessons of customer service from the brick and mortar tire store and apply them to your virtual business here:

And finally, some poetry (are you listening Kevin, Salam and Dipti?). I tend to poke some light fun at the poets (probably because I am jealous), but I can appreciate the art and talent that goes behind producing poetry.

Gloria D. Gonsalves walks us through her process for creating a poem from inspiration to publication. I like this one because it describes what was bouncing around in Gloria’s head as she created a poem stirred by a trip to Italy. Get your metrical composition on here:

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 since the beginning (which wasn’t really all that long ago in the big scheme of things).

Someone that has been a writer and cheerleader for Illumination from the beginning and just recently took on editor duties as well is Arthur G. Hernandez. Arthur is active on Slack and another good person to have in your corner if you have questions or need assistance.

Arthur has also served as Illumination’s de-facto statistical analyst, keeping tabs on Illumination’s amazing progress and growth both in readership and views as well as with our team of writers as well. Even if you aren’t a number nerd, Arthur breaks down the facts for you and reports on Illumination’s progress here:

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, a musical prompt and most recently a query about what I would do if I suddenly became rich.

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

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:

Rabia Mustafa Regina Halmae, Jay Squires, Sowmya Sridhar, Stacy Belinsky, Geetika Sethi, Regina Halmae, Zheng ShaoBin, Ayushi Parekh, William Peter O’Neill, Csenge Bács, Alexander Yung, Hamidah.O, Aline Müller, Björn Jóhann, Jack Burt, Judson Hurd, Clive Ang, Fahmi Salman Nurfikri, Jor Amster, Alicia K., Anbu Zuberi, Mitul Bhat, Dayana Sabatin, Natalie Carroll, Adit Daftary, bravenewmatt, and Jacob R Meyers

If you want me to highlight one of your stories in particular, or have any questions just respond to this story, or better yet, hit my up 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.