Writer Focus

One More Gin and Tonic on Bourbon Street? Sure, What Could Go Wrong?

New writer spotlight and update on June writing challenges

Today we take a look at TERFs, walk a mile in a crazy, discombobulated and wonderful life, head to New Orleans and become first-time parents in an unexpected tale.

Another great day of feature articles by new writers on Illumination waits. Put on your Zappos, clench your G&T and let’s set sail on adventure!

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

Today we start with a story by Wendy Smith who shines a bright spotlight on the strange times we find ourselves in due to Coronavirus. Wendy is one person who doesn’t relish going back to normal.

In fact, she suggests that when things in life get messy, it can lead to, “new and wonderful ways of living — and loving.” I think that is a great attitude and a fantastic way to kick off today’s feature. Give it a read here:

Two weeks ago, I heard the term “TERF” for the first time and had no idea what it meant. I did a little research and found out the basics; it is an acronym for trans-exclusionary radical feminist and is sometimes used as a slur. But it may not actually be one.

After reading Isabelle Drury‘s article, I know a lot more about the subject and feel like I have an even better understanding of discrimination that can take place, even inside groups where you might think it wouldn’t exist. This article is definitely worth your time to read:

Next is an article about a company I studied quite a bit in my MBA program. If you haven’t heard of Zappos, and their unique corporate culture, you really should read up on it.

Fortunately, Dhruv Kapadia lays it all out for us in this instructional and interesting article about how business (and life) shouldn’t be about short term profits, but rather long term connections:

Yesterday in my feature I mentioned that I don’t always click on longer articles to read for my feature pieces. There are usually a lot of writers to look at and lots of reading. However, once again I have chosen a longer article because it is totally worth your time to read.

Not only that, but there are many exceptional illustrations done by the author, Anusha Subramanian, so if nothing else at least go through and look at the cool pictures. But, while pictures contain a thousand words, Anusha brings New Orleans to an even more vivid life though her words in this story:

To strike a little balance, here is a short piece that tells more of a story than you will find in just the words as well. I thought it was especially poignant for all of us writers, so give Mabel Osejindu‘s spot-on story a read here:

It is hard not to get pulled into by the subtitle on this one, “This is how my journey to fatherhood started, with a gin and tonic in my hand and my brain fuzzy with that tipsy haze.”

Okay, now you have a good idea about the beginning and the end of this story, but the middle goes somewhere you will never expect. Give Mitchell Barber a look and follow his very unique journey to fatherhood 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 for a bit.

Another great writer that has been on Illumination for a while and is a prolific contributor and supporter of other writers is Daniella Mini. Daniella’s native language is not English, but you wouldn’t know it by reading her work.

Daniella teaches pre-school, and I found this particular article to be very enlightening and an enjoyable read. I know you will too!

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.

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:

Chandni Dassani, Imran Bangash, Shivangi Agrawal, Bhali Gill, Tolu, Kevin Keeney, Mel Rie, Ali Qutmiera, Kate Fehlhaber, PhD, Elizabeth Kasujja, Alexander Simon, Around with A, Sheldon Clay.

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.