Writer Focus

Sex, Drugs, Scrabble and a Freshly Washed Kitty

New writer spotlight and update on June writing challenges

Today’s selection of stories includes a very personal look at the impact of peer pressure, a helpful accounting of just what happens when we “log in with Facebook”, some reminders of the power of gratitude, plus an article that I suspect just might be ghostwritten by a mischievous canine.

Flip over all your Scrabble tiles and be grateful that you can put off washing the cat while you read through today’s helpful articles!

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 about the profound impact of peer pressure. Adelaide-Speaks tells a sobering story of a loved one who’s life has been negatively impacted by listening to advice from people considered to be friends.

Not for the faint of heart, but also not to be missed, please read this first-hand account of how things can go terribly wrong:

Next, perhaps as a method of finding some catharsis in ourselves, is a great reminder to practice gratitude in our daily lives. Delaney Closs does a great job of explaining the benefits of practicing gratitude, plus give us some excellent tips on just how to work gratitude into our daily routine:

Does your subconscious ever naggingly ask you if you really know what you are getting into by using Facebook or other platforms to log into user accounts on other websites? Mine tries to on occasion but I tend to ignore it and click on the easy button anyway.

Fortunately, Joydwip Mohajon has taken the time to find out all the specifics and just what data we are sharing every time we use an existing platform to log into third party site. Also, fortunately, he shares it with us here:

Now, from the “this sounds so crazy that it can’t possibly be true” category, a story about how a sportscaster has turned stock day trader in the wake of Coronavirus and seems to be knocking it out of the park with his earnings.

Sajiv Shah shares the story of how the founder of Barstool Sports, Dave Portnoy, claims that his investment tactics are proving to be better than Warren Buffett’s — at least over the last few months. Read all about how to make a fortune in the stock market using arbitrary means of prediction here:

And finally, the story we have all been waiting for… A how-to guide on the most proper way to wash your cat.

There seems to be some logical reasoning and solid advice in here, but I can’t help but think that there might be some ulterior motives at play behind the scenes. But don’t worry, the loud howls just signify how much your kitty is enjoying playing in the “bath”. TanyaIv provides us with the purrfect directions for cleanliness 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 is Bob Jasper. Bob is a regular and routine contributor of stories and is a great supporter of other writers on the platform. He likes to dabble a bit in poetry, and I like to read his commentaries on current events as well as contributions to many of the writing prompts.

Here is one story that I really liked about being gassed in riot. It probably isn’t exactly the story you think, so give it a read 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.

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:

Audrey Del Prete, Mary Lynne Carpenter, Sagarluhana, Arabella Ventoux, N.J. Elliott, G.Lodhia, Priyanka Mane, Saul Hope-Robinson, Antoine Blodgett, Aicha Tohry, Dreamer’s Way, Isabelle Drury, PTSD Engineer, Marne Platt, JM Piqué, Wendy Smith, Dhruv Kapadia, Alessandro Crimi, Josh Kiev, Gary Stroschein, Zoe, Mitchell Barber, Peter Crowe, Mabel Osejindu, Anusha Subramanian, Martin D. Hirsch, Tom Handy, Shadeeb Hossain, Mercedes Yañez,

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!

If you liked this article, you may also like:

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.