Writer Focus

That Time I Rocked the Neon Green Speedo at the Sexy Pool

New writer spotlight and update on June writing challenges

I am glad you swung by because you are in for a rocking good time today with a poem that provides images way beyond the scope of its words, some lessons learned in an arranged marriage and a vacation story that includes topless librarians. Hard to find better reading than that!

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

Our first story today provides us with a peek inside an arranged marriage and the relationship that grows out of a planned coupling rather than “love at first sight”. Let Manish Jain share some of the insights he gained while getting to know a relative stranger that was suddenly a spouse.

Manish provides some of the lessons forged in a crucible of relationship that went directly from talking on the phone to living together as spouses. It’s an excellent read for anyone, regardless of marital status:

The next piece is a bit rocky, but I think you will love it. I did.

Let Julie Ranson share what she learned after a snotty kid with a (presumably) purple bedroom absconded with some of Julie’s hand painted decorative rocks. Julie found out that joy tends to boomerang right back, and that happiness comes from sharing our gifts, not hoarding them:

I am going to admit that I struggle a bit in interpreting and enjoying poetry. Often what are probably exceptionally good poems slip by me unnoticed. But today that did not happen at all. The title of this piece grabbed me and pulled me in and I am grateful for the serendipity of the moment.

Please enjoy James G Brennan‘s poem about a Lived In Face:

And finally, an unforgettable experience told with just enough humility to allow us to laugh and cringe along with the tale like we were actually there.

Join Nathan Patrick Brown, his sister, and his cousin as they take a trip to Cancun and unknowingly book a stay in a swingers’ resort. You are in for a sexy time at the pool:

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.

One of the steady presences behind the scenes at Illumination is definitely writer and editor Karen Madej 💛. While she has been occupied with some big projects off the Medium platform for a bit, she continually is checking in with the editors and volunteering to fill in wherever she can.

Karen provides us with a powerful observation on materialism and the quest for the “perfect” life. She noted at a certain point in her life that, “I’d achieved everything I’d desired and realized it meant nothing.”

Karen come to learn that, “Life is too darn short to waste time on unimportant, shallow activities.” Sometimes that is easier to say than do though, so please read Karen’s story about how she concentrates on the meaningful in life and ignores the quest for perfection 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, and a musical prompt.

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

Sherry McGuinn

Tree Langdon ♾️

B. A. Cumberlidge.

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:

William Pardo, Estelle Bardon (MyLibook), Adriana M, Liz Bailey, Manar M. Rashad, Mina Ali, Thomas Hahn, Fọlábòmí Àmọ̀ó, Lynda Coker, Dario Navarro, Nehal Sharma, Luke Naughton, Fleurine Tideman, Ono Mergen, Charles de Basto, David Spero Rn, Harsh Sohi, Aariyanislam, Ariful Islam, Baraa Ghandour, Vic Alcuaz, Kenneth Johnson, Rebecca Andrews, J-Shine✨, Yvette, Jackson Mark Tandy, Apollonia Torres, Under Pi (3.14) Minutes, Jojo, Derek London, Coco London, Cameron Engle, Ugur Cavus, Kira Bursky, Jim Zyko, Liz Bailey, Peachy Rose, Isy Goldsbrough, Alice Toneatto, aeriltrinidad, Clarke Hinds, Rob Wallace, Christopher Boswell,

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.