Writer Focus

Why Getting Naked in a Thrift Store Just Might be a Great Idea

New writer spotlight and update on June writing challenges

If you have never been naked in a sauna, then you are definitely going to want to check out one of our stories today! Plus, we are going to visit the thrift shop with all the millennials, go sky diving and explore the difference between good ideas and great ones.

And, I waived my “no articles about Coronavirus” rule just for today because there is one article about vaccines that you definitely need to read. We also have a first ever full-circle writer connection as someone jumps from “new” to “established”.

Grab your coin purse, leave those pesky clothes at home and let’s go find some great stories by writers new to Illumination!

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 out with a trip to the sauna — sans clothing. Rebecca Stevens Alder regales us with her experience being naked in a sauna for the first time; and many subsequent times since.

Read her account of what it is like to disrobe and get steamy (in a G-rated way) with others:

Another “first ever” event is that I am featuring two articles from the same writer, Rebecca Stevens Alder, because I just couldn’t choose between the two.

In this second piece, Rebecca jumps off a cliff and lives to tell about it. Not only that, she loved it so much that she signed up for more, and may have you looking for places to heave yourself over the edge when you read this:

Next, Steve Hutchins introduces us to the thought that good ideas are actually very different from great ideas. In other words, great ideas aren’t just good ideas that go “viral” but rather a different concept all on their own.

Steve suggests that a hallmark of a great idea is the initial reluctance of others to accept it as fact. Find out why that is important, and the other earmarks of great ideas here:

Next it’s time for that trip to the thrift store. What’s that? You don’t shop in thrift stores? Well, you might be one of the few who doesn’t, and perhaps you will change your mind after reading Isaiah McCall‘s great observation piece.

Find out why more and more folks are finding the value, quality and uniqueness of the offerings at thrift stores are cause for abandoning the chain stores and massive discount retailers here:

And finally, in spite of my tendency to stay away from Coronavirus articles in this feature, there was one that was so well written and spot-on that it simply deserves having your eyes on it.

Written by internal and pediatric medicine specialist, Bo Stapler, MD, this piece sheds some illuminating revelation on what we can expect when a Coronavirus vaccine is finally released, and how we can arm ourselves with the best information about how well a vaccine might actually work.

Find out why a rush to find a vaccine may not actually be as beneficial as it might seem 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.

Today we have a case of something (or someone) coming full circle in the Illumination world. Since the publication has only been around for about 4 months, it doesn’t take long to become an established and tenured contributor.

Eli Snow just happens to fall into that category now, but it wasn’t too long ago that I featured her as one of our new writers with this great piece about mind control and cats. Eli shares in her bio that cats are a definite part of her life, so it is no surprise that they play a role in her writing. Here is a poem that attests to such.

Butt (yes), one of her other more entertaining pieces features beavers. More specifically, beaver excretions. I don’t want to flavor the subject any more than that, you just need to read her story 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:

Grace’s corner, Urvi Karani, Articulista, Amit Khandelwal, Manu Chatterjee, Nadine Clay, M.Ed., Sabeena, Brandon Sarmiento, Rebecca Blume, Kristin Wilson, Jasmine Poulton, Maham Saeed, Matthew Taylor, Libby Mitchell, Zach J. Watson, Brandon Anderson, Azraa Zackeriya, Lara Lauson, Shaun Wetzel, Bilal, Doug Sandlin, Rebecca Murauskas, Kaitlyn, Alexander M. Combstrong,

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.