Writer Focus
You Would Be Positively Mad to Ship a Whale Across the World. Don’t Try
New writer spotlight and update on June writing challenges
Today we find out what a “magic click” is, air mail a marine mammal around the world, take a look at vulnerability and make some time to get mad!
Don’t just try to read all these stories from great new Illumination writers; get in there and do it!
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 rather weight endeavor, flying whales and whale sharks across the globe to their new home. Yep, you heard that right, flying whales.
Noah Simonich lets us in on the tips and techniques that a master load manager for UPS uses to transport unique and valuable cargo around the globe. I found this article to be incredibly eye opening, as I have never considered shipping such a large creature in an airplane. Definitely worth your time to read if only for the novelty of the concept:
In this next piece, MillennialMind examines why it can be so hard for people to open up and communicate, even though we have had people literally begging us to do so since birth.
This is an excellent analysis of how vulnerability plays such a key role in our relationships and definitely an inspirational read:
Next is another inspirational article that looks at the components that work together to motivate us to tackle things we may not initially feel the desire or capability to do.
John Nugent calls it “The Magic Click” and explains how we are far more motivated and successful when we find it in this great piece:
Next is a nifty little poem that I really like, in part, because the writer, Josh Lonsdale does all of his own artwork for his stories. I was drawn in by the picture on this one, and ended up reading several of his pieces and admiring the art.
Give Josh’s work a read by starting out with this story:
And finally, a piece by Luís Próspero that analyzes whether he really is where he wants to be in life. I am sure he knows it, but pretty much all of us ask ourselves that question at some point or other in life. I particularly like how Luis tackles the question and how he uses quotes from Charles Bukowski.
Bukowski is credited with one of the most understated but powerful piece of advice, “Don’t try”, and in fact it is emblazoned on his gravestone. Without context, it might seem like a defeatist slogan, but the powerful part of the idea is that you shouldn’t “try” things, but rather do them. Luis did, and he has this excellent piece of writing to show for it:
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 writer that has been with Illumination from the beginning is Michele Thill. Michelle drive is to help other women with some of life’s challenges and in doing so she has become a supportive and nurturing presence on Illumination for everyone, not just women.
Michelle has been quick to respond to Dr Mehmet Yildiz‘s challenge to produce an article that highlights some of our best stories (I need to get on mine soon). I think this is a great opportunity to let Michelle take you on a tour of her best writing herself!
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:
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:
Alloyce Lugoma, Isaiah McCall, Sahar Sharjeal, Andrew Poletto, Smruti Hingnikar, Sri Harsha, Ali, Ms. Rai, Rebecca Stevens, TheSkepticalStatistician, Peggy Nazer, Ilya Frid, MS, Jeremy Sam, Rochelle Newman, Nick Baldomar, Taha Rasool, Steve Hutchins, Sakshi Kharbanda, Bo Stapler, MD
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.
