Friday, January 30, 2009

Change has come

My weekly column Wright Words of Wisdom, featured in their Sunday edition will have its last run on Sunday 1st February.Below is a copy of the emailI I sent to those readers who have contacted me since the column debuted in September 2006.

The Trinidad Guardian "streamlining their cadre of freelance writers" - their words. They have terminated the services of several of their freelancers, and I am on that list.

Although I was half expecting it, now that it has actually happened, I still feel a bit lost. The column was so many things to me. It marked my transition from fulltime employment to fulltime writing - a long-held dream. It confirmed my purpose and my message. Although I have been writing for publication since 1998, the rhythm of writing an article every week helped me develop my writing style and fine-tune my voice.

To a certain extent, the column defined me. It was the focus of my day after I my morning devotions (Bible reading, prayer, meditation and journaling) and taking care of my daily chores. Even more important, at the center of all that were the readers who emailed me every week with thanks, with their own stories, with encouragement to keep writing and sometimes even with requests for a copy of my book.

For the last two years, I’ve been thinking of upgrading my skills and my writing qualifications. The Writer’s Bureau had been sending me a prospectus for their writing courses for several years. I was interested but never made a decision. When the prospectus for their journalism course came three weeks ago, I decided that it was time to move. I took my own advice in an article I wrote recently, and enrolled. These are hard economic times and the perfect time for upgrades even as the global economy is spiraling downward.

While I still have miscellaneous assignments for online publications, they don’t require the kind of daily discipline the weekly column demanded. So I have ample time to devote to the comprehensive 28-module course and I am aiming to complete it in three years instead of four. That’s my main priority after which comes that book. I plan to work on it in earnest. My blogs need attention – more regular postings. I will keep writing and submitting my work for publication both online and in print. Then I have two other activities that are more than mere interests. They are passions I have only recently renewed – photography and art.

In my articles I often encourage readers to have a support system as they contemplate, plan and embark on their own journeys. I have mine – a cheering section that won’t let me forget who is steering my life, who I am, what I have already accomplished, what I can do and what I am passionate about. With that kind of support there is no time to second guess myself, procrastinate or give in to fear. I look forward to stretching myself and expanding my boarders.

So I move on – not forgetting but fondly remembering the stage of my life that has just passed and all the people who have shared it with me and helped to make it enjoyable, successful and above all, memorable.

Thank you for the encouragement you’ve been to me. I hope to see your name in my Hotmail Inbox and in the comment section on my blogs: Perspectives on Life, Cheryl Wright Writes and Quiet Time with God.

God bless you.

Have you been considering or facing changes with regardto your writing? Come on now, you know you're not alone. Bring your stories into the comment section and let's support and encourage one another.

2 comments:

Joanne said...

Hi Cheryl, When I started writing, it was strictly fiction. I kept my focus very narrow, but as the years passed, I branched out into nonfiction/memoir as well as general interest essay type of articles I've published locally. What I've found as I've ventured out is that my skills and credits have grown, my writing improved al around, and I'm happier for it. And then there's the blog, the latest change. It's grown into a presence in my life that I hadn't expected, and again it's opened doors that otherwise I'd have never even known existed. So for me, change, as it has come along with my writing, has always brought along good. And I'm sure, with your attitude and skills, you'll find the same thing!

Cheryl Wright said...

Thank you for sharing your own changes with regard to your writing. Thank you for your encouraging words.

I'm so glad I created the blogs because now I have fellow bloggers and writers to share my changes with knowing that I am neither alone nor without support.

In the short time since we met, your writing has stirred a new kind of quiet energy within me that makes it easier to move forward.

 
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