It’s celebration time at my local writers guild. Over the weekend we had our annual Christmas party and everyone is celebrating another year of hard work while looking forward to a 2024 filled with opportunities.

Now I’ve been a member of national, state, and local writers guilds and I have to say — just like with government and business — local is always best!

I once paid lip service to the SCBWI because I released a couple of children’s books years back. But it didn’t really do much for me. I got accepted by Highlights magazine and the guild didn’t publish my notice (like they do) in their industry magazine, and they just didn’t seem to really bring anything to the table but fees. (Plus I fear they’re a bit WOKE. Like most mainstream garbage.)

Children’s books are highly politicized lately. No one cares that kids want to have fun and laugh. The industry is way too serious and seeks to impart their beliefs on the next generation. The days of no preaching are long gone. So I left that one.

The Missouri Writer’s Guild has been somewhat helpful to me. I’ve won a few awards through them, but they don’t offer any other perks except an annual conference that hosts authors who make less than I do writing. (Not to toot my own horn but I’m a full-time writer and I work in the industry every day).

Enter my local writer’s guild. They are the best. We meet once a month, have open-mics, writer walks, and other events that not only inspire us to keep working but also give us the support and community we need to succeed.

Writing isn’t a lonely profession when you connect with other authors, and the Saturday Writers is all about that.

So I love supporting them. I brought all 5 of my kids to the Christmas party (since families were invited) and they livened things up without destroying or spilling anything!

I went raffle crazy because again, I am all about supporting those who support others.

And something amazing happened–that was completely unexpected!

I actually won a basket full of writing awesomeness!

Talk about making the season bright!

I hope everyone is enjoying the holidays and celebrating all the effort they put into this year. Whether you write, draw, build things, or whatever, your work can and does matter.

Enjoy that and celebrate your awesomeness.