Omega Writers | A Christmas Message from Penny Reeve

I don’t know about you, but this year seems to have flown by in a flurry of busyness and exhaustion.

Somehow, we have made it to December.

Christmas is settling in to be noticed and the New Year is peeking around the corner and inviting us to wonder.

Looking back, it’s easy to see that despite the ups and downs of the year, Omega Writers had a fabulous 2022.

• We had a wonderful in-person conference (how good was it to wander the beach before breakfast and a full day of writing chat, learning and encouragement?).
• Omega chapter groups have been growing and supporting local clusters of writers.
• We’ve had Zoom Masterclasses, the CALEB Awards (with the highest number and standard of fiction entries on record!) and lots of exciting plans going on behind the scenes to better serve our members.

And, we’re looking ahead to more growth, networking and encouragement for Christian writers in 2023.

It’s an exciting time to be an Omega Writers member.

And yet, sometimes the real growth isn’t so much evidenced in the external excitement. For a writer, the hard slog and perseverance that really pays off is often that work that happens in the unseen moments and the uncelebrated milestones.

• It’s turning up at the keyboard when there’s no one holding you accountable and getting those 200 words on the page.
• It’s weighing up a mountain of advice and sifting through to find the one or two action points that will build your platform to one of integrity, not just sales.
• It’s having the courage to set down a project that’s not quite working and gathering even more courage to start something brand, scary new.
• It’s those quiet chats to yourself when no one is listening that say ‘keep going’, ‘what you are writing is important’ and ‘you are a better writer now than you used to be’.

As Omega Writers, we are committed to being Australia’s Christian writers network.

That means we will hold the big events and celebrate the wins (big and small). But it also means we are there for the tough times and the quiet times. Because all of these are part of the Christian writers’ life.

So, as you celebrate the miracle of grace that is Christmas, and as you take time to take stock as the new year tiptoes in, Omega Writers would like to encourage you to keep writing. Keep setting goals, keep honing your craft, keep plotting and rewriting and polishing and deleting where needed.

But also, keep seeking quiet, small ways to encourage another writer along the way.

From the management of Omega Writers, may you have a blessed Christmas and a hope filled New Year!