Writing

My venture into the world of writing has been an incredible journey.  Like most freelance writers, I do have a day job. As a matter of fact, I’ve been teaching since 1982.  Anyway, I stay pretty busy juggling time between my family, church, and kindergartners.  

I’ve always loved writing.  I was blessed to have a charismatic fifth grade teacher.  Whether it was adventures with her pet monkey or a field trip to the grocery store, she kept me excited about learning.   When our class started writing compositions, we had a fantastic class project.   The assignment was to write an original short story. Then, we bound it like a book and shared it with classmates.  My title was The Problem With Drugs. It was ironic because the only exposure that I had to drug abuse might have been from watching the TV shows “1Adam-12 “or “The Mod Squad. ”  I created a middle school drama with drug pushers, undercover cops and placebos.  It was such an incredible experience.  (And no, among the many things that I’ve kept in my memorabilia, I lost track of this. Yuck!)

I continued to write for fun through high school.  Life in college was full of adventure.  That’s when I started telling and then writing stories.  I shared them with friends and family, but never really did anything with them. 

When I started teaching in the 1980s, I incorporated stories into daily lessons with my students.  I continued to tell them so much that my husband gave me a beautiful gift.  He made a writing kit for me with all kinds of pens, paints, paper and writing tools.  He said that it was time to write them down. 

So, I have.  Lessons that I’ve learned are now speaking topics.  Some are being developed into songs. 

And, after realizing that one of my students had a mom who was writer, I joined a writing group and submitted  ”WindowSill Prayers” to Penned From the Heart. I was overwhelmed that they would accept it.  The 2009 issue includes my devotional about Labor Day, “Are You Weary?”  You can open up the link and order a book soon for 2010.                                                                                               

 (Order your copy today at www.gloriacover.com)

Last Spring, a friend (college professor, editor, etc.)  from my church put an announcement that she was looking for stories about mothers. She planned to use the proceeds to contribute to a local pregnancy refuge center (so that young moms could get support if they asked). I wrote, ”Saturday Morning Pep Rally,  about the weekly long distance phone calls that my mom and I share.  The timing was perfect. The book came out right before Mother’s Day.   

                                                                                                   

This summer, I began writing features, for our weeky shopper. I stumbled upon this opportunity when I called the paper to see if someone could cover a local event about reunion of of folks involved in pet rescue.  They didn’t have anyone available, so why didn’t I give it a try?   I was completely overwhelmed with the creative freedom that I was allowed. I am humbled to think of the people that I have met.  At first glance, they seem to have an “ordinary” life.  But after interviewing them, I discovered that the old adage is true: Everyone really does have a story.

My first love has always been writing stories of faith in God.  I was so excited when the editor asked me to submit weekly devotionals for their religion section.  My first piece, “Blindfolded in a Bumper Car,” I was blessed to write for Covington News for about a year.  I have posted all of my devotionals on the blog, but you can still enjoy reading a wonderful paper at  www.covnews.com.  My articles are probably archived. Look under religion and columnists.

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This Spring, I was approached by the editor and publisher of a new newspaper, The Rockdale News.  Currently, I write the weekly religion feature and devotional.  Our paper is brand new.  You can open the link, enter my name in the search box and read my articles.  I have had the privilege to help write other articles as our community embraces our publication.  It is a true joy to learn more about the people in our town.  Check it out at www.rockdalenews.com

I have developed strong friendships with the writers in EMACW (East Metro Atlanta Christian Writers) here in town.  I’ve learned so much through our workshops, guest speakers, conferences and website. We’d love to have you join us. Check out our website at www.emacw.org

I have no idea what the future holds. But that’s alright, I know who holds the future.  So, I’ll keep writing for Him.