A Shiny Big Nickel by BigA888 (via Flickr) Some Rights Reserved
Seven years ago this week I moved my young family (my son was 2 1/2, my wife was 8 months pregnant) to Sudbury, Ontario (aka The Big Nickel) to start a new chapter in our life. Toronto and the surrounding area had become virtually unaffordable to live (especially with a growing family and one income). Sudbury offered a new job and a chance at one day owning a house. I left behind nearly 20 years of memories, friends and connections. Among those friends were many close writing friends that I had grown to rely on for advice, support and critiques.
Learning a new job and coping with a newborn left me exhausted. Although I continued to write, it wasn’t until I had been living here for the better part of 2 years that I began to reach out to other local writers. Between the Sudbury Writers’ Guild and the local Sudbury Region NaNoWriMo group that I began to cultivate a close knit group of writers that I could once again count on.
From that NaNoWriMo group in November 2008 a core group of writers began to coalesce into its own critique group. While it went through several iterations since its humble beginnings in late 2008, always at its core was Stephanie aka Steph. In the past 5 years I have come to count Steph as formidable writer and a close friend. She’s challenged me and the other writers in the group to up our game at every turn, all the while discovering her own voice as a writer.
I owe a lot of where I am as a writer to Steph. The reason I am singling her out here and not one of the many other writers that have influenced me over the years, is because Steph has started a new chapter in her own life this week. Late last night Steph boarded a plane, leaving this sleepy Northern Ontario mining town behind for a new beginning in Vancouver.
Myself and the rest of our writing family said our goodbyes to Steph earlier this week and while we were sad to see her go, we couldn’t be happier for this new chapter she is beginning. Just like the time was right for me and my family when we moved north to Sudbury 7 years ago, I am certain this is the right move for Steph. While 3000+ km may separate her and the rest of her ‘old’ writing group, thankfully we have the internet to keep in touch.
To Steph: I wish you all the best in this new chapter in your life and I look forward to flying to Vancouver in the near future to attend one of your book signings. 😉 Thanks again for your continued friendship and your parting ‘advice’ to “Keep writing”. I will.
You can check out Steph’s blog here – What I Write