Storywriters | Called to Write
Storywriters meets on the second Monday of each month at the Richland Public Library, from 1:15pm - 2:45pm. All are welcome.
STORYWRITERS
Called to unite writers and share life’s narratives
by: Angela Miller
An Arizona vacation, a good friend, a new friend, and what some might call “fate” was all it took for Mary Jackson Rickard to formulate the idea for a group called “STORYWRITERS.”
While snow-birding in Mesa, Arizona, not that long ago, Mary Jackson Rickard busied herself with new activities each day at the 55-and-over village resort where she and her husband were staying. Under the warm Arizona sun, Mary circled up with a group of seniors and participated in their gathering of storytellers. Thinking a similar group might be a great addition to the Tri-Cities, Mary called her longtime kayaking buddy, Mickey Hunacek, who shared a love of writing and even had a couple of self-published books. Their ideas started to flow! Coincidentally, Mickey’s hair stylist knew of another local lady who also shared their passion for writing and was a published author. After a few nervous attempts to craft the perfect email, Mickey finally reached out to Linda Moore. Working together, the three ladies created the group “STORYWRITERS.”
STORYWRITERS began meeting in September, 2022, with just seven people in attendance. Each month, this free-to-the-public group chooses a different theme to focus on; writing tips are shared, and a “read around” is facilitated to give individual writers a chance to share their work aloud. While participants are not required to share, the goal of STORYWRITERS is to help new writers feel comfortable enough to share, speak, and publish. The on-going challenge that the three founding women pose to the participants is to submit work for some sort of publication, then to celebrate both successes and rejections. At first, STORYWRITERS hosted guest speakers on a monthly basis, but has since switched to a quarterly rotation. Guest speakers have included English professors, noted published authors, poets, and publishers. Monthly themes have included evolving as an author, critiquing, outlining, character development, and more. Additionally, writing prompts are assigned before each meeting to inspire writers’ personal stories. Upon completion of a year’s worth of writing assignments, then, each writer should have a good outline of personal work to pursue for legacy writing, a way of documenting and preserving personal experiences and values for future generations.
Storywriters: Left to right | Mickey, Mary & Linda
All three women share a devout faith in the Lord and believe that they have been brought together, largely at the calling each of them felt from God, to pursue the love of writing. “God knew I needed friends!” Linda recalls feeling that love upon receiving Mickey’s first email when the timing was serendipitous.
Mickey Hunacek
Mickey Hunacek has been married for fifty-one years and has two children and seven grandchildren. While most of her career time was spent in the field of science, Mickey recalls doing a lot of writing while working as a radiological scientist. Mickey’s blog of twelve years, “Banquet With The King,” has been her creative outlet and has contributed to her self-published book, Parenting Day by Day Devotional for Building Character. Mickey also self-published a children’s book entitled Coins of the Bible.
Linda Moore
For most of her adult life, Linda Moore had never considered herself a writer. Having been discouraged to pursue writing at a young age, it wasn’t until her older years that Linda felt guided by God to try her hand at it again. “God said [to me], ‘Speak up and write!’” thus realizing her purpose to write had been within her all along. Linda is the author of three publications: Write Your Story and Launch Your Legacy; Write Your Story and Launch Your Legacy Journal; and When Love Shows Up which will come out later this year. Linda has been married for twelve years, has one daughter, and two grandchildren.
Mary Jackson Rickard
Mary Jackson Rickard, a native to Tri-Cities, has been married for fifty-eight years, and has three sons and seven grandchildren. Although her career revolved around interior design, Mary always had a love for writing. As a young girl she would go around to neighbors getting the latest scoop about the neighborhood happenings. She’d then write a newsletter and sell it back to her neighbors. She also kept diaries from age nine through her high school years. Mary is currently working on her legacy, documenting her life from age two until the present. She plans to publish it in the next five years, leaving a beautiful story for her children and grandchildren to read.
When asked what roles each woman takes on within the group, they all agree that they switch off, each contributing her own talents and gifts. Mary, Mickey, and Linda hope to see continued growth for STORYWRITERS–to reach and inspire more local writers–because, as their slogan states, “Everyone has a story!”