Cebu Writers' Guild: Status Update

Hello Steemians!

I had my fair share of inactivity here, so I think I should compel myself to have an update of the current status of Cebu Writers' Guild. This is to keep everyone involved, whether direct or indirect, to be informed with the activities related to the guild.

This post will serve as a recap of the three successful sessions so far, as well as the activities for the week and future projections that we envisioned. The guild started with me as the initiator/facilitator with the aim of having an avenue for Cebuano steemians to share what they have in terms of writing and learn from those who are ahead in their chosen field. I was not really expecting something from this initiative. This is more of a personal social experiment as to who will respond to my call. I was amazed that there are those who really answered and they are consistently present in all of the sessions.

Before we go any further, I would like to give a shoutout to these amazing steemians. Without them, Cebu Writers' Guild would just end up with me, sitting in a cafe while reading or writing. That would be a boring and painful scene to watch! To @morken, @indayclara, @christianyocte, @steembytes, @ryancalaunan, @carlitojoshua, @thian2817, and @liamnov, thank you so much for your time and effort! Also a huge shoutout to @smaeunabs and @josephace135 for joining in the second session.

I hope that you will still be with me, regardless of where this guild will lead us (char...drama...). With your response, I became more excited to push this initiative further. I had a lot of realizations during our sessions and I think I can apply them in the future to make the guild more stable and sustainable. I observed that my aspirations for the guild have been slowly manifesting. I can tell by observing how you behaved in your personal blogs.

As much as I wanted this initiative to be separated from me and grow on its own, we can't deny that I should still treat it like a baby. The fluidity of the structure indicates that we still have a long way to go before we can say that all of our goals have been achieved. But we are going there. The third session in itself is the greatest evidence that the guild has been slowly detaching from me. If it can stand on its own, I would be the proudest person in the world!

Too much of the drama, here are the guild's milestones so far (I don't know if we can call them milestones since it's still too early to tell, but I lack a better term.):

Introduction

---

I posted the guild's introduction a month ago as a response to @morken's call to have a weekly meet up for steemians in Cebu. I introduced it both as a personal initiative and a social experiment. You can read more about the introduction here:

_{https://steemit.com/writersguild/@ybanezkim26/cebu-writers-guild-an-initiative-and-a-social-experiment}

I made it a personal initiative because I don't want to get bugged too much with the technicalities of having a formal group together with its rigid structure and defined members. I didn't make a communal account for this just like in @steemsummit because I still treated it as part of me. Maybe in the coming weeks if it becomes a formal group, I would be forced to create a communal account with its moderators and guest writers.

As a social experiment, I wanted to observe how people behave in physical interactions compared to how they present themselves in their personal blogs. This is more of understanding the basics of people's motivation as to why they continued using steemit.

First Session

---

I announced the first session in a manner that all the details are laid out, but without any expectation that people will show up. You can read the first session announcement here:

_{https://steemit.com/writersguild/@ybanezkim26/cebu-writers-guild-first-session-announcement}

To my amazement, eight people showed up and it was a fruitful discussion! I never imagined that someone would show up in that session. It might be that you can consider eight as few compared to the total number of steemians in Cebu, but please consider that these people are the most active. I was not after for the quantity because I wanted the session to be personal and intimate. In this way, the lessons are learned from the heart. It would be difficult to achieve that goal if we are in a big crowd.

The session was successful and it was an eye-opener for me. I realized that there will always be people who are always hungry to learn and hone their craft and I wanted to tap to them. Their potential is limitless.

You can read some of the sessions here:

_{Image courtesy of @indayclara. https://steemit.com/meet-up/@indayclara/cebu-writer-s-guild-an-awesome-first-session}

_{Image courtesy of @carlitojoshua. https://steemit.com/meet-up/@carlitojoshua/cebu-writers-guild-or-inspiring-first-session}

_{Image courtesy of @christianyocte. https://steemit.com/meetup/@christianyocte/ulog-6-cebu-writers-guild-and-my-alter-ego}

Second Session

---

I announced the second session in the same format and intention as the first session. The only difference this time is that Ma'am @liamnov offered to have the second session in their humble abode. You can read about the second session here:

_{https://steemit.com/writersguild/@ybanezkim26/cebu-writers-guild-second-session-announcement}

As mentioned in the shoutout above, the session was graced with two other esteemed steemians: @smaeunabs and @josephace135. I became the first facilitator with the topic: Different Writing Styles. There's nothing special about the topic since it was discussed in our high school years. It's just a refresher, in case we forgot those different writing styles. Perhaps the session became special when we answered the questions "Why are you writing?" and "Who are your intended audience?".

Another thing, because of the fluidity of the session, @morken was able to discuss the ways on how to effectively promote steemit to people and @indayclara was able to share about her personal initiative which is "The Awesome SMILE Project". In this way, the guild is near to its goal of being an avenue where potential leaders are given a time to shine.

Third Session

---

This is another milestone. It's because I didn't announce the session guidelines. It was @morken who accepted the challenge and posted the anouncement. It was because I was sick and I lacked the motivation to write. You can read @morken's third session announcement here:

_{https://steemit.com/writersguild/@morken/cebu-writers-guild-third-session-announcement}

I was not able to attend the session which was facilitated by @morken, @indayclara, and @josephace135. I went to Carcar the night before and I was not able to get back on time due to the unbearable traffic. They still continued the session without me and I am so proud of that! As mentioned above, I wanted the guild to continue on its own, even without me.

As to what I hear, there were 20 people in attendance! It signifies that the guild is growing! I hope that it will continue to be that way.

Activity this Week

---

As agreed in the second session, there will be no session for this week to support @indayclara's initiative. The Awesome SMILE Project will happen tomorrow and the details can be found here:

_{Image courtesy of @indayclara. https://steemit.com/charity/@indayclara/the-awesome-smile-project-bringing-hope-and-love-to-the-street-kids-of-cebu-philippines}

_{Image courtesy of @indayclara. https://steemit.com/charity/@indayclara/the-awesome-smile-project-update-on-financial-status-2-0}

Since it's a community outreach program that aims to help underprivileged children in Cebu, it's close to my heart. I have been involved in many civic and socio-cultural programs due to my mother organization. Programs like @indayclara's initiative deserved a spotlight and our utmost support.

The guild paved a way, although indirectly, for projects like this to be initiated. The members of the guild became committee members and will serve different functions in tomorrow's activity. I will be involved in the food committee tomorrow and will be the in-charge in the feeding program. With that, I would like to announce that the puto flan is ready for tomorrow as my personal contribution for the food.

It will be a fun and exciting event!

Future Activities

---

We discussed a few days ago about the future of the guild. I came up with an idea that could be pursued in the future. This is related to stimulating the members to write more about different subjects related to communities and to the society as a whole. It will be like a field trip.

I hope that I can gain support so that I could shoulder some of the costs related to this trips. Details will be posted soon!

You can help by upvoting my posts related to Cebu Writers' Guild. Rest assured that the funds are liquidated. We have done that in @steemsummit so I think I can also do that in the guild. I value transparency and accountability. That's the only way to prevent abuse because those who are held accountable will think twice before making a move.

Parting Words

---

I will be posting updates related to the guild. This is my way of making myself accountable to what I've started. Announcements can be made by the likes of @morken or @indayclara so please stay updated.

Cebu Writers' Guild Founder
Kim