Tonight I did something I always try to avoid at any cost.
The idea of talking to a group of people makes me lose sleep, no matter the group or the subject. In my
public speaking class in college I considered it a success as long as I didn’t
pass out during my speech. Whenever I present to a group my face heats up and turns a lovely shade of red. I hate it. I know people see it, but no matter how hard I try to
psych myself out there’s nothing I can do to prevent it from happening.
Two weeks ago, a fellow NaNoWriMo participant invited me to
a creative writing group near my house that meets once a week. When he asked I was
elated – just the thing I’ve been looking for! But, then the reality of it set
in. I would be sharing my writing, MY writing, to a group of other writers face to face.
That is scary.
Well, I sucked it up and went to the meeting. I’m so glad I did.
Red faced, with a shaky voice, I read out loud an excerpt of my NaNoWriMo novel
to them. The responses rocked my socks! Also, the pieces everyone else read
were amazing. I never realized how much I could learn by listening to
discussions of writing, any writing. When I left I was giddy and proud of
myself.
For me, it was truly a fear conquered. Can’t wait until next
time!
Picture found here.
