Embarking on a New Adventure

 

         A few months ago I was dropping Griffin's lunch off at school (because he forgot it, of course) and his teacher introduced me to local author that was visiting the class named Susan Nees. We shook hands and chatted for a moment about the fact that I was working on a novel. She asked me if I was in a writer's group. I should go ahead and tell you that the whole concept of a writer's group scares me for various reasons. So when she invited me to sit in with a group that she meets with, I conveniently "lost" her phone number. 

        Fast forward to last week when I was cutting a friend's hair in my kitchen. M.J. is a fellow writer and general badass. We love chatting about our writing and she casually mentioned her writer's group. It turns out that she is in the same group with Susan. It felt almost serendipitous and so I decided that I would be brave and attend the next meeting.

      All attendees are invited to read 10 pages to the group and get feedback. That idea felt so daunting to me but I was determined to do it.  A few days later MJ let me know that she would be showing up late and that Susan wasn't going to be able to go the meeting. This meant that I'd be entering a house full of strangers and reading my work aloud for the first time in years to people I didn't know. I wanted to back out.

     My heart wouldn't let me. I need this group. I need support from other writers. So I put on my big girl panties and went. It was awesome! The ladies in the group were so welcoming and kind. My voice quivered when I first started reading but I felt more at ease as each word escaped my lips.

    I got great feedback. Also, it was so inspiring to be surrounded by writers and listen to their work. I left the meeting feeling like a million bucks. Yesterday I became an official member of the group. They want to hear more of my story! It feels good to be accepted. I'm so excited to embark this on journey with fellow writers by my side.