On Saturday, I went to a writers meet-up for the first time in around 3 years. Being an introvert, I was very nervous about being out in a public place with people I didn't know.
This sounds strange for a somebody who writes for the public, but really, writers aren't known to be people who know how to conduct themselves all that well in public. I don't really; as I'm more of a people-watcher. I observe human behavior to put into my books, than talk. But then again when I do talk, I find myself babbling and, well, I feel as though I talk too much.
So, meeting people somewhere isn't something I normally do. And there was only one person in the group I knew personally as a friend.
I arrived there at the Hyperdome early by around 15 minutes and waited outside the cafe. Man, it was so crowded! So, I jumped online and asked who was there - seeing I didn't know who these people were - and found none of them had arrived. It was around 5 minutes later that I began to feel self-conscious about being there on my own. But I waited, and about a minute or two later, Rebecca showed. Talk about relief! I told her I almost left because I was feeling like people were staring at me.
She didn't think was unusual, as she had been talking to another writer, who was showing up, and this other writer told her that I'd be really early and probably leave if somebody didn't show right on time.
You see, being out on my own and meeting people two different things. If I'm out on my own all day, I have no deadline; and I can do whatever I want. But, if I have to meet people, it's different. I feel self-conscious because I have to be somewhere with people I either know or I don't.
Well, there were three others who showed up at the meet-up, besides Rebecca and I, and we all had something to eat and some coffee (which wasn't all that great). We talked about books we were working on, how many books we had written since we last met-up, how we find out characters, where we best work, and how we work through the dreaded Writer's Block (which I'm just getting through the worst of right now).
We did have a first-time writer, who was full of questions on how each of us worked our stories and each of us told her how we got into it all. I told her about how I got to know my characters through an interview process I call 'The Red Chair', which works for me, but may not work for everyone. It works up a dossier for my characters and makes them more real.
But then, before we knew it, hours had passed and, one by one, we all had to go. I had volunteer work that afternoon. So, I had to go and run an errand or two before I did drive there. Overall, I'm glad I went on Saturday. It got me out of the house, talking to other writers and I did get myself some great ideas for my new book I'm currently working on.
So, have you been to a writers meet-up? If so, how did it go? Until my next post, happy reading and writing.
This sounds strange for a somebody who writes for the public, but really, writers aren't known to be people who know how to conduct themselves all that well in public. I don't really; as I'm more of a people-watcher. I observe human behavior to put into my books, than talk. But then again when I do talk, I find myself babbling and, well, I feel as though I talk too much.
So, meeting people somewhere isn't something I normally do. And there was only one person in the group I knew personally as a friend.
I arrived there at the Hyperdome early by around 15 minutes and waited outside the cafe. Man, it was so crowded! So, I jumped online and asked who was there - seeing I didn't know who these people were - and found none of them had arrived. It was around 5 minutes later that I began to feel self-conscious about being there on my own. But I waited, and about a minute or two later, Rebecca showed. Talk about relief! I told her I almost left because I was feeling like people were staring at me.
She didn't think was unusual, as she had been talking to another writer, who was showing up, and this other writer told her that I'd be really early and probably leave if somebody didn't show right on time.
You see, being out on my own and meeting people two different things. If I'm out on my own all day, I have no deadline; and I can do whatever I want. But, if I have to meet people, it's different. I feel self-conscious because I have to be somewhere with people I either know or I don't.
Well, there were three others who showed up at the meet-up, besides Rebecca and I, and we all had something to eat and some coffee (which wasn't all that great). We talked about books we were working on, how many books we had written since we last met-up, how we find out characters, where we best work, and how we work through the dreaded Writer's Block (which I'm just getting through the worst of right now).
We did have a first-time writer, who was full of questions on how each of us worked our stories and each of us told her how we got into it all. I told her about how I got to know my characters through an interview process I call 'The Red Chair', which works for me, but may not work for everyone. It works up a dossier for my characters and makes them more real.
But then, before we knew it, hours had passed and, one by one, we all had to go. I had volunteer work that afternoon. So, I had to go and run an errand or two before I did drive there. Overall, I'm glad I went on Saturday. It got me out of the house, talking to other writers and I did get myself some great ideas for my new book I'm currently working on.
So, have you been to a writers meet-up? If so, how did it go? Until my next post, happy reading and writing.
No comments:
Post a Comment