Critique Group & Beta Readers update from the weekend. GAH!!!

My thoughts are still a bit fuzzy from the weekend but I gotta say it was a life changing one.  I'll start w/ Saturday.

Yep I was totally nervous, my writers meeting ran longer than normal & it cut into the critique time.  When we assembled ourselves for critiquing we had to rush. I was in the frame of mind "i'm going first to get it over with." So I did just that. Was I scared & nervous, hell yeah I was. My legs were trembling, I'm sure my hands were too but I blocked it all out, sucked it up & went thru my reading. Yep I literally sat there & read it out loud. Mind you the people around me, most, are experienced writers and/or published authors. (you know the real deal).  Anyway, i was reading then the lady running the critique says "STOP we need time for everyone else. First of all your formatting sucks." (I don't think those were her exact words but that's the version in my head ok.)  I now know what she meant by formatting & it means just that, the format, the layout, spacing, font, idents, etc. The overall presentation.  Honestly I totally deserved "your format sucks" because what I did is fit as much as I could in the the 5 pages I presented to them.  Indents: non existent, spacing: don't remember, font: i thinks it was times new roman, margins: whatever I could fit into the page. And so yeah, it sucked.

Now on to the good stuff. She said I write well. Phew!!! is what i said in my mind. Then she said (along w/ the other person assisting her) that she wished there was time to read more. As a writer that's exactly what you want to hear. I was stunned, along with shocked, happy, relieved, etc. I had to wait for the others to finish & held it all in. The other writers were amazing, they sounded experienced & forget it their margins, indents & font confirmed everything mine was lacking. Ha!

When I got in my car, I called a very important person in my life & broke down. Why? Because it's been 3 years that I've been writing & that Saturday I'd made up my mind that after that critique, whether good or bad, I would make a decision about my writing. Whether it was going to be just a hobby or something I'd do for the rest of my life & eventually publish. I had to make a decision because I've got so many other things going on that are just as important as my writing. That day would confirm if i was going to prioritize my writing or put it on the back-burner (if it was only a hobby).

It's not a hobby, it's my passion & after the weekend it's up there right next to the other important things I've got going on. I'm going to make it all work! I'm not worried about the the formatting because it can be learned but the "telling" of a good story, I believe, cannot. And that's what I consider myself 'a story teller.' Sometimes I don't feel the writer title fits because I think it's a title that should be earned. So kiddies my goal is to publish one day.  I want all of  you to fall in love w/ my characters.

Sunday, my Beta Readers gathering was great. I loved sharing w/ them. I modified the meeting to fit my need at this time.  I read out loud to a group of about 9 (a mix of preteens, teens & adults) & got a wonderful response.  My goal was to see if the readers were connecting w/ my characters & if they could "feel" my writing. They did.  Of course, I got some feedback on what I can improve & that's exactly what I wanted from them.  I left them wanting more & they can't wait till we meet again. Yes that's an amazing feeling.  I want them to want more & I can't wait to share it with them.

So yep I feel great. The weekend has confirmed that this is what I'm destined to do & there's no stopping me. I'm excited & scared about the next steps to come. I intend to pitch it to an agent, after I do more self-editing & get a handle on formatting. I've got my work cut out (so does my sidekick/sister, the best proofreader I could have.)

I'm glad to share this w/ you & if anyone reading has ever considered writing or doing anything that was scary & risky, I hope this blog inspires you to take the plunge. Nothing worthwhile is easy, not sure who's quote that is but it's dead on.  The fear & doubt, once overcome, makes you stronger. This weekend was my baby step in this writing world, I'm ready to tackle the rest, which I'm sure will make my baby step seem insignificant. And that's ok because this baby step & many others to come, will get me to the next step & eventually get my story in the hands of people.

"Sometimes you just have to put yourself out there."

Thanks for reading. Would love to hear from you.

Gigi ∞