Reality kicks in ...

I participated in my very first Twitter chat, hurray!  For some people this is pretty commonplace, considering, that Twitter has been around for years.  But for me, it was a first, and, was fun.

Robert E. Brewer of Writer's Market has created the "2014 Get Started Write Challenge".  For each day this year, he plans to post a writing challenge and it's your mission to accept or not.  So far, I have completed 8/8 challenges, and I'm actually enjoying each one.  One of the things that I am finding quite helpful, and motivating, is that he is posting his attempts at each challenge.  It may sound a bit sappy, but, I feel like it is more of a group challenge, than a solitary venture.

The challenge for January 8th, was to join in a conversation on Twitter, using the hashtag of "gswc".  During the chat, one of the participants asked for each of us to post a link to our blogs.

That's when reality kicked in for me.  My immediate reaction was "Oh God, no."  I said that.  Out loud.  Complete with a literal gasp.

Picture courtesy of http://comiczombie.wordpress.com/2014/04/18/6-terrible-superman-movies-that-you-wont-believe-almost-happened/

You mean now that I have a blog, and I'm putting myself out there as a writer ... I have to ... tell people?!  No one said anything about actually asking people to read what I wrote and then ... talk about it!

Ok, maybe that sounds a little melodramatic.  And, of course, I know that I will have to allow people to read what I wrote.  But it definitely made me pause before posting it.  I sighed then said "Here we go", and clicked post.

It's not that I'm afraid of the criticism, per se.  I think it is more the anticipation of what could be said.

To help illustrate my point I will quote my brother.  "It's like saying to someone 'Hey, I have a honking tumour on my [expletive deleted]!  Wanna see it?!'"  He was talking about telling people about his learning disability, but, I think I can apply it here as well.

When you allow someone to read what you have created, it does feel a bit like asking someone to look, um, "down there".  Especially if it is someone close to you.  You would think that it would be the opposite.  That it would be less painful for a loved one to read it than a complete stranger.  But it's not.

But, during yesterday's Twitter chat, I was pleasantly surprised to hear from other writers that they too, experience similar emotions and set backs.

We are not alone in our insecurities, procrastinations, and self doubt.  Let THAT little morsel of reality kick in.