Ah, land chapters. A must-have for some members of RWA, for others a must-not. And for the rest, land chapters are an either\or thing.
For me, when I think of a land chapter, the words that come to mind: Intimidating and Scary, along with phrases like 'breaking out of my shell', 'try not to make a fool out of yourself', 'don't trip over your tongue', and so on and so forth.
For the past few years I've waged an ongoing battle with myself on whether or not I should join my local RWA chapter. I've gone back and forth, always finding some sort of excuse not to join---I don't want to drive down there, I'm not sure I want to put myself out there yet, I'm shy, I don't have anything published---blah, blah, blah. I belong to a couple of online chapters. One I mostly lurk in, but the other I'm very active in. I really enjoy it. The internet provides that screen that so many of us shy writers like to hide behind. If I don't meet my goal, no one really says anything and if they do, it's easy enough to not pay any attention. But when you talk to someone face to face and fess up, than that adds more of an impact to the situation. An added stress factor.
I love going to the National conference, but I stress for weeks over what I'll do if someone approaches me and asks me the 'dreaded question'...'So, what do you write?'. Now, this in no way should be a 'dreaded question'. This should be something one should be proud to state and talk about. Me, I tend to go over everything in my mind, over and over again, and then when asked, somehow manage to trip over my tongue and embarrass myself. I'd love to be able to get over that fear. Unfortunately, when the only time I ever meet other writers is during National, once a year, that obstacle is not going to be easily overcome.
Well, last weekend I said screw it and decided to go to a meeting, see what it was like and then join if I enjoyed myself.
First on the list, I had my husband drive me to the location. Not that I can't drive, I can and love too. However, me in a car, on the highway in unknown territory, not knowing where I'm going, it's just a recipe for disaster. By having my husband drive, I eliminated that issue.
I had no idea what to expect. Would I be walking into a room full of professionals and they'd laugh me away? Of course that didn't happen, but believe me when I tell you, I walked towards that room with wooden legs. They all greeted me with a warm hello and genuine smile.
We ate lunch at chatted small talk before the business portion of the meeting started. Whilst eating, I was asked the 'dreaded question'. I answered and then later wanted to kick myself in the butt, because I left half of it out. Ah, c'est lavie. There's always the next meeting. What can you do? Nothing. Just forge ahead.
The most awful part was the introductions...this, like the 'dreaded question', scares the hell outta me. We needed to state our names, any news we had to share, and a goal that we would like to accomplish during the time until the next meeting. To say my introduction was short is an understatement. I don't think it could've been any quicker unless I was that guy on T.V. that holds the record for the fastest talker. But I made it through, face-flaming while talking, but I still did it. It really is a silly thing. I really need to get over it.
I'm hoping that meeting with everyone every month will help on this. At least now I know they do introductions and I have 4 weeks in between each meeting to fret over what I'll say. :)
But on a serious note, there are many talented authors in this chapter. Almost everyone there was published. That was a bit intimidating, but hey, no one ever started out published.
The meeting was very informative. I learned lots on how the land chapters do business, heard lots of encouraging things and to just hang in there, the call will come eventually. They also had a guest speaker talk to us about tuning up our manuscripts, the wonderful Thea Devine. Her speech was very motivating. I took lots of notes and learned quite a few things that I hadn't known and even some things I'd thought I'd known, only to find out, that editors don't actually really like said thing.
It was a great time. Needless to say, I joined the chapter and am looking forward to the next meeting. Now, I just need to make sure I meet my goal.
So how about you all? How was your first experience at your local meeting?
