IWSG: Doing Things You Think You Can't Do

Hello and Happy June! Today is the day for the monthly meeting of The Insecure Writer's Support Group, founded by our Ninja Captain Alex J. Cavanaugh. To view list members and this month's co-hosts, visit the IWSG page here.

Kennecott, Alaska

I took a bit of a break from the blogging world and focused on writing in May and I'm thrilled to say I had a great month! I finished the first draft of A Killing in Kennecott, my sequel to Polar Day. Of course, I have TONS of revising to do and there will no doubt be many more drafts, but I am excited to get this far. I have been so blocked and unmotivated when it comes to writing for such a long time now that I had reached the point were I thought I'd never be able to finish a story again. So it meant a great deal to me to realize I still could!

That was one of the things I did in May that I had told myself I wouldn't be able to do. I also finished my beginner's running program and ran a mile without stopping. That was a HUGE deal for me! I haven't run since high school, and then I didn't do it willingly. I had started this program more times than I could count and never made it past the second week. But it turned out I was wrong about being able to do that too. Now I'm working on the 5k program and loving it! Running has helped me so much with my anxiety that it's been a godsend. I plan to run a 5k race in September to benefit the Red Wolf Wildlife Sanctuary, so I am going to be focused on the training program all summer.

Finally, I had an amazing evening in Marysville, Ohio, where I was invited to be part of the Friends of the Public Library 2017 Author Series. I was so nervous as the date of my presentation approached that I was totally freaking out and I was certain it would be a disaster. Instead, it was one of the best nights I've ever had!

The Friends group took me to dinner and as soon as I met them at the restaurant my nerves disappeared and I had a wonderful time. After dinner we went to the auditorium and I gave my talk for 30 minutes, and I was amazed that I got through the whole thing without feeling nervous. I even managed to ad-lib and go off the script I had tried to memorize. When I finished, people came up to buy my books and I actually sold out of all but one of my titles! I was amazed and couldn't have been happier. After being so nervous I nearly made myself sick thinking about the event, I drove home with a huge smile on my face.

So May was my month for doing things I had told myself I couldn't ever do. I'd like to be able to say I'll never tell myself that about things I've never even tried, but old habits die hard. Still, I'm going to think about my May whenever that doubting voice tries to take over my head.

Hope you all had a good month as well!