Another First

I’m excited for April. Not only do two of my kids have their birthdays, and not only is it my wedding anniversary (9 years this year!), but it will also be my first writer’s conference!

Wordsowers Christian Writers group will be hosting their conference on April 24-25. The more information that is released, the more excited I become! I also sent in the first couple thousand words of my current work-in-progress for a critique. This will be the first time someone who doesn’t know me will be reading something of mine.

Yeah…I have those little niggling doubts in the back of my mind that I’ll be told I “stink,” to “never write another word again,” and whatever else probably every writer struggles with (especially at first). But you know what? You can’t grow as a writer if you never open yourself up for criticism. And that goes beyond writing. It takes courage to put yourself out there, and I know that I’ll hear from readers–and perhaps other writers, editors, or publishers–who can’t stand my writing, but that’s where I grow. I’ll either take their criticism and wallow in sorrow, or I’ll take their criticism and improve upon myself. Or I’ll just ignore it all together. 😉

What I realize as I get older is that I need to care more about what God thinks of me than what others think of me. As a people-pleaser, that’s hard, but it’s all part of growth.

Okay. I didn’t plan to go there, but I did and now I’m done. Something else that’s exciting before I go: I ordered business cards!! It’s important, when you go to a writer’s conference, to have something you can hand to people when they ask for your contact information, and a business card fits that bill nicely. Much more nicely than a scrap of paper! And something I learned: it helps even more to have your photo on the card so they can put a face to the name; after all, you’re usually meeting quite a few new people at each conference you go to!