iWag Wednesdays

Wednesday. One of my favorite days of the week. I meet with four of the most wonderful women. We pick a writing prompt and then share out loud with one another. We are still working on the critiquing aspect but the support for one another is there.

I came into the group with a lot of doubt, not about the group but about myself. I'm the newbie in the group, as far as my writing skills are concerned. I've always been a writer for as long as I can remember. It started off with a small locked journal in the fourth grade, writing journals in my literature class, then into a personal journal/scrapbook. I wrote poetry for the most part, took a crack at short stories, tried a novel but that didn't quite work out. I was always intimidated about how people would like my work and with that fear in the back of my mind, I never shared my work with anyone...until now.

Our first meeting was the most anxiety filled for me and we started youngest to oldest. Guess who was first? You guessed it...ME!! I was so nervous that I got that feeling like I was back in high school reading a paper in front of the class. My hands were clammy, my heart was beating in my throat, and I just wanted to run away and hide. But, I knew I was with people who weren't going to judge me or make fun of me so...I pulled up my "big girl panties" and read my paper out loud. It might seem to be a small fear to some but to me it was a big one. Public speaking has always been a weakness to me but I had taken the first step in conquering it.

It's been a few weeks since we started our group. The confidence in my writing has improved greatly in my opinion. I'm not afraid anymore. I have the support of these four wonderful women in my life who have helped me realize that:
        
                          I AM A WRITER.
               
                I MUST THINK IT. BELIEVE IT. BE IT.

So here's a big shout out to my iWag Wednesday ladies...I love you all and can't thank you enough for the love and support you give me.

                       Betsy-Kristine-Lisa-Sarah