My First Public Reading

At the end of last year, I joined Writers in Stuttgart (WiS), a writers group that meets once a month in - surprise, surprise - Stuttgart. The greatest thing about it is that it's an English group, which I'd never thought I'd find in the heart of Swabia. Since I write in English, joining a German group never appealed to me. Then I brought up the courage to go to a NaNoWriMo meeting last November, which was one of the best decisions I've ever made. Not only did I meet three wonderful ladies whom I still meet most every Friday to write, talk and have fun with, and who introduced me to the aforementioned writer's group; but my motivation has also skyrocketed back to the heights of when I was sixteen or seventeen, when my fingers literally itched with the urge to write down the words and scenes accumulating in my head, when I couldn't concentrate on anything with all those voices of the character's inside my head, when I felt like not writing might drive me insane. 

I'm back in that place, and loving it. Which is also why I'm looking forward to Friday, even though I feel very uncomfortable speaking in front of crowds. Because that's what I'm going to do: read two of my stories to a bunch of strangers.

It's 'only' a trial run at a small venue with a few close friends and family of the WiS-members. WiS organized it to practice for the public reading we're planning in late spring. (Turns out I'm not alone in the nervous-about-speaking-in-public department - who'd a thunk?) There'll be at least ten people reading, so we each only get ten minutes. The theme is Love and Other Things, because it's so close to Valentines Day. I'll be reading two of my flash fiction pieces, Lunar Enchantress and Swimming Pool. 

Wish me luck! :-)