This fall, I am stepping out of my comfort zone. A lot.
I am going to a large writing conference in two weeks and while the conference part isn’t inherently out of character, the stress of extroverting for that many days in a row is intimidating. I know I can, I know I will love it, I know I will make tons of new connections with writers and learn more than my little brain can carry, but, yeah. It’s still gonna be physically and emotionally stressful.
When I return, I’m giving a presentation at my local library. And while it’s a presentation I have given before and am confident in, this one’s in person. In a place where people I know in real life might show up. I was already feeling a little nervous about it when a friend sent me this picture after her visit to the library last night:
Yikes! It’s getting real now!
I’ll also be presenting at a local women’s empowerment conference with a presentation I haven’t given before but am super excited about: the power of honoring the creative in ourselves to succeed in all areas of our lives.
I’ve just launched a video series on my LinkedIn page for PR professionals who also want to pursue creative writing. As a producer who spent her early career behind the camera wincing and sweating every time a camera person put me in front of it to simply check lighting and sound levels before the talent arrived, this is a difficult process for me. And yet, it’s been super fun to dust off the old production skills with today’s handy tech tools not requiring me to reserve an edit bay (goodness, I’m as old as Methuselah).
Oh, and I’m heading out on a writing retreat with a brand new story idea that isn’t even a full seed of an idea yet, more like a hazy aura of shapes that might be an actual idea at some point.
While I am terrified of many of these things, I am also excited. These events are all aligned with my creative values and are huge opportunities for personal growth.
A writer recently sent her manuscript to me for an evaluation and expressed that she’d be awaiting my feedback nervously. I assured her it was normal to feel that way but to try and relax. I reminded her that the discomfort we feel in these situations is because we’re growing, challenging the things we already now, bumping up against our own boundaries and learning how to scale them. It doesn’t feel good in the short term, but has infinite long term gains.
And then I read those words to myself. Over and over and over.
I find the pep talks I give my writers are often the pep talks I most often need to hear.
As writers, we need to lean into the discomfort sometimes. Figure out what scares us in our process or our craft. We are constantly learning and evolving and sometimes that process is messy or emotionally painful. Just like exercise, it’s gotta be challenging or we aren’t getting stronger.
How can you challenge yourself this fall in your writing? Can you….
- Try writing in a new POV?
- Tackle that topic that seems too scary? You know, the one you think you aren’t ready to write yet.
- Dabble in a different genre or format like flash fiction or a screen play?
- Join a writer’s group or create one?
- Start writing book reviews for books you love?
- Ask for feedback in your writing?
- Seek out help in your writing by finding a class or reaching out to a writer friend to brainstorm when you’re stuck?
There are a number of things we can do to challenge ourselves to keep that writing muscle growing so when it’s time for big challenges, like developmental edits or querying or submission, we are ready to level up.
I’m proud of myself for saying yes to so many things this fall that intimidate me. I’m invigorated by all the things I’m already learning. I’m nervous, but I’m not afraid.
I’m reminded of the word “scited” that Glennon Doyle made up for her kids. It’s a mixture of scared and excited. That butterflies feeling we get when we’re doing something out of our comfort zones but that we really want. All these things I’m doing this fall make me “scited.”
This fall, let’s be “scited” together. Let’s step out of our writer and writing comfort zones and open ourselves up to some beautiful and vulnerable experiences.
Let me know in the comments what you’re doing this fall that’s outside your comfort zone so I can support you and cheer on your growth.
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Featured image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay