So, we all know life gets in the way sometimes. But sometimes it’s important to note that what’s really behind that is us getting in our own way.
As I mentioned in my last post a couple of weeks ago, I attended and presented at the Editorial Freelancers Association’s EFACON convention this past weekend. This was my first time attending a virtual conference (and attending any conference in years), as well as my first time presenting. Truth be told, I hadn’t done any kind of formal presentation since I taught a webinar for the EFA several years ago, and that fact was blaring in my brain like a huge red warning sign that shouted “WTF is wrong with you?!”
As a result, lots of things, including the blog, got shoved aside as I got my presentation under control and just breathed through the anxiety of having to socialize and talk in front of people, even if they were just on my screen. In my head, this was a huge leap out of my comfort zone, which I had firmly defined as hiding in my basement office and letting my typed words do all the talking.
So imagine my surprise when a funny thing happened. Not only did I have fun at the convention, I had a blast presenting my session. What’s more, I realized that, in fact, I am (pardon my language) damn good at presenting.
It did help that the topic is one near and dear to my heart—the link between role-playing games and developmental editing. Even if I’d been talking about something I’m less enthusiastic about, though, I feel confident I would have been fine.
Which brings me to a big revelation. I’ve been putting off expanding into any kind of audio/video media because “I’ll sound awful.” But I don’t sound awful. I sound good. And I can absolutely use words in an out-loud fashion to make points about immersive storytelling (or whatever else).
What does this mean? At the moment, I’m not sure. And that’s also okay. I have new information. I don’t have to jump off the nearest cliff and hurdle toward the unknown with it. I can give it some thought, figure out where to incorporate it into my current content stream, and form a plan that amounts to more than “I’m good at this—I will talk now.”
So if anyone has any suggestions, feel free to suggest them. After all, the goal is to talk about storytelling, immersion, books/rpgs, and fiction-adjacent topics in a way that’s helpful to other people.
Oh, and speaking of other people, the other puzzle piece that locked in for me this weekend was networking. Again, I avoided this because “I’ll say words out loud, and it will be bad.” Quite the contrary, I’m actually quite social when I want to be, and I see now how important and rewarding that can actually be.
All this to say, I’m also open to collaborating, talking fiction, sharing rpg stories—you get the idea.
Turns out, it’s utterly amazing what you discover about yourself when you step out of your supposed comfort zone.
So if you have a chance to expand your own horizons, I encourage you to take it.
And, hey, let me know how it goes.
👋 Fair travels,
Mary
P.S. A big thanks to geralt (again!) from Pixabay for the image.
