P.S. And there's more...

In trying to pack everything into that last post, I neglected to say that a PDF of my presentation on genre and voice, "Will Someone Please Tell Me What to Say?" is now available at my public folder. The file is aptly titled: "This is Just to Say."

Oh! and I included my notes for each slide this time.

Note to Self: Trust the Audience

Remember those workshops you helped me with? Well, I'm in the last stages of polishing them.

I'm practicing my two Keynote presentations---that's Keynote as in the Mac version of PowerPoint, not Keynote as in keynote, important speaker---obsessively worrying that this new software will freeze on me, buying adapter cables to make sure my laptop hooks up with the external display, backing up the presentations to PDF files that I'm emailing to myself, and other geeky computer-related activity.

I'm also printing out lists of books mentioned in my presentations, gathering my props, and marking passages to read aloud in the books I'm featuring.

Later, I will pick out clothes which make me look professional and yet, approachable and casual. Shoes that are cute, but don't hurt. Lip gloss that matches my slide background color. (Oh, wait. That would be green.)

Even later, I will allow myself one small crazy moment of panic. What if they HATE me?

I like talking to other writers. I'm usually comfortable speaking in front of groups. I'm looking forward to my workshops. But the prep stage goes on too long for me. In a way, I'd rather be thrown out there with no prep, and be forced to make a connection based on the raw fear and vulnerability that all writers face every day and would completely relate to. But that wouldn't be wise. I must prepare, and then connect.

I trust an audience filled with writers, you know? I really, really, do.