Musings: On getting out more

This picture has nothing to do with the post. It’s a sunrise-in-Maine shot from September and I simply like it.

I went to my first NECRWA (New England Chapter, Romance Writers of America) meeting yesterday. I’ve been meaning to get involved for ages, but have always come up with semi-valid excuses for not doing so. No time. Not enough money to join RWA National and the chapter. Too far to drive. (It’s about 45 minutes away, just far enough to be annoying, just far enough that I’ve allowed the distance to became a block.) Finally I decided to stop making excuses and go. And I’m glad I did.

The presentation, on reviews and review sites, by Jennifer Porter of Romance Novel News and Penny Watson of Penelope’s Romance Reviews (she’s also a writer of fun, quirky romances) was useful, but what was more useful was just getting out and seeing people. I need to network, need to spend time with other writers face-to-face, not just online. Hell, I need to see other human beings, people who aren’t the Cat-Herder, my few coworkers, and the friends who persevere with my weird schedule in order to see us sometimes. And at the moment, my finances aren’t so bad that the money’s a valid excuse. (Although this week the excuse is valid, payday is Wednesday, and then I’ll send the dues in to National and NECRWA.)

The real reason I put it off for so long, I suppose, is that I’m uneasy about new groups of people. Shy, even. But I got there and found myself surrounded by people who wanted to talk books and writing–and who also spend a goodly percentage of their time talking to the people in their heads. I felt welcomed. And it was good. I even joined a chunk of the crew in going out afterward (thank you for inviting, Dalton Diaz of the rather naughty website!) instead of immediately retreating back to the safety of my office and kitchen, my cats and my man. Again, I’m glad I did. I used to be a daring person, a world traveler. But in the past few years, I’ve become very much a homebody. This is good in many ways. I’m blessed to have a house I love, a husband I adore, and plenty to keep me happily occupied at home, between writing, gardening/semi-homesteading, and just enjoying Jeff, without gallivanting all over the place. But without “gallivanting,” my natural shyness has gotten stronger–a backlash, perhaps, from many years in a fundraising job that was fascinating, but all wrong for my personality.  I’m glad to find I can still get out and chat with strangers and have a good time.

I’ll be going back to NECRWA next month. That’s a promise to myself.