Stage Fright

Last weekend I did something out of the ordinary, something scary. I performed a monologue at our neighborhood talent show.

Acting used to be a regular part of my life. I took drama in junior high, high school and college. I even performed this same humorous monologue (about a mother-of-the-bride who's daughter won't come out of the bathroom and get married) in front of a high school auditorium full of people.

But doing acting again after all these years and in front of people I see on a regularly basis really made me nervous. What if I forgot my lines? What if no one laughed? What if they all thought I was weird (most of them didn't even know I'd ever done anything like this)?

I really wanted to back out - big time. Still, I'd already told my kids about it and how I was scared. I wanted them to know grown-ups get scared too, but we can all do hard, scary things.

So I performed it and the monologue went great! In fact, I even won second place and a chance to perform at the next stage of the competition.

As I prepare to query my third completed novel in the next month, I think this will be my mantra - I can do hard, scary things! Because you just never know how they'll turn out or what you really can do, until you try.