fiction readings for amateur writers...

can be a terrifying experience. depending on size of the crowd, the location/environment, and the piece that the writer has to read, this can be brilliant success or utter failure.

last night, i read a short story that i recently wrote that has been swirling around in my head for some time. before this, knowing I had a 7-minute reading to perform, I scourged all my writing samples to find a piece worthy of reading in front of my teachers, fellow writers, loved ones and varying strangers. I found nothing that i was comfortable reading for 7 minutes in front of anybody, not even my dog:

tough crowd

and so the unworkshopped, unreviewed short story made it to the stage. i ran it by a couple of my most trusted beta readers and ran a spell check. that was about it. 

i have to say it was more well-received that i would have thought. my current instructor seemed nervous because i was reading a piece that had not been worked in her class. afterwards, she gave me her usual, "it's brilliant!" face. which makes me happy. i talked with a former instructor, who told me good things. i even met a woman today at the hampton roads writers conference who recognized me from the reading and told me she really enjoyed my story. overall, that's a score. lauren: level up!