One of those Mondays

I knew it wasn't going to be a great day today when my son started to get stuffed up on the weekend. He's thrown up twice today and is fighting taking a nap. It's nearly dinnertime. Please, take a nap! How people with children and a full-time job manage to find time to write amazes me. That's dedication.

I received a short story rejection this morning. I was short-listed, but I got the basic email rejection. I've gotten a lot of rejections over the years, but it's a little harder to take the ones when you've been short-listed first. I really like this little story, too, because it's my only hard boiled detective story true to the noir style. I hope to find a home for it some time soon.

This coming Saturday, I'm attending my first meeting of the South Central Indiana Fiction Interface (S.C.I.F.I.). I'm excited I was invited to join. The two writers I've met through email so far are highly experienced. I'm sure I'll learn a lot from the group. I submitted a short story to be critiqued during the meeting. There are only two other stories being critiqued. That makes me nervous. I'm a shy person and I have social anxiety. I'm terrified of speaking in front of groups. Yet I know it's important to do these things if I want to become a professional writer. I have done read and critiques at conventions before. I've gotten faint, blushed a deep red, almost lost my voice, and trembled so that my hands were shaking as I held the paper. I don't know how to chase away the anxiety. I just have to do it. It isn't the end of the world no matter how much it might feel like it. Are there any tricks that you use to help when you're speaking in front of a group? I welcome any tips and advice.