Reading in Public

And the last big thing I did at this workshop was. . . read a chapter from my Kepler/Brahe book out loud.

WOW. It was one of the scariest things I've ever done. Three of the other teachers were reading from books in progress, and as they knew I had written books, I was asked to read from something too. I considered reading from the Einstein book -- it would have been a safe choice, as it is well-edited, and non-fiction which doesn't feel quite as much like you're putting yourself out on the line.

But it just would have been kind of boring, I think, to read what are really encyclopedia essays -- no matter how lively -- to the group. In addition, they really wanted something in progress . . . and so I did it.

There is one chapter that the readers in my writing group said currently reads the best, and it also had a fair amount of science in it, so it seemed the best choice. I was stammeringly nervous, and never looked up while reading to see if people were actually paying attention, but the response seems to have been really positive.

I am sure there were those who had a response not unlike the one I would have had a few years ago (i.e. who is so presumptuous to force other people to listen to their fiction?!?) but lots of people said they really enjoyed it and that they looked forward to reading the final product.

All of which has given me a major boost of energy, after about two weeks when I haven't written anything new on it. Whoo hoo! As I said to everyone who gave me a compliment: the reason it's so hard to do, is that the book is SO good in my head. I hope hope I can make it as good as it should be. . .