With NaNoWriMo just around the corner, I decided to try to meet some writers in the area. While I miss my group in Collin County, The North Texas Rough Writers, I have to face the uncomfortable fact that I’m in West Texas for the time being, and maybe it would be a good idea to cultivate new friends in the area. UGH!!!

If you don’t know me by now, you should know that I don’t enjoy meeting people. You have no idea how much I wish I did, but I retreat into myself no matter how much I want to meet and participate. It’s a wonder I’m able to function at all! So, knowing how difficult it is for me, I put on my big-boy pants and I drove to Lubbock to attend a Meet and Greet at a coffee shop not far from the Texas Tech campus. Boy howdy, was it busy!

Not surprisingly, my personality did a full retreat, leaving me a hollow shell of who I really am, but I didn’t run away. I wanted to, but I stuck it out. I ordered my usual hazelnut latte, and found a table where I could sit and do a little bit of writing. When the time came for the meeting, I found myself a cozy table and sat, and listened, praying that I wouldn’t have to introduce myself, but of course I did.

I did the best that I could, seeing as how I become a wreck when I have to talk to a group. I kept it short and to the point, and luckily the moderator took pity on me and didn’t prolong my suffering any more than strictly necessary. After the meeting, I didn’t avail myself to meet any other writers. My stress level was fairly high. I wrote for another thirty minutes and left, disappointed with my inability to make new friends, but pleased that I dared to try all the same.

Now I’m wondering whether or not to try again. There will be a few write-ins during the month, and I want to attend a few of them. For some reason, although writing is a solitary task, there’s something comforting in being in a room full of other people who are also writing. Maybe that’s one reason coffee shops are so popular with writers. Plus, it gets some of us out of the house!

The kick-off party will be this coming Friday and I’m debating whether or not to attend. I have to work until six that evening, and the drive alone will take me two hours. That being said, I’m actually considering it. I would need a place to crash afterwards. I don’t fancy having to drive home after such a long day, but it wouldn’t be the first time I’ve done so. I guess I’ll play it by ear.

I just hope that I’m able to relax and make friends with this group. Maybe they’re not as cool as my friends in North Texas, but I think I should at least give these Lubbock writers a chance. I think they’re good people. I hope they give me a chance, as well.

Oh, I should probably also think about what I’m going to write. That could be useful when I sit down to write, don’t you think?