First, some housekeeping: I hit a blog milestone on Monday with my 101st post. On Tuesday, I hit another--100 followers. One hundred! Thank you, Sandra Patterson! Now, if anyone needs me, I'll be in the corner laughing manically and likely crying as I try to think of witty things to share...

On to the post!

Jury of my peers--Be nice, please?!

In six weeks, I will sit in a room in Las Vegas with my writing peers.

I will listen and scribble mad notes while two of them critique my work.

A jury of my peers: no longer online, faceless avatars, but people I consider my friends.

I'm scared.

I'm not afraid they'll be mean. These are my friends and I know they'll be nice. But they will also be honest, which is the point.

As many of you know, it's been a tricky few weeks in my writing life. After all the pages in all the stories I've written, I feel like I can better identify my weaknesses. This is a good thing--it means I'm learning.

It also means I have a long road ahead.

Yet, in the past week your comments to my blog questions have put my story (and my frame of mind) back on track. I feel so energized to write that I want to take a sick day and camp out with a pot of coffee and my computer. I want to prove to all of you that I'm not really this ridiculous of a writer. I want you to know I've listened to your questions, considered my story from the angles you helped me see, and I want my story to be all the better as a result. Especially six weeks from now.

Knowing friends will read my story ups the ante even though it shouldn't. Feedback is feedback, whether from my mom, an agent, a friend, or someone I've never met. But I feel an extra dose of motivation to put my best foot forward on this first impression.

How about you: Do you feel extra pressure when showing work to other writers?