My Mouth Is On Time Out

Do you want to know why I write?

I write because my brain and my mouth have a communication problem. My hands are much better at communicating with my brain. You see, when I have the chance, I think long and hard about what I want to say. I perfect it. Through my fingers, the words come out perfect, just as I envisioned them. But if the memo is supposed to go to my mouth, ooohh boy. It's like a game of Telephone happens somewhere along the way.

For example, I went to the critique group. Because I wasn't the only newbie there, we all went around the room and introduced ourselves. I was near the end of the line-up. I had time.

My brain thought, "Hi, I'm Maggie. I write whatever hits me, but what usually hits me is science fiction and fantasy."

My mouth said, "Hi, I'm Maggie. I write science fiction and fantasy when the urge hits me."

What? That's not right at all. Mouth, what happened? You make it sound like I'm not dedicated to this. Bad Mouth.

Later, after all the critiquing was done, the meeting leader prepared the crit line-up for the next meeting in two weeks. Newbies got first crack at it if we desired. We could present in two weeks, or be a backup and possibly present in a month unless someone drops out from the next one.

My brain thought, "Yeah, I'll be a backup. I'm not ready to dive into the pool headfirst, but I can if necessary."

My mouth said, "Sure, let's do this. I've got something out on submission I can bring."

What.

Mouth, you're not allowed to work anymore. You lose talking privileges.

Welp, hope my Asimov's submission is ready, because in two weeks, the poor thing is going to be ripped to shreds.

(Note: I had a fabulous time, everyone was friendly and welcoming, and I'm happy to go back, even if I ended up diving into the pool sooner than I planned. I'm glad I pushed through the introversion and went.)