Monk, Hannibal, and Gandalf

NDPetitt

Recently I joined Toastmasters to improve my speaking skills. In the past public speaking was something I avoided. That was because I used to believe that things outside my comfort zone were best left alone.



What was I thinking?



All the fun stuff is outside my comfort zone. Turns out I like stepping outside my comfort zone.



Sometimes I find that things I thought would be frightening weren't at all. Stuff like hiking alone in the woods at night, or hiking into the wilderness.



I'm not saying fears aren't to be respected, I'm saying facing them is exhilarating.



A long time ago I thought I was afraid to fly. Of course I did it anyway, and kept right on doing it, and one day I realized not only was I not afraid, I liked it. So I kicked it up a notch. Click here to see how far I went past that fear.



So far I've only given a few speeches, but I think I'll like that too. Writing is a solitary occupation. Speaking to a group, especially about writing and related topics, it's a bit of a blast.



Blog talk radio invited me to chat about character development. Breathing life into characters is about my favorite part of writing a book. I love getting to know them, and fleshing them out. Click here and check it out if that's your thing too. Then come back and tell me about stepping outside your comfort zone. I'm interested to hear how that worked out for you.