I got a few scaries:
Wriggling through potholes that are only as wide as I am.
Sharing a village with people who voted for fascists.
Being showered with earwigs.
But those are still less scary than standing on a stage with the sole purpose of making people laugh (and think).
The only thing in that list that I haven’t done now is being showered with earwigs and no I don’t need to do it, thanks so much.
Because on Friday evening I went to Worcester and performed my first ever stand-up comedy set AND NOBODY THREW ROTTEN FRUIT AT ME!
Back in lockdown, I did an online improv comedy course and absolutely loved it. I declared that I was going to do an open mic set and deliberately try to cause laughter in an audience… but I didn’t set a date, I didn’t really tell anyone, and guess what happened?
Four (4) years passed.
In January this year, I gave my tushie a little pat and reminded myself of the thing I wanted to do — and did nothing further.
Months passed, and I mentioned it to a stand-up comedian I met in Circle Networks (yo Dave) and he said: July 19, Worcester, the first Piston Distillery comedy night – you’re booked in.
And I said: ok.
Then disassociated for a few weeks.
The thing is, though, I can’t not try my best at something so I wrote and rewrote and wrote and rewrote and practised and cried and swore and lay on the floor a lot, and then I went onstage on Friday evening and did a Really Good Job.
Joe was boggled.
The other comedians said they were gobsmacked that it was my first stand-up gig and to keep doing that.
And I had the time of my life after the panic subsided.
Now I want to do it again and again and again and I have my next date booked in already, with invitations from another comedian to her comedy night.
Sometimes you just need someone to give you a push in the right direction, and enough support to not flake out.
Actually I’d say always.
There’s always something that gives us a push.
Every book I’ve written has required a little push from somewhere — sometimes in the form of a coach or mentor, sometimes a passing comment I hear that might seem totally random, sometimes it’s someone else publishing a book and giving me the rage because I COULD TOTALLY HAVE DONE THAT.
(SO WHY DIDN’T I THEN?)
Consider this your push to write that book.
All you have to do is start.
And I’ve got just the very thing to help you do that.
MicroBook Magic will take you from Big Book Idea to Magical First Draft in only 6 weeks—(and yep, A MICROBOOK IS A REAL BOOK – just smaller, waffle free and laser focused on ONE idea!)
How? Join me and a small group of creative entrepreneurs, who all have an idea worth writing about, but need the warm embrace of a coach and fellow writers to get there.
The next MicroBook Magic adventure starts on October 7, 2024. Are you in?