Today’s the day for the Insecure Writer’s Support Group (IWSG) where, on the first Wednesday of every month, writers get together to share their insecurities and offer encouragement. The IWSG was created by Alex J. Cavanaugh, and you can learn all about it and sign up for it here.

My insecurities were in full force this morning as I was driving to the local WCAX TV station to do the Books Over Breakfast interview. I didn’t know what questions the news host would ask, so I’d spent some time the night before coming up with answers to possible questions and kept running them through my head. Needless to say, I didn’t get much sleep.

I’d been told to arrive at the station by 6:30 for make-up and to talk a little bit about the interview, which was scheduled for 6:55. I arrived at 6:25 and went in to find the station deserted. It looked like no one was there. Then Gary Sadowsky, the weatherman, came out from the studio where they were filming the early morning newscast. I told him why I was there, and he said to just wait where we were (my kids were with me), and someone would come get me. We sat in the waiting area, and he went back into the studio.

I got more nervous as the minutes ticked by and no one came out. I wondered if they had forgotten about the interview. (It had originally been scheduled for next Wednesday, then changed to today.) We could see on the TV screen the newscast being filmed live. Around 6:40, a cameraman came out and brought me into the studio. He gave me a microphone to attach to my shirt and said the newscaster who would be doing the interview would be over to talk during a break in the broadcast. I asked about the make-up session. He said he didn’t know anything about that and didn’t think there was anyone there in that department.

At 6:45 or so, Eva and Ali, the newscasters introduced themselves, and Eva took about 30 seconds to run her intro and a couple of questions she’d planned to ask by me. Then they had to hurry back in front of the camera for their news wrap-up. A few minutes later, Eva led me to a nearby set with two comfortable chairs facing each other, we sat down, and were on the air live at 6:55. She did her intro and asked her questions, most of which I was prepared for.

In three minutes, we were done. She thanked me again for coming and went on to her next gig. I took off the microphone and gave it back to the cameraman. We exited through the empty lobby and drove away.

The whole thing was such a whirlwind experience. As I was driving home, I tried to replay it in my mind, but found I couldn’t remember what I’d said. The kids had watched from backstage, so I asked them how they thought it went, i.e. did I look okay, did I sound intelligent, etc. They assured me everything looked and sounded fine to them. They were happy it went well and thought it was cool to be in a TV studio.

I couldn’t wait to get home and watch the broadcast for myself. I was glad to see I didn’t look as nervous as I felt, and I was happy not to have stumbled over my words, though I did say “um” a few times. Next time won’t be nearly as hard.

But just the same — whew, I’m glad it’s over with!

Here’s a link to the interview:

WCAX Books Over Breakfast!

© Lori L. MacLaughlin and Writing, Reading, and the Pursuit of Dreams, 2015. All rights reserved.