I love Oliver! Not as much as my brother and best friend who watched it together the first time they ever met, but it’s a great musical. That’s where the title of this blog is from, in case you were wondering.
I’ve had to take stock of my goals and be realistic about how I plan to see them come to fruition in 2012. I had big plans to attend three conferences in the spring and then a few in the fall. With the holidays here, which for some reason always put me behind financially, I’ve had to review the situation.
I had the FF&P conference, Silken Sands conferences, and RT planned for the spring. I really wanted to go to RT, but as Murphy’s Law dictates, things happen. I’m now skipping RT because right now things are just not working out with finances and vacation time and well, you name it and there’s a problem with it.
I’m actually okay about it. As disappointed I’ll be not to go to Chicago, staying closer to home until I get a better handle on things is best. Not to mention the constant worry about how I was going to manage three conferences in seven weeks was wearing on my creative mind.
Yes, my muse has suffered these concerns and I hate when that happens. Ditching one conference has eased my mind and I already have an idea where I went wrong with my current WIP. It’s like a door opened in my mind, freeing it to see the subplots I was bogging under, the horrible conflict I’d come up with, and now I can work on my story with no burdens.
2012 is going to be a year of small conferences for me. I’m giving the big ones a break for now, but definitely plan to go to at least one in 2013. Hope to see some of you around the small conferences!
Unearthly Musings 
Danica,
I totally understand. 2011 has been similar for me. Forced to see the realities of my family situation, and, after nearly losing everything in a culmination of a war that had been brewing over a couple of years (another business) I was forced to cut back. On everything. And yes, the writing suffered.
But I do think that which doesn’t kill us makes us stronger. As more than one person has said, rubbing up against unpleasant realities, or even mistakes or difficult people, smooths out our personage and makes us a better person, and better writer.
I’ve learned to celebrate with those who have had huge successes this year, even though mine have been small in comparison. But I’ve done it with an open heart. And I’ve learned to enjoy the little things, and to be the kind of person who brings something extra to all my relationships.
I have so enjoyed your musings over the past year. I still love the word “frision” and can’t wait to use it some day. Sometimes the joys of the season and the writing world aren’t measured in monetary terms.
Some of those are the real gems!
Thanks for the great comment, Sharon! It’s funny how letting go of something I wanted so badly made me feel better. I hadn’t realized how much pressure I put on myself for that conference, nor did I realize how much my writing suffered for it until I let it go.