Just For The Fun

As a writer I get invitations to all sorts of conferences in the mail all the time. I'm sure any of you that write do as well. Sometimes I even get invited to speak at them which is a lot more fun. It's always at least a little thrilling to actually feel like you're a part of the show rather than just a spectator. It's a little nerve-wracking too though. Having always had a healthy dose of stage frieght I sometimes get tense for days before actually heading out to whatever conference, or appearance is schuduled. That saps a lot of the 'fun' out of going to the events. There are times I even find myself becoming more reclusive (I say 'more' because what writer isn't reclusive to some degree? It just gets brought out more by being thrust into the public). I think it's from a tendance to not say 'no' to a lot of these events. I've learned to say 'no' a lot more often now, and don't feel the pressure as much as I did the first few years. I found out after all that all those speeches, and signings, and such really didn't do that much for my 'career' anyway, so why do them until I drop? Selecting just a handful to do each year makes much more sense, because then I can concentrate on just doing them for the fun, and experience rather than for any misconstrued exposure... and I don't have to take so much antacid.