Five Reasons CONvergence is Better Than You

No, really. I mean, I like you and all, but this con, you guys. This freaking con.

And I know secondhand conventions are about as much fun as listening to somebody tell you about their D&D character, but hey – I've been aggressively vivacious and charming for WEEKS now, and today it's my turn to have poor social skills.  *pops zit* *whips out crappy smartphone pics* So as I was saying, my level 16 half-orc ranger-druid...

1.    Killer Costumes 

Okay, it's a sci-fi/fantasy convention. Of course there's going to be costumes.  But almost more amazing than the sheer NUMBER of people in costume (easily half the 7,000+ attendees) is the quality and variety of their work. 

And it IS work.  I don't even want to think about how long it took to bring La Muerte to life.

Seriously, it's so much more than just steampunk matrons and trending anime characters.  There are brand-new Mad Max characters and others from shows that haven't aired in twenty years (when's the last time you thought about Doug, let alone Quail-Man?  And remember that time Jewel Staite was a 15-year-old in a rainbow wig and I loved her?)

Me taking a picture of Raichu taking a picture of Journey travelers. It's deep.

There were a terrific number of original characters and costumes, too – I so, so wish I'd thought to take a picture of the lady who'd dressed up as a YA dystopian love triangle!  But I was busy being amazed that she'd turned up for my 11:30PM Shapeshifters panel, which brings me to my next point...

2.    Awesome Attendees

Seriously.  Seriously, seriously.  It doesn't matter what rotten time slot you're talking about – people will turn up. The 2:00 Thursday panel on Shakespeare?  40 people.  The Sunday afternoon writing panel?  50 people.  The 10 PM Saturday night conlang panel, on the Fourth of Goddamn July?  FREAKING FULL... of people who actually wanted to talk about constructed languages!

Look at all these people. LOOK AT THEM.

Shoot, I thought that Shapeshifters panel was going to be a bust – it started at 11:30PM, and my co-panelist didn't turn up, so it was just me and 35 eager geeks, and I was honestly worried about how to keep things on track if someone was drunk or just over-talkative/domineering.  But we had an absolutely *delightful* roundtable discussion – I just asked the attendees some of the questions I'd thought up for the panel, and they educated me and each other as cheerful and respectfully as you could imagine.  It was so much less stressful than subtly wrestling with five other people to try to get a word in edgewise, all while audience members weakly raise their hands in despairing near-futility.  I wish we could do moderated group discussions at every con – I think I can say that it was genuinely fun for everyone, and such a surprising change of pace.

Anyway, so there are a ton of real people who really want to talk about real panel topics – but the whole con has a wonderful atmosphere.

Exhibit A:  a poorly-photographed shot of a guy making a Golden Snitch swoop and fly on the end of a fishing pole, ready to toss candy down to any kid who can catch it (and I believe that one in the blue shirt actually did).  Who does this? Convergence people, that's who! 

And to be honest, I expect that has a lot to do with the con-culture that these folks have cultivated over the past decade-plus.  Which brings us to the next point...

3.    Style for Miles

I don't actually know whether this is true, but I strongly suspect that Convergence is one of the largest fan-run conventions in the country – and it shows.  You have much bigger cons, like DragonCon and San Diego Comic Con, but these 'media cons' are run by for-profit companies – and while there's nothing wrong with that, it does make for a different feel.  Busloads of big-name actors being carted in to sign autographs and take pictures all weekend, so that you have the pleasure of paying for parking, paying for entry, paying for the privilege of standing in line for three hours to get personalized scrawl from a glassy-eyed Patrick Stewart... it's not bad, but it's not what fan-cons are generally there to do. 

You may be asking yourself "well, what ARE fan-cons there to do?"  The answer, of course, is "hold PVC-foam jousting matches for papier-mache Jabba's entertainment."

I love, love, love how easy it is to buy a ticket to Convergence and then not open your wallet again for the entire weekend.  Parking is free. Autographs are free.  Food is free – oh, god, they have an entire food court's worth of goodies available all weekend – everything from the traditional pizza and sodas to milk, fruit, rice, soup, and fresh veggies.

Look at that. It's not a con-suite. It's an entire con-boulevard!

They even have a hotel TV station running and overflow rooms set up so that the people who can't fit in the main ballroom can still watch and enjoy the biggest events.  And everywhere – everywhere! – are flyers, posters, and fun con-propaganda:

Look at this. This poster serves no functional purpose.  It's not advertising anything.  It's not directing or informing you. But this year's theme was dystopia, and by gum, we are going to act like it!

And this! It's not enough that they're doing a free four-day smorgasbord - they have to design and color-print advertisements to remind you of it!

End result: you aren't a paying customer spending a weekend at the Hilton Doubletree – you're at Convergence, and you're part of the crew.

4.    Organization

This part really blows my mind.  An event of this size takes MASSIVE organization – and it's all volunteers.  I volunteered with the programming department again this year – setting up table tents, resetting rooms, picking up trash and taking census at the panels – and I am just, like, amazed at the size and scope of the organization here.

The organization, plus the branding - Connie is EVERYwhere.

Programming does the panel-type events.  Mainstage handles the big shows.  Nerfherders organize lines and man the elevators to keep the crowds moving along.  Hospitality keeps the food and drink flowing, Wandering Hosts roam the halls to help out wherever they're needed, Registration, First Aid, and the Volunteer Desk are exactly what their names imply, and the Bridge crew keeps every other department coordinated and communicating with the hotel staff.  It's an incredible system, and astonishingly efficient – and everyone who gives up their time to contribute does it for love of the convention. (Well, and for the free massages in the volunteer den, too.)  It's everything I love best about fan-cons, operating on a massive scale.

5.    Inclusiveness

Another astonishingly bad photo from yours truly, of the sign for the Sensory-Friendly Space Lab. Wish I'd gotten a shot of the interior - it's dim and cool and quiet, with glowy blue lights and alien decor.  Gorgeous room with a brilliant concept!

This one maybe wins me over more than anything.  Like... it's one thing to put a non-harassment policy in your program.  It's another to have sign language interpreters and typists/transcribers ready on request, taped-off squares on the floor of every room for wheelchair and scooter users, consistently-posted reminders about what is and isn't appropriate behavior, and labeled "safe spaces" and the aforementioned Wandering Hosts to make sure that anyone in trouble can find help immediately.

This con is assiduously, consistently welcoming to all kinds of people, and it shows in the diversity of its attendees.  In my experience, it's incredibly rare for the people inside a convention to actually represent a fair cross-section of the community it's held in – and while I'm not an expert on Minneapolis demographics, I daresay Convergence comes closer than any other con I've been to.

That's what I love most, I think.  That's what I want to see elsewhere - everywhere!  Yes, not every con can or should be this big - but they absolutely can and should be this inclusive, this accessible, this welcoming.

Where is the 1 AM card game?  Right in the middle of the concourse, of course - come on down!

And as for me personally - I blogged last year about how happy I was to have gone, but felt a little crowded, a little lonely.  This year, I was so thrilled to see the seeds I planted in 2014 springing up - to walk in the main doors and be accosted ten seconds later by people who recognized me from last year and wanted to fold me in to the group.  I'm going to try to remember this for future events: it's hard sometimes to play the away games, to leave your home turf and go mix with people who don't know you from Adam, who already have their old buddies and big networks ready to hand.  But if you're brave and persistent and keep giving yourself mingling-missions (volunteer six hours, compliment three people on their costumes, go to two room parties and stay ten minutes at each, chat with one person each time you go to the consuite), it's amazing how quickly today's acquaintances can become tomorrow's legendary lifemates.

Barf and I are not technically LLs - he is his own best friend! - but trust me, I have others.

Anyway, I could write 5,000 words more - I haven't even touched on all the extracurricular adventures from this weekend, or mentioned any of those aforementioned lifemates - but this is long and time is short and it's almost time to finish the mighty drive through scenic Oregon.  Big sloppy post con-noital love to everyone - now go get your tickets, people: only 357 days until Convergence 2016!

SoonerCon Recap and CONvergence Schedule

Where am I?  What day is it?  Is it time to have more convention now?

Well, I'm here at the airport watching the sun rise through the departure gate window, so I reckon it must be!

So this marks the end of the road-trip portion of my Summer of Shenanigans, and the beginning of the jet-setting phase.  Last weekend I drove up to SoonerCon in Oklahoma City - and let me tell you, it is a hell of a production.

It's a real family-oriented con, for one thing -

You know what they say: the family that crushes the Rebellion together, stays together.

- and they let a horde of us authors absolutely tear up the ballroom for a mass koffeeklatch -

THEY EVEN SERVED COFFEE. And pastries! And fruit!
I'm pretty sure that has literally never happened before.

- which Mark Finn further enlivened by holding court with a box of moon-donuts, like a regal barbarian king distributing sweet yeasty plunder to his thanes -

Basically, my new life-goal is to become a Mark Finn sommelier.
"Elegant, yet unpretentious. Honest, yet gracious. Erudite, yet perfectly
comfortable bringing up 'the meat-sweats' in casual conversation."

- but for me, the real highlight was getting to stay with Jeannette Cheney for the duration.  For one thing, it's a real treat to stay in high nerdy style -

For the record, that's a framed copy of Tolkien's "The Road" poem,
a Dalek pillow, and a dog hair roller. I defy you to find this splendor at any hotel.

- and you absolutely can't beat the company -

These are my newest and most favorite host-dogs, Penny and Al!

- and honestly, the longer I do this, the less willing I am to pay for a hotel room, 80% of which I don't use.  For real. I don't need a coffee maker or a hair dryer or a TV. I don't need my bed made or towels changed. I don't even need reconstituted apple juice and stale freezer-pastries in the morning. I need a small, clean space with a bed, good wi-fi, and air conditioning. That's it. If somebody can figure out how to sell me that, I am unbelievably ready to buy it... on the unfortunate occasion I don't have a legendary life-mate with a guest room, of course.  (Thank you, J!)

Okay, rant over. But seriously: you know, there are times when nobody comes to your reading, when you and your fellow panelists outnumber the audience two-to-one, when you can't help but wonder whether any of this even matters.  But this friend-network of mine is growing and deepening month by month, year over year, and it is unbelievably life-sustaining. So much of this whole low-rent show-business thing we do is random and unpredictable, and it is absolutely vital to hang on to the one thing you can directly, reliably influence - which is to say, the people you meet and how you treat them.

And now, my friends, it is nearly time to go find some of my most favorite folks!  CONvergence is about to converge, and I could not be more jazzed.  My actual official events listing is a short one this time around:

Pro Tips From CONvergence

Pro?  CON?  See what I did there?  Please, hold your applause.

Really though, today's thesis statement is that this is a really first-rate convention.  If you get a chance to go, you really should. 

The staff is amazingly friendly.  Everything is super organized.  And they are serious about inclusivity, access, and providing a welcoming atmosphere.  We're not just talking about a couple of handicapped parking spaces and a "holler if you get the bad touch" clause in the program.  There are "don't harsh the squee" and "safe space" posters everywhere, free sign language interpreters provided (and seeing heavy use!), even separate rooms for dishing up various complimentary goodies - which I'm sure helps with crowd control, but keeping the PB&J station separate from the rice must also be a huge help for people who have to worry about food allergies and cross-contamination.  I'm in no position to say how successful CONvergence is in providing all these accommodations, but I can tell you for a fact that they are serious about offering them and making sure everyone can have a good time.

Best of all, any mental misconceptions you had about all the Klingons and Jedi and catgirls milling around will be obliterated as soon as you sit down for a panel and listen to the thoughtful questions and miles-deep insights they have about the subject at hand.  That is the part that really blew me away.  I have a vision of writers' conferences being "go to learn something and maybe also have fun" and fan conventions being "go to have fun and maybe also learn something", but man - that is DEFINITELY not an either/or proposition.  Not with this crowd.

And oh, what a crowd.

Approximately one-fiftieth of the 6,369 "Skittle-munching meat babies" in attendance

This I think was where I hit the wall.  I've been a pretty aggressively social person for the last decade or so, and lately I've fancied myself the kind of gal who can walk into a room and strike up a conversation with anybody about anything.

As it turns out, that is not true.  Not when the room (or hall, or lobby) is a shifting morass of warm bodies and loud noises.  I wilt.  I sweat.  I think about how amazingly lucky I am that my parents saved me from going to a 5A high school, because I would have drowned in a chum-bucket of pupating humanity.  It didn't help that this hotel is older, with lots of narrow hallways and yellowy lights and over-taxed air conditioners.  It also didn't help that I knew almost nobody.  (I had not realized how much home-turf advantage I've enjoyed at the Texas cons.)

Consequently, I didn't spend as much time at the con as I meant to, and I didn't meet as many people as I wanted to.  But I did have a great time, and I did learn a lot for next year (and oh, there will be a next year!)

So if you, like me, are going to attend your first Big-Ass Con, all I can say is:

But you can be!  Here are some things I learned this weekend:

1.  Volunteering is awesome - especially if you don't know anyone at the beginning.  Signing up to help out is a great way to give yourself structure and purpose, and an easy way to meet people.  Next time, I'm going to make sure I volunteer for multiple areas/departments, so I'm not doing one thing 100% of the time.

2.  Contemplate a costume.  Or maybe not a whole costume, but some cool, visual thing that people can use to start a conversation with you, even if it's just your favorite Firefly T-shirt.  This time, I was trying to look all authorly and professional, so I didn't wear any flair - and I wish I had.  It's the easiest thing in the world to walk up to a Dalek and say "Holy mackerel, I LOVE Dr. Who!  So what do we think about Peter Capaldi?"  And I expect it'll be even more fruitful if there's something about you they can use to reciprocate.

3.  Prepare to be whelmed. By which I mean, decide in advance what you're going to do when you start getting that queasy, cranky, overstimulated feeling, so you can chill out before you get overwhelmed.  I wasn't staying at the hotel, but I enjoyed several self-imposed time-out sessions in my car.  And a trip to White Castle.

4.  Keep up with the Twitter hashtag.  You don't even need a Twitter account to do it.  It's essentially a live crowd-sourced commentary about what's happening with the con - and it's so much easier to feel connected when you can see/hear a virtual conversation.

5.  Bring a buddy.  Because everybody needs a starter Pokemon.

And now that the con is over, I'm going to hang out with my good buddy Frank for some long-overdue cooking adventures before I jet home again.  Thanks for showing me a grand time, CONvergence - see you next year!

A Happy Convergence

Holy cats, you guys.  I'm in Minneapolis for CONvergence, and I'm already so tired that I might actually die, but I am having the BEST time.  And as sloppy as this post is going to be, I can't let even one more day go without doing a news update.

1.  The DFW Teen Writers Workshop is happening again!  We haven't done one of these since I became a member in 2012, so this is my first one, and I am BEYOND excited.  It's a free six-week workshop for 9th to 12th graders, kicking off on July 12th (and I would be stoked about it even if they hadn't invited me to teach the session on critiquing!)

Anyway, if you have a kid who loves writing or needs to be kept out of the pool halls this summer, please click over and check it out - it should be a fantastic experience for everyone.

2.  One Night in Sixes got a terrific review from Michael MacPherson over at GeekChicElite.com.  To say I'm on cloud nine would be a huge understatement.  I can't even tell you what it feels like to get a Tweet out of the blue from some brand-new person who read your book and loved it.  I just can't even.

Oh, but here is what I CAN say: GCE is a new site that's covering a huge array of nerd-tacular subjects, and blowing up like you wouldn't believe.  From an interview with the cast of Sailor Moon to a review of Disney's new Figment comic and news about the Guardians of the Galaxy soundtrack, they already have a terrific variety of articles up, and I'm way interested to see what they do next.  And not just because they obviously have amazing taste in fantasy novels.

3.  Books have officially made it stateside!  They are a real thing now - and they look GREAT.

And like... this is one semester of art history and a whole lot of over-tired emotionality talking here, but I get soggy every time I look at this picture.  It was taken just this afternoon (my amazing agent Jennie took delivery of the books for me and invited a whole passel of us over for dinner at her house, where we opened the box and had much rejoicing.)  And it was SUCH a great evening - that perfect mix of awesome weather, old friends, new friends, and fantastic food.  But more than that, this right here is how I always want to remember this whole writing gig.  Like, the books are there because of the people in my life, photographed with the people (bare toes, tasty nibbles, and happy times included!), and are there at the bottom of the shot because ultimately they are subordinate to those people. 

Like, those cute glossy little paperbacks literally would not exist without some of the people who were at dinner tonight, and a whole lot more who weren't, and as much time as I have spent / will spend on promoting the book, I never want it to be bigger or more important than the people whose invisible fingerprints are on literally every page.  (And man, if you think I sound over-sloppy about this now, you are not even going to be able to handle me at the launch party.)

Anyway, bed now, game face on tomorrow.  Please holler if you're around the con this weekend - it's my first time here, and I would love to meet some new northerly friends!

A Happy Hiatus

Hey guys!  Sorry, no Part 3 today - I have been waylaid by a thoroughly happy task.

It rhymes with "rage roofs."

But the news gets happier still: as of today, I am officially on board for CONvergence in Minneapolis!  I'll be a panelist for "Tell Me That Again! Classic Stories Retold", "Invisible Aces," and "Studio Ghibli & Anime After Miyazaki."  (You can click on the panel titles here to read the full descriptions.  Short story: ten kinds of awesome.  Eleven kinds of excited.)

Anyway, much love and MANY thanks to everybody who's been chatting and commenting this week – I have enjoyed it more than you know.  Next week: Part 3, blog hop fun, and a genuine bona-fide insider list of Hot Tips for Winning Write Club 2014.  Stay tuned!

One town's very like another 
When your head's down over your pieces, brother