WorldCon was last weekend, in the exotic far-away locale of Anaheim, a convenient 35 minute drive. My wife dropped me off at the hotel on Thursday morning, checked in early, and spent three nights. Was originally planning to stay through Monday morning but real world obligations (such as my wife’s knee surgery) got in the way.
This was my first in-person con. I’ve attended the online Flights of Foundry every year, and am planning to attend again in two weeks, but in person was a lot more fun. And more tiring. There were sessions to attend, costumes to look at, ceremonies to watch, and a lot of people watching. I channelled my inner extrovert (a sentence that only an introvert could write) and tried to engage with people I met in sessions. I ended up re-meeting an author who worked with me at the Nebula’s two years ago and we have agreed to beta read each other’s work. I also met someone who is part of an online writing group on Discord and may start attending that. Finally, I met someone who was looking for an online writing group so we have agreed to exchange work with each other. I was proud of myself for sticking myself out there and meeting people.
I took a lot of notes at the sessions I was in, which ranged from SF Poetry, to writing neurodivergent characters, to getting deeper into the writing process. The most valuable sessions for me were two sessions on finding time to write. By and large, I felt like I didn’t get a lot of new information at this con, but it definitely reinforced some thoughts, strategies and knowledge that I already had. In other words, I no longer feel like a rank beginner writer, but have moved up a rung on the ladder.
After the con, there were some posts on Bluesky about two different styles of engagement that are common at these types of things. The first is someone who goes in with openness and willingness to learn and share with anyone. The second was the “tech-bro” model of someone who is only willing to engage if it seems like it will “advance their career.” Basically, don’t be the second person. I’ve seen similar behavior at my real-life job professional conferences as well, and it is definitely off-putting to say the least. No one is so good at this (be it writing or chemistry) that they can’t learn from an interaction with another person. I find my deepest learning comes from teaching others. Some of the best and deepest questions have come from my first year chemistry students (some of the worst and shallowest as well, but to me it is very important for me to hear those questions and honor them… because a misconception that a student has can be something I try to get out in front of next time).
I’ve been inspired to relaunch my writing after quite a long break. There is a short story call in October that I think I have a good match for. I am also excited to write a new story that has been noodling around in my head for a while about a far-future augmented-human society with a 3-way war between humans, androids, and robots. But it’s a really tight, close story about one woman and her crew.
But this week was the first week back to school and I’ve spent a good deal of it at home helping my wife with her recovery, and also at work with two emergent personnel (broadly defined) issues. But I’ve mostly cleared this three-day weekend to get the house in shape, read some fiction, edit my essay collection, and relax.
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