I have the opportunity to attend some this year and I want to do it right. Please recommend one. Cost is not necessarily an issue.
To avoid an endless slew of “I heard that…” and “I read about…” please follow these simple guidelines when responding. I’m not trying to be a hard-nose about this, but I tried asking this on some other forums without the guidelines and the responses were long and, frankly, not terribly useful.
1. Please only speak about events you have personally attended. No second hand info please. 2. Only ONE recommendation per respondent please. I’ve found this tends to make people REALLY think about which one they want to recommend, rather than just offering a list. 3. Events in the U.S. only. 4. The ability to do some networking is a major plus. 5. Primary genres include Science Fiction, Speculative Fiction, Fantasy, Children’s Picture Books, and Poetry.
I have to admit to a minor ulterior motive for these guidelines. I’m curious to see how many respondents have the willpower to stay within them. As a writer, I know I love to ramble on and on - let’s see who else has that problem.
[This message has been edited by Josh Leone (edited June 20, 2005).]
Posted by rickfisher (Member # 1214) on :
World Fantasy Convention is good. It has the advantages of being a major con, without being overwhelming. One other important advantage is that it focuses almost entirely on the written word. Their is no costume party, for example. None of the activities or panels are media related. (Not that such panels are necessarily bad, but the con is more focused as a result.) The place is not filled with people who are interested only in Live-action Role playing games. It's all books, magazines, authors, editors, publishers and agents.
Posted by Josh Leone (Member # 2365) on :
Only one person can speak with firsthand knowledge of an event they would recommend? Is this because there are so many events not worth recomemnding, or because so few people have first hand experience?
Posted by HSO (Member # 2056) on :
Setting aside the strict requirements for posting an answer to your query, the following may turn some people off:
quote:I have to admit to a minor ulterior motive for these guidelines. I’m curious to see how many respondents have the willpower to stay within them. As a writer, I know I love to ramble on and on - let’s see who else has that problem.
No one likes to be a guinea pig in someone else's experiment.
Posted by Survivor (Member # 213) on :
Or maybe everyone is REALLY thinking about which one event to suggest.
That takes time, you know.
Posted by rickfisher (Member # 1214) on :
Hey, HSO! You calling me a guinea pig? Only Mrs. Kowal is allowed to do that!
( )
Posted by autumnmuse (Member # 2136) on :
I am not qualified to reply, and I'm probably not the only one. I have never been to a con or anything, but I am going to this year's Worldcon in Glasgow, so I'll let you know how it went when I get back.
Posted by HSO (Member # 2056) on :
Autumn, but that violates posting rule #3, which states U.S. events only. Nevertheless, a new topic discussing it would be lovely. By the way, when is Worldcon?
Rickfisher, er... no, I wasn't really.... But, I will ask Mary to back me up once she has returned from bootcamp, if this pleases you.
Survivor: Always the optimist.
Posted by Josh Leone (Member # 2365) on :
HSO, I have a hard time seeing it that way. I just don't see the people here as being so delicate they would take offense at such a good-humored statement. I like Survivor's idea though. If people are just taking the time to think it through, please do so. The more thoughtful the answer, the better. After all, events are mightly expensive, and I'd like the best info this community can offer.
The rules were strict, but as I said, I've found when I ask such questions without being extremely clear on what I'm looking for, I get a LOT that I'm not.
I doubt anyone took offense to it. Maybe they thought it was funny, or maybe they didn't care for it. I can't speak for anyone else, though, so who knows what anyone thought. Already, we've diverged from your intended subject of discussion, and it would seem that my little experiment is working nicely.
Seriously, I don't have an experiment... and if I did, I certainly wouldn't say so. Or then again, I might say so, but then I might say I'm kidding about having one, and then contrive some lenghty explanation. Sort of like what I've just said, actually.
One never knows...
Posted by Josh Leone (Member # 2365) on :
My head hurts. Posted by Kolona (Member # 1438) on :
Hmmm...qualify 'this year' -- the rest of 2005 or from June to June?
