Posts Tagged Balticon
Report from Balticon
Posted by DLThurston in Business of Writing on May 31, 2011
It would be entirely too easy for me to write a nice long woe-is-me post regarding my experiences with doing one day of Balticon. However, I’m trying to avoid woe-is-me posts, because I don’t like reading them when other people do them, so instead I’m just going to do some lessons learned.
Lesson one. One day is not enough to do a convention. Sure, it lets you attend some panels and wander around the dealers room, but it means you’re there as a casual fan rather than someone who is serious about getting some networking done. The two big problems? Networking largely happens after hours, and an hour spent in a panel is an hour where you’re not getting to talk with people.
Lesson two. If you can’t network, stick with people who can. It’s an art, it’s a skill, it’s not something everyone was born to do, or can even learn to do. That’s why having friends who are better at it than you can be a benefit. Though remember, they’re often trying to do some networking as well, so don’t cramp their style. But don’t be completely out of touch either. Networking is about knowing people who know people, and anyone you know at a convention who you’re not staying in at least some contact with while there is an opportunity lost.
Lesson three. Plot ideas can come out of the strangest panels. Deep brain stimulation. It’s like hooking a pacemaker up to the brain, and is being explored as a possible treatment for depression that isn’t responding to typical treatments. Oh yes, there’s a hell of a plotline there that’s churning over in my head. Hopefully that alone will end up worth the price of the one day admission.
So next year? I’ll probably do Balticon again, with the unquestionable goal of doing it better.
Tomorrow is June 1, so look for State of the Writer, and the day after is a Fortnightcap day.
Comments and Balticon
Posted by DLThurston in Administrative, Rust on May 27, 2011
Some administrative notes.
First: I have scaled back the tight grip that I held on comments. I had a few blogs that descended into spam, so I’ve likely over reacted in the way I hate when other people do it (punish a few by making things nearly impossible for everyone). Akismet is patrolling, and into every blog a little spam will fall. Hopefully it doesn’t go too crazy. (I’m also hoping that by saying spam three times, this is where they’ll land, spambots are weird that way).
Second: I’m going to be hitting Balticon on Saturday. It’ll be my first time at a con with my writing name, rather than my regular name, on my badge. Find me! Ask me for a networking card! Gawk at how many times my fantastic wife was able to get “DL” and “Thurston” onto a 3″x5″ piece of card stock (hint: 5 and 4).
Third: The Rust experiment has been closed. I love the story, I love the book, I love that it taught me I could write novel-length fiction. I love that anyone supported it. But it is what it is: written quickly by a novice, edited by an amateur, and slung together into ePub formats by someone who was learning as he went. Going forward, it’s not what I want to be the face of my fiction. I thank everyone who read it, even (hell: especially) the guy who gave it two stars on Amazon. He taught me I’ve reached a point where I can let negative critiques roll off my back and just keep right on going. There’s a time where that wasn’t true. To everyone who read it and liked it, I’m thrilled, for everyone who read it and didn’t, thanks for at least giving me a try. One day it might be back in some format, but I can’t say when or how.
That is all.
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