Had a little hark back to oldtime cons—the virtues of having SPACE around a panel, having far fewer panels, even at larger cons, and using some of the extra space for big roundtable discussions—interested audience with pros at tables, in direct discussion, far more up-close, a lot less like a college lecture. I’ve literally seen groups of people taking notes—sheesh! We need more up-close and a lot less view-from-distance where it comes writers meeting with readers. THat was our recommendation—at a con dedicated to people who put on cons. Some extra space to go to after cons for more extended discussion, maybe with refweshments.
We also agreed we’d rather see a big airy consuite where pros can interact with fans (more tables) and less greenroom, where mostly pros meet for 5 minutes prior to the panels and get coffee and hopefully a donut in the morning. The only people you see hanging out in a green room tend to be neopros who are hoping something interesting will happen. Everybody else is grabbing food and moving out. What the heck is this with a sacred secret meeting place of pros (we see each other more than once a year) and no chance to sit and interact with fans. We’re not movie folk: we’re writers—we actually LIKE people!
I’d also like to propose that EVERYBODY gets cheap donuts and coffee, tea and soft drinks in the morning. In ONE big room. That this is where we go to sign books, talk with fen, park and sit, sip coffee, talk with other pros as well in things that aren’t dark secrets.
Know what the (groan) dark secrets are like in the secret Green Room? Things like “Have you read the [groan] Amazon contract?” Yeah. We have. Moan. Sulk. It’s not beer and skittles in there when THAT gets going.
Far rather be in the con suite with happy fen, signing a book or two and sipping coffee or (later) beverage of choice.
And while I’m at it—pros showing up in huge numbers and asking for comp memberships at a con where ‘pros’ practically outnumber the attendees are getting way out of hand. Unless you’re doing major programming and have a significant contribution to the con, as in, a couple of panels or events a day, time we all BOUGHT A MEMBERSHIP!
Why not suggest to the Powers That Be that the fen help set up a room like that: for 3 bags of chips, a tray of muffins, etc. they get a 5% discount off the cost of membership. Then the room is open to all members, guests, writers etc. For the opportunity to schmooze I bet a lot of people would be delighted to donate. If I were in the area, my first contribution would be a bag of Kona coffee; you could probably only get one of the 40-count pots out of it, but it runs on the strong side!
It was great having you join us. Some of the things you said are parallel to discussions that happen among conrunners, some were useful reminders, some were interesting things for us to think about.
Dinner at the Stacks was great. Marah and I went to Clinkerdagger last night, food was amazing there. We have many good things to say about Spokane now (we did before, but now we have more details 😉 ).
So good to see you!
I miss conventions. I miss a lot of things.
Sounds like fun!
I’m not sure if I’ll get to go to ApolloCon here this year. Had thought so, but budget is still low.
I’ve been to perhaps five cons altogether. The times I’ve enjoyed most were getting to meet and talk with / listen to pros (authors, artists, scientists) and fellow fans in smaller groups and panels, or one on one. — Hah, I didn’t know Ardath Mayhar, and had the great surprise of meeting and talking with her before a con got going one morning. She was a very sweet, friendly, gracious woman. LOL, I also got to meet Selena Rosen in a con dealer’s room at her booth. That was a hoot. — But that also has included small panel discussions, such as author roundtables, space science discussions (ApolloCon gets (or had) NASA folks too), and so on. Where else can you see silver-haired fans and creators, little kids as fans or kids of fans, and people all decked out in costume, or simply in casual summer clothes? (Because dang, it’s hot in summer, even in a hotel venue.)
One thing I’ve noticed from larger cons is the frustration that there are often two or more concurrent panels or events, and I’d love to go to both, but I don’t have a clone handy, so I have to choose, and perhaps miss something brilliant.
Another con, any chance at refreshments were a secret. I didn’t find the location. Water? A Coke or tea? A snack? Bathrooms? (Thank goodness I didn’t have to go that badly, or I would’ve had someone *guide* me. LOL.)
One con, they were new, the first or second year, and the turnout was far more than they (or the hotel) had had any idea of hosting. That was great, but there were plainly problems getting it all done. (The ConCom folks did a good job and I think most fans had a great time anyway.) People were squeezed into meeting rooms. 🙂
….And it’s the 21st century, we’re living in an increasingly science fictional world, and much of the public and media act as though SF&F fans are strange, nerdy, and misfits. Yet it’s patently not true when you look past the fictional props, costumes, and flashy stuff. Most fans are nice people, down to earth. We just like big imaginations, unusual ideas. SF&F films, TV, books, manga/anime, etc. are hugely popular. Yet it still hasn’t become accepted in mainstream culture. I’m so glad my parents liked SF&F, so it wasn’t seen as some childish/freakish thing (or subversive or sinful either). My parents enjoyed science fiction and occasional fantasy. But some families don’t, and the kids or adults who are fans don’t get to enjoy all that. I suppose it’s to be expected that a literature and videography of speculative, unusual ideas might seem strange to many people, but I wish it weren’t discounted or disapproved of, as it too often is. But that’s a common lament among fans, especially when they see news coverage….
BlueCatShip, I hope you can go to ApolloCon this year. It is one of the better Texas cons: small, friendly, open, and fun. If your finances improve, then I also suggest ConDFW in Dallas in February, and FenCon in Dallas in September (full disclosure: I’m FenCon’s chair this year). You will find that all of those cons tend to encourage the kind of pro/member interaction that CJ talks about in her post.
Also, save your pennies for 2013. WorldCon will be in San Antonio on Labor Day weekend in 2013. It is called LoneStarCon 3. I’ve never been to a WorldCon before and am not part of LoneStarCon’s staff, but I hear that it should be a good one.
A few years ago Fanime Con had a room for post panel discussion. It was handy as I was able to cover the material I wanted, did some Q&A and then we moved to the room for further discussion. Lack of space has made that hard to do again.
This year at Fanime my over 18 presentation was so popular that they had to turn people away. After the presentation we went to the lower level of the convention hall which had little traffic and did a Q&A that lasted longer than the presentation.
I hit the green room for breakfast, mid day snacks/beverages and a sitting break before I head back tot he halls.
Re BCS: people with imagination frequently frighten those who have a tenuous grip on suburbia’s reality…
Surely, you don’t include Jerry Pournelle among writers who like people?? 🙂
At least, it didn’t seem that way to me at Archon many many years ago.
Some 40(?) years ago there was a panel of “local” authors (not a con) at Cal Tech. IIRC, Robert Silbergerg, Randall Garret, Jerry Pournells, Larry Niven, RAH (& Ginny), and couple others I forget (Ursula Le Guinn couldn’t come). After lunch one of them said he had a great idea for a story except it required knowing longitude and there were no clocks. Apparently too much lunch had been drunk, because a disagreement ensued after a Naval Academy Annapolis graduate maintained clocks were not necessary. Not one’s finest hour disagreeing, not with a former midshipman, under the circumstances. 😉
Lol—well, I know Jerry well. And yes, he LIKES fen: he is one. He does get excited. I won’t say that some of us can’t get passionate on a topic, but that’s one of the reason for the roundtables after the panels…when you’re on stage solo, the adrenaline gets up and reason isn’t always to the foremost; but in the direct discussions, there’s much more eye to eye and talk back and forth. I knew a few pros that wouldn’t be good with fen, and I’d probably surprise you if I said who— but in general, we LIKE fen, and want to sit and talk happily—one time I remember with great fondness was an empty function room in a forgiving hotel and (ahem) a bottle that went the rounds of a full set of glasses late at night: the lot of us invented FTL, consequent of a panel earlier in the day—but alas, we forgot to take notes. We all, however, had a great deal of fun.
The Cons I enjoyed the most were the ones where I got to hang out with my favorite author. But if it was easier for fans to interact with the pros it would take the fun out of stalking!
Not to mention how well you handled the canoe!
I had a great time at ShejiCon3.