SF/F/H Conventions: Why?

[mmerriam]

I am currently examining why I attended Conventions. Considering this year there were (are) eight cons I can name off the top of my head right here in the Twin Cities, I need to figure out what it is I want out of them, how I plan to get the things I want, and what my plan to do so should be.

So my question to you, Oh Mighty Flist, is: If you attended SF/F/H conventions, why do you go and what do you get out of them?

And yes, I am still working on a novel, thank you for asking.

Dark Water Blues

Comments

[beth-bernobich.livejournal.com]

I go to conventions to hang out with readers and writers, to meet up with long-distance friends, to immerse myself in SF and learn more about the field. Mostly I go for the human contact, in a temporary bubble of time and place, where I get to be just my writer/reader self.

[mmerriam.livejournal.com]

Thanks! That's a great answer, and one I suspect to see echoed by others.

[materia-indigo.livejournal.com]

That's exactly the answer I would give, but beth has worded it so perfectly I have little to add.

As for professional networking, I only do that at World Fantasy or World Horror. Everything else is a fan convention, as far as I'm concerned. Mostly I just like to make new friends and keep in touch with old friends.

[mmerriam.livejournal.com]

That's a great point about the professional networking!