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

[ruralwriter.livejournal.com]

I've been to only one convenion and it was earlier this year, so I can offer some fresh, but perhaps limited input about why I had fun and why I'd like to go back.

1) Hearing writers talk made me feel "not so alone" as a writer. They face problems; I face problems.

2) The reader in me enjoyed hearing about books I should be reading and thinking differently about books I've read...and just being around other readers (how many Americans haven't read a novel this year, for example? some huge and slightly depressing percentage).

3) It was Different, meaning it was a change of pace from my usual routine. This may not apply to you if you go to cons frequently. I dunno. What do you think? Do different cons offer a change of pace for you?

I wouldn't mind going to another con, but it's hard for me to travel.