4th Street Fantasy Convention
Jul. 6th, 2010 05:07 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
mmerriamNow that I've had a chance to begin recovering from Convergence, I thought I'd take the time to write about the convention I attended before Convergence.
I had a wonderful 4th Street this year. It was great to renew old friendships and forge new ones. The panels were good again this year, though I do have a quibble with how the panelists were chosen.
Friday: The "What Should I Be Reading" panels was great fun, and now my list of books to read is probably longer than I have years to live. "How Do You Know The Story Is Going Wrong" was, if not the most informative panel, at least amusing. Met a whole bunch of new folks at dinner (Taste of India), thanks to![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
cloudscudding, who had convinced several of her writer friends to attend. I played bass guitar in the music circle that night and had a good time, though sometimes it's hard to get my guitar to project enough to be heard among all the six-strings. careswen sang a couple of well-received songs.
Saturday: "Beyond Promotion: Reputation Management" delved into why some writers eventually chose the small press option (while still trying to break into the major presses) which triggered some lively discussion. Lunch (Yangtze) was an adventure, but we got fed, then back for the next two panels, "How Does Medium Affect the Story?" and "Fantasy vs. Progress." Both were solid panels with crunchy bits. I skipped the next panel and hung out with friends in the consuite before heading to dinner (again at Taste of India) with a different group than the previous night. Caught the last panel and then hung out in Consuite and talked to various people until the wee early hours of the morning.careswen, mischief03, and I were the last out in our part of consuite, but there were a few diehards in the other room chatting.
Sunday: Caught the first panel, but I don’t remember too much about it. Brunch was great fun, and the whole table of us adjourned to consuite and talked about a variety of things until the last panel, "But That's a Different Panel," was ready to start. There was a meeting with the Patrick and Teresa Neilsen Hayden later that evening, which I understand turned into a pitch session, but by then I was getting sick and exhausted. I went home to rest, with the idea I would crawl in bed and if I felt better after some sleep, we would go back. I ended up staying in bed until the next morning.
My only regrets are that: 1: There were a couple of panels I think I'd have been a good fit for, but panelists were by "invitation only" and B. I seem to have two different circles of friends at this convention and no overlap among them, which forced me to make choices when I would have loved to get all these really smart people together and talking. Really though, despite those two things and getting sick at the end, it was a great 4th Street Fantasy convention.
I had a wonderful 4th Street this year. It was great to renew old friendships and forge new ones. The panels were good again this year, though I do have a quibble with how the panelists were chosen.
Friday: The "What Should I Be Reading" panels was great fun, and now my list of books to read is probably longer than I have years to live. "How Do You Know The Story Is Going Wrong" was, if not the most informative panel, at least amusing. Met a whole bunch of new folks at dinner (Taste of India), thanks to
cloudscudding, who had convinced several of her writer friends to attend. I played bass guitar in the music circle that night and had a good time, though sometimes it's hard to get my guitar to project enough to be heard among all the six-strings. careswen sang a couple of well-received songs.Saturday: "Beyond Promotion: Reputation Management" delved into why some writers eventually chose the small press option (while still trying to break into the major presses) which triggered some lively discussion. Lunch (Yangtze) was an adventure, but we got fed, then back for the next two panels, "How Does Medium Affect the Story?" and "Fantasy vs. Progress." Both were solid panels with crunchy bits. I skipped the next panel and hung out with friends in the consuite before heading to dinner (again at Taste of India) with a different group than the previous night. Caught the last panel and then hung out in Consuite and talked to various people until the wee early hours of the morning.
careswen, mischief03, and I were the last out in our part of consuite, but there were a few diehards in the other room chatting.Sunday: Caught the first panel, but I don’t remember too much about it. Brunch was great fun, and the whole table of us adjourned to consuite and talked about a variety of things until the last panel, "But That's a Different Panel," was ready to start. There was a meeting with the Patrick and Teresa Neilsen Hayden later that evening, which I understand turned into a pitch session, but by then I was getting sick and exhausted. I went home to rest, with the idea I would crawl in bed and if I felt better after some sleep, we would go back. I ended up staying in bed until the next morning.
My only regrets are that: 1: There were a couple of panels I think I'd have been a good fit for, but panelists were by "invitation only" and B. I seem to have two different circles of friends at this convention and no overlap among them, which forced me to make choices when I would have loved to get all these really smart people together and talking. Really though, despite those two things and getting sick at the end, it was a great 4th Street Fantasy convention.
