Got back from NASFIC (The North American Science Fiction Conference) which is the "world con substitute" held in any year the real World Con is held somewhere outside of North America.
This year it was held in Detroit, at the beautiful, but incredibly complex and not particularly handicapper accessable Renaissance Center. It was a wonderful conference and I have loads of things to tell you about. Lots of great inspiration and ideas.... and yet, I noticed, as the conference wore on, I took fewer and fewer notes, with a few exceptions.
What happened was that the verbal/social centers of my brain completely burned out. Because I'm not shy, most people don't realize that I am an introvert, and just being in the proximity of this many people and this many conversations (fascinating conversations!) wears me out.
When the conference began, every conversation had my brain fired up with spinning words and ideas, and I couldn't wait to sit down and start writing up a con report and maybe some blog posts. But usually by then it was very late and time to go to bed, so I took some notes for later. By the end of the con, I was still conversing reasonably well, and could more or less think... but my ability to compose words had been reduced to a Frankenstein level. "Errrrrrr. Fire bad! Errrrrrrr!"
Or, actually, more like dead silence.
Even after a night's sleep at home, I found that I had progressed only to writing shopping lists and maybe taking some notes. I suspect the con report will come out as a series of posts this fall. Or maybe I'll post bits, along with pictures, for updates over hte next few weeks.
All the same, I am energized on writing and art and everything. I had a bunch of ideas for short stories, in particular. And in spite of the sprained verbal center of the brain (it can hobble and flex a little now, but not dance) I find myself moving back into the stories.
I think I'm gong to give myself all tomorrow to edit and plot. However, I think I will leave you with an image. My photo doesn't do it justice -- but we began the week by visiting the Detroit Institute of Art, where there is a room -- a grand hall really -- with Diego Rivera's monumental tributes to Michigan industry. I knew there was a Rivera mural there, I hadn't realized that it was a whole hall, and I had not realized that's the room we were stepping into when we walked in to see this. It's one of those jaw-dropping, awe-inspiring moments. And words just don't suffice.
This is one part of it -- the central figures of the main panel on one side of the room -- but there was a lot more to this image, and there were many more panels.
See you in the funny papers.
5 comments:
My first writer's conference, I was hugely inspired to write a lengthy blog post after each 1-hour session. Alas, by the end of the day, I was too tired to write at all.
I need to go to NASFIC! Next year worldcon is at Sasquan in Spokane, Wa, in August, right?
I'm not sure where WorldCon is next -- just that it's too far away to go.
I wonder if sf cons are even more intense than most writing conferences, because they range a lot wider in subject matter. On the one hand, the gaming and costumes and weird "future of the world" subjects do give a break from the writing focus, that just means more parts of your brain get burned up.
I have decided, btw, that all of the rest of my update reports for ROW80 will actually be con reports.
Found you through ROW80 - love your Deco blog feel and looking forward to reading your con reports. Even with just our small chapter, I had the same problem at the retreat I went to this year. And I'm both shy AND an introvert, so I spent weeks afterward remembering little snippets of things I learned and enjoyed.
It's been a few years since I last went to a conference. I love them (Lunacon and Albacon were my staples along with the more furry-based Anthrocons), but despite the energized feeling I would have after each one, I never got much further than going "Whoa! That was intense." Notes? I had a bunch, but few made sense... (I love recorders for that reason.) It takes a lot of time to process that much information.
That mural is gorgeous, Camille.
Welcome to the blog, Kristen. Thanks, Eden.
Yes. Conferences and Conventions have a way of being overwhelming. And cons (as opposed to writer conferences) are particularly so because they aren't about the publishing business (even when individual panels might be) but rather they are about the fans. They're about reading more than they are about writing.
If you've been away from it, that can be especially valuable.
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