On the website their "mission" statement reads: NerdCon: Stories is here to honor that institution with a diverse gathering of story tellers. Podcasters, novelists, cartoonists, musicians, poets, and more will gather in Minneapolis for an exceptional celebration.
Now, I got super excited. I attended my very first writers conference this past year, which you can read about here: http://malindaandrews.blogspot.com/2015/03/bonus-post.html I loved the experience, and was hoping for a similar one.
Friday was good. I was able to get into the lecture/panel I wanted to, and was able to meet Patrick Rothfuss! I stayed for the opening speeches, as well as waited for Rothfuss in line, and we talked for almost 10 min. He was very nice and happy to talk with a fellow fantasy author!
The lecture/panel I attended was Honing Your Craft: Embettering Your Word-Doing, and it was phenomenal. I came away with some great ideas, and it was great to hear that traditionally published authors have the same struggles that I do!
Some takeaways I had were:
* Plans are great, but be flexible
* Not everything works for everyone all the time
* Try different writing strategies
*block of time (4 hours was the example given)
*sprints
*word wars with writing buddies
*designated writing time/spaces
(And yes, that is Holly Black as the moderator, on the far left, I was able to meet her later and get an autograph, what a lovely woman!)
Sadly, I wasn't feeling well and headed back to my hotel room for a nap after that lecture/panel. It was great having a huge comfy king sized bed to sprawl out on!
Saturday was where I ran into trouble. It seemed that the attendance tripled overnight. I was not able to get into the two lectures/panels that I really wanted to attend due to just stupid long lines. It was very upsetting as I was there to learn and better my craft, and not just "be in the same room as famous authors". Yes I did actually hear someone say that was why they were there. That killed me. I couldn't believe that someone would take up a seat just to say they were there instead of letting someone who wanted to learn have that spot.
Instead of my original lecture/panel, I was able to join my fiancé -Josh- in the lecture he was attending, Once More With Feeling: Storytelling through Song. This was actually a great lecture/panel! It was fun, and much of what they discussed actually applies to novel/short story writing as well as song writing.
My key takeaways were:
*Collaboration:
*feedback can be tough
*go in with an open mind
*Writing Strategies:
*give your back-brain time to roam-boring tasks keep your fore-brain busy while allowing your back-brain to process
*"Thanks for the crippling freedom!"- constraints can be your friend!
Once again, thanks to the same issue as above, I was unable to attend the final lecture/panel I wanted to. I chose to stay in the same auditorium and wait for But It's Just a Story: The Moral Responsibility of the Storyteller. Only after he walked in did I realize that Patrick Rothfuss was the moderator! (It was pretty awesome.)This turned out to be one of the best discussions I have ever been a part of or witnessed. Rothfuss kept the panel and audience on track, and made some excellent points on the responsibility (or possibly lack thereof) that authors have when writing images and scenes that could influence the reader. Both positively and negatively.
This lecture/panel actually got me thinking, in a good way, about my own work, and I will probably write a blog post, or two part-er, on it in the near future. :)
My key takeaways were:
*As a writer we are entertainers, and are concerned first and foremost with "write(ing) something that is engaging"- Patrick Rothfuss.
*The law of unintended consequences
*Writers should be "thinking as a reader and not just as a writer"- Nalo Hopkinson
*Reading is a process of recognition."- Lev Grossman
*Ethics demands hard answers, fiction does not
These lectures/panels were fantastic, and I am glad that I wound up in ones that I otherwise wouldn't have as they were valuable.
That said, I do have a few bones to pick. The "Con" did not live up to my expectations. I think part of it was I went into this with high expectations, as well as Nerdcon "issues".
The first was mentioned above. I am sorry, but I found that extremely disrespectful of my time and money, as well as the panelists.
The second: there was absolutely no representation of the "indie" movements. Either in music or publishing (That I saw- please someone correct me if I am wrong, but moving on with the assumption that I am correct...)
Nerdcon was here to celebrate stories, in all the forms that they come it. Why didn't Indie's get a spotlight as well? Every author there was traditionally published. There wasn't even a mention of independent authors and self publishing. And yet, it is a HUGE movement in the book (and other forms of storytelling) community. I was really disappointed about this. I felt like this would have been the No. 1 place to have Indie information, and there was a whole lot of NOTHING. Not even a section where Indie's could bring their books to showcase.
The third: NaNoWriMo said that they were going to have a "presence" at the convention....that amounted to one person. Now, I guess that does count, and she did a fantastic job. I am not meaning this as a jab at her, or the organization (as I love the organization-I participate, and donate $ every year to it). Again, I felt let down. They even had a vendor room at the Con! I was hoping they would have a table filled with NaNo swag, helpful tips, and goodies for the attendees, but alas I was mistaken.
The fourth and final: While the lectures/panels were great, I felt there wasn't enough meat for someone like me. I was looking for something more. Maybe a workshop, or more lectures geared towards writers for their craft. Everything felt impersonal (on the whole-there were a few exceptions such as the last lecture/panel I attended) and generic to a "con".
Overall I would rate the experience a 6 out of 10. I think the Con itself didn't really know what it was, or quite where it is headed. My bottom line, the entire weekend cost (for two people-not including food/fuel) about $800. If I were to attend next year, there would have to be major changes regarding the above for me to consider it. It felt more like a giant meet up for Green Brothers fans, YA readers, and not really a place for writers. I am glad that I went, the experience was worthwhile. But next year? Probably not.
I think you summed it up really well. Your cons were the same as mine. I was there as a fan, too, so I kind of get it, but I also would've liked to have the opportunity to learn from and interact more with fellow writers. I'm glad we both went though! It was fun and educational and laid back, which was cool. I have a new appreciation for Patrick Rothfuss. He just seemed awesome every time I saw him. But yeah, wayyy too many people on Saturday and not enough things for them to do. Here's to going back to the Madison writer's convention next year!
ReplyDeleteI'm glad that you agree with me! I tried to sum everything up as well as I could. I am so excited for this next years writer's conference. I think we are going to get even more out of it this time around!
ReplyDeleteThank you for the thoughtful review of your Nerdcon experience; you brought up good points. I too had a 6-hour drive, and was mildly dismayed the con wasn’t all the shiny things it could have been.
ReplyDeleteTo me, the level of writing-talk was appropriate for a story-oriented convention, but I wanted to have had more time to socialize with other attendees and experiment with stories after mainstage events, rather than the rolling celebrity-fest (however entertaining that might be).
I suspect that if a batch of attendees announced their takeover of the atrium for storytelling/writing workshop aims, this would have been embraced. The celebrities had a lot of talk on how we were creating this thing together, but the schedule was too tight for spontaneous programming to easily develop. Which is too bad, because there were so MANY seeds being planted to do just that.
Thank you so much for your comment! I completely agree with your statements. I think instead of large auditorium filled things, there should have been more space for storytelling/workshops whether planned or not. It felt like there wasn't enough opportunity for interaction with fellow attendees.
DeleteHopefully before next year, if they continue, they will do some revamping to allow time for (slightly smaller, less celebrity filled) creative pursuits.
Thank you for the thoughtful review of your Nerdcon experience; you brought up good points. I too had a 6-hour drive, and was mildly dismayed the con wasn’t all the shiny things it could have been.
ReplyDeleteTo me, the level of writing-talk was appropriate for a story-oriented convention, but I wanted to have had more time to socialize with other attendees and experiment with stories after mainstage events, rather than the rolling celebrity-fest (however entertaining that might be).
I suspect that if a batch of attendees announced their takeover of the atrium for storytelling/writing workshop aims, this would have been embraced. The celebrities had a lot of talk on how we were creating this thing together, but the schedule was too tight for spontaneous programming to easily develop. Which is too bad, because there were so MANY seeds being planted to do just that.