WisCon Report — 2006

Another WisCon has come and gone. It was a marvelous convention for me. I thought I’d actually try to do some kind of con report this time. However, after I started I realized that it was merely a list of wonderful people I’d met and ate with and chatted with and flirted with . . . Still, thought I’d try to do something.

ETA: I wrote most of this on the plane coming back from WisCon. It’s just taken me a while to actually get it posted. The day job is *insane* right now. I’m really not around much.

I left Seattle on the Wednesday before the con. I still don’t know why, but there was *no* traffic on the way to the airport. It was 8:30 on a Wednesday morning and it took me 20 minutes to get to the airport. When it’s busy, it can take between one to two hours to drive to the airport from my place. Then, there were only two people ahead of me at security. Again, it generally takes me over an hour to go through security as well. So I ended up at the gate more than an hour before they boarded.

I decided it was the Universe conspiring to give me time to write. I’d brought my notebooks, as well as the Book of Days, so I did a 30 minute timed prompt. The prompt was “Road maps”, which felt very appropriate as I was traveling.

My first flight, out of Seattle to Minneapolis, was delayed. I was thanking my lucky stars that I’d not gotten one of the first flights I’d looked at, which had only 30 minutes of layover in Mpls. I had about 3 hours between flights. I put my luggage in a locker, went for a brisk 45 minute walk through the airport, talked with my dad and my brother and my friend Jennie on the phone, then got a *wonderful* salad at the French Meadow Bakery and Cafe. I was so excited to find them.

Laurie Edelson was on the flight from Mpls to Madison with me. We ended up taking the hotel shuttle together, then, after checking in, going out to dinner at the Ovations restaurant. We were both really tired, but the food was good and revived us. Then I crashed, hard.

The next day was the writer’s workshop. I was mean to the people in my session, and made them do a writing exercise. But I think it was successful. I started to see people, started to fill up my meal schedule. After the workshop I went back to my room and napped. This became quite a pattern for me — Get up, go interact, go back to the room and sleep, get up, interact, then go nap again . . .

I also worked out everyday. Wednesday I walked in the airport. Thursday I walked all the way down State street and back. Friday I went to the fitness room and did the elliptical. I know that the exercise helped keep me grounded.

Friday afternoon I did a reading — I read the short story “Slow Honey.” We gave away door prizes as part of the reading. It was fun. Then I went and napped again before The Gathering.

The Gathering was the first indication to me that this WisCon was *different*. It was so crowded. I couldn’t believe how many people were there, how loud it was. It was pretty amazing. I didn’t stay for long I’m afraid.

Saturday I didn’t have any formal programming, didn’t actually attend any of the panels, but I did attend the first part of the Tiptree auction, and laughed and laughed and laughed.

Sunday was the “Flirt, Cruise and Pick-up” panel. Lynn Paleo was a good moderator for the panel. I really am a prude at some level professionally. I’d happily flirt with my day job boss. But even the thought of flirting with me editor gives me shudders. Just — no. It’s too important a relationship. I still think my favorite line from the panel was “Flirting as social fluffing.”

I think this panel should be held next year as well — and there should be even more people on it. This year we had the marvelous Beverly on it. She’s 71 and just a hoot and it was interesting to hear her perspective. I would like to add a younger woman as well as a gay man, to get their perspective.

For the younger woman — there was a group of them who pulled one of the panelists over after the panel and told her how interesting it was to hear how older women flirted because that wasn’t how she and her friends did it, but they might have to someday. Currently, they all flirted using instant messaging, but it was just among their friends. I would like to get more of that perspective.

Sunday afternoon was the panel on world building in historic fiction. I had a few things to say, from the pragmatic, nuts and bolts (getting al my notes in one place and typing them into the computer as a form of review) as well as talking a little about my process, which turned out to be very different than everyone else’s process who was on the panel – it turned out that I was the only one who outlined. Felt a little outnumbered. But it was okay.

The parties that night were a little difficult, at least at first for me. See, there was one party that were giving away masks as party favors (dominoes.) There were a lot of people in full masks as well.

I don’t like masks. They bother me. There aren’t any masks in my house. I’m afraid they’ll come alive and start talking to me. If I put one on, it might take over, or try to eat my face. But everyone was in masks. I was starting to get freaked out. I got a mask myself, tried to fit in, but I couldn’t do it. It just bothered me too much. I thought about leaving.

Then I came up with the idea of wearing my mask around my arm. And it became my Magical Arm Band of Mask Protection ™, +4. A little later Angell drew cat’s eyes in the holes for the eyes. And suddenly, it was okay. I was protected. I know it seems like a silly thing, but I honestly needed to do it for it to be okay for me to be there.

The next day I wasn’t smart about food. I didn’t eat a good enough breakfast (though I did eat something with the marvelous Beverly.) I packed and got ready to go and didn’t have a mid-morning snack, my second breakfast. I ended up at the sign-out starving. Rob Gates was a dear and got me a hot dog from the con suite, and eventually the sign-out people brought me a couple of hard boiled eggs, but my blood sugar was already pretty crashed out.

After the sign-out was the mid-career writer’s panel. It was as necessary this year as it’s been every year that I’ve gone. Thank you Pat for organizing it.

After that I got to hang out with another of my Clarion class mates Therese, until it was time for my shuttle to the airport.

A lot of people were stuck at the airport, and eventually made their way back to the hotel. I was one of the lucky ones who managed to get out of Madison and to Mpls. Once there, I parked my luggage in a locker again, had more food, then walked with Naomi, a new friend and fellow technical writer.

They completely over-booked the flight from Mpls to Seattle. After everyone was on board they were still looking for 11 volunteers who were willing to leave in the morning. I have a work deadline and a kitty and I just couldn’t. But I did think about it.

So that’s my WisCon report. Only went to half of one panel that I wasn’t on personally — the one on gender on Friday night. I wish I could have gone to more. But on Sunday I was able to say that I still felt “normal” — and that meant more to me than any number of panels could have. I was able to talk with people and interact when I was around, and that was good. Plus, for the week after the con, though I was a little tired, I wasn’t sick. And that’s saying a lot, especially considering how I was after NorWesCon.

I brought my digital camera with me — didn’t get it out one. Didn’t take a single picture I’m afraid. But I did make some new friends, and I did get inspired.

Though — inspired isn’t really the accurate term. The way I’d describe it is that WisCon helped me engage my will. Damn it, I’m too fucking stubborn to quit. To not write. I may have to change my process. I may be turning out stuff a lot slower. But I’m not going to stop. I’m going to do short fiction. I’m going to finish stories. I’ll get back to the novel someday. And I’ll finish that too.

I’ve run into this before — when my flesh was weak but my will was strong. And I continued. I can do it again.

I will try to be as gentle with myself as I can be, to accept the days when I can’t write, when I don’t have the energy or the time or the where with all to write. But I also have to be firm, and on the days when I can write, I will.