This year I was pleased to be able to go the Orycon at the Doubletree Inn in Portland. Orycon was my first Convention experience and it both amazed and surprised me. I was definitely overwhelmed by the variety of costumes including a girl as a Centaur. I made it to three (two?) panels depending on whether you count a NaNoWriMo write-in as a panel.
On Friday Evening, I didn't make it to a single panel. I know, shame on me. I wandered the fan tables and got a general idea of the content of the convention and costume watched profusely! I eventually connected with a few of the Rose City Steampunks and spent the rest of the evening wandering from room party to room party: from Hospitality to the Pirate Luau to the Costumer's Guild Alice in Wonderland Milk and Cookies party and back to Hospitality. We ended the evening costume watching because no one was quite ready to drive home.
Part of my inability to make it to panels was that on Saturday I was badly double booked most of the day. I had an big Lindy Hop workshop with Stefan and Bethany on Fast Dancing in the morning and a Murder Mystery Dance party at night. I managed to get to everything I wanted to on Saturday even though that meant I didn't get to go to some of the panels that I was really interested in. I also took some time to investigate the Dealer's room and Art Show. The Dealer's room was full of fun stuff though most of it was out of my price range, plus I was trying to avoid the book stalls since I was trying to concentrate on writing my NaNoWriMo novel. I really enjoyed walking through the art show and found a few small prints to bid on.
Saturday Panels I attended:
So you want to be a writer?
John Hedtke, Bruce Taylor, Gail Carriger, Gordon Eklund
The Panelists talked openly and honestly about the financial side of being a writer. They discussed the pros and cons of being a full time writer and being a writer with a "real job" to support the writing habit. They also talked honestly about the advance and what it means and the reality behind the royalty checks. There were a variety of types of writing represented: Original Novels, Tie in Fiction, Technical Writing, and writing for comics. The result was a nice down to earth discussion with something for everyone to take away.
NaNoWriMo: Shut up and Write-in!
We did a great job at the writing part but shutting up didn't go very well since we decided to go around the room and share what we were writing. I was the only one who was writing with pen and paper but I definitely had no intention of lugging my laptop around the Con.
Friday Night with a Fellow Rose City Steampunk
On Sunday, I only spent a couple of hours at OryCon but they were great. I attended one panel, watched the frenzy of a costume swap and picked up the single art piece that I won.
Sunday's Panel:
Steampunk: Victorian marvels of science fantastic
Gail Carriger, Camille Alexa, P.N. Elrod
I came in halfway through this panel and I really enjoyed the discussion between the three authors present. The discussion varied widely but my favorite part was the discussion of their favorite gadgets from their writings.
I went from the panel to the costume swap with a fellow Steampunk. I didn't bring anything to swap so I mostly tried to stay out of the way and watch the chaos while my friend scurried about. Nothing makes for entertaining people watching like a bunch of costumers scurrying around a room gathering costume pieces and swatches of fabric. Despite not entering the fray, I still came away with another costume as my friend shoved costume pieces at me. I finished my first convention experience by picking up the single piece of art that I had won: a print of dragons and flying cats by Sarah Clemens.
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