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After getting something to eat and a coffee to wake me up, I get to the registration office the next morning with my blue ticket in hand - the one I should guard with my life according to the registration lady - to get my pocket program and try to plan my day. As I'm making my way over there, I notice a message plastered on the walls every few centimeters, so I reckon this must be an important message. And it says that, due to a few changes made since the pocket program was last printed, a daily event list will be available… Ach! But I get my pocket program anyway, and for my trouble get to argue with a youngling convention volunteer who would not give me today's event list, saying that I could find all the information in the pocket book. So I point behind him to the notice that is plastered in a gazillion copies on the wall, mentioning that this must be only for decoration after all. "Uh… Ok… You can have one…" Hmph!

Thus started day 1. First panel was very interesting, though, so not all was lost!

You have a first draft, now what?

Robert Silverberg came up with very good advice for this one, and as a life-long novelist and occasional editor, he should know. But, as he points out, his career was not a typical one. He sold basically everything that he wrote in his 50+ years as a writer, and usually before he had written it. Josepha Sherman, writer and editor, states: "never send out your first draft." So when should we send it out? When your friends won't talk to you because they don't want to hear anything about the new rewrite of the manuscript you just finished. When you can't possibly make it any better. Conventions are, apparently, a good way to make contacts, which does not include aggressively walking up to an agent or editor with your manuscript in one hand and a smell of alcohol on your breath.

Fantasy Culture Design

Later, I attended a panel about Fantasy Culture Design, where the panelists discussed the philosophical and anthropological aspects of Fantasy worlds. One thing that came out of it was that most Fantasy novels written for the North American market borrow from the same mythological pool - fairies, Irish and Celtic mythology, etc. - but there is much more we could borrow from. Unfortunately, authors who have attempted it were rejected on the basis that the story was "too exotic" for the audience. One such author, I think it was Connie Willis, used Australian native mythology, and was rejected for it. I had been wondering about that myself, lately. Canada has a treasure of myths that have been seldom used in contemporary Fantasy, as opposed to Celtics and so on, and I thought I would try to write something based on Canadian myths. After this panel, however, I'm not too sure. Oh well. Time will tell, I suppose.

It was the first convention where I saw a few people dress up. Some in wizards, others only wearing a cloak, this type of thing. I saw a few guys in kilts, and was very tempted to ask them if it were true, you know, this thing about kilts and underwear? Ah... Never mind.

Kaffeeklatche

I had to choose, between a panel on Archetypes and Fairy Tales - which would have been a good extension to the previous panel I attended - and a kaffeeklatche with George RR Martin. Now, for those of you who don't know what that is, kaffee is German for coffee, and klatche is German for chat. I had never been to a kaffeeklatche before, so I decided to try that one - and of course, it was with George RR Martin, so… It turns out that these are a limited gatherings of about 10 people where we get to discuss a person's work in a very cozy and friendly environment. So, we got to ask George things like: "When? How many more? Why kill'em all?" "> I must have been the only person to ask him about the language, which he says doesn't come any easier even after years and years of writing. It was fun. And George is a very insightful and gentle person. This is where I learnt he had a new book out, sort of an anthology of his earlier work: short stories, screenplays, essays, etc. "GRRM: A RRetrospective." ">

So, I went to the dealer room to find this book. And I was tempted. There were many, many books. Too many, in my opinion. There was also this cool Star Trek dealer with a display of t-shirts and sweatshirts. Not good for my wallet. But I was a good girl. I only bought George's book, and now all I have to do is hunt him down and corner him so he'll sign it.

It was a disappointment when I realized that the panels weren't all happening at the convention center. Some of them are held at the Royal York, a hotel one and a half block away from the convention center. So I walked to the Royal York to attend the opening ceremony, when this guy on the street stops me. Now, I think he wants to ask me for some information, and despite the fact that I'm running late, I diligently stop and listen to what he's asking me (the lack of punctuation is intentional, by the way): "Hi I'm from Toronto my girlfriend left me and I know I'm getting bald but she told me I was good looking so will you take care of me?"

Later that night, after listening to engineers and mathematicians debate the wisdom of including research and development in a Fantasy world, I make my way back to my hotel. This man steps in after me in the elevator, and by the ribbons hanging from his identification card, I can guess that he's some kind of special guest at the convention (I know, because George RR Martin had those ribbons on his card too, although of different colors) but I can't read the name, and I'm tired so I don't bother. He gently tells me after observing me for a few seconds: "come on. You can't be that exhausted." You have no idea. No idea at all. hrug">

Conventions tend to do that to you. I can only imagine what it must be like for panelists.