So, next on my schedule of upcoming events is Capclave, the science fiction literary convention for the Washington, D.C. area. I really would like to go to this, because I haven't been to a science fiction/fantasy convetion yet even though fantasy is my preferred genre to read and write. Capclave is sponsored by the WSFA (Washington Science Fiction Association). The honored guests are James Morrow, multi-published author and proponent of Tolkien in schools, and Michael Dirda, a noted Pulitzer Prize winning-critic.
Despite my interest in this event, I have to say I'm a little nervous about the whole thing.
The convention is in Rockville, MD, which is about an hour and a half drive from my house. I'm not planning on getting a hotel, so that will be a lot of driving back and forth. And the schedule is packed with presentations, workshops, readings, and a slew of other activities involving well-known personalities from the industry who I do not know and will most likely embarrass myself in front of!
Excitement and fear - the perfect combination for an enlightening experience. I'd love to hear if anyone has any thoughts or experiences to share about Capclave. It would help to make me feel a little less worried!
Also, I wanted to thank Brendan for stopping by the other day and commenting on my blog post about inventing words using morphemes. Brendan is an old college friend who runs a fascinating blog about artificial intelligence and social science. He made an excellent point that I didn't really address in the post: well-known morphemes such as 'hydro' (water) are more likely to make an invented word understandable to most people. How do you find out if a morpheme adds to or detracts from your story? I suggest you test out your invented words on people and see what they say!
7 comments:
Congrats on being able to attend the convention, even though it'll be an effort on your part. I wish one would come to Detroit, my travel budget is so tight it's hard to do the fly/hotel thing. but I really want to start going to some events, know I just gotta find a way. Thanks for the link to that blog, sounds interesting. Will bop over there.
Hey Marvin, I checked the list of writers' associations I'm working on, and sure enough there was a dearth of associations in Detroit. However, I did do a search to add some more to the list. Check it out if you get a chance!
http://www.squidoo.com/localwritersassociationsbystate
Just checked it out - thanks, helps a lot. No BIG events in the immediate future but at least I can stay in touch with the what's happening and who's who and all that here in Mich. Thanks for the writers prompts at FS too. You's a peach. {-:>
Emma, I've never been to Capclave, but I have been to conventions and conferences.
Based on that, if you can afford in money and time away from home to stay overnight, I would recommend it. A lot of networking and talking goes on after hours at restaurants, hospitality suites and the bar (you don't have to drink alcohol to go). And in the early morning hours as people gather for coffee before things start.
That's great advice, Helen. At the one other conference I've been to, I had a great time talking to people after hours (some of who turned out to be well-known published authors - eek!) I guess it's worth looking into whether I can still get a room!
A minor nitpick: we used to be able to go to Rockville in 75 minutes via 27, and then 270. (And that was from Melrose.)
There's a cheaper rate for the hotel if you commit to pay in advance. And you can always get the room for just Saturday night.
Hope to run into you--I'm in SFWA, but I'm an estate member. Good luck to you but if you really want to network, you should try to head up to Monteal the first week of August.
Hope to see you too, Eva! And I'll have to check out SFWA. I love Montreal!
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