One of my friends, Rob, does this thing where after going to a convention, he does a whole write-up of his thoughts on how it went. Having just been to Gen Con for the first time in five years, I'm rolling with the idea.
Highlight: Writers' Symposium having much more diverse panels. And they finally fixed the way their name was written so it is plural and possessive.
Low light: My friends' badges. We started the convention with someone forgetting theirs at home and one "lost" theirs halfway through the convention.
Best bargain (had to buy, no freebies): Writers' Symposium thumb drive. It has 20 books plus a bunch of other things. The proceeds of the sale went directly to the writers and the symposium to bring more panelists to the convention in the future.
Best freebie: Legend of the Five Rings diorama STL files. I'm going to have to print up a couple for me and my GM.
Most welcome surprise: How nice and down to Earth the people at Paizo were. Not that I expected them to be snobs, but they were all warm and welcoming.
Most unwelcome surprise: The Irish pub we went to dinner at on Thursday night. We should've known it wasn't going to be great when the place was half-empty during a huge convention.
Strangest moment: Being told by a PR person that you are going to become their best friend because you gave them your business card.
Games played: I'm terrible. I went to a game convention and didn't play a single game.
Bought: More Wander characters, pins, stickers, a copy of Capers because I left mine at home and I wanted it signed, an ink pot, Overboss Duel, tea, earrings, and a sorcerer coaster. The hubby also bought me sparkly dice.
Things to pick up after the con: Legend of the Five Rings. It's one of my favorite settings and I'm curious to read all of the fiction being printed for it.
Memorable quote: "Threat Level Giga Chad." It was on a slide at one of Ben Riggs's panels and caused me to dissolve into giggles.
Final thoughts: Now that my con brain has cleared up, I'm still in shock that I handed out the number of business cards I did. Being a freelance writer with social anxiety is hard, but I had to keep reminding myself that I wasn't going to get anywhere in my career if I didn't do the thing (and Rob did a long distance "just do the thing"). I over scheduled myself on seminars and then had interviews to conduct on top of them, so I didn't get a chance to play anything, even outside of the con with my friends. I need to rethink my balance of writer/ freelancer/ fan for next year.
Did you go to Gen Con? Any plans on going to conventions in the next year?