Convergence
Jul. 6th, 2009 10:59 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
naomikritzerI was on five panels at Convergence. I also took Molly with me to the con on Friday and Saturday. So I kind of had two con experiences; one as a participant, and one as a parent.
1. When should writers stop?
I had been thinking before the panel that I would embrace the crassly commercial perspective, mostly for the fun of playing Devil's Advocate; the Market Knows All, so as long as people are still buying your books and publishers are still writing you checks, then obviously it's not time yet! People weren't arguing strongly enough in the other direction to really do that, though, it was a very civilized sort of discussion. I did say that if you find yourself thinking, "hmm, my series is getting stale; I'd better put in way more sex," that might be a sign that it's time. Although SOMEONE is buying those later Anita Blake novels...
2. Predicting the Future
I shared my embarrassingly erronious prediction -- I mean, I've made many over the years, but this one probably takes the prize, so I'll share it with you, too. In 1993 or possibly even 1994, I said -- repeatedly, to many people -- that the Web had incredible potential for corporate marketing, but that no one would ever buy a big-ticket item over the Internet.
Sigh.
And this, my friends, is why I am not currently a gazillionaire. Well, it's one of the reasons, anyway. I wasn't even thinking about security protocols, mind you; I was thinking about trust in the entity at the other end of the tube that was taking your money. I mean, who the hell would send a bunch of money to some store claiming to sell books, anyway? What if they take your money and don't send you your books, THEN what are you going to do?!? March over to Seattle and demand your money back?
3. Meet My Invisible Friends
Sadly, I forgot to share one of the really fascinating observations I've read about LJ, which is that it's kind of like Tom Riddle's diary in Chamber of Secrets. You share your soul and ink appears validating your feelings but sometimes encouraging you to dwell on unhealthy thoughts and/or pursue unhealthy solutions. No one's ever understood me like you, Tom...
I did, however, tell a story of Internet deception. I was actually the Voice of Caution on that panel more than I had expected to be. Of the others on the panel, one posts largely on science blogs and one Twitters for work, whereas I post a lot on parenting bulletin boards and those attract drama and weirdos even worse than LJ.
4. Young Adult Fiction
I really hope we didn't make the teenager who LIKES the Twilight series feel bad. I mean, as I noted, it's not my cup of tea (I haven't actually read the books because the truth is that I'm not all that into vampires) but it can't possibly be any worse than V.C. Andrews, which is what I was reading as a teenager (and I bet you were, too, if you're female and in your 30s or early 40s).
5. Meet the Wyrdsmiths
One of the joys of having someone in my writers' group as a Guest of Honor at a con is that we get to do one of these. The hardest part of any panel is usually the group dynamics -- figuring out who you need to interrupt and who you need to make space for, who you can tease and who you can't, etc. We all already know each other, so instead the tricky part is remembering to avoid in-jokes.
I really enjoyed meeting some of the people on the panels, especially Susan Price and Dana Baird.
I'll come back with another post about the con with Molly.
1. When should writers stop?
I had been thinking before the panel that I would embrace the crassly commercial perspective, mostly for the fun of playing Devil's Advocate; the Market Knows All, so as long as people are still buying your books and publishers are still writing you checks, then obviously it's not time yet! People weren't arguing strongly enough in the other direction to really do that, though, it was a very civilized sort of discussion. I did say that if you find yourself thinking, "hmm, my series is getting stale; I'd better put in way more sex," that might be a sign that it's time. Although SOMEONE is buying those later Anita Blake novels...
2. Predicting the Future
I shared my embarrassingly erronious prediction -- I mean, I've made many over the years, but this one probably takes the prize, so I'll share it with you, too. In 1993 or possibly even 1994, I said -- repeatedly, to many people -- that the Web had incredible potential for corporate marketing, but that no one would ever buy a big-ticket item over the Internet.
Sigh.
And this, my friends, is why I am not currently a gazillionaire. Well, it's one of the reasons, anyway. I wasn't even thinking about security protocols, mind you; I was thinking about trust in the entity at the other end of the tube that was taking your money. I mean, who the hell would send a bunch of money to some store claiming to sell books, anyway? What if they take your money and don't send you your books, THEN what are you going to do?!? March over to Seattle and demand your money back?
3. Meet My Invisible Friends
Sadly, I forgot to share one of the really fascinating observations I've read about LJ, which is that it's kind of like Tom Riddle's diary in Chamber of Secrets. You share your soul and ink appears validating your feelings but sometimes encouraging you to dwell on unhealthy thoughts and/or pursue unhealthy solutions. No one's ever understood me like you, Tom...
I did, however, tell a story of Internet deception. I was actually the Voice of Caution on that panel more than I had expected to be. Of the others on the panel, one posts largely on science blogs and one Twitters for work, whereas I post a lot on parenting bulletin boards and those attract drama and weirdos even worse than LJ.
4. Young Adult Fiction
I really hope we didn't make the teenager who LIKES the Twilight series feel bad. I mean, as I noted, it's not my cup of tea (I haven't actually read the books because the truth is that I'm not all that into vampires) but it can't possibly be any worse than V.C. Andrews, which is what I was reading as a teenager (and I bet you were, too, if you're female and in your 30s or early 40s).
5. Meet the Wyrdsmiths
One of the joys of having someone in my writers' group as a Guest of Honor at a con is that we get to do one of these. The hardest part of any panel is usually the group dynamics -- figuring out who you need to interrupt and who you need to make space for, who you can tease and who you can't, etc. We all already know each other, so instead the tricky part is remembering to avoid in-jokes.
I really enjoyed meeting some of the people on the panels, especially Susan Price and Dana Baird.
I'll come back with another post about the con with Molly.
