DRAGON CON 2013

This week's topic: Juggling Projects.

 

My response: I'm a mother of four boys.

Basically, yeah, I juggle a lot of things. I've learned how because I had to learn how. I am not suggesting you have a child so you can learn some tips and tricks to be a more efficient writer, only that necessity and drive to achieve will make you learn what works for you. That and the tips the other Word-Whores are offering. I could, should, give tips, but they've got it covered. And I WANT to talk about DRAGON CON!!!

 

 

So I normally do a

TOP TEN THINGS I OVERHEARD

(and which can be taken humorously dirty)

AT DRAGON CON

This year, that's not going to happen. {gasp!} I was out and about, but I just didn't overhear tidbits like I usually do. Why? I took my son with me. It was his first con with me, and his first DRAGON CON.

Gotta start 'em off right, right?

So I emphasized the costumes on all of my former trips, so he wanted a great costume. He loves ASSASSIN'S CREED so he chose to be EZIO. But not the standard white with red trim Ezio. My friend Deb made the vest, and after I designed a pattern for the hood she made that as well. I made the rest.

He was stopped by strangers who wanted to take his photo 6 times in the first 10 minutes after leaving our hotel room.

That set the tone for the rest of the con. He constantly got stopped or people shouted out "Ezio!" or "Hey Assassin!" and got solemn nods from him. Even when he went out incognito in his ESSENTIAL NPC shirt, he got stopped because people thought the shirt was geeky-cool. (He had to explain to me that being an essential non-playable character meant he was integral to the plot of a video game and the playable characters should not/could not kill or maim him or they risked not being able to finish the quest. Yeah, geeky.)

Bottom line, I think he's addicted. He's already talking about next year.

Me, I had so much fun with him, talking about what we saw and such that I never stopped to listen to what was being said around me. So, no list. Sorry. I always had a blast doing that list and compiling it. But this year my company at the con was so stellar I didn't eavesdrop on others. And I dig it.

But it does kind of speak to the topic after all, huh?

Going to cons and being on panels is part of the job of an author. Including family in those tasks, allowing them to be there to share those moments with you and then putting the job aside to share their cool moments with them means something. Having family there and allowing you to do your job without complaining or holding you back (and I gotta say the young teen with me complained NOT ONCE, as in NEVER, while we were there) shows respect from both sides and is simply essential...like that non-playable character. I had shit to do. He didn't get in the way. There were things he wanted to do. We went and did them. And we had a blast!!