Thursday, September 13, 2012

Writers vs. Con Attendees?

It's the start of September which generally means Labor Day weekend and the end of summer. Of course each family has their own tradition to celebrate the end of the summer. In the last post I spoke about taking the kids to Kumoricon, the anime convention in Vancouver, WA, for Labor Day weekend.
I have to say the kids had a blast with it as evidenced by the photos posted. Thinking over the day, I came to the realization that Convention goers who like Kumoricon, Dragon Con, and Comic Con are very much like writers. You're probably saying, huh? Let me explain. As a writer there are certain aspects that make us great at what we do, some of which can be taught and some we just do. Those same qualities are true for the convention attendees.

1.) Creative
       We are both creative in a different set of ways. As writers we create worlds with our words. As a convention attendee you get the chance to make costumes. Some choose their favorite character while others create their own.

2.) Persistence
       Persistence comes in when we writers keep writing no matter what life throws our way or what rejections we get. As a costumer you don't give up on the ideas. Which leads me into the next quality.

3.) Time
     For a writer it can take anywhere from a couple of months to several years to get our work finished, polished and published. For a costumer it takes time. Especially for the more elaborate ones that can take up to a year. The photo to the right took the gentleman seven months to create.

4.) Like-minded people
     Of course the last trait is that we all like to be with like-minded people, people who understand us. Both of us don't usually fit in with the general group of people, whether because we as writers talk to ourselves, aren't always aware of the conversation we're in, or even just are not there. As a con attendee I've heard stories of bullying from others just because they like a certain thing, like Sat wars, Comic books, Anime.





What are some qualities you believe could belong to both groups? Have you ever been to any Convention? If you have what were your thoughts about it?

4 comments:

Judith Ashley said...

Hi Mae,

Interesting post. I've attended several writer's conferences (Desert Dreams, Emeral City, and RWA Nationals) and over 20 conventions and conferences all over the world for The William Glasser Institute. Never been to one of the Cons you've mentioned.

The primary reason I attend the conferences I do is to learn something, have something I know re-enforced, and to see people I know but only meet up with at the Conferences.

Paty Jager said...

It looks like a good time was had by all!

Sarah Raplee said...

I believe both writers and costumers are good at problem solving. Writers have to figure out ways to make a plot drive character change, figure out a way to foreshadow a murder without giving everything away, figure out how two very different people can find happiness together, etc. Costumers have to come up with ideas and then figure out how to make them happen: what materials to use, how to join pieces, how to make things fit, etc.

Loved the analogy!

Diana McCollum said...

I've never been to one of the conventions you mentioned. I would love to attend one just to see everyone dressed up. The closest that I've attended would be the black powder rendevous I attended in Calif. Everyone, including me, loved dressing the part and bartering for items. It was fun.