CONvergence Write-Up
Jul. 10th, 2023 06:22 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
lydamorehouseA lot of people make the case that in-person cons mean more.... everything, I guess?
What's funny is that, for me, I probably participated more during Virtual WisCON than I did at this year's in-person CONvergence. I was on panels at neither, but I did go to some programming at both. I maybe hit nearly a half-dozen panels at Virtual WisCON? I went to ONE at CONvergence. Well, okay, one and a main stage performance.
So, how did it all go?
The above might sound like a complaint, but it really isn't. I had a lovely time. I just didn't DO very much at con. I ended up meeting up withnaomikritzer on the light rail (it goes right past the end of my block) and we made our way to the convention center. After getting our badges and discovering that CONvergence no longer requires proof of vaccination (though they did require masking in most places,) I followed Naomi to her first panel, "The Big I."
"The Big I" was a panel about using the first person... so, and no shade on Naomi or her fellow panelists, but not exactly a contentious or dynamic subject matter. Nevertheless, I wanted to scream at one point. Actually, at several points. I had to sit on my hands. I had to distract myself on my phone because I had made a conscious decision not to derail the panel, for the sake of my dear friend. However, I nearly died when I heard panelists say things like, "Well, you could never tell the Murderbot stories in third person, because all you'd have are the actions," and "Of course, in third person you can't get into people's heads."
I'M SORRY, WHAT?
I ended up writing a furious string of texts to my wife at home. Because someone needed to know that the panelists seemed to be confusing point of view (1st, 3rd) with narrative voice. FFS, you absolutely can "get into people's heads" in 3rd person, it's called close and/or limited 3rd person. You don't have to do this (which is the fun flexibility of 3rd person), but you absolutely can use the main character's "voice" in 3rd to describe scenes or people. You are not required to write like a newspaper article. "He wore a tie." Instead, you can say, "The tie Frank wore was hideous. Bob hated it. It reminded him of his late father-in-law." Or whatever the fuck. You can use long, rambling sentences in third person to imply that's how the character thinks. You can use shorter sentences and chose words that sound militarist to imply, in 3rd person, that's how your character sees the world.
It is, without a doubt, EASIER to do this sort of thing in 1st person, but it's not, by any stretch of the imagination, impossible in 3rd. (or 2nd for that matter.)
I never went to another panel after that.
This is why, in fact, I rarely sit and listen to panels. I have OPINONS. I feel feelings very strongly about things that really don't matter, like verbs, and narrative voice and whether or not the ending of Bleach sucked rocks (Spoiler: yes.) I'm kind of argumentative? But, I'm totally sitting, very sincerely at that booth that also says, "I Believe a Thing: Change my mind," because one of my favorite things in life is a spirited debate. My mind can be changed! So, like, maybe I'm wrong about p.o.v. and narrative voice, but I'll tell you what. If I'd been on that panel it would have been hella exciting!
But, anyway, after that panel I don't entirely remember what else I did? I may have headed home because I'd sort of spontaneously decided to join Naomi and didn't have good plans for dinner. She'd offered to go somewhere with me, but I would have had to hang out quite a bit longer and I wasn't up for it. Not when I was feeling all my narrative voice FEELS.
I did go back on Friday evening, however. I ate dinner at home and then hopped the light rail again. I will tell you that taking the light rail always makes me feel so grown-up, like a grown-up who lives in a City. I'm also always fascinated to watch people living their lives and there are always a lot of characters on public transportation, you know. My friend Barth Anderson used to write-up some of the random conversations he'd had or overheard on the bus and I thought of him a lot as I listened to a guy very sincerely explain to his friend on the other side of the phone that you should never buy a Mercedes Benz; Always buy Honda.
I discovered during the long walk down Nicolet Mall that there's a group of citizens who are patrolling as violence disruptors. I ended up accidentally pacing them on one of my walks to the convention hotel, but it was fascinating to overhear their conversations, as well.
Once at the con on Friday, I texted Naomi and discovered she was still at dinner. I decided to head to watch Ms. Shannon Paul do her comedy routine on the main stage. I am generally fond of comedy shows, and no one else in my family really is? So, it was a treat to watch her, although I really noticed the extent to which certain types of comedy require the audience to buy into certain kinds of normativity, most of which, I simply don't experience/never have. Like, I apparently fail, "would you eat a pie that appeared on your porch that none of your friends claim to have sent you?" (My answer: pie!) Long story, but Ms. Shannon was trying out a bit and explained that a mystery pie had been delivered to her house and she threw it away without ever opening the box because "of course." But, she wanted to know who in the audience would have tried the pie and which of us wanted to know what kind of pie it was. I wanted to know, and I wanted to try it. I am apparently a freak of nature. Not a lot of people agreed with me. I will say that for the rest of her routine, I found myself thinking about whether or not the scenarios she presented were things I would do or not and it kind of changed the humor for me? Like I say above, I noticed the ways in which much of the humor required buy-in to a "normal," because for things to be funny they had to fall outside of it, you know?
Anyway.
Naomi and I ended up attempting to make a "bar con" at the CONvergence hotel by hanging out in the lobby. It worked? It took some time to gather some friends, but we did at least run into some folks I'd been hoping to see. This is a perennial problem for me at this "new" hotel because I just haven't figured out where people go. The conference rooms also go up in a central column, rather than being spread out flat, so there isn't as much "passing people in the halls" because people are going up and down different sets of escalators?
The dealer's room was also surprisingly sparse. The main audience they seemed to be catering to was RPG gamers, which includes me, but like almost every booth seemed to have sets of dice for sale? Given that the con's focus this year was cosplay, I was a bit surprised to see ZERO clothiers in the dealer's room--no kimono, corset, boot, or steampunk hat/goggle makers/sellers. It was kind of weird? There was one bookseller, though they didn't have a large selection (it was not Dreamhaven or Uncles.) I dunno. I did have some luck finding fun things to buy in artist's alley, however.
The con, of course, went on for two more days, but I didn't.
I still had fun? But, it was very low participation for me this year.
What's funny is that, for me, I probably participated more during Virtual WisCON than I did at this year's in-person CONvergence. I was on panels at neither, but I did go to some programming at both. I maybe hit nearly a half-dozen panels at Virtual WisCON? I went to ONE at CONvergence. Well, okay, one and a main stage performance.
So, how did it all go?
The above might sound like a complaint, but it really isn't. I had a lovely time. I just didn't DO very much at con. I ended up meeting up with
naomikritzer on the light rail (it goes right past the end of my block) and we made our way to the convention center. After getting our badges and discovering that CONvergence no longer requires proof of vaccination (though they did require masking in most places,) I followed Naomi to her first panel, "The Big I." "The Big I" was a panel about using the first person... so, and no shade on Naomi or her fellow panelists, but not exactly a contentious or dynamic subject matter. Nevertheless, I wanted to scream at one point. Actually, at several points. I had to sit on my hands. I had to distract myself on my phone because I had made a conscious decision not to derail the panel, for the sake of my dear friend. However, I nearly died when I heard panelists say things like, "Well, you could never tell the Murderbot stories in third person, because all you'd have are the actions," and "Of course, in third person you can't get into people's heads."
I'M SORRY, WHAT?
I ended up writing a furious string of texts to my wife at home. Because someone needed to know that the panelists seemed to be confusing point of view (1st, 3rd) with narrative voice. FFS, you absolutely can "get into people's heads" in 3rd person, it's called close and/or limited 3rd person. You don't have to do this (which is the fun flexibility of 3rd person), but you absolutely can use the main character's "voice" in 3rd to describe scenes or people. You are not required to write like a newspaper article. "He wore a tie." Instead, you can say, "The tie Frank wore was hideous. Bob hated it. It reminded him of his late father-in-law." Or whatever the fuck. You can use long, rambling sentences in third person to imply that's how the character thinks. You can use shorter sentences and chose words that sound militarist to imply, in 3rd person, that's how your character sees the world.
It is, without a doubt, EASIER to do this sort of thing in 1st person, but it's not, by any stretch of the imagination, impossible in 3rd. (or 2nd for that matter.)
I never went to another panel after that.
This is why, in fact, I rarely sit and listen to panels. I have OPINONS. I feel feelings very strongly about things that really don't matter, like verbs, and narrative voice and whether or not the ending of Bleach sucked rocks (Spoiler: yes.) I'm kind of argumentative? But, I'm totally sitting, very sincerely at that booth that also says, "I Believe a Thing: Change my mind," because one of my favorite things in life is a spirited debate. My mind can be changed! So, like, maybe I'm wrong about p.o.v. and narrative voice, but I'll tell you what. If I'd been on that panel it would have been hella exciting!
But, anyway, after that panel I don't entirely remember what else I did? I may have headed home because I'd sort of spontaneously decided to join Naomi and didn't have good plans for dinner. She'd offered to go somewhere with me, but I would have had to hang out quite a bit longer and I wasn't up for it. Not when I was feeling all my narrative voice FEELS.
I did go back on Friday evening, however. I ate dinner at home and then hopped the light rail again. I will tell you that taking the light rail always makes me feel so grown-up, like a grown-up who lives in a City. I'm also always fascinated to watch people living their lives and there are always a lot of characters on public transportation, you know. My friend Barth Anderson used to write-up some of the random conversations he'd had or overheard on the bus and I thought of him a lot as I listened to a guy very sincerely explain to his friend on the other side of the phone that you should never buy a Mercedes Benz; Always buy Honda.
I discovered during the long walk down Nicolet Mall that there's a group of citizens who are patrolling as violence disruptors. I ended up accidentally pacing them on one of my walks to the convention hotel, but it was fascinating to overhear their conversations, as well.
Once at the con on Friday, I texted Naomi and discovered she was still at dinner. I decided to head to watch Ms. Shannon Paul do her comedy routine on the main stage. I am generally fond of comedy shows, and no one else in my family really is? So, it was a treat to watch her, although I really noticed the extent to which certain types of comedy require the audience to buy into certain kinds of normativity, most of which, I simply don't experience/never have. Like, I apparently fail, "would you eat a pie that appeared on your porch that none of your friends claim to have sent you?" (My answer: pie!) Long story, but Ms. Shannon was trying out a bit and explained that a mystery pie had been delivered to her house and she threw it away without ever opening the box because "of course." But, she wanted to know who in the audience would have tried the pie and which of us wanted to know what kind of pie it was. I wanted to know, and I wanted to try it. I am apparently a freak of nature. Not a lot of people agreed with me. I will say that for the rest of her routine, I found myself thinking about whether or not the scenarios she presented were things I would do or not and it kind of changed the humor for me? Like I say above, I noticed the ways in which much of the humor required buy-in to a "normal," because for things to be funny they had to fall outside of it, you know?
Anyway.
Naomi and I ended up attempting to make a "bar con" at the CONvergence hotel by hanging out in the lobby. It worked? It took some time to gather some friends, but we did at least run into some folks I'd been hoping to see. This is a perennial problem for me at this "new" hotel because I just haven't figured out where people go. The conference rooms also go up in a central column, rather than being spread out flat, so there isn't as much "passing people in the halls" because people are going up and down different sets of escalators?
The dealer's room was also surprisingly sparse. The main audience they seemed to be catering to was RPG gamers, which includes me, but like almost every booth seemed to have sets of dice for sale? Given that the con's focus this year was cosplay, I was a bit surprised to see ZERO clothiers in the dealer's room--no kimono, corset, boot, or steampunk hat/goggle makers/sellers. It was kind of weird? There was one bookseller, though they didn't have a large selection (it was not Dreamhaven or Uncles.) I dunno. I did have some luck finding fun things to buy in artist's alley, however.
The con, of course, went on for two more days, but I didn't.
I still had fun? But, it was very low participation for me this year.
no subject
Date: 2023-07-11 02:40 am (UTC)That's bewildering. Jane Austen (he said indignantly) used free indirect discourse in the late 1790s and it has been available, free of copyright, ever since.
no subject
Date: 2023-07-11 04:25 pm (UTC)And, maybe I'm being unfair. It is possible that they all meant, "As easily." Like, no kidding, the Murderbot books would be VERY DIFFERENT in third person, but not because you could "only tell action."
no subject
Date: 2023-07-11 04:53 am (UTC)Oh, I'd have had to leave the room. I mean. A common so-called flaw in omniscient third-person is or used to be referred to as "head-hopping." Not only getting into people's heads, but doing it egregiously with no discipline. It's not hard, it's irresistible!
P.
no subject
Date: 2023-07-11 04:28 pm (UTC)Oh.
OH.
Don't get me started on how people misunderstand omniscient. I've heard people say, "there is no narrator," and I'm like.. "Are you so sure?" because you can absolutely use omniscient with a fairy tale narrator who might occasionally interject with their opinions on things. It's just that this narrator is outside of the story, looking down (or into the past) on its events.
no subject
Date: 2023-07-11 10:09 pm (UTC)THERE IS ALWAYS A NARRATOR. ALWAYS.
Sorry, I seem to have Feelings too.
P.
no subject
Date: 2023-07-12 02:35 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2023-07-11 07:58 am (UTC)And, yeah, free pie. I might first have a small experimental slice but I'd fancy my odds.
no subject
Date: 2023-07-11 04:29 pm (UTC)I mean, it's debatable whether or not my panel experience was "worth" it. You may be misunderstanding the sheer amount of entertainment I glean from having arguments with people (in my head) about things like this.
no subject
Date: 2023-07-12 12:20 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2023-07-11 11:45 am (UTC)I would have lost my shit at that assertion. I'm not very polite.
There's definitely things that you can reveal and conceal in first that are more difficult in third (say, if you want a nameless or gender-ambiguous character) but getting into characters heads is not one of them.
I've heard CONvergence was meh this year from other folks.
no subject
Date: 2023-07-11 04:33 pm (UTC)But, yeah, there's actually a lot that could have been discussed about how BEST to use 1st vs 3rd, but... I don't know. I feel bad ragging on this panel because Naomi was moderator, but I honestly think that it's also legitimate not to be able to work up any enthusiasm to fight over 1st person?? Like, it's kind of alien to ME, but I get why you might not want to bother.
no subject
Date: 2023-07-11 03:47 pm (UTC)One could argue that the entire POINT of in-person cons is to do "nothing" except hang around with friends, and potentially make new ones. Not to mention serendipitous experiences with Outside (e.g., your encounter with the downtown "violence disrupters.") Sounds like you had a fine con.
no subject
Date: 2023-07-11 04:31 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2023-07-11 07:15 pm (UTC)Your reaction at the panel makes me think of a Wiscon panel I was at years ago. The panel was to discuss consolation literature in the SF genre. Only problem: the panelists had NO EXAMPLES of such SF and rejected suggestions from the audience as "oh, but that's YA" and "no, that's really fantasy". It was MAJORLY frustrating.
no subject
Date: 2023-07-12 02:36 pm (UTC)And, yeah, it really changes the experience of a con when you can't figure out WHERE PEOPLE ARE HANGING OUT.
no subject
Date: 2023-07-12 04:19 am (UTC)I greatly enjoyed a Historical Undergarments panel. Would attend any panel the panelists chose to do in the future.
I am also on team "Eat the Pie!" (but only one member of the family should, until a sufficient amount of time has passed to determine any negative effects--I might have to arm wrestle my spouse for the honor).
no subject
Date: 2023-07-12 02:37 pm (UTC)I swear if I were the sort of person who followed Ms. Shannon more closely, I would totally organize my "eat the pie" friends and show up en masse (look at us both using French) wearing TEAM EAT THE PIE t-shirts. :-)
I really feel like I should have attended more panels? I'm super glad to hear that yours was fun.