Before I was a Track Director...
Before I was a track director at JordanCon, I was a boy friend, writer, and SF/F fan. Even a quick perusal of the JordanCon 2013 menu of panels and other things showed that I would have a great time. I knew very few people, and only one person well. Now for an old convention hand like me who is used to being the guy talking to the potted plants in the corner between sitting in the back of panel rooms or perusing the dealer hall, this was not a bad thing. I tend to be a bit of a loner you see. This may or may not be a cover for an intense shyness that I have to battle constantly, but it fits my comfort zone in other ways as well.
So if this is your first time at JordanCon OR you are the significant partner of someone(s) who are big fans of Robert Jordan's work (or Brandon Sanderson's work or our talented gusts of honor or just books in general), trust me I know how you feel. But I had enough experience to still be comfortable and JordanCon has a lot going for it; often in a subtle and subversive way. I wanted to share this impression and my early experiences as someone who was an outsider, who gratefully now gets to be part of bringing this convention to you.
A great many things have changed since 2013 for me personally, most notably I have a convention chair in training 4 year old. At the time I had a bit more freedom to roll around the con. So I did all the usual things: the art show and the dealer hall. Those were great of course and even better today, but I also spent not inconsiderable time in panels. Mostly the writing panels but a few others as well. I participated in a critique panel on Prologues? i think. Got great feedback and that kept me writing at a time when I though I might give it up. In addition I ran a homebrew adventure I had written for the WoTD20 rpg.
Everything I did and everywhere I went I found people friendly and welcoming. That is the magic of any small convention, but in particular JordanCon. We want you to have a good time. We want you to feel welcome here. In a world where it is sometimes hard to agree on things, we can all (mostly) agree on the things here that we like. It is a more intimate convention, which appeals to me. I imagine it does OR it will appeal to you. There are enough people to energize those who love a crowd. There are not so many people as to overwhelm you if, like me, you prefer to be able to walk somewhere without being banged around like you are living a post-apocalyptic nightmare. (You know there had to be a SF reference in here, come on.)
So if you are new or newish, this is what I recommend:
And don't be afraid to track us down and ask us if you need help. These are really good people who do this out of love and I assure you it will show up in what they (we) do.
So if this is your first time at JordanCon OR you are the significant partner of someone(s) who are big fans of Robert Jordan's work (or Brandon Sanderson's work or our talented gusts of honor or just books in general), trust me I know how you feel. But I had enough experience to still be comfortable and JordanCon has a lot going for it; often in a subtle and subversive way. I wanted to share this impression and my early experiences as someone who was an outsider, who gratefully now gets to be part of bringing this convention to you.
A great many things have changed since 2013 for me personally, most notably I have a convention chair in training 4 year old. At the time I had a bit more freedom to roll around the con. So I did all the usual things: the art show and the dealer hall. Those were great of course and even better today, but I also spent not inconsiderable time in panels. Mostly the writing panels but a few others as well. I participated in a critique panel on Prologues? i think. Got great feedback and that kept me writing at a time when I though I might give it up. In addition I ran a homebrew adventure I had written for the WoTD20 rpg.
Everything I did and everywhere I went I found people friendly and welcoming. That is the magic of any small convention, but in particular JordanCon. We want you to have a good time. We want you to feel welcome here. In a world where it is sometimes hard to agree on things, we can all (mostly) agree on the things here that we like. It is a more intimate convention, which appeals to me. I imagine it does OR it will appeal to you. There are enough people to energize those who love a crowd. There are not so many people as to overwhelm you if, like me, you prefer to be able to walk somewhere without being banged around like you are living a post-apocalyptic nightmare. (You know there had to be a SF reference in here, come on.)
So if you are new or newish, this is what I recommend:
- Participate even in a small way. Ask questions at panels, query the artists about their work, and play games! Definitely check out the art room, dealer's room, and our various charity auctions.
- Go to at least one panel on as many tracks as you can. Those workshops look fun and even if you have read the entire Wheel of Time ten times, you will find out new things in the Wheel track. My fellow track directors work very hard to bring you great content and guests; indeed our whole staff does. So stop in an check them out.
- Spend all your free time on the Rivet & Robots track. Ha! I'm kidding you only have to spend 75% of your free time there to appease me.
And don't be afraid to track us down and ask us if you need help. These are really good people who do this out of love and I assure you it will show up in what they (we) do.
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