Post-Orycon Musings

With the end of Orycon 30 now over 24 hours behind, I figured I'd capture a number of observations about our attendance this year.

- We spent much less time going at panels this year. While Carole spent more time socializing and helping set up for events, I spent time recharging batteries in our room. I even had time to write a couple thousand more words on Saturday afternoon. Without that helpful isolation time, I would not have been able to make it through Saturday night's ORC session.

- The ORCs were amazing this year. Friday night, the focus-on-the-hook sessions lasted until about 2:00AM. Not to be outdone, Saturday's session ran until very nearly 3:30AM with only one person leaving before they had a chance to read. Carole's adaptation of the Rogue Readings we attended at the Southern California Writer's Conference almost three years ago now are getting a very enthusiastic reception. Next year may need to go to multiple sessions to meet the demand.

- I appreciated the opportunity to meet many of Carole's writing friends and acquaintances, though I wasn't entirely comfortable with how socially dysfunctional I felt - more like a nightmare of introversion. I think there's a host of journal material to write about there and certainly a whole lot to improve before next year.

- On the downside, I was hoping that this year's convention would reignite my desire to write. Instead, it reinforced how many things I need to focus on to get the rest of my lift in control before expanding my engagements. Many thanks to Ken Scholes for his messaging on self-awareness.

All in all, a good con. I'm cautiously optimistic about next year's event at its new home - especially after a refreshed focus on goals for the coming year.