If you were in Nottingham last Saturday then you might have spotted me early in the morning, running through the station carrying a plastic sword and looking rather annoyed.
It was the second day of Fantasy Con, an annual convention where writers and fantasy fans gather to make friends, pick up writing tips, and of course buy lots of books. This was my first time attending, and also the first convention I’d been to alone. Not scary at all, then.
I’d been meticulous about setting my alarm for 7:30, giving me an hour and a half to get up, have some breakfast and head for the coach that would take me to the university venue. Instead I overslept and barely had half an hour to get out of the hotel and make the ten-minute sprint to the station to catch the coach.
Picture, if you will, the annoyed woman in knee-high boots and a Skyrim t-shirt, carting a bulging tote bag and a badly-concealed plastic sword that rattles at every step as she hurtles down Station Street. In times like this, my dignity is the first thing thrown to the winds.
Turns out I made it to the coach and then I was off to the con, wheezing as I glugged down some apple juice. It’s the writing and video games lifestyle, really keeps you in shape.
At the con, I quickly shut myself in one of the loos. Out of my tote bag came a shirt, a corset and a flowing red cape. I’ve been to a lot of Doctor Who conventions, and I know that it’s never quite as fun unless you dress up (that’s cosplay to those in the know). This costume had taken several months to put together – which seemed a little excessive for just one day of fun.
I got a few compliments as I wandered around the con, but I quickly noticed that no one else was in costume.
There were some great panels that weekend, discussing everything from non-human protagonists to writing slang in YA. I met up with David Stokes, who runs Guardbridge Books, along with a few other regular convention-goers. When I joked that I hadn’t seen many costumes besides mine, a woman told me (not so jokingly) that this was “a more serious literary convention”.
Oops.
After that I was a lot more self-conscious. Whilst some people had worn more subtle ruffled shirts or steampunk hats, no one had worn a cape. I even had a sword, for God’s sake. I seriously considered changing back into my t-shirt and forgetting it. Nearly everyone here was an editor or a novelist or the owner of an independent press. I’d won one competition and had only one published story to my name. Was the costume really necessary to make me even more of a loser?
But then I thought, to hell with it.
I’d spent months creating this costume, so I wasn’t going to hide it away. I’d come here to have some fun and get some writing tips. I didn’t have a reputation to lose.
So I kept the costume. And then came the highlight of the entire convention: meeting Brandon Sanderson, epic fantasy author and writer of the Mistborn series, amongst others. He said he liked my costume, after which I probably gushed at him too much (I think I told him how much I cried at the end of The Well of Ascension, which will probably haunt my dreams forever). I had some books signed and a photo with him which is now my screensaver on pretty much everything I own that has a screen. That’s what these conventions are really about, after all: getting motivated and doing things you love.
Professionalism is important in a writing career and it’s a long climb to get anywhere, but I’ll be damned if I’m not going to have some fun along the way.
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The blog will now update every two weeks, with a new post on Mondays. This makes it easier to balance coursework and the like. The site has had some updating too, with some widgets installed on the blog page so it’s easier to find things.
The big news this week is that my short story Silver Lining has been published! It was included in Carers of the Cosmos, a sci-fi anthology produced by the Big Care Sign-Up. Donations go to the Carers Centre: Leicestershire and Rutland, a charity supporting family carers. You can get a copy by going here and donating (the link to the e-book is provided in the acknowledging email). The story is basically a love letter to moths, insects which I am very fond of – except here, they’re giant silver rideable alien space moths. If we hit the £250 target, I’ll post up a photo from when some large moths ganged up on me in a butterfly garden a few months ago. Embarrassing baggy rain mac included.
Writing has been going well lately; The Last Pyromancer (my novel-in-progress) has been on the back-burner for a bit but I’ve had some ideas on where I want the trilogy to go, including a character who is going to become a second protagonist. The plot is still a little sketchy, and the trilogy is looking to be a long-term project to work on in the background, at the moment. Since Halloween I’ve also sent out a couple of flash fics to anthologies and I’m hoping for some news in the next few weeks. Fingers crossed!
Submissions have been arriving for Vices and Virtues, our class anthology at the University of Nottingham. I’m working as an editor for the first time, which has made me see the whole process in a new light. Answering emails, writing newsletters, updating databases – and of course actual editing – I have so much respect for people who do this all the time!