ArmadilloCon was at a different hotel this year, and I don’t know but maybe because of that, it felt like a new convention. The new hotel was an old hotel – long ago the con used to be here – but it was so long ago it felt like a different space.
I liked it. The hotel itself was a little schlubby, but it was close to home (yay for me and other north-central Austinites) and there were plenty of food options within walking distance. It may not seem like a big deal, but so much of congoing has to do with communing over food, and at the previous hotel you basically had the hotel restaurant or a drive of a couple of miles.
The energy was different. There were new people there, new faces. Young people. The graying of fandom is not going to stop of course. I was talking with old friends and they were somber. We’re losing a lot of the old guard. But with the new younger folks, I felt very hopeful. Somehow, someway, the con will live on. People are still writing and reading and wanting to create.
The panels are always good. About 10 or so years ago ArmadilloCon made a concerted effort to ensure programming was bright and energetic and compelling and ever since Marshall Ryan Maresca and the committee have kept up the standard.
In no particular order, here’s what I learned.
Silk Has a Specific Smell
The textile panel was a fantastic example of what I’m talking about. Panelists discussed the economics of textiles and clothing and how textiles are embedded into worldbuilding, impacting trade, culture, and socioeconomic status. When Gabriella Buba said that she could smell silk in thrift shops I was fascinated. What a superpower, for one thing, but also, what additional richness in the world. The next trip to the “fancy Goodwill” and I’m going to give it a try.
How Space Tries to Kill You
This is a tried-and-true panel at ArmadilloCon. Bill Frank, a Chief Training Officer at NASA, gives panelists scenarios about space suits, station leaks, and more, and panelists have to guess how to work the problem, as the Apollo 13 movie put it. The panel is always fun and I could listen to smart people talking about science all day. Bill is also great at providing context and anecdotes about the inner workings of our space program.
Shakespeare and Succession Drama
Elizabeth Cobbe, Paul Weimar, C.S. Humble, David Hopkins, and me talked about the historic and not-so-historic (i.e., Macbeth and Hamlet) plays and theorized about why succession was such a hot topic for Shakespeare and his audience. We may not have come up with definitive reasons, but it’s always genuinely inspiring to talk about the Bard with other fans, and yes, I did plug my Shakespeare in the Diner: Macbeth. I think that what we came away with though is that art doesn’t happen in a vacuum. Artists create art in communication with the world around them. Shakespeare couldn’t directly write about Elizabeth or James. But he could talk about tyrants of the past.
Real People Fic
I proposed the panel on fan fiction and was not disappointed. Liza Anderson did an excellent job moderating and brought a legal sensibility to the panel that was well appreciated by me for sure. I love fan fiction. I’ve read it, written it, and discovered unusual mashups like Ask a Manager and Hench, two source materials I love fiercely. I hadn’t heard of Real People Fic and the problems that it poses. I thought the solution – just don’t bring it to the attention of the people involved – was both elegant and lacking.
Should we be writing RPF? What is the line and where do we draw it? I am still uncomfortable even while understanding the pull. The charisma of an actor or creator is magic. But they also have to live in their world, and do we have the right to burden people with our overwhelming need for them?
I don’t know the answer, and part of me is glad maybe there is no answer. I just am also thankful I will likely never be the object of RPF – although, if the etiquette is followed, I should never know.
Advanced Characters
I moderated this panel on character development with a stellar gang – A. Lee Martinez, Bill Ledbetter, Skyler Grey, and Nikhil Prabala. This was fun. We kicked ass. And there are as many ways to create characters who jump off the page as there are authors. Everyone has their own style. I’m character first. Alex and Bill – plot first and the character to work within the plot structure. But. Not a single one of us writes flat characters, and it’s not what a character says but what they do and how they react that makes them come alive.
Alex in particular said something poignant. His character Nessy in Too Many Curses doesn’t have magic. She’s not particularly gifted except for the gift of housekeeping, which is a gift indeed. And so she does the best with what she has. That is the character he created – not a buff hero, but a hero nonetheless. Nessy is one of his fans favorite characters, and it’s because she’s true to herself as he created her.
48 Years of ArmadilloCon
ArmadilloCon is approaching its 50th anniversary. I’ve been going since roughly 1999, and I don’t think I’ve missed more than one or two. It’s my favorite local convention, and always has something to offer. Old friends. New to me authors. Art and books. There are worse ways to spend a weekend. I got to hear authors like Micaiah Johnson. Darcie Little Badger, and Matthew Bey read from their upcoming books. I got to catch up with Elizabeth Moon and George Martindale, and it did my heart good to see them both.
The heyday of science fiction conventions may have come and gone. But here we are, still celebrating, still gathering. Still here.
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