So... Trinoc-con was this weekend. It was a mixed bag, really. It was good in that I got to see some local writers and hang out with them, folks like Jason Lundberg and Scott Reilly and Drew Williams. I had a good time chatting with them and sharing writerly horror stories about Clarion, novels, zombies, and other stuff.

I also chatted a little bit with Richard Butner and his girlfriend, Gavin Grant of Small Beer Press, and talked briefly with Andy Duncan and his lovely wife Sydney. The first night was probably the most fun, as I had some energy and got to read (I ended up reading the zombie story, as my fellow reader Ian McDowell was also reading a horror story). And the poetry slam with Sydney Duncan and Dan Barlow was fun.

Actually, Saturday was pretty fun too, but I had to leave early due to exhaustion. I helped with the Writers Worskshop, which is always a challenge, because the writers write 100-word openings to their stories in-class, then they read them aloud and the five moderators critique them. So you've gotta listen closely. It was fun, and I got to see Allen Wold again and meet Jack McDevitt, who's a very cool guy. Drew Williams also helped with the workshop, along with Darcy "Death" Wold (she was in costume, as Dream's sister, the big D).

And the panel on kids in SF with David Coe, Jim Grimsley and others went really well, and I actually felt like I learned something. Today's panel on writing F and SF both was a bit lame, as it sort of turned into a rehash of "What is Fantasy?" and "What is SF?" but it was still cool to be on a panel with Lois McMaster Bujold, David Drake, and Jim Grimsley, even if I was having trouble following the conversation all the time due to fatique.

So overall, it was an okay experience, but a lot of dead time and dull time, and I don't think I'd do it again unless I had a novel to plug. WorldCon was much more fun. Maybe if I could get some of my fellow writer friends to come to Trinoc-Con, it'd be more fun. But I may have a writing group forming for area writers, so it wasn't a total waste of time. And it was good seeing Jason, Scott, Drew, and the Trinoc folks again.

Today I was planning on doing more drafting of the Wannoshay novel, but ran out of time. I got "Black Angels" back from an antho, so I trimmed it down to 5k and sent it right back out there. I also made a list of places Lizzie and I need to visit when we go to Ocracoke a week from Thursday. Research for the novel! Can't wait. And now I plan on reading some of the Carol Emshwiller novel I got from Small Beer Press. Later!

Now Reading:
The Mount, Carol Emshwiller

Now Playing:
"Back Porch Music," WUNC

Today's Quote:
With a shuddering sigh the man pulled the hood to his gray coat tighter around his head, hiding his unlined face. Tomorrow the workers would tear out the slab, which, along with the shards of broken headstones and the rectangular holes carved into the ground, were all that remained of the obsolete cemetery. He stood in front of the statue’s base as the sun turned the overcast sky red, then purple. The man’s attention was focused only on the slab where the Black Angel once stood.

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