Home is the Sailor....
Sep. 22nd, 2009 08:31 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
vdanskOK, the connotations of that poem are not really what I'm going for here. Let's say "Home from FenCon VI!" instead.
I ran away from home for THREE nights. That's the longest I've been away from my kids since either was born. I missed them, and missed Charles, but I desperately needed this break.
One uncomfortable truth that I realized that during this trip is that I am a FanGirl. Not in the dreadful, "Won't you read my novel set in your Universe with your characters, Ms Famous Author?" way, but becoming awkward and struggling not to grovel in the presence of brilliance. This is particularly uncomfortable because, in general, I go through life with the sublime assurance that I match or outrank everyone I meet. I can talk easily with senators, chat comfortably with rich people, make conversation with world-famous lecturers. The twin qualifications of doctor and mother make me feel prepared to hold my own in any situation.
Almost any situation.
At a Convention, facing the author of some of my favorite books, I become a supplicant. My sense of propriety kicks in, notifying me that I have no claim on this person's time or attention. The cluster of clueless people who all expect the author to remember them from the time they met seven years ago all fill me with a horror of appearing to be like them. It makes any meaningful conversation almost impossible.
Despite this small revelation, the Con was a hoot. StarRise had our first annual leadership meeting in the hotel's hot tub; we passed 4 resolutions in happy comfort before kids invaded our spot. I got to see an old friend who is now a published author (and still looks 25), met Anna for the first time, saw Chantal, roomed with my college roommate and her husband, attended panels, bought 12 CDs, unnumbered books, and 9 pieces of art. And I got INSPIRED. I'm going to do NaNoWriMo this year.
The six hour flight was just long enough for me to devour _The Splendor Falls_ by Rosemary Clement-Moore. I actually missed the landing in Dallas, looking up somewhat dazed at touch down, then turning back to the book, finishing it just as the plane rolled to a stop at our gate. It was, thanks to that book, one of the shortest flights I have taken! Highly recommended.
I ran away from home for THREE nights. That's the longest I've been away from my kids since either was born. I missed them, and missed Charles, but I desperately needed this break.
One uncomfortable truth that I realized that during this trip is that I am a FanGirl. Not in the dreadful, "Won't you read my novel set in your Universe with your characters, Ms Famous Author?" way, but becoming awkward and struggling not to grovel in the presence of brilliance. This is particularly uncomfortable because, in general, I go through life with the sublime assurance that I match or outrank everyone I meet. I can talk easily with senators, chat comfortably with rich people, make conversation with world-famous lecturers. The twin qualifications of doctor and mother make me feel prepared to hold my own in any situation.
Almost any situation.
At a Convention, facing the author of some of my favorite books, I become a supplicant. My sense of propriety kicks in, notifying me that I have no claim on this person's time or attention. The cluster of clueless people who all expect the author to remember them from the time they met seven years ago all fill me with a horror of appearing to be like them. It makes any meaningful conversation almost impossible.
Despite this small revelation, the Con was a hoot. StarRise had our first annual leadership meeting in the hotel's hot tub; we passed 4 resolutions in happy comfort before kids invaded our spot. I got to see an old friend who is now a published author (and still looks 25), met Anna for the first time, saw Chantal, roomed with my college roommate and her husband, attended panels, bought 12 CDs, unnumbered books, and 9 pieces of art. And I got INSPIRED. I'm going to do NaNoWriMo this year.
The six hour flight was just long enough for me to devour _The Splendor Falls_ by Rosemary Clement-Moore. I actually missed the landing in Dallas, looking up somewhat dazed at touch down, then turning back to the book, finishing it just as the plane rolled to a stop at our gate. It was, thanks to that book, one of the shortest flights I have taken! Highly recommended.
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no subject
Date: 2009-09-23 10:51 am (UTC)And yay, NaNoWriMo! I may be doing it this year myself! FF was a NaNo book originally, and I loved that mad marathon dash to finish it. What will you be working on?
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Date: 2009-09-23 11:45 pm (UTC)My novel for NaNoWriMo is currently unnamed, and has a difficult protagonist. He was supposed to be a six year old plot-point, but has announced that he is a 15 or 16 year old lead character. Then a second protagonist emerged literally from mid-air. It's YA, science-fiction, apocalyptic. I have a little over 5 weeks to research Kentucky, 1940's architecture, Catholic boarding schools, nuns, mountain lions, radios and airplanes...then nothing but writing for the month. Pity I'll still have to work, sleep and raise kids....
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Date: 2009-09-24 10:48 am (UTC)SF apocalyptic sounds excellent! And sometimes I guess it is a very good thing when a character announces him-or-herself so strongly.
Have you done NaNo before?
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Date: 2009-09-23 02:11 pm (UTC)I think Alyse is musing about doing NaNoWriMo again this year. (She's done it twice.)
Also, ditto Deva's questions. :)
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Date: 2009-09-23 11:51 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-09-24 05:54 am (UTC)