Today’s post is an o the scene, on the run, off the cuff report on the still in progress LibertyCon 31 in Chattanooga, TN.
The con opened on Friday afternoon with an opening celebration of finding a new site to host, the Marriott convention center, and announcement of the Reed House as the spot for future cons.
There was also a great opening introduction by Charles Gannon, the master of ceremonies, which included a roast of Brandi and her family as the chair and chief organizers of the con. All the jokes proved the convention as a true family event, one inclusive of all who want to come and be included.
Some of the great lines included a convention “of well armed friends, what freedom is all about.”
And his description of LibertyCon: “A con with an armed army, led by a single, dominant family, run for everyone yet judges no one – you scoundrels.”
For me the con truly shows that spirit. The Barn Wives panel showed same As Dan Hoyt proudly wore the Baen wife title as the spouse of Sarah Hoyt. “You can’t take that away from me.”
I do admit that I personally felt like that spirit became tentative to me during a couple of sessions on Saturday. Durimg the lightly attended session on trends in young adult fiction I heard one member of the panel talk about the attempt and trend to increase the diversity of protagonists I. Young adult fiction, which another instantly equated with diversity of authors writing it. No one on the panel verbally noted it but went blithely on. It gave me my queztion to ask. I waited to ask until they got to the question section. Yet others got their questions solicited, even late arrivals, without mind being called on. My attempt to let someone finish before insertion of my question meant he others always got to ask instead of me. My question cou!d only be asked of the panelists at the end, individually to the ones I could reach, made it misunderstood and useless.
Diversity of protagonists is good, as is diversity of authors. Connie to g the two is invidious poison.if only someone who experienced something can write about it, that means I am not capable of researching and interviewing to write about it, and also precludes me from understanding that person when they write abut it. There is no use writing g to anyone except those who already I I ddrstand..
The next panel I attended was on space opera and any new style trends. Ok. I g down what was spce opera, mi!Italy sci fi, etc, took time and was never really setted. Opera wE bigger themed, like an opera singer, less hard science, at least they were a couple of the suggestions.
What raised my question here was the statement that zl! Writing is an emotional e perience, space opera just adds lasers. So this time I waited standing, wLking, to ask my question and got it in. I read the statement and then asked, but isn’t the lasers a part of the emotions?
They talked about getting hit with lasers, bullets, pebble, makes you emotional. The entire panel seemed to miss the point of the question and make fun of it. Then they went into a discussion of why they loved space opera that answered .I questionable realizing they were. In some books they talk about the setting being so essential it is a charzcter. While not exactly a chapter space opera fills and de!overs. Set In emotional element – which is what makes it space operz, and the lasers are part of the emotion.
But if they hadn’t done that I would have walked away feeling excluded and mocked.
At The Rainbow 