Convention Time!

On Saturday I was at CONnections, a one-day convention held in Vancouver. The theme of this convention was, well, connections. Communication and language and how it’s used in science fiction, fantasy, and horror.

Normally I just go to conventions as just another fan. But this time I was there as a writer pounding the pavement. I was going to be part of panels, do a reading, and have a stall in the marketplace. This would be my first time actually being part of a panel as a writer, which is a bit intimidating, because you’re expected to know things.

But reading my own stuff and standing in front of a table trying to convince people my books are worth fifteen bucks? That’s easy.

It was the panels and workshops that I was worried about…

So, funny story. They had me be part of a workshop that was all about creating a constructed language, or as it’s known in the community, conlang.

I don’t know anything about creating a proper conlang. I cheated on mine by using a program called Vulgarlang.

Fortunately, another person there, David A. Falk, was more than qualified, having studied a dozen languages, including four dialects of ancient Egyptian. He had a whole workshop planned. So I gladly relegated myself to the role of “introduction and asking obvious questions.”

The book reading was a bit of a disappointment. There was only one person there.

But I didn’t mind, because I remembered that Terry Pratchett had been to a book signing in New York where nobody showed up. And it’s always good practice with less pressure on being perfect.

Finally there was the last panel of the evening, talking about first contact and alien languages in fiction. This was hosted by Holly Schofield, while Lynda Williams and I would comment on the topics that she brought up. Sometimes the audience got involved too.

This I was far more comfortable with, in part because the subject overlapped with the new Get Lost novel.

As a spur-of-the-moment thing, I decided to record the panel, and ended up putting it on YouTube. So I’ll include it here in case you’re curious to check it out. Apologies in advance for the sound, you’ll probably need to crank up your speakers. Next time I’ll bring a proper microphone.