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Creativity

NerdCon: Stories 2016

October 17, 2016October 17, 2016 Crystal // Dreams, etc. 12 comments
NerdCon: Stories 2016

When I saw that NerdCon: Stories, a conference all about storytelling was taking place in my city, I knew I had to go. I didn’t realize just how refreshing it would be to spend time with other writers and artists talking about one of my favorite things: storytelling.

A recap of NerdCon: Stories 2016. // dreams-etc.com

When I first looked at the schedule I noticed that there were a lot of lectures and panels, etc. that were stacked up together so you had to pick and choose what you were going to attend. There were often times that I wanted to attend multiple things and had to choose. I also thought it looked like there was a lot of downtime between each block of events, but that wasn’t the case at all. I had some downtime to sit and take a break, but it wasn’t too much. I know of one lecture I attended that filled up pretty quickly and some people had to be turned away, so I always tried to get there a half hour in advance to ensure a spot.

There was a vendor area, but it wasn’t too big. My favorite booth was definitely the Loft Literary Center’s booth. Not only is the Loft one of my favorite places in Minneapolis, but they had a great booth. I wrote down a book suggestion and picked up a writing prompt (the green envelope), so I’ll definitely try that out soon. A friend of mine also works at the Loft and she was there when I walked by, so it was fun to catch up with her!

On Friday I started with the an author signing and met Patrick Rothfuss, author of The Name of the Wind. We talked about my hometown, which is where he went to college.

After that I went to a lecture called Harry Potter and Banned Books, which, as you probably guessed, was all about banned and challenged books. This would have been a good lecture for someone who doesn’t know much about the topic, but it’s a topic that I’m passionate about so it’s something that I’ve done a lot of research on. This talk didn’t introduce anything new to me.

I attended a drawing class led by Karen Hallion and it was so much fun! Next up was a panel on Art as Narrative, which was a great panel to sit through, although it is one of the panels that’s kind of hard to hard to sum up. I ended the night by attending a live podcast recording of Unattended Consequences, which is a weekly conservation between Patrick Rothfuss and Max Temkin (Cards Against Humanity).

Saturday began with another author signing. If you’ve been following my book reviews this year you know that I recently discovered Daniel José Older and have been flying through them. I listened to Half-Resurrection Blues and Midnight Taxi Tango (both narrated by Older and the audiobooks are FANTASTIC!). I’m currently listening to Shadowshaper (almost done) and I absolutely love that one too. This was definitely one of the highlights of the convention. He was the nicest guy and it was so cool to meet an author whose work I discovered this year and have been loving.

Next up was a panel called Do All the Things and one of the guests was Patrick Rothfuss. All of the panelists have multiple things that they do, so they talked about how they balance it all. One of the overall themes is that while you can “do all the things” and do a lot, you can’t literally do all the things. They all discussed saying no when you need to and having a support group who will help you decide when you should take something on and when you shouldn’t (especially if you’re someone who has a hard time saying no). Half of my notes from this panel were on self-care, because they also discussed the importance of taking care of yourself if you want to do your work well. Half of the panelists discussed a period of time in which they worked too hard and reached a point where they couldn’t work for awhile after and for some, became physically ill.

After this I attended A Whole New World, which included Daniel José Older. This was all about worldbuilding and it was really helpful to listen to, but this is also a panel that I’d have a hard time summarizing.

I went to a workshop on dialogue led by Eileen Cook. When I was deciding whether or not I wanted to attend this one (there was one right after that I thought I wanted to attend more) it was the author that finally made me decide to check it out. I’ve heard quite a bit about her newest book With Malice. I’m so glad I went because it was a great workshop, she was hilarious and it was definitely one of the highlights of the weekend.

After that I scooted over to my last panel for the convention, which was Breaking Into Publishing. Since I’ve also done a lot of research on this topic I wouldn’t say I necessarily learned anything new, but it was nice to hear some of their advice. I also won a book and had a chance to chat with the author, which was another highlight of the convention. She was so nice and I’m looking forward to reading her book soon! I think what I liked so much about this entire experience is that the attendees had so many opportunities to meet the guests and have conversations.

I heard from another attendee (before one of the panels started) that they might not put this conference on again, but if they do I’d definitely attend. It was a lot of fun and it was so cool to meet some of these authors and hear them speak.

What are some of your favorite conventions?

[Tweet “A recap of NerdCon: Stories. #nerdcon2016 #nerdconstories2016 #storytelling”]

About Crystal

About Crystal

Hi! I'm Crystal, a millennial learning how to live slowly and sustainably, while still seeking adventure and following my dreams, etc.

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12 comments

  1. Becky @Disney in your Day says:
    October 17, 2016 at 10:18 am

    This sounds awesome! I’m a children’s librarian so I think this is definitely something I’d like to check out for work.

    Reply
    1. Crystal // Dreams, etc. says:
      November 8, 2016 at 9:23 am

      Yes! You should. I think it would definitely be beneficial.

      Reply
  2. Lauren @ Glitter & Grandeur says:
    October 17, 2016 at 11:11 am

    This sounds like such a good time! I’m so glad you were able to experience so much of it. It is clear you had a great time. I hope you get to go again next time!

    Reply
    1. Crystal // Dreams, etc. says:
      November 8, 2016 at 9:22 am

      Thank you! It was a great time. 🙂

      Reply
  3. Chrissy says:
    October 17, 2016 at 1:23 pm

    This looks and sounds like so much fun! I bet it is so interesting getting to spend time with like-minded people!

    Reply
    1. Crystal // Dreams, etc. says:
      November 8, 2016 at 9:22 am

      It is! It’s always so much fun to be at events with other writers and creatives.

      Reply
  4. Sheila Jo says:
    October 17, 2016 at 7:23 pm

    This looks like great fun! There are several events on the schedule I would attend! The Do All The Things panel sounds especially useful.

    Reply
    1. Crystal // Dreams, etc. says:
      November 8, 2016 at 9:21 am

      That was really awesome! It was funny, because I think they talked more about how you can’t do all the things, BUT knowing how these people who do so much kind of pick and choose what they’re able to do is so helpful for anyone who also wants to do all the things. 🙂

      Reply
  5. Angela Tolsma says:
    October 17, 2016 at 7:51 pm

    Oh gosh I am so jeaulous you got to met Patrick Rothfuss!! And got to go to a panel with him on it! Seriously this whole nerdcon is something I would totally love to go to!! Maybe one day!

    Reply
    1. Crystal // Dreams, etc. says:
      November 8, 2016 at 9:20 am

      It was so exciting to meet him! He’s hilarious! 🙂 It was such an amazing event. I really hope it continues, because I will definitely attend again.

      Reply
  6. Vanessa K @Tapestry Chronicles says:
    October 18, 2016 at 6:37 am

    This is so awesome! I wonder if nerdcon’s are in other cities? I would love to go to something like this some day 🙂 Thanks for sharing your experience! I’m going to do some googling now 😉

    Reply
    1. Crystal // Dreams, etc. says:
      November 8, 2016 at 9:19 am

      I’m not sure! I’m wondering if there are, but maybe not with this particular focus. A lot of people traveled from other parts of the country to attend. You should definitely look into it to see if there’s one closer to you, though. It was awesome! 🙂

      Reply

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hi!

I'm Crystal, the storyteller behind Dreams, etc. I'm all about learning how to live slowly & sustainably, while also seeking adventure as we follow our dreams, etc.

May 2023. Savannah, Georgia. Lots of Mina. Lots of May 2023. Savannah, Georgia. Lots of Mina. Lots of new growth on plants.
The other day I realized that there is no Savannah The other day I realized that there is no Savannah on my feed and…well, Savannah is beautiful and needs to be there. These were taken in Lafayette Square on my second day in Georgia.
Picture it. It’s the day after Thanksgiving. I d Picture it. It’s the day after Thanksgiving. I didn’t go on my weekly dam walk earlier in the week when I was excited about it. On this day I was tired after a long week and my least favorite holiday. My bed was oh so comfortable. I forced myself to roll out of bed and journey to the dam. It was filled with people and I was pokey…taking my time to get there and even journeying down one of the other paths to avoid walking across the dam. (Which isn’t long.) I finally joined the crowd and walked across. And then came back, happy to have made my weekly journey. This is when the top layer of the water started to freeze.
From March: an old mini vlog from a bagpipe rock c From March: an old mini vlog from a bagpipe rock concert, which is mostly me trying the say bagpipe rock. Some word combinations are hard! 😂 There was a sign asking us not to film, which is why there’s no concert footage.
Some of my weekly dam walks have been therapeutic Some of my weekly dam walks have been therapeutic and while the walks haven’t fixed the problems, they’ve help me breathe and connect with the world and relieve stress. 💕
April 2023. We got more snow, but it also melted. April 2023. We got more snow, but it also melted. The dam was almost overflowing. The animals are beginning to emerge. Spring is here!
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#indiebookstore #indiebookshop
After watching some shopping ASMR videos I had to After watching some shopping ASMR videos I had to try it.

#asmr #groceryshopping #groceryshop  #asmrvideos
I’m a little behind in weekly dam walk reels. Le I’m a little behind in weekly dam walk reels. Let’s go back to the third week in November when there was just a little snow on the ground and the footprints in the snow seemed notable.
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