4 Essential Tips for First-Time Con-Goers

Baltimore Comic-Con Loki
Ditch the Costume

This article is by Joseph Zieja.

Cons are vicious, insane things, where emotions run as hard and fast as the alcohol, where dreams are made and broken at bars, and where George R. R. Martin sends people out for cheese steaks at three o’ clock in the morning.  You will meet people dressed in costumes from anime you have never heard of and, now, never want to see.  It’s a horrifically daunting, exhilarating, and generally rewarding experience.

So why should you take advice from me about going to a convention?  Because I’m you.  I’m the new guy, and I’m here to give you the new guy’s perspective on con-going, and I think I did pretty well for myself at the last few cons.  I’m here to give you the 4 Essential Tips of Convention Attendance.

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Is Plot or Character More Important?

Structuring Your NovelThis article is by K.M. Weiland.

“Plot vs. character”—we hear it all the time, as if the two were mutually exclusive. Either your book is plot-driven or character-driven. Can’t possibly be both, right?

And anytime we run afoul of an either/or conundrum, you gotta know people are going to start believing one or the other is not only the best way, but even the only way to write a book.

Let’s consider this a little more microscopically. What would it take to make one or the other of these combatants “more important” than the other?

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