Last weekend I published a post about fandoms, nerds, geeks, and all other things that involve embracing creativity and enthusiasm. You can find that post here.
Today, I am, as promised, revisiting this topic, after having spent a few days at a local comic-con. And brace yourself - there will be pictures!
I only sort of knew what to expect. My husband had been before - even once to the "big one" in San Diego, to which my father-in-law has also been a few times. I knew that it would be busy. I knew there would be panels, and celebrities. I knew that some people would be dressed up. I knew I would be on my feet all day, and frequently in a line. I knew I would see booths selling merchandise, and artists promoting their work.
What I didn't know was how much I would absolutely love it all.
There is something incredibly... moving... about being around that much enthusiasm for something. There were thousands upon thousands of people there - truly nice people. They were all there to show their unabashed support for something that matters to them.
Do you know how freaking cool that is?
Do you know how awesome it is to see full kids stand in line to ask a star of a favourite television show some detail about a previous work, or a specific episode? Do you know how awesome it is to watch one girl of about age 7 break into helpless, gasping giggles when one celebrity told her, "Hey! I remember you!" when she stepped up to the microphone during a Q&A session. Do you know how awesome it is to see dads dressing up as Hawkeye or Captain America while their daughters were Black Widow? (Forget that even - I saw so many girls in full Captain America get-up. Even Thor. It was - you guessed it - awesome.)
Do you know how awesome it is to be around that much talent, to see those artists? To hear that enjoyment of so much? To see the incredible effort that so many put into costumes, or art, or skill, or whatever? To hear the advice passed down by people who somehow made a difference in the world because of a movie or show or comic book? To listen to a celebrity crush speak (looking at you, James Marsters!) and perform live? To listen to a Hollywood icon (Billy Dee Williams) at age 80 recite Invictus off the top of his head? How about listening to the Stan Lee himself (at age 94!) correct grammar and easily joke back and forth while being interviewed by another comicbook icon, Todd McFarlane).
If I sound pretty nerdy to you right now, that's fine. I have no problem with that. Forget the dark side; come to the nerd side. We have games and enthusiasm and intelligence and super talented people who are just really gosh-darned nice.
Not to mention the creativity and experience that those people are willing to share with others.
I was fortunate enough to be able to attend a panel while there all about writing and publishing. So yes, it was educational, too! This was a great chance for anyone attending to talk to several self-published authors. While their writing was more genre-focused than my current work-in-progress, the information and experience that they shared was so valuable. Meeting and listening to others in this crazy field, who stepped out across that rickety bridge toward publication, over the chasm of uncertainty and failure, and made it across, was quite motivational.
This past weekend was such a great experience for me. If you ever get a chance to go somewhere that you can see people be truly excited for something, do it, and allow yourself to get caught up in it.
I am convinced I need to go every year now; my husband has created a monster. I cannot wait to go next year.
In fact, I have even started thinking of my costumes.
Have you ever been surrounded by this kind of enthusiasm? What do you think of events like this? How do you think this relates to writing?
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