Let’s face it — for the weird sorts of introvert like me, who can put that on hold for a certain amount of time to people it up for two or three days at a convention and then hide at home for a week afterward, a virtual event will never be the same. As much as I enjoy participating in panels, conventions are also about the random hallway chats, evening room parties, and overall bonding with writer and reader friends I only see once or twice a year.
That being said, I’m thrilled that some of my annual events have been virtual during this crazy time we live in, and I thoroughly enjoyed my weekend as part of Farpoint 2021.
Saturday
The spouse had his monthly military commitment last weekend, so I had the house to myself for two days. I slept in on Saturday, but woke in plenty of time to participate in a panel that discussed the Disney+ show The Mandalorian. In our discussion ahead of time, the panelists agreed that we would discuss the character of Cara Dune, but that the situation involving her actress was a topic for a different panel. Once our audience joined the call, we had a great time discussing the various methods of storytelling employed in the show and how it relates to other Star Wars properties, such as the animated Clone Wars series. We loved how much female representation it contains, and appreciated that the story focused on a brand-new character (even though we’re all looking forward to the upcoming Boba Fett series). Other topics included the future of Baby Yoda, the fate of the Razorcrest, and THAT cameo in the season 2 finale.
I spent the rest of the day tackling some long-neglected organization of my clothes closet, even though I would have much preferred to be spending money in the dealers room and geeking out with people in person.
Sunday
I had grand plans to work on line edits for the book I have coming out this summer in between my two panels — I ended up reading instead. However, the panels themselves both went very well!
Heather E. Hutsell and I discussed all the cool television shows and movies we’ve “discovered” while on lockdown. Our tastes both diverged and combined in various places, and I’ve been sold on checking out Upload and giving Schitt’s Creek a chance. I limited my raving about The Old Guard to the bare minimum, I promise.
Photo via David Brawley 
Photo via Scott Edelman
Later, I joined Danielle Ackley-McPhail and Mary Fan in a conversation on how fandom can make you a better writer. This included the benefits to using fanfic as both writing practice and a place to find community, and how the communities of various fandoms themselves can provide some of the social requirements necessary to make a well-rounded writer (and human).
This week, I’m back to those pesky line edits for Steel Justice. Here’s to Farpoint 2022 back at the glorious Hunt Valley Inn!
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