The Year it really Lands

Blog Post No. 429

Last year was a strange one for a lot of reasons. It’s about this time each year that the event train leaves the station and starts building steam for the spring and summer rush. There may be a comicon or and book fair and (if we have our act together) a retreat. From there, the plans reach full swing and I’ll be booked at least one weekend (potentially two or more) a month for the rest of the year. Everything ground to a halt last year because of the pandemic, but after eight years of working on this writing thing, it felt like an anomaly. We did manage to get the retreat in before things were shut down, but the scheduled events after that were all cancelled.

This year, there isn’t anything to cancel. I’ve seen some events like Art in the Park (not something I went to myself) is sticking to it’s June schedule, but the Corn Festival in Tecumseh has been canceled and it was initially planned for August. Personally, I think anything planned for the summer is wishful thinking. I can’t wait to be able to safely get back out to events (not just because that’s where I sell most of my books) but until most people are vaccinated, it’s better to just wait.

I miss the events, though. I miss getting in the car and driving to cities that I had only passed through before. I like checking into some hotel (if it’s a longer event, hopefully in the same hotel as the convention) or just driving in for the day if it’s close enough. The days at an event can be tiering. Sitting for hours, saying hello to everyone who walks past, trying to entice them into taking a look at your products takes more effort than you’d think. If you had to get up early and drive for a few hours first, it’s even more exhausting. Even going to the Sarnia Pop Culture Show, which is about an hour and a half away, can take it out of you. The event is always a joy, though, so it’s worth being tired on the drive home. And having to avoid that murder farm that tries to lure unsuspecting travellers on their dark drives through the county. (Inside joke between Christian and me from our travels to the con).

I don’t think I’ll be getting to any event any time soon. Even when things get back going again, it’s no guarantee that the people who organized them will be able to keep some of the conventions, fairs, and festivals going. The Wrecking Writing Crew is going to try a virtual writing retreat this weekend. We’ll all still be in our own homes, but we’re going to jump in on a video call and see if it’s productive. We did a chat the other day and while we weren’t writing at the time, it was nice to see everyone and awesome to talk shop with other writers (especially ones I trust so much).

I’ll write a post about it next week so you can find out how it went. I’m hopeful, but who knows what it’s going to be like. As great a tool as video calls can be, there is a totally different feeling to them as being face to face with someone. There are a lot of little annoyances and no guarantee that you’re not the one being annoying. Still, it should be interesting and I’m looking forward to seeing what kind of writing I can get done with a little added peer pressure.