There comes a time when even the most introverted writer must emerge into the light of day to commune with their fellows. On Queen's Birthday weekend this year I attended GeyserCon 2019, a specfic convention for writers in Rotorua, New Zealand. (If you're not familiar with Rotorua, it's a geothermal area, and there was a geyser right next to the hotel). Now, I'm not a great fan of travel, so I can say it was something unusual for me to not want to come home from this weekend because I was having so much fun. Mind you, when I walked into the opening ceremony and James Revell was warming up with an extremely loud rendition of Copacabana I did nearly turn around and run straight out again. He turned out to be an excellent MC however. There was an amazing selection of panels for a small convention. I found Jean Gilbert's 'Scripts to Screen' especially educational. The best advice? If you want your script to sell, don't put a bear in it. Bears are expensive.
So, it was full on all weekend until the closing ceremony where everyone was asked to stand for the Doctor Who anthem, and after a performance of Paul Mannering's Star Trek-spoof radio play 'Starwrecked' (complete with futon torpedoes), the star of the play, Col the Emotional Support Cabbage was ritually dismembered and flung into the audience.
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