This post is presented with images of my haul of Stuff from the con. (Books by Dr. Jeana Jorgensen, Donna N. N. Munro, and Cecilia Tan, and a wee, beady-eyed crochet kraken.)

The kraken came from awesome fellow ADHD author JM Guilfoyle, who has a newsletter & social media presence as Nerdy_Mom_Writes which is pretty cool...but I've wandered off-topic, big shocker there. BACK TO THE POST. The following observations recorded as they came to me, in no particular order.

ᐉ A pot for making non-coffee beverages in the hotel room makes a world of difference. Took forever to find a hotpot since the keywords needed were "electric kettle," and "1L" or 1QT, but I grabbed an Amazon Basics one for $20 and am entirely pleased. I would've preferred the nigh-identical Aroma brand one from Target, but they were out of stock when I was shopping.

ᐉ Also in the "minor things make for major comfort: category: a travel-size humidifier. My con roomie had the cutest one ever, a unicorn that had an LED nightlight as well as a mist-producing horn, but I don't know the brand. Keywords for a similar one are "mini humidifier"  and/or "aromatherapy diffuser," in  at least a 300ml size. Not suitcase-friendly, but worth toting by car.

ᐉ Badge ribbons are worth every penny of the investment simply for the joy they inspire. 100 ribbons: $25 plus one-time setup fee. Faces lighting up all weekend long. Priceless. Fringe benefit of picking safety yellow for my series-related ones: I could spot which people were already wearing them half a room away.

ᐉ The money sunk into commissioning & printing creativity stickers was  well-spent IMHO, even if they're not book-related & thus (According To Good Branding Wisdom) more a distraction than a quality add-on.

That wisdom is solid, but in one (very) small con, I've already made back 20% of their print cost. Plus they're freaking awesome & I lurve them. Reason enough right there to showcase them.

ᐉ SOMEONE BOUGHT A MERCURY BADGE. I keep randomly remembering that, & it gives me a smile every time. Proof that if I remember to put my book bling on the table with a price tag, there are people who will want it.

ᐉ Panel moderators really do make or break the panel experience. Other side of that coin: modding a panel well is exhausting. I was lucky enough to have good mods in most of my panels, and I think I did an okay job leading the one panel I was assigned. But...yeah. It's a whole skillset.

(Which could probably be summed up in "the mod =/= an extra panelist" It doesn't mean "can't contribute at all" but if the mod is talking more than any of the panelists...there's a problem. Or some super-duper-shy panelists.)

ᐉ Panel descriptions really do matter. I know for a fact Capricon puts a ton of effort into the program descriptions. And yet I overheard comments about panels that went at odd tangents, which means a disconnect between expectation & experience. Might tie into the above moderator point, I suppose.

ᐉI'd love to actually get extra writing done when away at at a con the way some folks do. It's hypothetically possible, given the hotel room, but navigating a con just devours my energy. Vending helps, because I can hide under the table (yes, literally) when I get sensory  & emotional overload, but the evening & morning retreat hours of NO-talking-to-anyone in my room is how I survive the rest of it without getting literally sick. I've done day-commutes--saving money is good!--but the exhaustion level is exponentially higher,  my brain ends up squished for weeks afterwards instead of a couple of days, and I usually end up stress-sick on top of that.

Which doesn't work out as a bargain in the cost-benefit analysis.

ᐉbut speaking of writing, I still really do want to do a retreat at one of the Getaway outposts this year. I've acclimated to the environment in them enough that I wouldn't get distracted by the novelty so much, and when the weather is warmer,  I could chase Spouseman out to hike or read outside while I wrote indoors. Or even go by myself and just sit in a campsite for three nights, maybe. Like a con. Only without any people to drain away my ability to focus. So, that's still a dream/plan.

This has turned into quite a list, so I'm gonna end it there. Until later!