Fiona wrote
I have to say I like workshoppy things more than guest panels myself, >just because you tend to get a better signal-to-noise ratio.
Whilst I agree that workshop type events are great fun and give those of the same interest area a chance to interact, even occasionally in a slightly negative way, there is a lot to be said for guest run panels too. At Redemption, Andy Lane ran a writer's panel. Wherein himself and another writer, whose name escapes me, went through a checklist of items for would be writers. It wasn't that much of a discussion per se, but I did discover one priceless pearl of wisdom which has helped me a lot.
This is why, at Eclectic 21, we intend to have a good mix of both as well as a pretty full alternate panel for the three days of the convention. Having been attending cons for many years we found we tended to enjoy those those ones which had a good mix of both fan run and guest talks. As I heard it expressed by a friend at Redemption.....'I like coming to those cons where there is always something to do rather than just sit and listen to various people talk at me for hours on end'
Sue W-L
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