Conference Marcon Columbus 2022

Conference Marcon Columbus 2022 Recap

Introduction

I attended the SF Conference Marcon Columbus 2022 on May 7, 2022. They held the conference at 350 North High Street Columbus, Ohio 43215 at the Hyatt Regency Columbus. The drive was two-plus hours taken in the morning and back in the evening. I also attended Marcon in 2017, 2018, and 2019. The missing two years were because the conference was canceled those years. The story going around the con this year was that this might be the last Marcon because the coordinating group of this con will no longer do it going forward. Will someone run the con next year? Stay tuned. I attended three panels and one concert at the 2022 conference.

This is a link to the Marcon Conference Facebook account. Their website was down then and still is down.

https://www.facebook.com/MARConOH/

Conference Marcon Columbus 2022

Summary

Saturday, May 7th at 11:00 AM

It was the best of Kynes, it was the worst of Kynes: The new Dune film, a panel with Denver Karchner, Ted Dickinson, Paul Hahn, Emily Lydic, and Sean Mead.

The panel debated what they liked and didn’t like about the Dune (2021) film. The film covered the first part of the novel Dune. They will make a second film covering the rest of the novel and its scheduled release is on October 20, 2023. They compared the current film with the Dune (1984) film and the Sci-Fi Channel series from 2000. The panelists enjoyed the movie but felt that some concepts could have been explained better for non-book readers. They are cautiously optimistic that the second film will answer their questions.

They held the panel in Salon B/C Room with 19 attendees.

Saturday, May 7th at 12:00 PM

The Harp Twins, a concert with Camille Kitt and Kennerly Kitt.

The Harp twins are identical twins that both play electric harps. They arrange their music. They played nine songs in the concert including Nothing Else Matter by Metallica and Fear of the Dark by Iron Maiden. In between songs they engaged in humorous banter between them and introduced each piece before they played them. A very enjoyable concert, not what I expected, but they won me over.

This is a link to their website which has a bio, links to purchase their music, music videos, and a schedule of upcoming performances.

https://www.harptwins.com/

They held the concert in the Buckeye Room with 70 attendees.

Saturday, May 7th at 1:00 PM

Writing for Hire, a discussion with Marie Vibbert.

The discussion was about the author’s experience in taking a writing for-hire job. She says that a lot of mass-market books are ghostwritten. She told us what it’s like writing someone else’s property to a specification. The book is expected to be released on July 12, 2022. The book is named MegaDeath with the name of the author Tory Quinn. The interesting thing is that the book says Tory Quinn with Marie Vibbert. The other two books “written” by Tory Quinn were written by other ghostwriters. Marie said it was an interesting experience. She was given a specific outline that must be followed in writing the book. The business model for the publisher was pitching a movie concept by having a written novel adapted into a screenplay. There wasn’t much room for creativity but the pay was good.

This is the link to the Goodreads page for MegaDeath by Tory Quinn

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/56603442-megadeath

They held the discussion in the Capital Room with 7 attendees.

Saturday, May 7th at 2:00 PM

Babylon 5: Reborn or Retreaded, a panel with Lee Shamblin, Rachael Thurston, Denver Karshner, Emily Lydic, and Ken Keisel.

The reason for the panel was to discuss the proposed reboot of the series by the original show writer, J. Michael Straczynski. At the time of the panel, the details of the reboot were hazy. What complicates matters is that the CW channel planned to produce it with a projected release in 2023. Nexstar will purchase CW and that might impact the status of the Babylon 5 reboot. The panel questioned what would happen going forward.

They held the panel in Salon B/C with 27 attendees.

Recommendation – Conclusion

I had a great time at Conference Marcon Columbus 2022. My co-stars of the con were The Harp Twins for their concert and the Writing for Hire discussion presented by Marie Vibbert. I also attended Marcon in 2017, 2018, and 2019 and hope the con will return in 2023.

Links

Recap for SF Conference Marcon Columbus on May 11, 2019. They held it at Crowne Plaza – Columbus North. I also attended Marcon in 2017 and 2018. This year I attended four panels, a performance, and an interview.

Recap for SF Conference Marcon Columbus I attended on May 12, 2018, at the Hyatt Regency in Columbus, Ohio. I attended four panels and two game shows.

Recap for SF Conference Marcon Columbus on May 13, 2017. They held the conference at the Hyatt Regency Columbus. I also attended Marcon in 2018 and 2019. I attended five panels at the 2017 conference.

Conference Recap Marcon Columbus 2017

Marcon Columbus 2017

Conference Recap Marcon Columbus 2017

Introduction

I attended the SF Conference Marcon Columbus 2017 on May 13, 2017. They held the conference at 350 North High Street Columbus, Ohio 43215 at the Hyatt Regency Columbus. The drive was two-plus hours taken in the morning and back in the evening. I also attended Marcon in 2018 and 2019. The 2019 convention was from May 10 to 12, 2019 and I realized when I wrote a recap for that conference, I had not posted a recap for the 2017 conference. This is my recap of the 2017 conference. I attended five panels at the 2017 conference.

The link to the Marcon website.

http://marcon.org/

Marcon Columbus 2017 Program Guide Cover

Picture of my badge from Marcon Columbus 2017

Summary

Saturday, May 13th at 11:30 AM

Dystopias 2: this is the way the world ends, a panel with Karen Dollinger, Courtney Bliss, Joaryn Bailey, Donald Haynes, and Alyssa Pence.

The discussion was about dystopias. You don’t need an apocalypse to get a dystopia. Someone benefits from a dystopia. The story helps us to question how things are now. Books in this genre are a lens for social commentary. Human nature is not to be static. Recommended books are Newsflesh by Mira Grant, The City of Ember by Jeanne DuPrau, and 1984 by George Orwell.

They held the panel in the McKinley Room with 15 attendees.

Saturday, May 13th at 1 PM

Humorous Science Fiction and Fantasy, a panel with Addie J. King, Kandi Hopkins, Deb Wallace, and L. Anne Wooley.

Who does humor well? The answers were Terry Pratchett, John Scalzi, Christopher Moore, J. K. Rowling, Robert Asprin, Spider Robinson, and Jim Butcher.

What makes it work? If you find it funny, then you may be able to write it. Use humor to break up the serious parts of your novel. Give the readers a break by using humor. Try not to over-explain the humor or it will lose its impact.

They held the panel in the McKinley Room with 16 attendees.

Saturday, May 13th at 2:30 PM

Antiheroes: When the main character could easily be the villain, a panel with Denice Verrico, Karen Dollinger, Faye Malcolm, Erin Reilly-Sanders, Van Siegling.

There is a spectrum of characters from the worst villain Sauron from Lord of the Rings to the best hero Dudley Doo Right. An antihero works as long as the protagonist is more hero-like on the spectrum than the antagonist. An Antihero rejects the norms of society. Examples of antiheroes are Dexter, protagonists in bank heist stories, Walter White, Saul Goodman, and Scarlett O’Hara.

They held the panel in the McKinley Room with 21 attendees.

Saturday,May 13th at 4 PM

The Difference Between Story and Plot, a panel with Shannon Eichhorn, Charles Ebert, Addie J. King, Linda Robertson, Scott M. Sandridge.

The story is how you get there and the plot is the mechanics of the story. Ask yourself, does the plot move the story along? Read what you write. You need to be in love with your story as you are writing it. Write what you want too in the first draft but be prepared to kill your darlings in editing to strengthen your story. When constructing a story understand if your genre expects a series.

They held the panel in the McKinley Room with 11 attendees.

Saturday, May 13th at 5:30 PM

Cursed Children and Fantastic Beasts, a panel with Karen Dollinger, Hannah Blosser, Emily Lydic, Leah Nicola, and Amanda Caskey.

The panelists were experts in all things Harry Potter. Harry Potter and the Cursed Child: Parts One and Two is a stage play of the theater production. They held the stage production on July 30, 2016, and the book was released on July 31, 2016. The panelists talked about both presentations. They released the movie named Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them on November 18, 2016. The panel talked about the movie and the expected four sequels.

They held the panel in the Harrison Room with 12 attendees.

Recommendation – Conclusion

I had a great time at Marcon Columbus 2017. My star of the con was the panel on Cursed Children and Fantastic Beasts. I had read the printed stage play for Harry Potter and the Cursed Child and watched the movie Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, so I understood the panel and enjoyed what they had to say. I also attended Marcon in 2018 and 2019 and plan to return on May 9, 2020.

Links

Recap for SF Conference Marcon Columbus I attended on May 12, 2018, at the Hyatt Regency in Columbus, Ohio. I attended four panels and two game shows.

Recap for SF Conference Marcon Columbus on May 11, 2019. They held it at Crowne Plaza – Columbus North. I also attended Marcon in 2017 and 2018. This year I attended four panels, a performance, and an interview.

Goodreads page for Harry Potter and the Cursed Child: Parts One and Two.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/29056083-harry-potter-and-the-cursed-child