Musings
an Online Journal of Sorts

By Alyce Wilson

On a busy day compounded by picking up extra assignments for a worker who called off, I have exactly 15 minutes to write a Musing, find a graphic and get it uploaded before my next assignment starts. No pressure.

Well, besides the never-ending rain which has my dog seeking refuge with her newly cleaned stuffed animals — put through the wash under protest yesterday, the same day she got her monthly bath — the biggest thing I can write about is Philcon.

Last year I attended the annual science fiction here in Philly, and this year I've actually been invited as (gasp!) a guest. Frankly, I believe they made a mistake.

You see, they know that my SO, The Gryphon, is a Japanese animation (anime) expert, and they knew that we both staff the biggest anime convention in North America, Otakon. You can hardly blame them for believing that I had some knowledge of the subject.

The truth is that, while I like much of the anime I've seen, including but not limited to Ranma 1/2, Maison Ikkoku, Ghost in the Shell and Ghost in the Shell II, Cowboy Bebop, Vampire Princess Miyu, Vampire Hunter D, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera, I am hardly an expert on the subject.

I would much far more useful, say, at a British comedy convention, or an American comedy convention, even, or perhaps, a strange phenomena convention such as the Un-Convention, held every year by the fantastic monthly mag, The Fortean Times.

They initially had me down as an "anime guest," and when it came time to sign up for panels, I had to set them straight. I informed them that I had only a general knowledge of anime but could address issues of, say, anime fandom from a pop cultural perspective. There was only one such panel which I suggested might be appropriate for me.

Preferably, considering my BA in Broadcast/Cable, my MFA in English (Poetry), my freelance writing profession and my editorship of the online literary quarterly, Wild Violet, I was better on literary or writing panels. I looked through the list of available panels and volunteered for several I thought might be appropriate.

Today, I just got my final schedule in my e-mail mailbox. Here it is:

Sat 5:00 PM in Room 406 (1 hour)
NO ONE WOULD EVER BELIEVE IT IF I MADE IT UP (190)
Fiction writing is the art of editing life into a believable and coherent pattern. What must you use and what can't you use in fiction?

Yes, that's it. One panel. I think I can handle that. Mysteriously, given my master's degree and all, they didn't put me on the only panel which has to do with writing poetry. I have no idea why. Perhaps it conflicted with the times when I said I was available to help.

But that's fine. It means I have more time to see the con itself and to arrange interviews with some of the guests. For that purpose, I'm writing up questions today.

That's it, time's up! Back to the mines.

Copyright 2004 by Alyce Wilson

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