DragonCon Advice?

hmm. I have never been to Dragoncon, but I have been to Boskone, Readercon, Worldcon, Chicon and others. Each con has its own personality so its hard to make sweeping recommendations (especially as I have not been to the specific one you're going to and Dragoncon is *huge* - unlike some writing cons it has a lot more going on and a lot more focus on fans).

The main comments I would make are:

1. The con hotels usually have discounts. They're still $$, but if you don't stay at one you will probably miss a lot. There are late night parties, hangouts, people chatting at the bar and in corners and you miss a lot of that (or at least I do) if you are staying elsewhere as I need decompression time away from the crowd and so - once I've gone to my room for 10 mins, its easy to come back when you are at a con hotel. Not so easy if you are further. There are always people looking for roommates and I hesitate to recommend staying with a complete stranger but maybe someone in any other writing circles you are in? (or here) Or friends that are more into the fandom aspect and would like to go? Failing that its the usual - hotels.com and airbnb for non-con cheaper options all the way down to youth hostels, which are not just for youths but lack privacy.

2. I recommend making a list of 'can't miss' things and then a fuller list of things you'd like to do. The reason for this is if they truly are 'can;t miss' they are worth apologizing and breaking out of a conversation to go to, or planning breaks and food trips around. But if they are more 'would be nice' sometimes those chance meetings and conversations are more important and its easier to keep track of a short list.

3. I prefer Kaffeklaches as they are guaranteed one on one time with agents, editors, authors etc. But that may be the introvert in me (speaking of which I did actually write a blog post on this once.... let me search for it....

https://gideonpsmith.com/2024/07/08/navigating-writing-conferences-as-an-introvert/

4. There is usally significant 'barcon' meaning writers, editors hang out at one of the hotels bars and socialize. Don't ask me how - as an introvert its most def not my expertize, though I have done it usually as an extension of hanging out from other opportunities

5. Most cons have a conroom with free snacks. I don't know if dragoncon does but in other cons its been an essential location for a quick energy burst and nice place to socialize/ chance meetings

ps if you do go, stop back and give us your answers to all your questions above so that we have insight into Dragoncon!

@gideonpsmith Thanks for the thorough response!

You made a lot of great points/suggestions. I hear what you're saying about getting a hotel and it makes sense. Unfortunately, it looks like a lot of the main hotels are sold out. Dragoncon lists the hotels and their respective availabilities in a collective list on the Dragoncon website. I'm guessing people book this a long time in advance. There are other hotels listed which still have some availability, but they aren't the core hotels. So I would likely end up staying in a perimeter hotel, then need to trek back and forth.

I've heard of barcon (love how my autocorrect was adamant about changing that to "bacon") and that's one of my main interests. While I'm theoretically an introvert, drinks tend to invert my social dynamics while simultaneously jettisoning all safety mechanisms. Case and point, I may or may not have danced with inanimate objects in Panama City, FL during the summer of 2007. 🤫

I've had others point me towards barcon. They told me to just find a table with an ongoing conversation, then sit down. Worse case, they'll ask you to leave. I plan to do this at some point, but it looks as though Dragoncon might need to be a subsequent excursion. As far as "walking before you run," it seems like I much be jumping straight into skydiving 😅

Your "can't miss" list is an excellent idea. I actually did something similar in the single con I attended. The program/pamphlet with all the events and times was just too much info to process as the day progressed. I ended up sitting down and marking everything relevant to me, so I could parse everything else which was essentially clutter surrounding the specific experience I was after.

I'll look more into Kaffeklaches and the posts you shared.

I'm going to look more into to my expected costs and the distances between potential hotels and the events I'd like to visit, but I might not be capable of attending this year's. I might just look for smaller venues for 2025, then aim for Dragoncon in 2026. That would give me more time to secure a WotF win, which would allow me to sit at the tables with all the cool kids 😅

Anywho, I'll report back if/when I successfully recon Dragoncon 😁

Thanks again for the info!