Life, the Universe and Everything

Otherwise known as LTUE ( I wonder why the "the" gets included, but not the "and.") It's BYU's annual Science Fiction Symposium. I went to it last week for the first time in thirteen years. *gasp* Good heavens, why did I stay away for so long? I don't really have the answer. Many years I just simply forgot, or I didn't have a babysitter or I was off somewhere else for Presidents' Day weekend. This year, though, I heard about it early, and since one of my favorite authors, Brandon Sanderson, was the Guest of Honor, I asked my hubby to schedule some days off work so that I could go. My awesome hubby agreed. I went for all three days, went to some awesome panels, heard some amazing writers speak, reconnected with old friends, and met some new friends too. It was especially fun hanging out with Elana, Alaina, and Mary. You guys made it fun for me! When I first arrived, I was a few minutes late for the panel I wanted to attend. I slipped in the back door to find the room packed full. I couldn't hear, there were no seats, so I decided to wait out on the balcony until the next hour. Walking down the hall, I noticed James Dashner walking in front of me. I just so happened to have The Maze Runner in my bag (because I'm reading it right now), so after a few minutes of working up my courage I went over and asked him to sign my book. He was very kind and even remembered me from the the Book Academy last fall. One of my favorite things from the three days was Brandon Sanderson's keynote address. The basic message I got from that was be positive, stop looking for the negative, and acknowledge other people's opinions as valid. Anyway, it was very uplifting for me. I also loved the live Writing Excuses PODcast. I haven't been listening to Writing Excuses, but I will be from now on! Well, this has been a kind of rambling post. The convention was a great experience for me. Some of the panels were quite thought-provoking, and will probably be the subject of later posts. I hope I'll be back next year and not wait another thirteen before I go again.