No, that’s not a mystery fan gathering, but a question. As a writer or artist, why should you go to a Con? What is the benefit, other than meeting fans and getting to socialize with people who understand you more than do the average bear? It depends on the Con, and on what you are doing there.

If you go as a fan, you get to meet other fans, hear people in the business talk about characters, technical details, and stuff like that, maybe meet artists, actors, writers, and others, and look at swag and things related to the theme of the Con (like having a Transformer replica in your local civic center.) Some people dress up and impersonate characters, or just dress on the theme of the Con (steampunk, sci-fi, what have you), party, do costume contests, meet people who share your interest and don’t mind you enthusing about the Parasol Protectorate for half an hour, and so on. It can be a refreshing, exhausting, and much fun few days, especially if you have been to that Con before and know a few people.

If you are a pro? I go to meet friends and associates, talk to fans, learn from other people (both in my genres and otherwise), study costumes, and get away from my Day Job self. Or at least, that until my “play” button gets pushed or I’m asked a teaching sort of question on a panel. Cons can be places to network, make connections, pitch ideas to or at people, talk to fans and perhaps make new fans, and sell stuff. Some Cons have professional development sessions where you can take a class on world building, or costume making, or new kinds of software (seriously, sat in on part of one about a then-new “design a solar system and planets” package that ran on Linux and could keep hard-sci-fi writers out of some awkward spots. No, I don’t remember the name.) Some have hard science panels, or history panels, and so on. DragonCon has a panel for everything ever done, as best I can tell. It is also capped at … 70,000 people? I think that’s right. The fire marshal and other safety authorities put a limit on it, and it takes up at least three primary hotels.

As a writer, one thing I have to keep in mind is that I’m selling my brand as well as having fun. This means there may be some things I don’t get to do, or shouldn’t let myself do, because it could look bad. Other people don’t worry about “optics” and appearances, because they are there to have fun, and part of their reputation as an author/artist/game designer/actor is … having fun in memorable ways.

I always learn something when I go to a Con. It is not always during a formal session. Listening to interesting conversations, or talking to fascinating people, can lead to gaining tips about good books, or archive resources, or history of the field, and so on. I’d say, again depending on the Con, half the fun is sitting in hallways or at a watering hole/cafe and just talking and listening. Other Cons, like pop-culture Cons or DragonCon, are more panel and event focused. Superstars probably don’t have time (or the needed security) to hang out in a quiet corner and chat.

Some Cons let you buy tickets for a virtual con, and you can stream panels or even a dedicated Con TV channel from the comfort of your home. Others are too small, too local, and on a shoestring budget.

Why Con? Because they can be a lot of fun. Just remember to eat regularly, wash your hands often, and get enough water and sleep.