Maria's Howto; Plan a Last-Minute Con!

I've been to three cons in my life. All of which were planned in less than 2 monthes. In fact, my most recent con, Godaiko-con, we made cosplay, got tickets, and did everything in under 1 month. So, if you're stuck in a last-minute con planning situation, try not to mess up. Time, effort, and work is critical, and not the time to mess up.

1. Plan for one con. You don't want to be "still deciding" which con you're going to when the con is in 3 weeks. There are many methods to picking a con, but these are just the things that matter when choosing last-minute.

• Pick the one that is closest. It's almost impossible to buy bus fare/plane tickets/get a car ride to someplace that is over 4 hours away when the con is in 2 weeks.
• Pick the smallest con. If your chances of going to the con are low, then opt for a smaller con. Then if you miss it, you won't be missing much. I mean, missing a small con like JAFAX is much better than missing a big con like Ohayocon.
• Pick the cheapest one. Or, the one that is the most inexpensive, or gives the most time to pre-register.
• Pick what works best, time wise. Maybe your work/school will only let you off one particular day, and it means you can't go to a specific autograph session or a certain panel. Regardless, it's better to go to a con with less than to not go to a con at all
• See what works best for family/friends. If you are doing last-minute, and are having a parent/friend come with you, it's crucial they can also attend. Nothing is worse than planning a con, and with a week until, finding out your friend can't come with.

2. Focus on accomodations. Getting the hotel room, buying badges, getting into the masquerade, potentially getting an artist alley/dealers room table, all of those come first before even thinking about cosplay. Here are my tips on doing all of the above:

• No hotel room? Go to the forums. It's a risky option, and I would only recommend it if you live on your own/know self defense/have a backup, but alot of times, people with hotel rooms with avaliable space will go to the forums to offer to share a room with somebody. Sometimes they require a paid amount of money, sometimes they do it for free, doesn't exactly matter. Try to see if somebody of the same gender who is staying the same days has an open room - who knows, you might even make a friend!
• No money? Pay with your body! I've seen multiple con-goers say that when they can't afford badges, the cons will let them work to pay it off. Though, don't expect a tiny con to do this. The bigger cons have more last-minute goers, and will accomodate people working to pay for badges.
• Don't count on Artist Alley/Masquerade entrance. Normal people plan half a year in advance in the first place, and anybody wanting to get in the Masquerade or work in Artist Alley needs to sign up even earlier. If there is an avaliable spot, perfect! If there isn't, well, just know it was coming.

3. Cosplay is a bitch. I spent over a year finalizing my Hanyuu Furude cosplay, and I would have died trying to do it in less than 2 months. But, it is possible to make cosplay in under two weeks. I am living proof - I made Yuki Cross cosplay in two weeks. And it wasn't even for myself. But I did it, and here is how.

• Choose quickly and wisely. Your best bet is to do somebody who looks the most like you, or has the most similar hairstle. You don't want to expect a nice wig to fit/arrive in under two weeks. Because I love you all, I'll make another post about doing last-minute cosplays that work and/or are easy.
• Work in chunks. Don't try to cram the material buying and sewing half of it into one day. Just work with days - one day to buy materials, one day to make an outline, one day to do the sewing for one part of the outfit, one day to do the sewing for another part of the outfit, then one day for the skirt/pants, etc. It works out best like that.
• Do NOT put things off. If your in the middle of sewing a hard part, and it's 11PM, and you need to sleep, do it all that night. Don't put things off until the morning. It's easy to think "I have two weeks, that's fourteen days! 336 hours yo!" But when you add school, sleep, and con planning to the equation, you have to do it then.
• Think about things in perspective. If they don't have a certain fabric in a certain color, don't think "I'll come back a later time" or "I'll go to another store later,". No, you have to think about things now. "I'll go to the other fabric store during my lunch break tomorrow" or "I'll check again in two days before school" is better.
• Have a backup plan. If your cosplay can't be done in time, or can't be made, or just has too many problems, then ensemble all of your Otaku gear. Find a crappy wig from Halloween a few years ago, find your old tie-dye t-shirt, your rainbow converse shoes, and a black skirt, and just look Otaku-y.

4. Enjoy the con. You worked hard to plan it all at the last minute, and whether it all pulled through or not doesn't matter. You earned it - now go enjoy.

• LEARN FROM YOUR MISTAKES. Maybe plan your next con over three monthes behind when you get home. Unfortunately, three last-minute cons haven't even shaken me/made me consider planning early.
• Learn to plan last minute. Like me - it's not horribly hard to plan last-minute, if you know what you are doing, and don't get stressed easily. Plus, it's rather fun. :3