Conference Recap Cleveland ConCoction 2025
Introduction
I attended the SF conference called Cleveland ConCoction at 600 North Aurora Road Aurora, Ohio at the Bertram Inn and Conference Center from March 7 to 9, 2025. I also attended Cleveland ConCoction in 2017, 2018, 2019, 2023, and 2024. (2020, 2021, and 2022 were canceled due to COVID-19).I attended the opening ceremony, seven panels, two author showcases, and the state of the convention meeting. This year’s tag line was Race Back to The Castle. Celebrating the 40th anniversary of the release of the movie Back to the Future and the 40th anniversary of the Super Mario Brothers Nintendo platform game.
ConCoction 2025 Banner
Cleveland ConCoction 2025 Program Guide Cover
ConCoction 2025 Badge
The link to the ConCoction website.
http://www.clevelandconcoction.org/
Bertram Inn and Conference Center
Summary
Conference Recap Cleveland ConCoction 2025
Friday, March 7 at 5 PM
The Opening Ceremonies.
Mogchelle the emcee (she was also a cosplay guest, dressed as Beetlejuice at this ceremony) introduced the guests and staffers at the con. Marie Vibbert was the author guest of honor, Big Girl Little World was a cosplay guest (dressed as a shrunken head employee from Beetlejuice Beetlejiuce), the duo LoRTH were cosplay guests, and Eric Hogg was the Con Chair.
They held the ceremonies in the Pegasus Room with 20 attendees.
Friday, March 7 at 6 PM
Author Showcase with Barbara Doran, Becca Lynn Mathis, Megan R. Engelhardt, and Vik Walker
Each author read for 15 minutes. Vik Walker read from their paranormal romance. Barbara Doran read from her novel, The Book Hunter’s Apprentice. Becca Lynn Mathis read from her novel, Wound Shadows. Megan R. Englehardt read from her novel, The Way We Used to Walk.
They held the showcase in Hayes A Room with 7 attendees.
Friday, March 7 at 7 PM
Finish the Novel, a panel with Evan Dicken, Jahrod K. Anderson, Marie Vibbert, Charlie Oberndorf, and J. D. Blackrose.
Tips and tricks for productive, sustainable writing practices. Oberndorf said that the key to finishing a novel is to find the heart of your story to get to the ending. Blackrose said that you must find a way to write out of the issue you are stuck on. It’s important you have a writing habit. A novel is a marathon, not a sprint.
They held the panel in the Hayes A Room with 4 attendees.
Friday, March 7 at 8 PM
Paths to Publishing, a panel with Evan Dicken, Jahrod K. Anderson, Becca Lynn Mathis, David F. Balog, and J. D. Blackrose.
The modern landscape of publishing and cultivating an audience. Mathis used Wattpad to get her work out there. She also said to get on social media, Facebook and Instagram for the older crowd, and Tik Rok and Tumblr for the younger crowd. Mathis said that you need to remember that you need at least 25 Amazon reviews to get into the Amazon Algorithm.
They held the panel in the Hayes A Room with 6 attendees.
Saturday, March 8 at 10 AM
Using Flashbacks/ Flash Forwards in Writing, a panel with Weston Kincade, Barbara Doran, David F. Balog, and J. D. Blackrose.
Is it a good idea? Make sure you don’t leave your reader in the wrong century. Blackrose said that it is important to keep your flashbacks short, so you don’t lose the narrative flow of your main story. Balog and Doran both said to start in mid-action and then flash back for your backstory.
They held the panel in the Hayes A Room with 7 attendees.
Saturday, March 8 at 12 PM
Building a Writing Habit, a panel with Cindy A. Mathews, J. D. Blackrose, Charlie Oberndorf, and Megan R. Engelhardt.
Step-by-step talking about finding the barriers keeping you from writing and how to overcome them. Oberndorf suggests writing early in the morning, deadlines help you focus and create a rhythm in your writing habit. Blackrose said that it helped her to have a part-time and flexible work schedule. Oberndorf said that stories are about things going wrong, start there.
They held the panel in the Presidential Board Room with 5 attendees.
Saturday, March 8 at 2 PM
No Hero Does It Alone, a panel with A. J. Mathews, Vik Walker, Weston Kincade, Alan Bailey, Sama Cleveland, and Cindy Mathews.
Writing standout sidekicks and side characters. Question: What are the equalities of a well written sidekick? Cindy Mathews said they are less informed but have a complementary talent for the hero. Walker said they can bring humor or serve as a mentor to the hero. Question: The uses of a sidekick. Cindy Mathews said that the sidekick can propel the plot forward. Question: Who is your Favorite Sidekick? A. J. Mathews, Samwell in Lord of the Rings, Cindy Mathews, Dr. Watson in the Sherlock Holmes series, and Kincade, Hermione Granger in the Harry Potter series,
They held the panel in the Hayes A Room with 6 attendees.
Saturday, March 8 at 4 PM
Going From Short Story to Novel, a panel with Cindy Mathews, Marcus Cook, Marcus Calvert, and Megan R. Englehardt.
It’s not just about adding adjectives. Calvert said you can learn the craft to write-by-writing short stories. Mathews said a short story has a limited premise solving a smaller problem than a novel. The audience asked for a definition of a short story. The answer was under ten thousand words. Calvert said to aim for a three-thousand-word short story which takes about ten minutes to read.
They held the panel in the Hayes A Room with 10 attendees.
Saturday, March 8 at 5 PM
Plantsing vs Pottsing, a panel with A. J. Mathews, Evan Dicken, Jahrod K. Anderson, Tory Gates, and Clif Flynt.
Do you plot or write by the seat of your pants? Panelists discuss the pros and cons of careful plot outlines, bullet points, pitch, spreadsheets, and other ways to get from blank screen to a finished story. Flynt is a plotter and brought a ten-foot-long sheet of paper where he had written out the plotting of one of his novels. Mathews said that you need all your plot points before writing murder mysteries. Gates said he gets ideas first, then writes character sketches, then a synopsis/timeline, and only then does he write the narrative. Dicken said that he writes IP novels, so he must submit an outline before he can start writing. Anderson said he is a pantser by nature, so he feels that detailed outlining stifles his creativity.
They held the panel in the Hayes A Room with 16 attendees.
Sunday, March 9 from 10 AM
The State of the Convention
Wasn’t this a great weekend? No? Come tell us (gently) why and we’ll tell you what’s been going on with the Con. Seven members of the convention committee were present. They were former Con Chair Laura, Amy Schman from Programing, Eric Hogg the Con Chair and Hotel Liaison, Stan Paulson from Security, Sin from Operations, Ashley Berry from Publicity, and Casey Taylor from Gaming. Concoction is the second biggest event at the Bertram this year, the first is Twinsfest in Twinsburg. They plan to develop an anime track to attract younger attendees. The committee always need volunteers. They wondered if a book club would be beneficial to the Con.
They held the ceremonies in the Pegasus Room with 8 attendees
Sunday, March 9 at 11 AM
Author Showcase with Weston Kincade, David F. Balog, and Geoffry Landis.
Listen to your favorite authors read excepts from newly released and soon to be released works. Find your next great read. Ask questions and discover the world behind the books. Balog read a chapter from his novel, The Necromancer’s Sorrow. (Note: Balog has the owl Glitter featured in his books perched on his shoulder.) Kincade read the short story “Permadrunk” from his collection, Tales from the Box. Geoffrey Landis (Mary Turzillo was scheduled for the showcase but she was sick, not COVID, and he substituted for her.) read three poems. Kincade read a poem from his collection. Balog read a preface/poem from his novel.
They held the showcase in Hayes A Room with 8 attendees.
Recommendation – Conclusion
Conference Recap Cleveland ConCoction 2025
ConCoction 2025 was wonderful. The Bertram Conference center is nice. The con was held previously at the Airport Sheraton which was torn down this year. My star of the con was Marie Vibbert, the last-minute Author Guest of Honor. I saw her in one panel, attending several panels, and giving a reading in the Consuite. My other highlights were seeing Weston Kincade and David F. Balog who were both on panels and in an author showcase. I’m planning on attending next year.
Links
Conference Recap Cleveland ConCoction 2025
I attended the SF conference called Cleveland ConCoction at 600 North Aurora Road Aurora, Ohio at the Bertram Inn and Conference Center from March 8 to 10, 2024. I attended the opening ceremony, eight panels, two author showcases, and the closing ceremony. This year’s theme was the Neverending dungeon. My star of the con was Becca Lynn Mathis. The con returns from March 7 to March 9, 2025.
I attended the SF conference Cleveland ConCoction 2019 at 600 North Aurora Road Aurora, Ohio at the Bertram Inn and Conference Center from March 1 to 3, 2019. I attended the opening ceremony, four panels, and the closing ceremony. This is a link to my conference recap. I also volunteered in the Programming Department for four hours and in the ConSuite for four hours.
I attended the SF conference Cleveland ConCoction at 600 North Aurora Road Aurora, Ohio at the Bertram Inn and Conference Center from March 9, 2018, to March 11, 2018. The 2019 convention was from March 1 to 3, 2019 and I realized as I was writing a recap for that conference, I had not posted a recap for the 2018 conference. This is a recap for the conference from last year. I attended the opening ceremony, five panels, two author showcases, a performance, and the closing ceremony. I also volunteered in the ConSuite for eight hours.
This is my recap for the SF conference Cleveland ConCoction from 2017. They held it from March 10, 2017, to March 12, 2017. Attended nine activities and volunteered in the ConSuite for twelve hours.