WorldCon: Renovation

I've been here since Tuesday but like so many find it hard to find any time to write/blog/anything but attend panels, eat and enjoy the company.

It is brilliant company, for the record.

I have enjoyed panels with such esteemed people as Connie Willis, Brandon Sanderson, Jim Kelly, Pat Rothfuss, Matt Rotundo, Glen Cook, Ken Schols, Carrie Vaughn and oh-so-many more. Name dropapalooza. Not that I spoke to many of these, mind you, but I tried to absorb the wisdom.

The panels are fabulous, the parties are happening, and I am very happy.

Westercon 64 Rundown

I can't believe this is my third con this year! It feels like FOGCon and Potlatch happened so long ago. And in some ways, they are all blurring together.

Westercon was held in the Fairmont Hotel in San Jose. May I say, major props to the location. It was spacious and there are plenty of dining choices nearby.

As for the con itself, it was small. Much smaller than expected, clearly. The rooms felt crowded in by all the chairs, 95% of them empty. I was glad for the chance to spend some time with my dad, and to see Erin Hoffman on a number of panels. I made a few new friends, but not so many as I did at FOGCon or Potlatch, and certainly not even close to the friendships I formed at NASFIC.

I do plan to go to the next Westercon in Seattle next year, because the GOH will be Robin Hobb. But right now, I'm pretty lukewarm about this con. Still super excited for Renovation though!!

Friends of Genre Convention, the First!

This last weekend was spent up in San Francisco at FOGCon (although we didn't have a bit of fog!) I was very much looking forward to this con for several reasons. I totally love that I, a newbie at this whole writing/congoing thing, could attend the very first year of a convention. Tickled me pink.

What's more, it's a con centered in my city. Loves it.

I actually took the train to SF, which I haven't done in years. It was... humid. But I passed the time chipping away at Pat Rothfuss' "The Wise Man's Fear." Good start to a good con. Met up with my sister, who was generous enough to host me, and then off I went to registration and a workshop with Vylar Kaftan. We had a good time during that hour. We responded to a variety of prompts, some of which left me giggling.

I spent the afternoon ducking in and out of panels and saying hello to the few congoers I recognized (namely, miss Amy and her husband). The highlight of the whole con had to be Friday evening's tapas party. It was delicious, revitalizing and FUN! We sat at a tiny table with some great folks.

I came back on Saturday morning and met up with my father before my reading. As part of Broad Universe's RFR, I read a very short children's story. It was fun and the other readers were great! My dad stuck around for part of the afternoon, and I frittered away the evening at panels and suite parties.

All in all, I very much enjoyed FOGCon, more so than Potlatch. It's so different from NASFIC that I can't really compare the two. Next up? Westercon64 in July. The door just keeps revolving...

#Potlatch20 Rundown

This has been a rather crazed March for my family and I. Not only did I attend Potlatch for the first time ever, but my Aunt attended the Big Sur Writer's Workshop! I'm so happy and proud of her! I really hope great things come of it.

As I'm sure great things will of Potlatch!

Friday began very well. I met Micah and a few other folks as I wandered in and out of the consuite. I ended up in a very heated discussion among fans about mystery writers. Fascinating!! Having been a fan for so long myself (I even attend ConJose as a fan), it was truly something to be on the other side. Illuminating.

I met up with Miss Amy and her friend Diana, who I had met once before. We spent the evening chatting with Jeremy, of Night Shade Books, mostly about family but a little about business. Really a great start to the con!

On Saturday I had my workshop group! We met under the guidance of David D. Levine, who gave us sound advice about what to take, and what to leave, and insightful critiques. We read work by Emily Jiang, K.G. Anderson and Chris Reynaga. All of it I loved! It was very exciting!

I also attended a few panels. What makes Potlatch unique is that it is focused on a book of honor, instead of a guest. This year the pick was George R. Stewart's Earth Abides. Love love love this book, as I've mentioned, so the panels piqued my interest.

Got to spend more time talking with Amy, and then hear about FOGCon from Vylar Kaftan, a recent Nebula Nominee. If you haven't met Vylar, do! She is professional, friendly, diplomatic and very, very knowledgeable. Incidentally, she's also the chair of FOGCon! Woohoo!

Sunday turned out to be very lowkey. We attended Potlatch's birthday party, and then Amy and I caught a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad movie. It was a lovely weekend.

Potlatch 20!

Today I am off to attend Potlatch 20, conveniently located in San Jose.

The book of honor, as opposed to a guest, is George R. Stewart's Earth Abides. I consider this a total win for several reasons. First and foremost, I've actually read it, over a year ago. Second, I loved it. Dystopian, heavy on the sociology and pushed the values for its time? Perfection. Lastly I remember it.

This might not be a problem for most people (or most of a certain age) but it is definitely an issue for me. I struggle with remembering things far more important than the plot of a book (commence bashing), and so it is very rare for me to have such a vivid recollection of a story. Win!

I know Amy from Taos will be attending, and already several writers have reached out. I'm looking forward to it, and will post photos on Monday!

Back from Outer Space

Howdy!

So this is the part where I tell you I have a bad habit of lurking. Sometimes even on my own blog.

But! With a new year comes new projects and new ideas. I'm very much looking forward to all the amazing goodness that will happen in 2011. On the list?

Cons: Potlatch in Sunnyvale, FOGCon in San Francisco, Westercon64 in San Jose, Renovation (WorldCon) in Reno! I've registered for all four and hope to add one more to the list.

Workshop: Vegas Writers Workshop, comprised of Taos Toolbox and Viable Paradise alums. I'm also hoping to hit up another workshop, or two, in Reno.

Reading: I've got a long, long, list of books I intend to read in 2011. At the top is a list my father gave to me, to help catch me up on foundational scifi and fantasy. On Monday I'll post about what those books are!

Writing: I hereby pledge to be more transparent about the projects I'm working on! Right now, my main work is a short story (will it be 6k? 8k?) which I will submit a draft of to the Vegas workshop. I'm currently resting at 4k with some scenes that are just plain silly.

So, that's the plan! Oh yes, and on top of all of this, I will be married this year... and that absolutely thrills me.

Future Cons

My mind is decidedly one-track these days. Despite having written out some new story ideas, I haven't gotten much actual writing down. Revising, yes. So there's some good in that.

But mostly I'm thinking about the future. I'm intrigued by more Cons than I can possibly manage (damnit, COSine, why'd you have to get Sharon Shinn??), but here's the list of ones I do hope to attend in the future:

BayCon 2011: in late May, featuring Toastmaster Martin Young
Westercon 64: July 4th weekend in San Jose featuring GoH Patricia A. McKillip (squee!)
Renovation 2011: Conveniently in Reno, NV August 17 - 21

I think, in addition to writer's groups, workshops, etc. I may be able to manage one more. This year I participated in Taos Toolbox as well as NASFiC. I'm debating trying to get to MileHi Con, but that might be a bridge too far.

How do people manage all of these conventions? And more importantly - how do they resist!?

NASFIC 2010

My first con is officially over, and I'm still processing all that occurred! NASFiC 2010 was held in Raleigh, NC and attended by about 700 people, including five of us from Taos.

I arrived very early Thursday, August 5th and managed to catch the tail-end of a mini-Taos reunion. After a solid nap, we went and heard Tom Doyle, Mary Robinette Kowal and Matt Rotundo read from their various works. All were very good, and all taught me something about storytelling.

Thursday evening began the "meet-and-greets" (since the Mariott would not let us have suite parties). These were not at all like I was expecting. The atmosphere was decidedly casual; you could pretty much drop into any conversation. Alcohol flowed freely, and the pros mixed with the fans. I loved it.

Friday was spent hopping from panel to panel, all of which I enjoyed immensely. "Worst Panel Ever" is definitely my pick for the con, because they made it funny, gave great advice, and actually energized the audience. Love it!

Saturday felt much the same as the day before - panels, schmoozing, meet-and-greets. I was tired, but not exhausted. It was invigorating to meet the panelists, as well as authors and editors I had heard so much about.

I've definitely learned quite a few things (bring fun stuff for the evenings, but costumes aren't really that useful), and I'm very much looking forward to the next con!!

ReConStruction Writing Workshop Notice

Please pass the word along...ReConStruction is only a few weeks away now.

There will be a writing workshop at the NASFiC in Raleigh, known as ReConStruction. There will be two, actually. Allen Wold will run a workshop where participants will do some on-the-spot writing. Friends of mine (who aren't writers) have enjoyed that workshop at CapClave.

Meanwhile, I have organized a workshop like the one held in Montreal at Worldcon last summer. The sections are scheduled to critique three manuscripts submitted in advance. There will be two professional writers in each section. Each participant will also critique the other two manuscripts and receive feedback from four people on their own work in the space of two hours. It's an intimate setting, a private session that's not open to the public, five writers in a room talking about writing.

Submissions must be 8,000 words or less. They should have some sort of speculative element to the story, in science fiction, fantasy, or horror. They can be YA, middle grade, adult. Submissions can be a short story or an excerpt from something longer, such as a novel. Excerpts should be accompanied by outlines or a synopsis and the total should be 8k or less.

If you're interested, the email address link is here: http://www.reconstructionsf.org/?page_id=421. You can also send a message via livejournal to birdhousefrog. The slots are first come, first served, so don't delay. You can only reserve your spot when you actually send in your submission. We won't be charging an administrative fee for this workshop and the manuscripts will be distributed electronically for critiquing.

The following professional writers have agreed to be critiquers:
Jack McDevitt
Mark Van Name
Steve Miller
Mary Robinette Kowal
Lawrence Schoen
Matthew Rotundo
Tom Doyle

Reblogged from Oz.

Reconstruction 2010

In an effort to stay on the horse, I have signed up for the Reconstruction NASFIC 2010, occurring this August in Raleigh. I haven't been to North Carolina before, so that will be my 32nd state. Yipee!

Beyond adding to my travel tally, I'm quite excited to reconnect with a handful of the Taos Toolboxers and meet many more industry professionals. Some of the panels look absolutely awesome, and I had to admit that I'm looking forward to the dances in the evenings.

I've been working on a short story to submit for a workshop there. Eric (the boyfriend) supplied me with a concept that I've been kicking around all week. The story is incredibly heavy on the dialogue, but since it's set in the near-future on earth, I'm not to worried about it. Hoping to get some feedback this weekend!

Meanwhile I shall resist looking at steampunk and masquerade outfits online. Yes. Somehow. Must... keep... writing...

WorldCon 2011

I have officially submitted my registration for Renovation 2011.

This will actually be my second WorldCon, as I attended the 2002 San Jose convention. I remember bits and pieces of it. Mostly I remember listening to my father between official panels.

Considering I was seventeen at the Con (and clueless), this will be a totally different experience. I’m not sure what to expect, other than pure elation at seeing my Taos Toolbox friends.

Plenty of time to research and figure out my strategy for Reno. Right now the goal of attending is a wonderful motivator.