NerdCon Schedule

The first Rocket City NerdCon starts tonight! Here's an updated listing of my panel schedule:

Friday, 5:00PM - Readings by the North Alabama Science Fiction Writers and Cake Appreciation Society
Local writers belonging to NASFWCAS read their science fiction and fantasy short stories.

Friday, 7:30PM - Residential Science Fiction and Fantasy Workshops
What's it like to attend a writing workshop that lasts six weeks? Or two? Clarion West Graduate Jenni Moody will give a presentation on the benefits of residential writing workshops and will share stories about her time at one of the most prestigious genre workshops in the world.

Saturday, 2:30PM - How to Write, Fix, and Sell Your SF and Fantasy Story
Panel discussion by writers from the North Alabama Science Fiction Writers and Cake Appreciation Society, which is a local critique group for science fiction and fantasy writers. We'll talk about the writing process, how to benefit from feedback from other writers and describe resources to help you publish your work.

Looking forward to a great weekend of geeking out in my hometown! See you there!

Upcoming Event: Panel at NerdCon

I'm excited to announce that I will be presenting a panel at the first Rocket City NerdCon. I'll share photographs and stories from my experiences at Clarion West and Kij Johnson's Beginning Novel Workshop at the University of Kansas. I'll discuss the benefits of residential writing workshops and compare them with the experience of getting an MFA.

Everyone who attends will get a resource sheet, some writing goodies, and I will do a giveaway for several awesome prizes! I'd love to see you there!

Here's the panel description: 

When: Friday, October 24th, 7:30PM

Title: Residential Science Fiction and Fantasy Workshops

Description: What is it like to attend a writing workshop that lasts six weeks? Or even two? Clarion West graduate Jenni Moody will give a presentation on the benefits of residential writing workshops and will share stories about her time at one of the most prestigious genre workshops in the world.

Age group: Family


For more information about NerdCon, visit their Facebook page or buy your ticket on their website.

My Ace Outfit: Doctor Who Cosplay

When I found out that Sylvester McCoy would be in town for our local Dr. Who convention, I knew I wanted to try to dress up as Ace, his companion.

Ace is a kick ass partner for the doctor. She's a chemistry whiz, and uses her abilities to make an explosive she calls Nitrus 9. She's brilliant, a punk,  enthusiastic, and friendly to everyone she runs into on her time journeys.

I knew if I wanted to make an Ace outfit, the most important element would be her jacket. Collecting (or sometimes handmaking) all of the patches and buttons from Ace's jacket can be a lengthy task. I knew I wouldn't have my jacket screen-accurate in time for the convention, but I decided to go ahead and try my best.

I found some nice red felt and a white fabric in the remnant bin at the local craft supply store, and I picked up one square of yellow felt from the craft section.

I had printed out a collegiate style "A" to use as a stencil, but when I held it up to my jacket it was much too small. So I just free-handed the "A" and the accompanying "ce" - sketching the letters out on paper, then cutting the paper, then using that as a stencil on the felt, and finally cutting out the felt letters.

If you are making an Ace jacket and your time is short, I'd suggest doing the back of the jacket first. I waited until midnight the night before the con because I was nervous about making the back of the jacket look as good as possible. But sometimes you just have to go for it, and in the end (around 2:00AM), I was really pleased with the way it turned out.

The front and arms of the jacket were a bit harder to recreate accurately. Luckily, several of the patches that Ace uses are from NASA, and living fifteen minutes from the U.S. Space and Rocket Center came in very handy. I was able to get two of the main patches on the front of the jacket, so that I felt as if I were at least on the right path to having a true Ace jacket someday.

But there were still many empty spots on the jacket I would not be able to fill with the correct buttons or patches.

So I made a decision that took away a ton of stress and let me have some fun with the outfit. I pulled out my tin of buttons I have collected over the years, and I chose a few to go on the jacket. If Ace were making this jacket today, what kind of things would she put on her jacket now? I have a button from a punk band I saw in college, the creative commons logo,  and at the con I added a button with the 7th Doctor. It isn't screen-accurate, but I feel like it is still true to the character of Ace.

One of the obstacles I ran into was the weather. Our convention was held in June. In Alabama. So there was no way I would be able to actually wear the jacket during the convention.

Here's where having a backpack comes in very handy. Backpacks are excellent to have at conventions in general, and if you can work them into your cosplay, then you've fed two birds with one scone.

Ace uses a backpack to carry all of her Nitrus 9 and to store her baseball bat when she isn't using it to bash in Daleks.

My jacket had a tiny loop at the inside neck, so I used a carabiner to attach my jacket to my backpack. It worked out perfectly. 

Since I didn't have time to get many of the buttons and patches for the jacket, I wanted to step up my game a little by recreating Ace's shirt that she wears in the episode Remembrance of the Daleks. 

Two elements make this shirt very easy to recreate: 

(1) It looks like it is hand painted. So - excellent! You, too, can hand paint this t-shirt and it won't look awkward. 

(2) It is kind of crazy-funky-cool, so as long as you get the general feel of the shirt, it will be recognizeable.  

My recreation of Ace's t-shirt

Having this t-shirt was great, because people could still tell I was cosplaying even though I wasn't wearing the jacket. And the people who knew who Ace is loved it. 

I had thought there would be a legion of Ace cosplayers, since Sylvester McCoy was the Guest of Honor. As I bopped around town buying supplies for my outfit, I imagined at least one other Ace right in front of me. She was the one who had bought the red felt fabric. She was the reason there was some in the remnant bin. There was only one silver plastic bat at the superstore - she must have bought the other one. 

But when I walked into the convention most of the cosplayers were from the most recent episodes of Dr. Who. No Ace's in sight. There were a few people dressed as older Doctors, including a very cute kid with celery in his breast pocket. 

It wasn't until we headed to lunch at a nearby restaurant that I ran into the only other Ace cosplayer at the convention. 

If you haven't cosplayed before, you may worry about running into someone with the same character as you. 

Don't. 

This person is going to be one of your favorite people you'll speak to all weekend. (Well, supposing they are nice.) 

This Ace cosplayer had an amazing jacket. She had most of the buttons and badges, and had some witty substitutions for the harder to find items. Instead of the Blue Peter badges, given only to children in the UK that appear on a children's television show, she had a button that said "I never earned my Blue Peter badge." 

This cosplayer wasn't my imagined one (her jacket used a different material for the "A" instead of the red felt), but hanging out with her and talking about Ace, and our different quests to make an Ace cosplay, was one of the highlights of the convention for me. 

Me waging a battle with Dalek Braun

This was my first time cosplaying at a convention, and I had a blast. Dressing up as one of your favorite characters is such a great way to meet new people. Even if you're shy, go ahead and try it sometime at one of your local conventions. I bet you'll start thinking about your next cosplay as soon as that convention is done.

Con Kasterborous 2014

I had never been to a single-fandom convention before, so I wasn't sure what to expect from Con Kasterborous, Huntsville's Doctor Who convention. I knew I could fill a whole weekend with Star Trek or writing, but while I like Doctor Who, I wouldn't put down Whovian as my number one area of geeking out. 

I didn't need to worry - Con Kasterborous was an amazingly fun convention, with terrific guests, great vendors, and wonderful cosplayers. I loved the focus on one Doctor. By the end of the convention, I felt like I had taken a very fun and hands-on seminar on television history. 

This trio wandered the halls together all weekend.
 Excellent costumes.

There were so many wonderful cosplayers there, from the cyberman and weeping angel to the Doctor's scarf. 

Sylvester McCoy and Andrew Cartmel

The convention was a celebration of the 7th Doctor, played by Sylvester McCoy. Andrew Cartmel, the script editor during the 7th Doctor's run, was an excellent guest. It was wonderful to hear them chat about the episodes.  

I had heard that McCoy was a great doctor, and that he had a pretty cool companion, Ace. But it wasn't until I picked up the flyer for Con Kasterborous that I started watching the 7th Doctor episodes. 

If you're interested in the 7th Doctor, then read this overview of which episodes to check out by Rachel Hyland on Tor.com. I agree with the reader comments that suggest "The Curse of Fenric" is important and a pretty great episode. (It is also one of the only ones available on Netflix/ Amazon Prime at the moment). The Doctor is scarily powerful, and does some questionable mind-f**kery that I think makes his character extremely interesting and unknowable - which for me are qualities at the heart of an amazing Doctor. 

I decided to do my first ever convention cosplay, and I had so much fun dressing up as Ace. (Come back next week for a post about how I made my Ace costume!)

Sylvester McCoy and I - photobombed by the 9th Doctor

Sylvester McCoy was such a wonderful convention guest. He was witty and irreverent during the panels, but also exceptionally kind to timid audience members asking questions. In between panels and photo sessions, he had a table in the hallway where people could get autographs and take selfies with him. He played the spoons for a child in a stroller, cuddled with a puppy, and commandeered a luggage cart as his personal transport through the lobby. 

If you get a chance to see Sylvester McCoy, take it. 

Across the hallway from Sylvester McCoy, script editor Andrew Cartmel had a table where he sold copies of his book, Script Doctor: The Inside Story of Dr. Who 1986-89. Cartmel was an amazingly welcoming guest. Every time I walked by the table there was a convention attendee sitting beside him - behind the table - just hanging out and talking with him. I bought his book, which came with five limited edition photograph prints of his time working with Doctor Who. 

The book is full of great stories, and he shared a few of them during his panel. You can watch it here. 

There were so many great vendors. Eyefull productions had a ton of cool buttons to choose from, and some really lovely tardis jewelry. 

Bookmarks by Sweet Geek

I think Sweet Geek may be my favorite geek artist ever. She had buttons, cards, bookmarks, and prints of tons of characters from my favorite movies and television shows. 

Who could say no to this? 

The volunteers and staff of Con Kasterborous were beyond awesome. From the friendly security staff that chatted with me while I waited in line at registration, to the upbeat volunteers who kept my plastic bat safe everytime I left the hotel to go seek food or coffee in the shopping area outside, to the people who ran and organized the convention and were patient and kind with worn-out congoers - these people made the convention a huge success. Many, many thanks to them for making my convention experience so great. 

If you want to see more videos and photos from the convention, check out the con wrap-up page for some excellent links. 

Con Kasterborous, from what I hear, gets bigger every year. I'm looking forward to going again, but I need to watch the movie first. 

Alabama Phoenix Festival 2014

Art by Carly Strickand

On Saturday, Bryan of Geek Notions and I traveled to Birmingham for the Alabama Phoenix Festival. This was an excellent con - just big enough to have a great variety of panels, guests, and vendors, but not so huge that it was overwhelming. Everyone I interacted with was laid back and enthusiastic about geeking out. I would love to attend this convention again next year, and maybe have an author table or cosplay. I think I'm going to add leveling up at cons to my writing goals for 2014.

My awesome con-partner, Bryan, has also written a con round up. You can check it out here.



Panels

How to Write YA

Panelists: Ciara Knight, Anne Riley, Jessica Hawke, J L Mulvihill, Ashley Chappell, Amy Leigh Strickland

This was the first panel I attended, and was my favorite of the entire con. The panelists were smart and funny and honest, and the audience asked great questions.

One of my favorite takeaways from this panel was a new way of looking at low ratings on Amazon. One panelist pointed out that having a variety of ratings shows that real people are reading your work, in addition to friends and family you may have asked to review your book. Another panelist pointed out that sometimes low ratings sell books - what one person may hate may be exactly what another person is looking for (i.e., sex scenes!).

It is always good to go to these panels, even if you are a seasoned writer who has heard most of the tips before. In my experience there is always one piece of advice that is new, and just being around other writers always fills up my energy reserves for my own writing.

But another good reason to go to these panels is to pick out which authors' books you might be interested in. There were a ton of Indie authors at Alabama Phoenix Festival. I wanted to support one of those writers by buying his or her book, but I only had one day at the con (and just a small amount of time between panels) so attending a writing panel was a great way to help me figure out which writer's work I might enjoy.

A.G. Porter spoke about the process of choosing a cover artist for her books and gave excellent information during the panel. When I found her table in the exhibitor's room later in the day she had one of the best author tables I've ever seen. Professional and friendly, she's the kind of author I hope to be one day when I begin publishing novels. I bought the first two books in her series and look forward to reading them.

My book bounty for the weekend

The Full Scale Millenium Falcon Project

The next panel was with the creators of the cockpit and console for the full scale Millenium Falcon project. This is a labor of love project, with people volunteering their time and money to make a screen accurate replica.

The panel was fun, with lots of questions from the audience and a bit of Star Wars trivia thrown in (where did Boba Fett first appear?). After the panel they encouraged everyone to check out the cockpit down in the exhibition hall.

It was pretty awesome.

The seriously cool cockpit and console

Curious Twi'lek and Bryan in Han's seat

Find the Greeble! Where's the battery pack?

Adam Savage signed the console!

Greg Dietrich spent some time pointing out greebles on the quad laser cannon, and another member of the crew showed us around the console, pointing out which buttons to press and explaining the construction process. 

The Millenium Falcon cockpit was kind of the convergence point for the whole con. While we were hanging out there we talked with people we'd met at Free Comic Book Day, and I ran into Stan from Kingdom Comics, the comic book store I used to visit when I lived in Birmingham. I hadn't seen him in maybe eight years, but he recognized me and gave me a hug. The whole convention had that kind of vibe - a really laid back and fun geek hangout with friends you don't get to see that often. 

Star Wars: The Coming Darkness
Film Screening, Q&A Afterwards with Director Josh Mason and Cast

This was my first time attending a fan film screening at a convention. Like the Millenium Falcon, the funding and manpower for this project all came from volunteers.

My biggest fear about watching a fan film was that it would be long and meandering, with pithy dialogue and a much too serious plot. But Mason's film was fun, with a tight, action-oriented plot and only as much dialogue as was needed to move the movie forward.

There were some issues with the speakers, so the sound was a little too loud on the background noise and too soft on the dialogue at times. And as someone who grew up in Alabama it is hard to divorce myself from southern trees appearing on a distant planet. But those were minor issues, and all-around this was a great first fan film experience.

It was a welcome break in the middle of the day, where I could sit in a dark, mostly quiet room and eat a sandwich and not feel like I had to interact with anyone for a bit. I could recharge my introvert batteries so that I could interact more in the second half of the day. I think I will to try to work in a fan film on my schedule for future cons.

Director Josh Mason and Screenwriter Michael LoBianco
 answer questions after the screening

One of my favorite moments was the post-credits scene. Just as with author readings, humor and lightness work well in a group setting.

Mass Hysteria: Ghostbusters 30th Anniversary Panel

Alabama Ghostbusters joined comics artist Dan Schoening to discuss his art and general Ghostbusters awesomeness during this podcast/ panel for Mass Hysteria. They gave away two signed comic book collections during the panel, one to a young girl and the other to a man in a Ghostbusters jumpsuit. I'm going to start reading the Ghostbusters comics, and I need to play the video game as well.

The Golden Age of Science Fiction

At every con, there's one panel that doesn't quite come together. Panelists drop out at the last minute, it's at the time of day in the con where everyone is tired, or the vibe is just a bit off for no explainable reason. I think one problem with this panel was its broad focus. It would have worked better to have one person giving a presentation on their writing in the style of Golden Age SF, or with a larger, more diverse panel. Instead of defining what is and isn't considered Golden Age, it would have been nice to dive into Golden Age with a panelist as a guide and romp around there for a while.


Art

One of my favorite parts of any convention is finding new geek artists. I could spend a whole day just walking around the exhibition hall chatting with authors and artists and debating on whether to buy cool action figures. There were so many amazing artists at Phoenix Festival, so I didn't have time to see them all, but here are a few of my favorites.

Carly Strickland

Carly designed the badge art for the convention, and had a table of children's books for sale in the exhibition hall.

But what drew me to her table were these:

Star Trek, TOS alphabet cards. Oh. My. Goodness. These are beautiful, and I bought one of each letter she had for sale. You can buy your own here, and follow her tumblr as she adds new letters.


Bryan Crowson

Bryan was one of the kindest people we met at the con. And everyone at the con was extremely nice, so that's saying something. He had lovely drawings of the flying monkeys from The Wizard of Oz as babies, from the perspective of Wicked. There was also a non-flying monkey wearing an equality sweatshirt, and then there was this:

Wave Walker by Bryan Crowson

Dear Reader, do I need to describe how hard I fangirled? This is my biggest regret of the convention - not buying a print of Wave Walker. Luckily, Bryan has an online store and you can contact him via email to order prints or request commissions. Check out his Facebook page for an awesome engagement commission of a couple running away from Godzilla. And if you see him at a convention, stop by his table to hear the stories behind his art. He's a wonderful guy.


Rick Johnson/ Phat Daddy Studios

Rick was full of love and energy when we stopped by his table. He does amazing comic book art, and what pulled us in was the sweetest Daryl sketch you're ever likely to see, alongside a kickass Rick and Michonne.

Art by Rick Johnson

Check out Rick's Facebook page for more amazing art, including a pretty sweet Drogo from Game of Thrones.

Geek It Forward
There's always a sense of sadness at the end of a con. You have to go back to the real world where you (perhaps) cannot wear your Batman t-shirt to work and no one gets your references.

So it was awesome to stop by the Geek Gathering table and hang out for a bit. We bought t-shirts and got free admission tickets to the convention in September. A portion of the proceeds go to Big Brothers, Big Sisters. Ultimate win!

Con*Stellation XXXI: Perseus

This year I dove into Con*Stellation, spending more than twenty hours there over the course of the weekend. I went to many panels, attended the art auction, nibbled on cashews at the Friday night reception, and hung out in the dealer's room with my fellow Trek club friend Laura.  Here are my favorite moments from Con*Stellation XXXI: Perseus!

Friday

The Science Fiction Writers and Cake Appreciation Society Reading

First up on Friday was the reading by members of the Science Fiction Writers and Cake Appreciation Society. Last year one of the stories was bought by an editor of a pro magazine.

This year was my first time taking part in the reading. I read snippets from "Sister Winter," my week 6 Clarion West story. I was afraid that reading short snippets from a long piece, instead of an entire really short piece, would work badly, but a few of the other writers told me afterwards that they had really enjoyed my story. So I was really glad I had decided to read that one. 

The organizer of my local sf writing group is Lin Cochran, who is also a Clarion West alum.(She attended the first two Clarion Wests - so cool!) She read her story that appears in the recent anthology of Alabama authors, Summer Gothic, and it was lovely.

Lin Cochran reading from Summer Gothic

Louise Herring-Jones read a witty and hilarious excerpt of "slug porn" that has me wanting to try some humor writing. It worked so well as a piece to read aloud to a group. She's also a wonderful convention friend - waving you to sit up front with her at panels and making sure you've met everyone in the conversation circle. Louise had some extra copies of Mirror Shards 2 on hand, so I bought one from her to get a better feel for what sf anthologies feel like. I think I'll make it one of my writing goals this year to submit to a themed anthology. 

Panel: "Non-Traditional Routes to Publication"

Late on Friday evening I went to a panel on self-publishing. A lot of the conversation centered on e-publishing, including perils and format limitations. Images seem to be especially tricky, and are better left out unless printing a specialty coffee table book where people expect to pay higher prices. Createspace seems to be the go-to place for print self-publishing.

Two of the panelists were L.R. Barrett-Durham and Grady Glover, authors of the Fear and Trust series. They are two of the nicest people I've ever met, and were always ready to hang out and talk about writing and how to publicize your work. But the biggest tip they had to give me wasn't anything they said - it was about how to be really friendly to (sometimes shy) strangers.

L.R. Barrett and Grady Glover
Photograph by Laura of SF Collectibles

Saturday

Filk Concert: Cat Faber

Cat Faber

On Saturday I went to a mid-day filk concert by Cat Faber. She has such a wonderful stage presence, and I loved listening to her songs. I wish the concert could have been outside; her lyrics are the kind that make me want to stare up into leaf canopies and daydream.

My favorite songs she performed were "If the Last Spaceship Leaves On Time" and one about a mouse finding a giant chocolate bar and pretending to be magnanimous when he offers the leftover almonds to his friends (after having consumed the entire chocolate bar by himself).

Usually music doesn't make me think of story writing. Literary readings help dredge up solutions to my story problems, but music mostly helps me block out background noise. But Cat's songs had me spinning fantasy yarns in my head from the start. I think I might try listening to her CD when I have writer's block to transition into the feeling of storytelling.

Filk Concert: Marc Gunn - Firefly Drinking Songs

Marc performed several awesome Firefly inspired songs, and it was easy to see that he's a real fan of the show. My favorite song was "Freedom Costs", an anthem for the independence fighters.

All of the songs he performed were amazing, lilty and soulful at the same time. He took the time to speak out the chorus with the audience before the sing-a-longs, encouraging us to join in.

Con*Stellation is a very intimate con, so taking pictures or videos of people on a panel feels like walking up to someone and taking a picture in their face. But there are tons of good fan videos of Marc performing at DragonCon on Youtube, so check him out.

Sunday

Autograph Session

I almost didn't go back to Con*Stellation on Friday, but I'm very glad I did. I had spent around ten hours on Friday and Saturday at the convention, and by Sunday morning I was really tired. But I drank some coffee and that made me feel more like heading out.

When I arrived at the con everyone in the lobby was gathered around the television, watching Felix Baumgartner's dive to earth. When he landed, he knelt on the ground and everyone cheered. It was so cool to watch this moment surrounded by science fiction fans, writers, and NASA scientists. I hope there are more universal cheering moments in our near future.

Felix kneeling after his record jump

At the autograph session I got to sit down and talk with David B. Coe/ D.B. Jackson. That's one of the best things about a small con - there wasn't any huge table between us and a line behind me hurrying me up. I just sat across from him at a small two-person table.  I'm really excited about reading his new book, Thieftaker, and diving into his epic fantasy as well. 

Jackson was a really wonderful literary guest of honor, and was very warm and enthusiastic when I spoke with him for a few minutes after he signed my books. Somehow we wound up talking about Alaska, and a trip he had taken to Denali. 

I have lots of notes scribbled in my notebook from Jackson's panels, but one of my favorites is one I had heard from another person a while back, but hearing it this time it clicked.

One of the panels Jackson was on was an interview, and Eric Flint asked Jackson why he chose to write about Boston during this era. He answered that there is a parallel between the setting and the main character - the character is the embodiment of the city. It is something I'm going to keep in mind while I'm working on my novel. 

Con*Stellation XXI was a great con, and I'm so thankful it takes place in Huntsville. It gave me a great chance to reconnect with my local writing group and to also meet professional writers both in person and by introducing me to their work. I hope it lives on for many years to come. 

Con*Stellation Time Again!

Art by David O. Miller

This weekend is my local science fiction convention, Con*Stellation. I had a wonderful time last year at the 30th Anniversary con, and I'm looking forward to a great convention this year.

On Friday evening at 7:00PM the local writing group, the Science Fiction Writers and Cake Appreciation Society, will be reading stories in the lobby. There will, of course, also be cake.

I will be reading a short story. I am not yet nervous, but it is only Wednesday.

Gaming with Strangers (Deep South Con 50)

I'd just come from a panel and I was making my way to the autograph table to see which authors had signed up for a time slot. A woman stood in the middle of the walkway with the top of a game box in her hand.

"Want to play a game of Munchkin?" she asked me. 

I've wanted to get more into gaming for years. But my gaming history is next to non-existent (let's not count Candyland and Monopoly when the power went out as a kid). I've watched the gaming tables at comic shops, and peeked into gaming rooms at conventions, but I'm always afraid to ask to join a game. I don't want to burden those already playing by my novice status. 

Last year at Clarion West one of my classmates, Erik David Even, brought some amazing games with him to the workshop (check out Letters from Whitechapel!). And because most of the other people in our group hadn't played the games before either, I felt more confident in giving it a try. And the games were so much fun. Erik was a patient and fun game master, and it's due to my positive experiences gaming at Clarion West that when a complete stranger asked me if I'd like to play a game at a convention I said yes.

The woman motioned me over to a table in the middle of the atrium. I walked over and introduced myself to two other players sorting out cards. Within a few minutes a guy walked up and asked if he could join in. And just a minute later a very tall man in a cape and with a double red light saber asked if he could join as well. His name badge read "Count Dooku." 

The young guy, Sam, and Count Dooku had both played Munchkin many times before. Myself and another girl were complete newbs, and the woman who had recruited me and her husband had played a few times. 

But after the cards were sorted, we realized that half of the deck of cards was missing. There was no way we could play the game without the treasure cards. 

Another group of people sat playing a game at a table near us. It was one of those conquer the map type games that I associate with seasoned players. The Munchkin recruiter went over and asked if they happened to have a game of Munchkin with them. A man with a long white beard pulled three small boxes out of his backpack and brought them to our table - a full set. 

We started playing, using pennies for level markers. I became a bard with a spring-mounted magnificent hat. I listened at the door, kicked the door down, and once I even went looking for trouble. 

My hand early on in the game of Munchkin at DSC50

Count Dooku helped me with each of my turns, and after a while I started to get the hang of the game. He made quippy jokes and transitioned from someone physically intimidating to a really fun person to hang out with.

If I had been watching from across the room, I think I would have mistaken our laid back game for a group of seasoned players. And that would have kept me from approaching and asking to join.

"My name is Count Dooku. Don't worry, I never strike an unarmed opponent," he had said when he first sat down.

Then he handed me a lightsaber and smiled. "Here, hold this."

The next time I'm at a convention, I'm going to ask to join a game. I know I'll be able to learn how to arm myself as I go.

Deep South Con 50: Novel Workshop

Deep South Con 50 didn't officially start until Friday, but for myself and my fellow novel workshop participants, our convention experience started Thursday night with a lecture by editor Lou Anders of Pyr Books. 

Lou's talk, "Using a Character-Based Screenwriting Formula for Novel Writing," was fantastic. I had listened to his talk about using screenwriting on the Writing Excuses podcast, but his lecture at the workshop was more in-depth. At the end of his presentation, I felt like I had learned completely new elements of screenplay storytelling that I had not encountered in my graduate classes or in my readings. I'd highly recommend the podcast, and if you have a chance to attend one of Lou's screenwriting lectures don't pass it up. 

After Lou's lecture, the entire workshop group walked across the street to the public library to hear Gregory Benford's talk. The admission tickets were $10 to the event, but as workshop participants our tickets were comped (free!). 

Once Gregory Benford's talk ended, most of the workshop participants headed over to the con suite in the hotel for free beers and snacks. I wound up talking to some of my fellow local writers, like Louise Herring-Jones. We'd met a time or two at the SF Writers and Cake Appreciation Society critique group, but Deep South Con was the first time we really got to sit down and get to know each other. I also got a chance to meet one of my Deep South Con novel workshop group mates,  April Steed, whose novel has an amazing thematic idea. I can't wait to see what she does with it. And I spent a few minutes geeking out about belly dancing with Julia Mandala, who performed with Ravenar during the opening ceremonies. 

Friday the novel workshop split into two groups. Each one was led by a professional editor. My group was helmed by Toni Weisskopf of Baen Books, and the other by Lou Anders of Pyr. Each group had eight workshop participants who had each submitted up to the first 5,000 words of their novel and up to a 5 page synopsis of the rest of the book. We started our critiques at 10AM, and went until 4PM with a short break for lunch. 

This was my first time in a novel workshop, and my first time attempting to write a novel. It was really instructive to read my workshopmates' stories and hear everyone's critiques. One common piece of advice - slow down. Novels are much longer than short stories; you've got tons of time. Really get us into the scene by specific description and mood-setting.

As far as my personal novel submission and critiques, it was extremely helpful to me to hear my fellow writers' suggestions on my main character's motivation and for world building. As a first-time novel writer, this early feedback has given me the confidence and direction I need to continue writing a first draft. 

Scott Hancock, who won the Deep South Con 50 short story contest, was in my group. He made the most amazing critique packets I have ever seen. 

The packet contained a copy of Southern Fried Sci-Fi and Jambalaya Genres (a chapbook published by the Huntsville SF writers group in 2001), my workshop submission with notes in the margins, and a copy of the typed notes for all of the workshop stories. 

Scott is an amazingly friendly person and a wonderful writer. He had an account of his meeting with Dr. Von Braun published in the Deep South Con program book, but you can also read it here. 

At the end of the day on Friday, Toni gave a lecture on world-building which included a group exercise. We went through the rubric together - where does the energy come from? Where does the water come from? Which family member do we want to focus on? What about the arts and entertainment in this culture? And in five minutes, we'd created an interesting, layered world ripe for a story. 

Then Lou and Toni answered our questions about submitting novels to agents and/or presses. Some stray notes:

• Don't invest everything in one book. Set it aside/submit and move on.
• Look in Locus Magazine at the books sold page for tips on which agents you might want to work with. 
• Joshua at Jabberwoky - Blog: Awful Agent
• Sometimes it takes 10-15 years of rejection head banging to learn to write to a market.
• Slushpile - mostly B+ when you want As
• It is worth a cut of your money for the services that publishers provide. 

Before we disbanded, we each received a copy of the essay "Style, Substance, and Other Illusions" by Gregory Benford. 

The best part of the novel writing workshop was meeting my fellow writers. I never ran out of people to talk to the entire weekend. After the panels there would invariably be a small group of workshop participants gathered in the back of the room talking, and because I'd been in the workshop I felt confident in going up and chatting with them.

In the hallways, the con suite, and at room parties, I had great conversations not just about writing, but about specific stories that we had written. Nancy S. Brandt told me what it was like to publish a genre book through a small press. Zan Oliver was a blast to hang out with in the party rooms, and she told great stories about New Orleans. And Alice and I people-watched from the balcony and talked about learning and re-learning. 

It was a wonderful, hearty dose of writer camaraderie.

Deep South Con 50: Anticipation!

This weekend is Deep South Con 50. This convention is held in a different location in the south each year. This year, it is returning to Huntsville, where the first Deep South Con was held.

I'm already very impressed with the organization and promotion of this convention. They've got an active Facebook page, a beautiful and often-updated website, and they're partnering with the public library for a public lecture by one of the attending authors: Gregory Benford.

When a convention is well-organized and promoted, it makes me even more excited to attend. It bodes well for the panels and events running smoothly, and for having an all-around wonderful con experience. My hats off to the organizers.

For the past month or so, the con has had a display of science fiction books and artwork set up in the entrance to the main library downtown.

DSC 50 display at the Huntsville Madison-County Public Library

Lovely art and books in the display at the public library

Skylife, edited by Gregory Benford

Gene Wolfe's book on display in the library

Almost all of the books are original hardcovers, and the gorgeous painting is either an original or a high-quality print. Every time I go to the library I have to stand and gawk at the treasures inside the display.

Here's a few of the programming items I'm looking forward to:

Thursday

• Novel Workshop lecture by Lou Anders of Pyr
• Gregory Benford speech at public library, "The Wonderful Future That Can Still Be: Science Fiction and Current Science"
• Beer in the consuite with novel workshop participants and teachers

Friday

• Novel Workshop critique sessions
• Novel Workshop lecture by Toni Weisskopf of Baen Books
• Lois McMaster Bujold reading
• Bellydancing workshop

Saturday

• "Hard Fantasy" - Lou Anders, Danny Birt, <3 Gene Wolfe <3, Lois McMaster Bujold, Tony Daniel
• Ravenar Belly Dance performance
• Dr. Demento live performance

Sunday

• "Violence for Writers, with Demos of Hard, Sharp, Pointy Things"

There are dozens more amazing lectures, live music performances, and demos going on throughout the weekend. 

If you're within driving distance of Huntsville and can take a road trip this weekend, I think this convention will be well worth the trip.

AWP Conference

I'm leaving soon for Chicago and for AWP! I'm excited to see my friends, learn from other authors, and wander the gigantic bookfair.

I'll be tweeting from the conference with photos and happy moments. If you'd like to follow me, you can read my posts on:

https://twitter.com/#!/yuriparavion

I'll post more photos and a convention roundup when I get back. Yay!! :D

I'm going to AWP!

Looking Down on the World's Fair, 1893

This year I'll be attending the Association of Writers & Writing Programs Annual Conference for the first time. The AWP conference is the big literary conference. Margaret Atwood will be giving a keynote address, there'll be three days full of panels on writing and teaching writing, and a mammoth book fair.

But what I'm most excited about is seeing my friends. It will be the first time I've seen my MFA friend Ashley Cowger in several years. And I'm going to get to see Clarion West classmate Maria Romasco-Moore, too. In fact, the only reason I'm going to be able to attend is because of the support and encouragement of these friends.

The passes for AWP are completely sold out this year. Usually, they offer at the door memberships. I was one of the lucky people who bought one of the last 200 tickets when they went on sale. They sold out in 8 minutes.

Here are a few of the panels I'm looking forward to attending:

• A Writing Life, After the Workshop 
• The Long and Short of It: Navigating the Transitions between Writing Novels and Short Stories
• Selling Out Everyone You Love: The Ethics of Writing Nonfiction
• Villains and Killers and Criminals, Oh My: Representing Evildoers in Literary Fiction
• Beyond Pulp - The Futuristic and Fantastic as Literary Fiction
• NPRU Kidding Me? It Can Totally Happen
• The Image, Written: Using Photography and Mixed Media to Teach Creative and Composition Writing
• Pleasures and Perils of Drawing Fiction from Life

I'll be tweeting from AWP and I'll blog about the experience when I get back. The conference will be at the beginning of March, but I'm already getting excited and packing my suitcase. I can't wait to reunite with my writing friends, and to spend a few days immersed in a world where writing is what matters most. 

And I'm excited to go to Chicago for the first time, and to daydream about the White City of the World's Fair. 

Con*Stellation XXX: Corona Borealis

Another long-missed opportunity that my hometown has offered for years - a science fiction convention! 2011 is the first time that I have known about, and as a result have attended, my local science fiction convention. It is put on by North Alabama Science Fiction Association (NASFA), and has been running for thirty years now.



On Friday afternoon I picked up my convention badge. Somehow the spellings never quite seem to work out for me. But the alternatives always sound cooler than my real name.



The Guest of Honor for this year's convention was Gene Wolfe. Gene Wolfe! He's sitting in the middle of the table in this picture taken during the Opening Ceremonies. To the left is Guest of Honor Artist, Lubov. On the left end of the table is Master of Ceremonies, Stephanie Osborn. To the right is Gay Haldeman, Fan Guest of Honor, and her husband, Joe Haldeman.

Gay and Joe Haldeman were an awesome duo. Gay handled panels with deftness and wit and humor. Lubov kept appearing near me at random times during the convention, always wearing beautiful skirts and tops that seemed like she had plucked them from her paintings.

And Gene Wolfe! He was delightful. He told wonderful stories and anecdotes on the panels, and a few in the hallways too. He gave a reading from his current project,The Land Across.

On the last day of the convention, there was an author signing. I had brought my copy of The Fifth Head of Cerberus. I'd been trying to work up the courage to talk to him all weekend.



He asked me if it was my copy, and he said it was in wonderful condition for such an old edition. He signed my copy of his book, and I gushed for a minute about how much I liked his writing.



Yay Gene Wolfe! I'm so glad I had the chance to meet him.

Con*Stellation also had a nice Art Room. There were probably twenty or so artists that had art for sale. They had a great range of art, from amigurumi cthulhu to an original painting by Lubov.

There was an amazing Martian landscape, "Oasis on Mars", by F.R. Amthor. I made the mistake of waiting to buy it. On Sunday morning I came to the con ready to take it home, but someone else had purchased it.

 There was one print that I fell in love with and bought right away (presented here by Furball):


"Hero Worship" by Sarah Clemens.

There's a little card in the corner of the print that says, "It brings a tear to their eyes to see The Big Guy stomp Tokyo". I love the wistful look in the dragon's eyes, and the cunning in the cat's.



Each year the convention has a kind of patron saint constellation. This year it was the Corona Borealis. The t-shirt art is done by the same artist every year, and it is a tradition for regular con-goers to wear the t-shirts of Con*Stellations past. One of my favorite past-con t-shirts was an aquamarine shirt with Delphinus.

In the dealer room, I successfully kept myself from buying a Star Trek plate painted with the Enterprise sailing into a nebula. I don't have a good place to display it at the moment without the fear of a cat knocking it over. But someday I will have a china hutch with a few antiques I have inherited. And some Star Trek plates. It is going to be awesome.

I learned how to play the Eleminis  card game, and bought a set to play with my brother. I bought a copy of Tales from a Goth Librarian from Kimberly Richardson. And, I bought these:



Yes. SeaQuest badges. Aren't they awesome?

Con*Stellation was a great small convention. There weren't so many people there that I got overwhelmed with agoraphobia (well, except for once during the Friday night mingle session where everyone was in a small room). And the Guests of Honor were always visible hanging out at the panels, in the hallways, on the sofa in the lobby. I talked to some people I had never met before and came away feeling a recharge in my sense of science fiction community.

My dream is to go to the World Fantasy Convention within the next few years, but whether or not I can go, I'm glad that I'll be able to attend my extremely awesome local science fiction convention. My many thanks to NASFA for all of the great work they did to make the convention happen!