Last weekend, I was at Or-E-Con, the virtual OryCon, which is on (temporary, hopefully) physical hiatus. At noon Saturday was a panel on, among other things, streaming with Vella. Everything in this entry is derived from my notes, and a few things I’ve heard from other writers who have used Vella to serialize their stories. […]
Notes on Vella from Or-E-Con Read More »
The last panel I went to at Norwescon 44 completed the circle by bringing it back to interstellar travel. This one was about the technical details of how to get there, specifically looking at the concepts of the generation ship vs. hypersleep (“suspended animation”). From the program guide: Hypersleep vs. Generation Ships Even if faster-than-light
Norwescon 44 Panels – Pat’s Notes – PArt 10 of 10 Read More »
Join the Resistance! Speculative fiction protagonists often fight against corrupt regimes, criminal organizations, or systemic injustice. What makes these stories so appealing to write and read? How do these fights resolve in ways that convey a writer’s message or their characters’ personalities? Does the fight have to be a pitched battle, or could organization and
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Music in Writing Music is a powerful storytelling tool on the big screen, but what about on the page? Can reading about music evoke the same emotions that hearing it does? What are different ways to use music in fiction? Panelists discuss their experiences and share their techniques for hitting the right notes in your
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Mysticism in Science Fiction Tarot readers, seers/prophets, water witches – is there a place for mystics in science fiction beyond either “psionic power” or “delusional kook?” Are there examples of rigorous scientific exploration of mysticism in sci-fi? How might mysticism and speculation be interlinked, and what books take that interconnection seriously? Mark Teppo (M), Leigh
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The fifth panel I went to over the weekend was Saturday’s “Advanced Character Creation“ Character-creation templates, which new writers can download and use, are everywhere on the internet. But what actually goes into making you feel a character’s wounds and triumphs? How do working writers approach character creation? How do you develop a character hook
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My notes from the 11am Saturday panel 4/16/2022 Dames, Damsels, & Dynamite The young ladies of young adult literature are seldom well-behaved. What empowers these budding women? What are the secrets to their success? It’s more than just dynamite or lacing up combat boots. This panel will help tell us what makes these women explode
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At Noon on Friday was the panel “The Legal Ramifications of Monster Hunting” This was a fun one. The panelists were all lawyers, iirc. From the program guide: Paranormal stories, such as Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Supernatural, and Wynonna Earp, often feature slayers and hunters of vampires, demons, and other supernatural monsters. But if that sort of thing
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The first panel Friday morning, at 10, was “Representation vs. Cultural Appropriation: Where’s the Line?” From the program description: Whether you are a career writer or a complete newbie, writing diverse characters can quickly cross into cultural appropriation. Can new writers learn where that line is and learn how to avoid crossing it before they
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This is Part Four in my Publishing an Audiobook series. In Part One, I list the sites I found to search for narrators on, and why I used or didn’t use the ones I did or didn’t. In Part Two, I describe my process for narrowing the auditions down from the 83 I received to
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