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Category Archives: Conventions
Advice from the Writer’s Symposium
I spent four-ish days at the GenCon Writer’s Symposium last week trying to soak up as much advice from more successful writers as I possibly could. I plucked up my courage and introduced myself to Monica Valentinelli, who was about as lovely as a person can be to a random twitter fan pestering her in the dealer room. My work was critiqued by Marc Tassin, Kelly Swails, Wes Nicholson, and other accomplished authors. I finally got to meet Paul Genesse, the editor of The Crimson Pact, in person. My mentor Steve Saus introduced me to John Helfers, Maurice Broaddus, and so many others I can’t even keep them all straight. And I sat through about twenty seminars, taking notes and asking questions and generally trying to be a human sponge.
Meeting Paul Genesse at GenCon 2011
Something I learned about novels: Most first novels are never published, and many novelists have trunk novels stashed away that will never see the light of day. I’ve been waiting to write a novel until I’m “ready”, but the fact is that I have the luxury of time right now because I have a day job, and I shouldn’t waste that luxury. I can invest the time in writing a novel, knowing full well that my first one will probably never be published, without having to worry about lost income; I can just enjoy the writing, and learn about the process, and figure out what my novel-writing style is. I want very much to work on collaborative projects or shared worlds, but chances are slim that anyone will be willing to take a chance on an unproven commodity. I need to have a novel under my belt before anyone will take me seriously…so that’s now on my ever-expanding to-do list. Honestly I’ve wanted to write a novel since I was a teenager, but it never seemed like the right time. Well, that time is now. So look for posts about that in the near future.
Another thing I learned: I’m having a hard time finding the middle road between showing and telling. The old “Show, don’t Tell” adage is not always true. I despise the “info dump” style of writing, and I always try to show instead of tell–but as a result, I sometimes carry this too far. I like my stories to be little mysteries that the reader has to unravel as they go, picking up clues and piecing them together (this is also how I like to read). But not everyone likes that, so one criticism I received was that I was either showing too much or not enough. I’m still finding the balance; that’s something that will come with time and experience, but I suspect that I’ll always err on the side of mysterious. I need a good editor like Paul who can say “you’re being too cagey, tell me more about this.”
I got a lot of compliments on my reading style, so that remains one of my biggest strengths. People like hearing me read. Hooray! Now I just have to produce more work to read to them…
If you’re an aspiring writer, or even a published one, like me, the Writer’s Symposium can be hugely beneficial for you. I recommend that everyone go next year. I’ll see you all there! Hopefully I’ll be a panelist by then, but if I’m not, I’ll be there sitting in the front row taking copious notes.
Ba-Con in Review
Check out my review of Ba-Con at Doctor Fantastique’s Show of Wonders!
In related news, Tor’s steampunk division has a twitter account, and they retweeted my article. There are a lot of steampunks who read their tweets! Wooo! I’m sure I should be, I dunno, aloof and unimpressed or something, but I’m not, so there. Every time someone retweets a tweet of mine or comments on my blog or tells me they liked a story I wrote, I still get a thrill.
I hope that thrill never goes away!
Gencon Schedule
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Teehee!
For once, I’m going to a convention and not presenting a damn thing. No panels, no readings, no volunteering. Nada. And I’m super excited about it.
If you’re looking for me, though, my plan is to spend my days in the Writer’s Symposium. At night…well, we’ll see where the fun takes me, won’t we?
The only event I’m definitely attending outside of the Writer’s Symposium is the Gencon Steampunk Meetup! Tell your friends!
Origins in Review
My official review of Origins was just posted to the Dr. Fantastique’s website!
The review doesn’t mention this, but Origins was a great opportunity for me as a writer. I rubbed elbows with veteran writers like Jean Rabe, Mike Stackpole, Marc Tassin, and Don Bingle. I got advice from my mentor, Steve Saus. I met several exciting new authors like Bryan S. Young, RT Kaelin, and Janine Spendlove. I took home lots of useful advice and contacts, as well as some books! I’m looking forward to seeing some of these folks again at Gencon and learning more.
I’m also hoping to be an author guest at Origins again next year, if they’ll have me. I really enjoyed it and even managed to sell several copies of The Crimson Pact: Volume 1 (amusingly, my sales actually went up when Steve wasn’t sitting at the table…not sure whether that was more of a “riding better without training wheels” effect or a “cockblocking” effect, as all my customers were male).
I’m having a harder time moving copies of Historical Lovecraft. I was really banking on the name recognition (and the beautiful cover) helping to move the anthology, but I think it’s moving slowly for two reasons: 1. it has a higher price point than TCP because it’s a physical book and not an ebook/pdf and 2. it’s a physical book, so it’s heavier and bulkier than a CD, more trouble to carry around at a con, and a lot of people (especially geeks) are into the whole ebook movement. Several people asked whether the book was available as an ebook, so probably there was a small spike in sales of the ebook after the con; this is great for the publisher (and Innsmouth Free Press is a fabulous publisher!) but less great for me since I can’t sell copies of the ebook the way I can with TCP.
My other thought is that the anthology might sell better at a horror-themed convention where people are specifically looking for that kind of material. So that’s something to consider for the future!
Ba-Con Schedule
Well, it’s convention season, and I can tell because I’ve just finished writing my review of one convention and another is already coming up in less than two weeks. Crazy!
July’s convention will be Ba-Con, a local Columbus convention dedicated to geekery and bacon. I don’t eat bacon, but I’m going anyway because the lineup of events looks pretty awesome. Also, they’re letting me do some presentations!
Friday, July 8, 2011
07:00pm-08:00pm How to Write A Scary Story
12:30pm-01:30am Tales of Terror (Author Reading)
The Airship Archon will also be presenting the following:
Friday, July 8, 2011
10:00pm-11:00pm Becoming Who You Are: creating a Steampunk persona
11:30pm-12:30pm International Steampunk: Beyond Victoriana
Saturday, July 9, 2011
07:30pm-08:30pm Costuming on a Budget
09:30pm-10:30pm Steampunk: More Than Just Guns and Costuming
My friends at BigStyle Productions will also be in attendance, but they’re doing too many events to list them all here, so just click here to view their schedule!
So I’ll see you at Ba-Con, right? A pass for the entire weekend is only $35 at the door and there are now day passes too, so you really have no excuse.
Origins Schedule
I’ll be attending Origins Game Fair this weekend as an author guest (which is crazy, I know!). Here’s my schedule in case you want to drop in and say hi:
- Thursday 6pm Author Reading (Room TBD, please check your schedule)
- Friday 12pm Room 226 “Genres: What Are They and Where Do You Fit In?”
- Sunday 10am Room 226 “Gathering Steam: Writing in the Steampunk Genre”
- Sunday 11am Room 226 “International Steampunk: Beyond Victoriana”
- Sunday 12pm Room 226 “Steampunk Personas: A Character for your Costume”
Looks like Room 226 is going to be my Origins home base! I’ll also be camped out in the “author library” below, sharing a table with Steve Saus. So if you’re interested in picking up copies of Historical Lovecraft or The Crimson Pact Volume 1, you know where to find me!
Marcon 46 in review
You should go to the Doctor Fantastique’s website to read my review of Marcon 46!
Here are some photos of me at Marcon 46, since I’m not quite vain enough to pepper an article I wrote with photographs of myself.
As you can see my steampunk Buddhist nun cosplay really came together beautifully, thanks to my very talented seamstress/roommate/friend and an incredible corset-maker who was able to deliver on a cruelty-free steampunk corset. I was a little worried someone might be all butthurt and offended over it, since I’m a white person cosplaying as a Tibetan, but I actually got a really positive response that encouraged me to keep wearing it and perfecting it. It was also incredibly comfortable, and the corset pockets meant I didn’t need a purse (which my boyfriend usually ends up carrying, much to his chagrin), so all-in-all it was pretty much my favorite cosplay ever. Definitely going to wear it again, a lot.
I plan on writing more about Tim Waggoner’s short story writing workshop next week (or tomorrow, if I can get to it) so look for that. Thanks for reading!
Convention news
Hey, look at me! I’m on the Ba-Con presenter page! Fancy! This is going to be a great Con, complete with a geeky comedy night, presenters from all over the country, and a consuite featuring lots of bacon. And the badge is only $30, which is really a steal!
MARCon has also gotten around to posting my schedule, so I’ll be presenting the following:
FRI
10:00pmMadisonSteampunk Around the World
SAT02:30pmUnion EAuthor Readings
SAT10:00pmMadisonWomen of Victorian Science
SUN11:30amChampaign Costuming for your Body Type
So please come out and see me!
Hooray April
Lots of new stuff this week:
Now that the contract is signed I can finally promote A Candle In the Attic Window, another anthology from the lovely people at Innsmouth Free Press. This is a Gothic horror anthology, and my story, Frozen Souls, is about Chinese immigrant laborers working on the American railroad in the late 1800’s. Did you know that Chinese laborers blasted Donner Pass only a few years after the infamous disaster? I like a little history with my horror.
In other news, I’m currently in the planning stages of readings and panels for Origins. More news on that later when I have specifics.
I’m also definitely attending the GenCon Writer’s Symposium. I probably won’t be doing any panels or readings, because my goal is to soak up as much information from other writers as I possibly can. Event registration goes live on Sunday!
Sarah Hans 