Administrivia!

For those of you in Ottawa, I will be at Can-ConSF this weekend.  Lost in Translation will be up at its usual time, but I won't be able to advertise it.  Likewise, part 2 of Tempest's backgrounder work will appear this evening.  If you're at the con, feel free to say hi.  Or not.

Can*Con and Me

For those of you who will in the Ottawa area October 30 - November 1st, Can*Con, the Canadian literary science-fiction and fantasy convention, will be at the Sheraton Hotel, 150 Albert.  I will be there, not just as an attendee but also as a panelist.

Friday night at 8:00, I'm part of the "Science Fiction Readers" panel with four others, discussing works of science fiction.  That could get interesting, especially since most of my more recent reading has been urban fantasy or genre mash-ups.

At noon Saturday, a NaNoWriMo panel, "National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo): Strategies and Emergency Inspiration" with four others, including two of Ottawa's Municipal Liaisons.  The panel will have tips on how to get to the 50 000th word and other survival techniques.  No sanity required.

Not interested in panels?  The dealer's room is open to the public.  No membership needed.

Review - Can*Con 2013 - Part 2 - Sunday

I've already covered Saturday.  I had missed Friday, but planned on getting in for Sunday.  For another view of the conference, go see Mathie x Pensive; he covered Friday, Saturday, and Sunday and took photos!

First panel, Creativity in Fandom.
Panelists: Errol Elumir, Debs Linden, Chadwick Ginther

The panel covered creative fandom, the ins and outs and the fun.  Debs and Errol perform geek music and have just released an EP.  Debs also works solo and knits on the side.  Chadwick is a novelist.  Although the panel was about creativity, LinkedIn recommends that creativity not be used as a keyword; the term is too broad to be meaningful.  Get specific.  Meanwhile, Chadwick uses music as a fuel for his writing, creating a soundtrack for his novels as they get written.  What helps is being creative in your daily life.  The creativity helps remove filters.  Errol is a great example.  Also helping in removing filters, NaNoWriMo, which encourages to, if not kill your inner editor, at least leave it tied up in the closet for a bit.  Other ideas to help with being creative is to keep a notebook handy for when ideas strike.  Some reading material mentioned was Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience and Creativity: Flow and the Psychology of Discovery and Invention, both by Czech psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, Animation from Script to Screen by Shamus Culhane, and Art and Fear by David Bayles and Ted Orland.  Flow and Creativity both show the need to enter a state of flow where you lose track of time while creating.  Animation mentioned the dichotomy between perfection and completion; novels aren't so much finished as abandoned.  Taking on crazy challenges, such as NaNoWriMo, still results in something being created and refined as needed.  Perfectionism though can be a problem, deadlines help push the project to an end.  Also mentioned were "pantsers", people who write/draw/create by the seat of their pants; even they* have pitfalls including poor work and distractability.  However, with practice, the processes will be internalized, becoming natural.  To help become more creative, keep an eye open for ideas; they're everywhere.  Improv classes help remove the internal filter.  Watch out for research, it can sometimes become a chase down a rabbit hole, especially on certain sites like Wikipedia and TVTropes.  Collaborate; having people participate, even through being first/beta readers, will help keep the creativity going.  Again, a very useful panel, for both writers and fans.


Second panel, Marketing for Writers 201: Blog Tours and Other Clever Ideas*
Panelist: Linda Poitevin

A followup to a Friday evening panel, Marketing 101, which I couldn't make, Linda Poitevin presented a talk on virtual tours.  Linda is currently on one to promote her latest book in The Grigori Legacy and shared her knowledge.  She also came prepared with handouts!  A lot of the info can be found on her blog by searching "blog tour".  The short of it, a blog tour is a virtual book tour, giving guest columns and interviews at various websites.  The goal is to get your name and the title of your book out there to as many people as possible in a short amount of time.  There's two ways to go, set up the tour by yourself or hire a tour organizer.  In both cases, you need to decide how long the tour will last, how many times a week you'll post, and if you'll have a giveaways during the tour.  With an organizer, the bulk of the work will be off your shoulders as the organizer arranges for the sites, makes the needed introductions, and giveaways.  The organizer can cost anywhere from one to several hundred dollars, but, in return, a lot of the heavy lifting is done for you.  Otherwise, you'll have to research and contact the various hosts.  Ideally, you'll appear on blogs that review books that are similar to what you've written.  Verify the number of followers the blog has; the idea is to raise your presence.  Also check the level of feedback; the number of followers isn't always indicative of the activity on a site.  The more active the commentary, the more active the followers are.  And keep track of where you're appearing, so that you can send a reminder to hosts of your guest appearance a a week or two in advance and remember what sort of post you're putting up at the site.  Prepare your guest posts as soon as possible and send them when they're ready.  The posts don't necessarily have to be about the book being promoted; Linda has written about canning on her current tour.  When in doubt, ask the host for a topic.  Once your post is up, check back a few times over the next few days and the following weekend so you can follow up on feedback.  And, above all, remember to send thank yous.  Definitely an informative panel for writers.


My last panel, The Mystery Plot Form.
Panelists: Violette Malan, Hayden Trenholm, Robert J. Sawyer, Tom Barlow

The panel was delayed a bit as the Aurora Awards banquet wrapped up; Robert J. Sawyer arrived halfway through the panel because of photography needed after his Lifetime Achievement Award.  Once it got started, the panel covered adapting a mystery into a speculative fiction format.  The panelists noted that speculative fiction is similar to a mystery, with an investigation into what is happening.  Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes was the first scientific detective, using methods that were, at the time, akin to science fiction and based on the work of Doctor Joseph Bell and of police officer Bartelet.  The key is to know whodunit before starting to write.  In effect, mysteries are written twice, once from the end to the beginning to make sure the chain of clues to the perpetrator holds up, and then again from beginning to end to add the needed red herrings.  The writer needs to use subterfuge and sleight of hand to distract the reader from the clues.  At the same time, the author has to maintain a separation of writer and character knowledge.**  The big thing to avoid is the "I don't understand" reaction by the reader; the mystery reader adds a meta-level of reading by trying to solve the mystery along with the investigating character.  Mysteries tend to be in series because the lead character is the most empathetic; this can lead to the problem of the lead character not changing as the writers aim to make each book accessable whether a reader picks up book 5 or book 35.  The order of most mystery series usually isn't important; however, there are exceptions such as John D. MacDonald's Travis McGee series, which has a subtle progression.  In science fiction, though, there is a progression; characters develop from book 1 to book 3; missing book 2 means missing key events.  Sawyer brought up another aspect once he arrived; his first novel was a science fiction mystery. He saw the Venn diagram of readers of SF and of mystery, with the intersection.  He thought he'd reach everyone; instead, he got the intersection.


Summing up the weekend, I am happy I went.  First, this was my first con since FanExpo in 2010 where the crowds were far too overwhelming.  CanCon was much smaller, intimate, and didn't involve getting trapped going upstream in a crowd.  Second, the panels were focused on written work.  The panels I went to were either to get information for projects, especially the Traveller idea, about the business of writing, or about the creative fan aspects.  I did see some cracks, but that's four years of being a con exec for AC Cubed speaking up.  I also had an idea for a panel for next year's, which I do plan on going to.

If you're a writer or a reader of fantasy and science fiction, this is the con to attend.

* Okay, we, but I'll have a post on my methods separate from the review.
** Similar to player versus player character knowledge in RPGs, really.

Review - Can*Con 2013 - Part 1 - Saturday

This past weekend, October 11-13, 2013, saw Can*Con 2013 held in Ottawa, Ontario.  I wrote a review for MuseHack, but the following is the more personal approach.

Before I get into the details, I will mention that I took notes.  Those very notes are the reason why the review is late.  Take a look at my handwriting at the start of the first panel.

Chicken scratches are more legible.

Someone should hire me to encrypt messages.  Even in plaintext, it's hard to figure out.

I was not able to get to the convention the Friday evening.  The program shows a variety of panels, including one for first time con attendees, one about chemical weapons and synthetic medicine, a marketing panel, and humour in science fiction, along with a concert at the end of the evening that included open mic filking.

Saturday morning, I arrived with a rough idea of what I wanted to see, a mix of panels to stimulate the imagination and panels to learn about the business side of writing.  While I did notice some organizational issues, the problems wouldn't be apparent to most attendees; experience running a convention let me see a few cracks that most people would miss.  However, I paid for the weekend, I was off to the panels and the rest of the weekend went smoother than expected.

First panel, Atmospheres Around Solid Bodies: Mars, Venus, Titan, Pluto.
Panelist: Science guest of honour Mark Robinson
The panel covered meteorology on rocky planets. using Earth as a basis; my reason for going was to learn more for a personal project.  Robinson is a meteorologist, hosting StormHunters on the Weather Network, and has experienced the more extreme weather here on Earth.  He then extrapolated that information to show how weather would work on Mars, Venus, and Titan.  Definitely was worth getting to, and the questions from the audience were intelligent.

Second panel, Going Viral: Infection and Disease in Speculative Fiction.
Panelists: Lynne M. MacLean, PhD, Leslie Brown, Wayne Conlan, PhD, and Cameron McDermaid.
As the title implies, the panel covered how diseases spread, again using real data as a base to build on.  Again, this was more for personal projects, both current and future.  Cameron McDermaid is part of the Ottawa Public Health Unit, tasked with tracking rates of infection while Leslie Brown, Dr. Conlan and Dr. MacLean are research scientists.  Also again, the audience asked good questions about the nature of viruses and bacteria and the vectors used.

Third panel, The Business of Writing.
Panelists: Authors Suzanne Church, Jean-Louis Trudel, Karen Dudley, and Chadwick Ginther.
This was the first panel about the business side of writing that I attended, and it was loaded with information.  Topics covered included the use of social media and how to use it, how to balance the time spent between writing and marketing, the pros and cons of self-publishing beyond just the still lingering stigma.  Also mentioned, be nice to fans; word of mouth can work against authors, too.  Also to keep in mind, electronic catalogues can now track a writer's online presence, so just having accounts on various social media platforms isn't enough; writers need to be social on social media, too.  Also useful, especially in light of the track almost dedicated to it, learning how to give readings; sometimes a good reading can pull in people who didn't expect to be buying the book.  The financial side lead to more useful information, including what and how to claim for expenses.  Even books and magazines can be expensed by writers.  Since Can*Con is Canadian, there was a mention of an extra hoop when publishing an e-book through Amazon.com.  The bookseller requires an American tax number; the panelists mentioned that both EIN (Employer Identification Number) and ITIN (Individual Taxpayer Identification Number) and how to get them.  The panel was well attended and, yet again, had thoughtful questions from the audience about processes.  This panel, if no other, was a key one for aspiring authors.

The next panel I went to was Women as Authors and Women as Fans.
Panelists: Marie Bilodeau, Linda Poitevin, Cherry Valance, and Robin Riopelle.
With the controversies involving authors snubbing women writers and the "fake geek girl" turducken of insanity happening, the panel set out to find positive solutions.  The odd woman out, Cherry Valance, is a fan, not an author, but is very active in the Capital Geek Girls, a group to promote activities for the geek girl.  The problem, though, isn't limited to fans or to creative types; it's systemic, pervasive through society.  There are no easy solutions, but ideas were presented.  One was the idea of a safespace, especially at conventions, where someone can go to get away or someone to go to when help is needed.  Another was increasing awareness, having panels at conventions similar to this one, raising the issues.  Changing the language used is also important; assertiveness isn't being bitchy, it's standing up for what is right.  The changing of the word changes the impression of the action.  Marketing must be brought on board; too often, the packaging becomes limiting, with pastels signfying a book for women only, even if the story might appeal to men, too.  Marie Bilodeau ran into this problem with one of her early novels; it got the pastel treatment, leading people to believe the romance was the main plot when, in reality, the main plot involved explosions.  If the previous panel was key for just authors, this panel was key for everyone.  Fortunately, a good cross-section of the attendees were there, women and men, young and old.

After lunch, the first panel I went to was Gas Giants to Hot Jupiters to Brown Dwarfs.
Panelists: Mark Robinson, Peter Watson, and Derek Künsken.
Like the first panel on I went to, this was about weather, this time on gas giants.  Again, this was for a personal project and, again, very useful for my needs.  Plus, finding out about gas giants where precipitation is molten iron and molten glass.  Definitely geared towards the writers of science fiction.

[And look at what the BBC is now reporting: raining diamonds on Jupiter and Saturn.  Fuel skimming of gas giants is not as easy as it sounds.]

Late in the afternoon, I went to Cripping the Light Fantastic.
Panelists: Derek Newman-Stille, Tanya Huff, and Dominik Parisien.
The panel covered the role of the disabled, starting with a "Disability Bingo" featuring slides of characters from speculative fiction in all media, based on various tropes including "Disabled as mentor for hero", "The magical or technological cure", and "Disability as ugliness".  As society became more sensitive to the needs of the obviously disabled, some tropes were seen less and less, but the disabled character is beginning to be all about the disability and not a full character.  Awareness will help, but efforts will be needed.  This panel was for fans and writers, to help recognize the issues.

[Since the convention, I managed to catch an episode of the remade Ironside series.  Although I can't really extrapolate from just one episode, that one managed to avoid the major tropes covered, having Sergeant Ironside be a detective sergeant first and foremost.  Time will tell, but, so far, Ironside is a character first, his disability second.]

Afterwards, I went to the panel Researching for Fantasy Stories
Panelists: Matthew Johnson, Karen Dudley, and Mike Rimar
Another panel aimed more for writers, the topic covered world building and researching.  Brought up was the /National Geographic/ test on amount researched; if you have enough information to write an article on the subject for the magazine, you have enough information to work with in writing.  When it comes to a fantasy world, start with the science and extrapolate while watching out for incompatibilities.  While it is easy to take an example from Earth, elements of the world may break the sample.  Allow readers to fill in the gaps.  Solid advice from the panel.

Last panel of Saturday was National Novel Writing Month!  Aspiring Writers: Do It!  Commit!  Commit!.
Panelists: Nicole Lavigne, Geoff Gander, Maaja Wentz, and Chadwick Ginther
The panel covered what NaNoWriMo is, the aspects of writing 50 000 words in thirty days, and the social elements.  Also covered were software to help keep writers going through the month, including Write or Die and Written Kitten, and some dirty secrets of NaNoWriMo, including the fact that editors dread December.  Professional writers have also used the month to get a start on a side project, working out a first draft while still working on their main works.  Most of the audience had participated in NaNoWriMo before, but the panel allowed for an exchange of ideas and for getting to know others embarking on the same insane ride.

Remember that handwriting sample?  Here's a sample of my handwriting by the end of the day.  I, for one, welcome the computer revolution.

And that's when I print.  Imagine proper cursive.

As soon as it's written, the review for the Sunday will be posted.