FTBAR Reloaded

The excitement of last night at Phoenix Comic Fest short-circuited our FTBAR (Fairy Tales Beyond All Recognition) Panel, but we have been added back to the schedule! All interested can rejoin us for the final day of the Fest in 129AB in the North Building for FTBAR Reloaded. Please remember that this is an 18+ panel, and we're going to make sure it's a memorable send-off for Phoenix Comic Fest.

Conference Time Again

            I’m heading, once again, to Connecticut for CTRWA’s Fiction Fest conference. This time around I am presenting two workshops, one on web design, and one on mythology. It promises to be very interesting.

Any news reports coming out of Connecticut should be viewed with a grain of salt. Also, I’ll have an alibi.

The Next Adventure

            I’m going to Phoenix Comicon this week to fully indulge in my geekiness. I already indulged my gamer side with PAXEast, and now my comic book geek is going to take center stage.

            This could be an opportunity for me in other ways as I see there is a panel on mythology and folklore. Perhaps I can begin expanding my horizons to speak not just at writer’s conferences, but these events. I will be making some inquiries to be sure.

Conference Reflections Go Forth

            I’m a tech guy. I have multiple laptops, game consoles, and all manner of electronic devices around, but the one place I don’t readily focus on tech is in teaching. Sure, I use it when it’s available, but I don’t rely on it. I can always get by without it. And that’s because the tech will flake out at the wrong moment.

Conference Reflection Part Trey

            At both conferences, I noticed some last-minute cancellations. Presenters couldn’t make it, became ill, had to leave early due to emergency, or something. This leaves those who have planned the conference in something of a lurch as they want to provide workshops for the attendees. Likewise, attendees want options. One workshop cancelled is usually surmountable, but two at the same time can be devastating.

            However, since I carry most of what I’m doing in my head, I could easily do another workshop on the spot with little difficulty. In the future, I will inform those putting the conference together that I am ready to fill-in for any workshop cancellations. As long as I have access to a business center where I can get some copies made, I can readily print my handouts for the workshop.

Conference Reflection Part Deux

            My actual presentation went well again, this time, and I burned through the material I had quickly, allowing for a lot of time for questions, which is intentional. I would rather answer questions and have a discussion than listen to myself drone on; I am fully capable of droning on when it comes to these subjects. I don’t want to over-prepare and become like some of the other workshops that run over questions because they have to fit the whole presentation in. Questions, especially with fairy tales and mythology, are important. Dozens or hundreds of people will be able to answer format, query, and submission questions, but usually the only expert in my subject area at these events is me.

Conference Reflection I

This was the second conference I’ve ever presented at, and it was a lot different from the first in terms of logistics. It’s given me some things to think on, and how I should better prepare future conference presentations.

            First, I had assumed that the program would hold a description for each presentation and bio for each presenter. They had been required for the application, after all, so I thought it naturally followed, but that wasn’t the case. So on my end, I think it would be well to provide my own little insert or tiny flyer that can be slipped into the program guide in the event that these features are missing.

            Likewise, providing my own sign for outside the door with the same information (but in larger, easier to read font) wouldn’t be a bad idea.

            Since the only description of my workshop might be confined into a schedule table in the program, I should come up with a much shorter, snappier title for the workshop.

Pax Bound

            It's barely two weeks after my conference, and I’m headed out to Boston for Pax East. It’s time to enjoy some awesome panels, see new games, and play some with some of my best friends. It’s going to be epic, and hopefully the weather will cooperate this time. But it’s Boston, so who knows.

Conference Presentation Part Deux

            This weekend I’ll be at the Desert Dreams Romance Writing conference presenting on Fairy tales as I did in September at Fiction Fest. I hope this conference goes as well as the last, but it’s local, so I don’t have the rigors of travel, this time.

            Wish me luck.

Conference Prep

            Aaah! I’ve got just over a week to prep for the conference. I don’t even have to travel because it’s local, but I still feel a sense of “OMG what the heck am I doing?” I need to get ready, not just physically, but emotionally and mentally. I’m going to pitch this time, and I haven’t done that in a while, and I’m going to be doing it with my science fiction story, which I’ve never queried yet.

            Okay, I think I just freaked myself out some more. Slow breaths. Deep breaths. I’ve still got a week (only a week!).

Travel Bag

            As I’m considering more and more travel, I’m considering an upgrade to my travel bag. I’m currently using a canvas Everest backpack, which is fairly spacious and fits well into the carry-on area. But it isn’t spacious enough. While I can squeeze about a week’s worth of clothing and gear with nothing to spare.

Conference Planning

            Since the success of last year’s fiction fest, I’m trying to worm my way into speaking and attending other conferences. This requires a great deal of preparation in the form of money and in pitching my proposals at the proper time. I’m slated to do two conferences this year, as well as attending a convention (purely for fun), too. This means very tightly evaluating my budget to see if it’s even possible to attend all of these.

            I think I can do it. I’ve been frugal enough this past year, that I think I can do this. But it wouldn’t hurt to start targeting conferences that are more local. Unfortunately, this is not New England where the states are clustered closely together. I think there are more conferences in New England in a month than in Arizona all year, and the driving distance is about the same. I’ll have to see if there’s a way to stack specific locations so I can enjoy multiple conferences in a region, and make it just one trip.

CTRWA Fiction Fest Aftermath

            Fiction Fest was a success, and I'm not just talking overall, which it was, but my end of it. My presentation/Q&A went very well. I fulfilled my promise of ruining childhood fairy tales for everyone, but we all had a good time doing it (heh).

Out of Here

            So I’m off to Boston where I’ll visit some dear friends before relocating to Connecticut for CTRWA’s Fictionfest, where I’ll be presenting on Fairy Tales. I just need to make sure I pack all the right stuff: magic beans, glass slipper, spinning wheel, apples, basket of goodies, fairy dust, leprechaun . . . nope, that’s the wrong kind of faerie. Get out of here, you!

Prep Work

            I’ve been invited to speak at a conference next month, so I need to go through my prep work. Not so much the speaking. Since my day job entails me standing in front of people every day and presenting material to them, I’ve got a handle on that part.

            No, it’s the packing and preparation to fly across the country that I need to get a handle on. Even though I’ve got my various lists all sorted out and have the method down, it is just an ordeal at times.

            Maybe I should have tried to speak at a local conference. . . .

PAX East Post-Mortem

            I’m still processing everything. I’ve learned that conventions and conferences—the good ones, anyway—bombard you with so much energy, information, and emotion, that it takes a while to come down and make sense of it all. First, I’m tired. That’s to be expected. Two days (we missed out on tickets for the third day) of tromping around from the wee hours of the morning until midnight take their toll. Second, I’m hooked. These events are a blast and a great way to expose myself to fresh, current ideas about a variety of industries.

If I had the means, I think I would do nothing but travel around the country to various conventions and conferences in a variety of disciplines. I intend to look locally to see what I’ve been missing. I’m particularly interested in attending an event with astrophysicists. Perhaps I can even get in a few words with Neil DeGrasse Tyson.

           

Mental Health

            Usually I’d be going into a post Crime Bake discussion, but that’s not the case. One of the reasons I enjoy Crime Bake (any writing conference, really) is the people. And it’s a generic sort of thing. Yes, I highly value the friends I’ve met (hi guys!), but really it’s because I can turn off teaching. I get to be a writer during that weekend, and nothing else. Let me emphasize that. I get to be a writer.

            This may not seem like a big thing, but it’s vital for my mental health. Writing is something that energizes and revitalizes. I can be my characters on their adventures, which takes me out of the drudgery of everyday life, and to go to a conference filled with other people that all feel the same way, and to be able to talk about such things without getting weird stares (all the writers know what I’m talking about), is also rejuvenating.

            So it’s my intention to make sure I get that rejuvenation from an extra dose of writing this week. Now, if you’ll excuse me (or even if you won’t).

           

No Crime Bake for Me

            Sadly, I could not attend Crime Bake this year, but I hope to return, conditions permitting. I’ve made too many good friends and had too much fun in Boston. So, in the words of Ahnold, “Ah’ll be bahck.”

           

Back from Boston

            I thoroughly enjoy traveling, and especially going to writing conferences. There is always some difficulty in making the adjustment back to teaching after writing. Writers have a love and appreciation of words, of putting them together just so. A precise turn of phrase is a wonderful thing, and not just how it turns out in fiction. Properly constructed non-fiction stories and essays are just as beautiful.

            So when I come back and I see so many students who see language and writing as something to be avoided, something to be feared, my heart sinks. It’s heart to watch people trample on what you love.

            My only solace is that perhaps, just maybe, I can instill the love of writing and language in one student. It’s very rare that I get more than one, which is another sadness altogether.

Baked, not Broiled

            I’m off to Boston for my second Crimebake! Time to reunite with author friends, hobnob with agents, and enjoy the culture of writers. I absolutely loved the first Crimebake I attended, and I expect to do the same with this one.