Still resting my wrist (kind of), so this’ll be quick. Here’s a look at the list of panels I may be on at LTUE this year (Feb. 11-13th). While this is subject to change, I’ll probably be on 3 or 4 of these panels. I’ll also be doing a signing, and maybe a reading, despite the fact that I’ve never really taken to readings (don’t worry, I’m proficient at reading out loud, I just don’t enjoy it). Hope to see some of you there.
Thursday
9:00 a.m.—Killer Openings: How to write a gripping, engaging and interesting first paragraph.
2:00 p.m.—Putting Romance into Your Fantasy: Do you have to have a love story in Fantasy? Why or why not. If you do, how do you balance it with the action and adventure? (No, I’m not kidding.)
3:00 p.m.—Writing Strong Female Characters. (Clearly, my reputation as a specialist on women has preceded me.)
4:00 p.m.—No More Dead Dogs (or moms): Why do mothers and dogs always die in children’s literature? How do we pull at the heartstrings and give child characters independence without killing off dogs and moms? (I think my friend and former editor, Stacy Whitman, and I invented this panel at LTUE last year.)
5:00 p.m.—Worldbuilding 101
Friday
9:00 a.m.—How to Become an Idea Factory: Where do you find ideas? How do you go from an idea to a story?
1:00 p.m.—Style in Speculative Fiction: SF was long denigrated for being a literature of ideas, not of good composition. How has that changed? What constitutes “good style” in SF or fantasy, and what is the difference between the two? What special stylistic challenges (for instance, exposition) face the SF or fantasy writers that aren’t an issue for mainstream writers?
2:00 p.m.—Writing Fantasy and Science Fiction for a Discerning Audience: How to write believable child characters. (I think I’ll be on this one, as I’m something of a voice in the wilderness on this topic sometimes.)
Saturday
9:00 a.m.—A Guy’s Take on Writing Romance. (Wow, how unbelievably romantic I must be! And I never knew.)
Wow, you’ll be doing a lot! I’ll be there F/S. Whoop!
Now that one was breaking the rules! Naughty, Clint. Get rested so you can be on all those panels and delight crowds everywhere.
Great, then I’ll be sure to look for you. Maybe you, L.T., and I can hit some of the panels that I’m not on.
Not all of em, just 3 or 4. There are a lot of panelists and most everyone wants to stay as busy as possible, so there has to be enough to go around. Too bad, I know. Sharing is not one of my favorite skills. Besides, the notion that anyone other than I would have something of value to expound on such subjects… ridiculous!
I will unfortunately be out of town for a work-related conference that weekend. Any notes or handouts that you’d be willing to share or post afterward?
I don’t expect so. I won’t be teaching a workshop, just doing panels, a signing, and maybe a reading (don’t count on that one). If anything interesting happens on a panel, or if peculiar or especially useful information comes from a panel, I’ll post it. Enjoy your work-related conference; I will mine.
With you on the panel, there’s bound to be something interesting, peculiar, or especially useful, right? Thanks; I expect to enjoy mine, though I’m sure it won’t be nearly as fun as LTUE.