gwynnega

Some highlights of Writercon:

There were many wonderful panels and presentations, including redeem147's Bollywood 101, general_jinjur's podfic presentation, and Kristina Busse's celebration of fannish tropes. I had a marvelous time moderating the Making Old Monsters New Again panel, during which harmonyfb, Debra Doyle, inkandchocolate and I, along with pretty much the entire room, enthusiastically discussed vampires and zombies and ghosts etc. etc. (And I got to talk about Dark Shadows, hooray!)

Speaking of soaps, I got to talk with nwhepcat and 10zlaine and willowgreen about Ryan's Hope, and rant with 10zlaine and callmesandy about GH! (I think 10zlaine and I spent pretty much the whole cocktail party talking about soaps...)

My favorite restaurant of the weekend was Hell's Kitchen, where I had breakfast a couple of times. I think I will be longing for those pancakes until I get back to Minneapolis. Also the hotel restaurant, Fire Lake, was awesome, and we ate there many times. Strangely I did not gain weight this weekend, which seems impossible. In general the hotel was by far the best we've had for Writercon, and rivals only the Concourse for my favorite con hotel.

It was so wonderful to see old friends and to talk with new ones. Big thanks to the concom for putting together such a lively and inspiring convention.

This afternoon I got together with my old friend Cecil Castellucci at Coffee Table to talk about a couple of upcoming Interstitial Arts events in LA (which I will post more about when I get home from Writercon).

I'm mostly packed for Writercon. The airport shuttle's supposed to pick me up around 5:40 a.m. ACK! (My flight was originally supposed to leave around 10 a.m., and then they changed it to 8 a.m.!) So I guess I'll be getting up at 4 tomorrow.

Really looking forward to the trip, and to seeing so many of my friends. I'll be moderating one panel:

Scare Me To Death: Making Old Monsters New Again
Saturday 10 a.m.
Panelists: Debra Doyle, inkandchocolate, harmonyfb

I'm not bringing a computer, so I probably won't be online much until I get home on Monday.

( this week's Ryan's Hope )

This weekend I finished listening to the Georgette Heyer The Devil's Cub audiobook. I loved it. Since I seem to be accumulating Heyers at an alarming rate, I have a number of choices for which Heyer to bring with me to Writercon. (I will also be bringing some non-Heyer book or other, but that's another quandary.) Which Heyer should I bring?

Please fill out poll at my LiveJournal.

I got an early bird ticket for writercon, yay! And I even reserved my hotel room already. I've never been to Minneapolis!

Last night's Halloween reading at the Woodland Hills Library (featuring samhenderson, dkolodji, Denise Dumars, Vanessa Van Wagner, and me), was a lot of fun. I really enjoyed reading "In Lieu of a Thank You." spikewriter and her husband were in attendance!

The weather is finally cooling down (as it usually does in LA before Halloween). Today I am wearing my gray sweater-coat.

Ryan's Hope continues to be awesome.

These are the panels I'll be on at writercon:

Crossing the Red Sea: Editing, Revision, and Finishing Touches
After you type that last period and hit save, the fun's just begun. Whether it's fixing that pesky plot hole, looking for continuity throughout, or checking details of geography and plausibility, all fiction can use a little work. This panel will cover the topics close to every beta-reader's heart, and it just might help anyone who uses a beta-reader too.

Drinking from the Well of Souls: Writing Original Fiction
Fanfic brings us together, but many of us also enjoy writing about our own characters (or want to start). Get the scoop on avoiding the dreaded Mary Sue, building a believable environment for the characters to inhabit, and telling the stories that work best in a world of your own creation.

Beginnings, Middles and Ends: The Challenges of Longer Forms
Long, or novel-length, stories carry with them a set of challenges unique to the form - how do you open with a bang, keep the pace tight throughout and end with a satisfying conclusion? Our panel, made up of both writers and editors, will explore the techniques that make beginnings sharp and memorable, keep middles from bogging down and create logical endings that deliver on all their promises.

And it's less than two weeks away!!