This weekend I’ll be in Rye Brook, New York, for Lunacon. I’m looking forward to reconnecting with a lot of friends and colleagues who rarely travel as far south as my current stomping grounds, especially my much-missed New Jersey critique group, Writers of the Weird.
The program volunteers just sent me the current draft of my schedule. Here’s where I’m likeliest to be:
Friday, 18 March
7:00 pm
Elijah Budd Room
Magic in a Sword, or Bottle, or Toothbrush
Other panelists TBA
Enchanting an object has been an age-old habit of story-tellers. How do they chose them? How do they keep them from turning into a MacGuffin, or a plot coupon? Why does a magic toothbrush make us all laugh?
Saturday, 19 March
10:00 am
Westchester Ballroom D5
Magical Masquerade
With Pauline J. Alama and Darrell Schweitzer, other panelists TBA
They lurk among us. Werewolves, vampires, Greek gods, wizards and witches, the Fae. Hidden between the interstices of our lives, the magic awaits. Why? Beside the obvious reason that without it, it would be an obviously alternate world. Still, authors from Heinlein onward have done alternate worlds with obvious magic in modern society. What do authors get from this concealment? And how can it be justified within story terms?
Saturday, 19 March
12:00 pm
Westchester Ballroom D4
Research for Historical and Fantasy Fiction
Other Panelists TBA
How to depict a realistic and consistent world in an imagined past? What kind of research can enhance your work? What kind of workaround work when history contradicts your fiction? How to create characters that aren’t just modern people in funny clothes?
Saturday, 19 March
2:00 pm
Westchester Ballroom D4
Fanzines on the Internet
With Ben Yalow and Alex Shvartsman
How to turn your site into a hugo-eligible fanzine. Is a Blog a Fanzine? Is a Website a Fanzine? Which current internet fanzines embody the fannish tradition? Which fanzines are getting the new generation of fans excited?
Saturday, 19 March
3:00 pm
Bartell Room
Writers of the Weird Group Reading
With David Sklar, Alex Shvartsman, and Richard Herr
Saturday, 19 March
4:00 pm
Maple Room
So I’ve Just Finished My First Draft. Now What?
With Matthew Kressel, Gary Frank, Danielle Ackley-McPhail, and Ken Altabef
The first draft of your awesome novel is complete. What do you do with it now to get it ready to sell?
