So there I was at Ad Astra on Sunday morning, doing a workshop on editing/revising and pitching, led by Julie Czerneda. She put us in groups, and when we were all introducing ourselves (the three of us in my group), Leo asked "so what do you write"? And I froze. Which is pretty bad when you're in a workshop about pitching. I thought about Fairfax, which is historical fantasy I guess (since Bucklepunk wouldn't ring a bell for anyone). I thought about Apocryphal and Toothbrushing club, which are both Urban Fantasy, and I said something lame and vague and didn't answer at all.
We were supposed to register for the workshop on Friday night, but I didn't know that, either because I didn't read the program very closely, or because it wasn't really in there (?). So I wandered in, and she asked me if I was on her list, and I said was I supposed to put my name on a list? And she said she had room, that was fine. I said did I have to do any writing, and she said yes, and a probably made a moue of sadness. So I'm sure I left a fabulous impression there. Well, it was early, and I'd had no coffee. Never did yesterday, actually. And I seem to have survived. She asked if people had paid for the workshop separately, or if it was included, and the other people said it was included, and I sat down. Awesome! Strange organizational structure, though. The entire weekend (I only went Saturday and Sunday) seemed a little lacking in clear information.
One of the topics discussed in the workshop was "crit groups", and it made me wonder if I'm getting anything out of OWW at this point. I rarely read anything, including the thousands of emails I've received, and I rarely post anything. And also, "If you're going to make it in this business, you have to learn to write to deadline, so you might as well start now and impose one on yourself." That's a paraphrase, but considering my endless editing cycle, might be a good idea for me to take to heart. So, Apophis, you have until Friday!
After the workshop I went to a panel about flash fiction. I went to one where people sat around arguing the definition of Northern Gothic Fantasy (after which I requested a Timothy Findley book from the library that is an example of Urban Gothic or something) and then finally one about the elevator pitch with some editor types, which gave a different perspective on some of the stuff covered in the morning in the workshop. Very cool. And then I went home to eat chicken noodle and buy groceries.
We were supposed to register for the workshop on Friday night, but I didn't know that, either because I didn't read the program very closely, or because it wasn't really in there (?). So I wandered in, and she asked me if I was on her list, and I said was I supposed to put my name on a list? And she said she had room, that was fine. I said did I have to do any writing, and she said yes, and a probably made a moue of sadness. So I'm sure I left a fabulous impression there. Well, it was early, and I'd had no coffee. Never did yesterday, actually. And I seem to have survived. She asked if people had paid for the workshop separately, or if it was included, and the other people said it was included, and I sat down. Awesome! Strange organizational structure, though. The entire weekend (I only went Saturday and Sunday) seemed a little lacking in clear information.
One of the topics discussed in the workshop was "crit groups", and it made me wonder if I'm getting anything out of OWW at this point. I rarely read anything, including the thousands of emails I've received, and I rarely post anything. And also, "If you're going to make it in this business, you have to learn to write to deadline, so you might as well start now and impose one on yourself." That's a paraphrase, but considering my endless editing cycle, might be a good idea for me to take to heart. So, Apophis, you have until Friday!
After the workshop I went to a panel about flash fiction. I went to one where people sat around arguing the definition of Northern Gothic Fantasy (after which I requested a Timothy Findley book from the library that is an example of Urban Gothic or something) and then finally one about the elevator pitch with some editor types, which gave a different perspective on some of the stuff covered in the morning in the workshop. Very cool. And then I went home to eat chicken noodle and buy groceries.