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Brief Boskone report
Feb. 19th, 2007 01:44 pmBoskone was fun. I got to spend time with a bunch of people including (but not limited to) ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
avocadovpx, dfable, e_underwood, jenwrites, garunya, dsrtao and elisem.
(I know there were more, including some like Greg London who, AFAIK, is not on LJ. Please consider yourselves mentioned.)
The most fun I had was probably the kaffeklatsch with Uncle Jim and Doyle. I never did get a chance to ask about the Religion in SF panel, which I missed to go to the Mike Ford Auction and Extravaganza. The auction was fun, but the only thing I was interested reached the unaffordable territory before I could so much as blink. They raised over $3000 for the endowment. That's really cool.
The panels were interesting. As usual, I got a nice list of authors and books I should be reading. But I think I'm hitting the point where I'm not getting very much out of the "how to write" panels. That is, I'm at the point where good writers no longer need to tell me how to write well. Chances are, I've heard it already, at least once. I'm at the point where I just need to sit down and do it. i.e., I know what mistakes I make. I know how to fix them. I know what opportunities I miss out on. I just need to write (or at least revise) with all this in mind. Rather than make the same old mistakes, I need to go off and make brand new mistakes.
This is not to say that the various "how to write" panels weren't entertaining. But I think I will be more targeted in terms of which "how to write" panels I go to from now on. I will certainly go to more panels along the lines of "A Horse Is Not a Motorcycle." But a panel on "vivid and memorable writing," for example, I might pass on unless there is someone on the panel whose sheer skill at writing I really admire. It's not that I'm an expert at vivid and memorable writing. I just think I need more mindful practice before I can absorb any more advice.
(Fortunately for me, I'm doing quite a bit of mindful practice.)
Chatting withmatociquala at the LJ brunch was also interesting. I didn't introduce myself. I doubt she'd remember me. But it's very sobering and helpful to realize that pro writers are not necessarily people for whom words flow languidly from their fingers to shine in their crystalline perfection on paper. They have to work at it too. (I.e., it's ok that "trust", my thing which might be a novella is a mess right now. I mean, last week, I discovered there may be a short story which takes place before the novella. Or not. I might just need to write the thing before the thing so that I know what happens. I don't know if the reader cares yet.)
I glad I went for all the people I met or got to meet face to face again. And, ultimately, I enjoyed the panels. At worst, I realized how to make "trust" (and associated stories) work better while listening to them.
avocadovpx, dfable, e_underwood, jenwrites, garunya, dsrtao and elisem.(I know there were more, including some like Greg London who, AFAIK, is not on LJ. Please consider yourselves mentioned.)
The most fun I had was probably the kaffeklatsch with Uncle Jim and Doyle. I never did get a chance to ask about the Religion in SF panel, which I missed to go to the Mike Ford Auction and Extravaganza. The auction was fun, but the only thing I was interested reached the unaffordable territory before I could so much as blink. They raised over $3000 for the endowment. That's really cool.
The panels were interesting. As usual, I got a nice list of authors and books I should be reading. But I think I'm hitting the point where I'm not getting very much out of the "how to write" panels. That is, I'm at the point where good writers no longer need to tell me how to write well. Chances are, I've heard it already, at least once. I'm at the point where I just need to sit down and do it. i.e., I know what mistakes I make. I know how to fix them. I know what opportunities I miss out on. I just need to write (or at least revise) with all this in mind. Rather than make the same old mistakes, I need to go off and make brand new mistakes.
This is not to say that the various "how to write" panels weren't entertaining. But I think I will be more targeted in terms of which "how to write" panels I go to from now on. I will certainly go to more panels along the lines of "A Horse Is Not a Motorcycle." But a panel on "vivid and memorable writing," for example, I might pass on unless there is someone on the panel whose sheer skill at writing I really admire. It's not that I'm an expert at vivid and memorable writing. I just think I need more mindful practice before I can absorb any more advice.
(Fortunately for me, I'm doing quite a bit of mindful practice.)
Chatting with
matociquala at the LJ brunch was also interesting. I didn't introduce myself. I doubt she'd remember me. But it's very sobering and helpful to realize that pro writers are not necessarily people for whom words flow languidly from their fingers to shine in their crystalline perfection on paper. They have to work at it too. (I.e., it's ok that "trust", my thing which might be a novella is a mess right now. I mean, last week, I discovered there may be a short story which takes place before the novella. Or not. I might just need to write the thing before the thing so that I know what happens. I don't know if the reader cares yet.)I glad I went for all the people I met or got to meet face to face again. And, ultimately, I enjoyed the panels. At worst, I realized how to make "trust" (and associated stories) work better while listening to them.
