My GenCon 2009 Writer’s Symposium Schedule

Folks, things have been a bit crazy on my planet as I get ready for GenCon: Indy. This will be my first year I’ll be speaking on panels through the Writer’s Symposium, even though this is definitely not my first speaking engagement. I’ll be bringing along some mini-flyers for those of you that are interested in picking up the games or some of the fiction I’ve written for, with info where they’ll be at the con. I’ve received word that my latest contribution in Family Games: 100 won’t be available until after GenCon, but that doesn’t mean you can’t pre-order a copy. (Shameless plug, I know. Please forgive me!)

Please keep in mind that there will be a ton of really great authors in the Writer’s Symposium that you might recognize. Jean Rabe, Patrick Rothfuss, Paul Genesse, John Helfers, Anton Strout, Mike Stackpole, Ed Greenwood and many other wonderful authors will be here, so be sure to bring your books and get them signed, too!

Without further ado, here’s my schedule for the GenCon: Indy 2009 Writer’s Symposium:

Thursday, August 13

    2:00 p.m. Main Hall – Author’s Alley – Come say hello! John Helfers and Kerrie Hughes will also be around in this area where you can meet-and-greet your favorite authors!
    4:00 p.m. The Marriott (Santa Fe) – Switching Gears: Fiction to Game Writing and Back Again – Jean Rabe, Marc Tassin, Robert, Farnsworth, Monica Valentinelli – The genres require different styles of writing, and if you want to work in both industries you have to be able to switch gears…and don’t let them hear the dice rolling when you do it.
    5:00 p.m. The Marriott (Santa Fe) – Shameless Self-Promotion – Paul Genesse, Donald Bingle, Monica Valentinelli – Web pages and blogs and going to conventions…oh my! Promoting yourself andyour writing is necessary in today’s market. But how far should you go? Just how do you promote yourself without sounding desperate? Our panelists offer their sage advice on how to draw attention to you and your work economically and ethically.

Friday, August 14

    9:00 a.m. The Marriott (Lincoln) – Urban Fantasy – Anton Strout, Kerrie Hughes, Monica Valentinelli – Is there still room in the market? Can the public handle another vampire detective? Our panelists have written urban fantasy and discuss the ingredients, what makes a successful fantasy city yarn, and how you can try to break into the genre.
    12:00 p.m. The Marriott (Santa Fe) – Author Reading – Anton Strout, Monica Valentinelli – Come and listen to us read from our published (and maybe even unpublished!) works.

Saturday, August 15

    8:00 a.m. The Marriott (Lincoln) – Worldbuilding: Mythology – Chris Pierson, Sabrina Klein, Monica Valentinelli, Robert Farnsworth – The mythology of your world makes a huge impact on how your story is perceived. Should you lift a mythology from an ancient culture? Twist a current one? Or create one from scratch? Our panelists take on making mythologies convincing, realistic, and interesting.
    9:00 a.m. The Marriott (Lincoln) – Worldbuilding: Magic, Technology and Evolution – John Helfers, Kerrie Hughes, Chris Pierson, Monica Valentinelli – We’re living in a time when technological evolution has made a tremendous difference in most of our world’s societies. What would your characters’ evolutionary paths be if they used magic instead of computers? How does magic or science affect a society’s evolution? We’ll examine how patterns of change affect your world and characters and how to twist technology with magic or vice versa.
    1:00 p.m. Main Hall – Author’s Alley – Paul Genesse and Monica Valentinelli

Sunday, August 16

    8:00 a.m. The Marriott (Santa Fe) – Tough Guys and Gals in Fiction – Elizabeth Vaughan, Kelly Swails, Monica Valentinelli, Robert Farnsworth – Hard-edged characters are very popular…Conan, Xena, Laura Croft, the Terminator, and the Punisher. Why do we like the shoot first, ask questions later characters? What is their place in modern fiction, and how can we use them in our own stories?
    9:00 a.m. The Marriott (Santa Fe)– Pardon Me, But I’m a Writer… – Kelly Swails, Robert Farnsworth, Elizabeth Vaughan, Monica Valentinelli – …and I’d like to know all about…Do you need to know what goes on in the kitchen of a Japanese restaurant? How a horse moves? Which everyday plants are poisonous? What ratlines are? Research in an important part of writing, and sometimes it involves approaching others for information. Join us for a fun panel on how to get information from mundanes without appearing to be crazy.

Special thanks to Jean Rabe for allowing me to be a part of the Writer’s Symposium this year. Hope to see you there!

August 2, 2009
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How to Run a Booth at a Con

Back from four days in Indy, I thought I’d share with those of you who have never run a booth before some tips on how to manage your time effectively and reach out to new customers.

Bring Proper Documentation

First things first. Make sure–before you go–you have a centralized location for all the con paperwork. Next year we’ll be updating our stack to include email correspondence with the staff as well. We found out the hard way it’s not always a good idea to rely on in-house staffers to track communication–especially when there’s last minute changes.

Know Your Product

I can’t tell you how important it is to know what you’re selling. Sometimes it’s easy to come across like you don’t–especially when you’re nervous or encounter a difficult question. But if you can’t sum up what your project does, what it’s about, and what it costs? To your customer it’s going to look like you have no idea what you’re doing.
Read More…

August 20, 2008
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GenCon 2008: Wrap-Up and Notes from the Booth

The past week has been a blur of faces, pitches and products flying past me so fast and furious that I’ve been trying to answer that mundane question: How was the show?

I’ve been trying to wrap my mind around the answer to that, because there was a lot going on. As a contributing author for four of the products at the Abstract Nova booth we were running, I was focused on the business side of things to make it a success. Was it? For a first year at GenCon, absolutely!
Read More…

August 18, 2008
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Like the Dark? Meet me for a Dream Date in Indy and get Swag

I’m making a list and checking it twice — no, it’s not Christmas in July. As I mentioned before, we’re getting ready for GenCon Indy. Part of our packing efforts is to design two horrific packages for people who love the things that go bump in the night. One is a horror-themed silent auction package that includes everything you need for a dark and dreary evening; the other is a dream date.

Dream Date Auction – Flames Rising

Come to the ENnie awards at Gen Con and don’t sit with the plebes! Get a seat in the reserved seating for nominated publishers and hang out with the crew from Flames Rising.

This auction is for a “dream date” with Matt M McElroy and Monica Valentinelli for the 2008 ENnie Awards, Friday August 15th. Join them as they find out if FlamesRising.com wins an ENnie!

Also included in this auction is a Flames Rising t-shirt, coffee mug and poster. We also have a signed copy of the Tales of the Seven Dogs Society fiction collection from Abstract Nova, a horror music CD from Nox Arcana and a few other dark surprises…

This auction is for a sit-down event being held at Gen Con in Indianapolis on the night of Friday, August 15th. The prize must be claimed in person at Gen Con by coming to the ENnies booth in the dealer hall at Gen Con on Thursday or Friday during the dealer hall hours. If for any reason the winner of this auction cannot attend, they may choose to have a person substitute for them. If no approved substitute is sent, the dream date may be re-auctioned or re-sold at Gen Con.

Bid on the Dream Date Auction

If you’re more interested in something a little lighter or more magical, don’t forget to bid on your favorite publisher’s dream date. I hear that the White Wolf dream date is truly–a dream. Last year, we sat with the guys from Evil Hat Productions and their dream date; we all had a lot of fun!

July 30, 2008
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Who I’ll be Hanging Out With at GenCon: Indy

This year at GenCon: Indianapolis 2008 I’ll be supporting publisher Abstract Nova Entertainment at Booth #2115. I’ve worked on several of the products we’ll be offering at the booth including Nuomenon, Exquisite Replicas, Aletheia and a novella featured in the Tales of the Seven Dogs Society.

As project manager for Flames Rising, I’ll be attending the Diana Jones Awards, the ENnie Awards, and hanging out with a lot of my friends including author and editor James Lowder. Here are some of the folk who will be there:

Game designer and novelist Ari Marmell who has done work for Wizards of the Coast and White Wolf will be there. The lovely freelancer and novelistJess Hartley will be speaking (potentially) on two panels and will be at the ENnie awards to see whether or not Changeling: the Dreaming has won any awards. Changeling, nominated for several awards, is a storytelling game of beautiful madness. Full-time artist, author and game designer Aaron Acevedo will be splitting his time between the Talisman Studios booth and the art show. Flames Rising is proud to feature Aaron’s work as part of a silent auction to fund the ENnie awards.

In addition to finding Matt Machell hanging around the Play Collective or Chad Underkoffler at the IPR booth, Industry Insider Guest of Honor Matt Forbeck will be signing autographs, presenting on panels, and having fun. I hope to meet Michael A. Stackpole this year and run into Jean Rabe once again.

GenCon typically has about 45,000 people in attendance; this year there will be events commemorating Gary Gygax, the release of 4E for Wizards of the Coast, and much more! If you’re going, please stop by the booth and say “Hello” or set up a time where we can chat. This is a whirlwind event that goes by very quickly and takes a lot of time and energy. If you’ve never had the chance to go, it’s definitely the experience of a lifetime.

This year I will not be speaking on panels due to time and scheduling constraints. I’m already working on next year’s presentation, but I hope to see you this year!

July 28, 2008
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