Thursday, August 6, 2015
Wednesday, August 5, 2015
GenCon 2015 Report Part 2 - Day 2
Day 2 - Friday
On our way out on Thursday evening, we spotted a cheaper parking garage downtown, so on Friday morning we made our way there. However, I forgot my day's worth of tickets in our hotel room. Sigh. You can get the tickets reprinted, but you have to pay the full cost again. Turns out so did my friend, so I didn't feel so bad that we had to head back to the hotel! We were fortunate enough to get back in time to still find a spot in that cheaper parking garage.
The "Dialogue and Dialogue Tags" panel was a fun one that highlighted the most important rule in writing: there are no rules. Each panelist had a different opinion and style that worked for them. I think the key for dialogue tags is to work at it and try to put the emotional content in the actual dialogue. Don't rely on action dialogue tags or adverbs.
I took a lunch break walk through the Exhibit Hall and tried several games, including the revised edition of Fury of Dracula and Tigris and Euphrates. The Fury of Dracula will be perfect for my gaming group as several players act as vampire hunters and pursue Dracula across Europe and Great Britain.
Michael Stackpole's "Characterization" seminar broke down the different ways your can use to create a character, whether you model them after a historical figure or your friends, build them as an archetype, or blend those methods. His blitz characterization technique shows a lot of promise in providing that initial spark: use two positive and then a negative that get the reader thinking. For example, George was well dressed and attended church on Sundays, but non one trusted him with the collection plate.
Stackpole's second seminar on "plotting" turned out to be more of an interactive class as he worked with the class to create a plot. Together, we built and discussed the necessary plot elements of a good story. The basic idea is that you have to figure out what has to happen and then work backwards and make it happen, let the scenes that need to be there, evolve in your mind. Don't forget though that the story you think you're writing changes as you write it.
I had just enough time to head over to the Sun King Brew Tent and grab a Drink On And Prosper before my Game of Thrones game. We played on a 3-D game board and it was beautifully done, including miniatures for all the military forces. As House Greyjoy, I pounced into the neck of Westeros and clashed against the Lannisters. House Martell and House Tyrell fought several battles in the south over sea and land. After 8 rounds of play, I claimed two castles, including the Lannisport, and won the game with seven castles.
On our way out on Thursday evening, we spotted a cheaper parking garage downtown, so on Friday morning we made our way there. However, I forgot my day's worth of tickets in our hotel room. Sigh. You can get the tickets reprinted, but you have to pay the full cost again. Turns out so did my friend, so I didn't feel so bad that we had to head back to the hotel! We were fortunate enough to get back in time to still find a spot in that cheaper parking garage.
The "Dialogue and Dialogue Tags" panel was a fun one that highlighted the most important rule in writing: there are no rules. Each panelist had a different opinion and style that worked for them. I think the key for dialogue tags is to work at it and try to put the emotional content in the actual dialogue. Don't rely on action dialogue tags or adverbs.
I took a lunch break walk through the Exhibit Hall and tried several games, including the revised edition of Fury of Dracula and Tigris and Euphrates. The Fury of Dracula will be perfect for my gaming group as several players act as vampire hunters and pursue Dracula across Europe and Great Britain.
Michael Stackpole's "Characterization" seminar broke down the different ways your can use to create a character, whether you model them after a historical figure or your friends, build them as an archetype, or blend those methods. His blitz characterization technique shows a lot of promise in providing that initial spark: use two positive and then a negative that get the reader thinking. For example, George was well dressed and attended church on Sundays, but non one trusted him with the collection plate.
Stackpole's second seminar on "plotting" turned out to be more of an interactive class as he worked with the class to create a plot. Together, we built and discussed the necessary plot elements of a good story. The basic idea is that you have to figure out what has to happen and then work backwards and make it happen, let the scenes that need to be there, evolve in your mind. Don't forget though that the story you think you're writing changes as you write it.
I had just enough time to head over to the Sun King Brew Tent and grab a Drink On And Prosper before my Game of Thrones game. We played on a 3-D game board and it was beautifully done, including miniatures for all the military forces. As House Greyjoy, I pounced into the neck of Westeros and clashed against the Lannisters. House Martell and House Tyrell fought several battles in the south over sea and land. After 8 rounds of play, I claimed two castles, including the Lannisport, and won the game with seven castles.
Tuesday, August 4, 2015
GenCon 2015 Report Part 1 - Day 0 and Day 1
Day 0 - Road Trip Wednesday!
Despite a rough night's sleep as I was excited and anxious to attend GenCon, we left Toronto around 10am and crossed over the border at Detroit. We got lost for about half in hour in the Detroit suburbs before we got an internet connection that helped us get back on the right road.
After about a 9 hour drive through 2 states and constructions delays, we arrived in Indianapolis. It was easy to find street parking and we joined the long line at Will Call to pick up our tickets and badge. The line moved quickly and smoothly.
Outside at the Sun King Brewery tent, I snagged a cup of The Froth of Khan from the last keg of last year's Gen Con Official beer and after that drive, it went down smoothly. We had a nice Italian dinner at the Palomino restaurant.
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| The Froth of Khan! |
Our hotel was near the airport and the drive out there was relatively easy. We settle down for the evening and planned for our first day at GenCon!
Day 1 - Thursday
We got up early, drove downtown to find some parking. Traffic was a bit crazy in the downtown core, but we fought our way through and found parking less than a mile away from the convention center. I checked in at the Press Room and got my badge with ease. The Press Room was a pleasant Oasis in the madness of the Con. The delightful staff there were friendly and welcoming and kept the refreshments stocked.
I skipped my first seminar to spend a bit of time getting my bearings and to taking it all in. The masses were assembling at the entrance to the Exhibit Hall as the door opened at 10am.
Attended the second part of Alexander Drake's "Anatomy of a Fight Scene" at 10am, which had some solid practical advice on how to write up a good fight scene. I couldn't resist the lure of the Exhibit Hall and snuck downstairs after 11am to see what was going on. And it was crazy insane! I spent the next hour just walking around, overwhelmed by all the exhibitors and boardgames.
I headed back up to the Symposium for my noon class, "Tension on Every Page", by author Brad Beaulieu. Using the Hunger Games as a guide, Beaulieu walked us through the techniques to establish and harvest conflict through a novel. Lots of great advice. Will have to re-read the Hunger Games with more of an eye to see how it was done so effectively.
My first panel of the symposium was "Character Craft - Common People in Epic Conflict". Lots of great debates and discussion on character requirements for an epic story and how to craft them. "When to Show, When to Tell" was next and focused on how you can provide maximum impact with minimal words. A great tip was to pay attention when you're reading and when a particular emotion is stirred, invest the time to look back and see how the author made you feel that way.
The last seminar for the day was Michael Stackpole's "Badass Badguys". Stackpole broke down badguys into categories, highlighting the differences and how you can use them in your fiction. I'm particularly interested in serial fiction, so it was great to see how you could evolve your antagonists from category to category. I learned a lot from this class and will be keen on reshaping my novel's antagonists.
Wrapped up the day by doing another tour of the Exhibit Hall and had dinner at California Pizza.
Monday, August 3, 2015
Saturday, August 1, 2015
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