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Windycon Part 2
Nov. 14th, 2006 05:20 pmPart 1 of this post, my Sunday panel, is available here. This post will address the Windycon Writer's Workshop. Annually for at least the past few years, Richard Chwedyk has been running a writer's workshop. It's why I started going to Cons, actually.
The Windycon workshop follows the "Clarion Workshop" format. Authors send in stories or novel excerpts in advance, then everybody (pro writers and amateur authors) critiques each story. The actual session is very structured - the author sits silent while everybody else comments in order, and then the group has a general discussion. We had two veterans (me and another writer) and one rookie.
The panel was a little more contentious then last year's, but I think that was because the stories were better. We argued not about spelling, etc. but plot and concept. At any rate, it was a learning experience for me. My story, "Fun Until..." was taken from an episode in my novel The Mars Run. The POV character didn't see it, so another character told her about it. In the short, that character was my POV protagonist.
Several problems became immediately apparent during the critique:
1) In the novel, I had laid out the world, including the logic of piracy, Earth's political situation, etc. I didn't put them in the short, so of course folks were confused.
2) My opening paragraphs were confusing - too many jumps in time.
3) My protagonist was supposed to be a "nice guy in a bad situation." This wasn't nearly as clear as I'd wanted. At least one panelist found himself rooting for the victims of the attack (not bad, but they also needed to identify with the POV attacker.)
4) There were several minor plot-related glitches. Most of these glitches I covered in my mind but not on paper.
5) My POV pulled out a hidden gun at a critical scene. After the scene, I revealed that his father had given it to him. The panelists liked the order of scenes, which was showing gun then using gun.
The good news is, I think I've got a way to fix all these problems. The bad news is I need to find time to do so. I'm writing this story for Shimmer Magazine's Pirate issue, and the reading period starts December 1. I better get busy!
Next article - after hours at Windycon!
The Windycon workshop follows the "Clarion Workshop" format. Authors send in stories or novel excerpts in advance, then everybody (pro writers and amateur authors) critiques each story. The actual session is very structured - the author sits silent while everybody else comments in order, and then the group has a general discussion. We had two veterans (me and another writer) and one rookie.
The panel was a little more contentious then last year's, but I think that was because the stories were better. We argued not about spelling, etc. but plot and concept. At any rate, it was a learning experience for me. My story, "Fun Until..." was taken from an episode in my novel The Mars Run. The POV character didn't see it, so another character told her about it. In the short, that character was my POV protagonist.
Several problems became immediately apparent during the critique:
1) In the novel, I had laid out the world, including the logic of piracy, Earth's political situation, etc. I didn't put them in the short, so of course folks were confused.
2) My opening paragraphs were confusing - too many jumps in time.
3) My protagonist was supposed to be a "nice guy in a bad situation." This wasn't nearly as clear as I'd wanted. At least one panelist found himself rooting for the victims of the attack (not bad, but they also needed to identify with the POV attacker.)
4) There were several minor plot-related glitches. Most of these glitches I covered in my mind but not on paper.
5) My POV pulled out a hidden gun at a critical scene. After the scene, I revealed that his father had given it to him. The panelists liked the order of scenes, which was showing gun then using gun.
The good news is, I think I've got a way to fix all these problems. The bad news is I need to find time to do so. I'm writing this story for Shimmer Magazine's Pirate issue, and the reading period starts December 1. I better get busy!
Next article - after hours at Windycon!
