Penguicon schedule May 1-3, 2009

I think I forgot to mention that I was going to Penguicon this weekend, because, you know, I’m not doing enough traveling. A lot of good friends are going to be there so it should be good fun. Let me know if I’ll see you there.

May 2, 2009
10:00 am — Ballroom 7
Making Fiction Work In Audio

What to avoid when writing a story to podcast, and what to change to adapt one. Concise language, appropriate pacing, holding attention, choosing a performer to read, and more tips from two of the leaders in podcast fiction: Steve Eley of Escape Pod and Rick Stringer of Variant Frequencies.
Steve Eley, Mary Robinette Kowal, Rick Jackson, Rick Stringer

11:00 am — Ballroom 7
Can I Be Your Friend? Bringing Authors and Readers Together

Facebook, LiveJournal, WordPress, MySpace, Twitter, website, etc. — SF/F/H authors are encouraged to engage in self-promotion on the web. Some, like John Scalzi and Wil Wheaton, make it look easy. But where’s the line on privacy and personal details for the authors? And what about fans bent on making the transition to troll or stalker? No one said this was going to be easy.
John Scalzi, Jim C. Hines, Wil Wheaton, Mary Robinette Kowal, Daniel Hogan, Dr. Philip Kaldon

1:00 pm — Poolside 1
The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

Character Development. Bringing your imaginary friends to life. Discussion of what makes a character live on the page. Heroes, villains, supporters. Different methods and ways of making your characters real to your audience.
Elizabeth Bear, David Crampton, Mary Robinette Kowal, Sarah Hoyt, Dan Hoyt, Cherie Priest, Jeff DeLuzio, Sarah Monette

3:00 pm — Poolside 3
Johnny Can’t Read and Nobody Thinks It’s a Problem

Illiteracy is a major problem in our society, or perhaps it’s not, given the lack of attention it gets. Can children read? Are they reading? Should they read more? How can we get them to read? How can we read more as adults? Our panel of mostly experts will discuss the issue.
David Crampton, Richard Herrell, Mary Robinette Kowal

7:00 pm — Poolside 1
Lie to Me!

Authors telling lies….what will happen next?! (PS – the audience gets to lie too!)
Elizabeth Bear, John Scalzi, Mary Robinette Kowal, Sarah Hoyt

8:00 pm — Poolside 1
Schmoozing 101!

Conventions offer a chance to meet some of the top names in the field. How can you take advantage of that without coming off like a weasel? Learn about the etiquette of talking to editors and how to effectively “work a room.”
John Scalzi, Mary Robinette Kowal

May 3, 2009
8:00 am — Poolside 1
National Novel Writing Month

Every November hordes of would-be writers as well as established pros unite to attempt to produce 50,000 words in one month. Good idea or waste of time? Does it help or hurt writing? What about the pressures of deadlines in general? Does slow and steady win the race, or does the pressure cooker of trying to produce so many words in the last hour really work?
David Crampton, Jim C. Hines, Mary Robinette Kowal, Daniel Hogan

9:00 am — Poolside 1
How to Give an Effective Reading

Learn to make your words sound as great out loud as they do on the page. Using both demonstration and audience participation, we will explore voicing, narration, and pacing.
Mary Robinette Kowal

11:00 am — Poolside 1
Finding Your Voice

1st Person vs 3rd Person writing. Discussion of pros and cons of different voices in writing. Benefits of the “God” point of view for an author and a reader. Benefits of the main character as narrator for the author and reader. Limitations of both.
Elizabeth Bear, Mary Robinette Kowal, Sarah Hoyt, Dan Hoyt, Sarah Monette

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