Some panel ideas, which any convention organizer is welcome to grab.
(Writing) Making the Transition from Short Story to Novel
What are the pitfalls and what should the writer know before starting? Is it easier to do it in reverse and go from novel to short story? What’s similar and what’s different? Does it help to think of chapters as mini-stories?
(This seems to me to be harder than anyone acknowledges it to be, and I know there’s several basics I wish I’d known before I’d begun blindly floundering in the much deeper waters of a novel. I’m also pretty sure this is not a new idea for a panel, but I haven’t seen it at recent cons I’ve been at.)
(Editing or Publishing) The Architecture of the Country of the Blind
Reading blind, so you see just the story and not the name of the author with its info about gender, is something many editors and publishers agree is a good idea. What are the practical aspects of setting up such a system? What do you do if editors or slush readers recognize the story? Is it true you can tell gender by how someone writes? What about the fact that such a system removes the “name recognition” that some widely published authors hold?
(Let’s just start with the assumption it’s a good idea for once. For the love of Pete. Thx.)
(Writing) What the F*** is Flash Fiction?
Some people say flash fiction has a minimum length, such as 1000, 500, even 250 words, while others say Hemingway’s famous “For sale: baby shoes. Never worn.” is a complete story. Who’s right? Where does prose poetry fit? Why are flash magazines so popular and what are the ones doing interesting things in the field? Who are the flash authors to watch out for?
(Flash seems like such a great place for new writers to start. They can get stuff out there and in circulation while the magazines constantly need new stuff. At the same time, there’s some great writing happening in this area. I’m teaching a flash fiction workshop called Sudden Fiction this Saturday at Bellevue College, so obviously I’ve got strong opinions about some things mentioned above.)
In my writing F&SF class, we always spend a good bit of time on the flash markets and how to write flash. Because we do a lot of in class writing exercises, students end up with a number of possible stories and we talk about how to polish them up and send them out. In fact, the most recent 10 Flash has a story by both myself and one of my former students, who writes as Folly Blaine! 🙂
Thanks for the mention, Cat! I can’t tell you enough how glad I am to have had the opportunity take your class. I know you’re speaking about panels, but if you offered a class or one-day workshop called “Making the Transition from Short Story to Novel” I would sign up.
Great list, Cat! Here are a few of my fveoritas: Ted Chiang, Jeffrey Ford, Barry Lopez, Aimee Bender, Maureen McHugh, and Jay Lake. You’re also on my list. I’m not sure Ted Chiang is someone to study. I’m not certain mortals can recreate what he does. I’m also not sure I would want to write a Ted Chiang style story because they do seem to be a signature. However, his works are a joy to read and feel like a discovery every time. Every story is like a sky scrapper. A beautiful work of art and engineering. Right now, I just want to make a bird-feeder or a dog house. Jeffrey Ford’s works definitely fit in that world between speculative and literary. They aren’t always structurally satisfying, but the characters always seem to have a natural reality to them. Also a good one to read for prose. I think Ford was one of the first writers I discovered that made me realize fantasy was more than just D&D fan fiction. After reading him I started taking fantasy seriously as a genre.Barry Lopez’s works are probably lesser known. He has a few works that are more magical realism than speculative, but still a joy to read. This one is definitely more on the literary side though. Aimee Bender is just amazing. Also more literary, but the way her stories flow and feel so natural makes them a fun read. She also has a real compassion for her characters, something I’d like to capture in my own works.Maureen McHugh is in my opinion the go-to writer for character. Her stories are almost always all character–they have a plot, but they almost don’t need it. She captures voice like no one I’ve ever read. I would also consider her a bit more literary, but her stories tend to be in speculative anthologies and magazines. Jay Lake is just awesome. This guy has more world building skills in the tip of his pinky finger than most people will ever develop over a lifetime. And these skills come out in the prose and characters. I love his shorter works and have just started appreciating his novels. Jay is both a heroic figure on the page as an author and in real life. I’m certain you’ve read most of these, but thought I would throw them out there as part of the conversation.
These are all great ideas. Con organizers, take note! And if anyone is implementing #2, reading submissions without the author’s name attached, I’d lover to hear how that is going.
I’d attend all three of these. I am now a short fiction writer, and novels frankly terrify me. It seems like a black box the way I hear it explained – words go in, novel comes out, ta dah! And the second idea is something I would love to hear people’s opinions about (though I think it is a great idea, personally, I don’t know a thing about the business).
Yeah, novels are different. And yet the same. It’s very weird and a little frustrating to be realizing something that I should have had engrained already on what is essentially the 11th draft of this book. ARGH.
All three of these would grab my interest, the short story to novel one would take top billing, architecture in the country of the blind is a topic I hadn’t considered before, and while I’ve only sold flash so far, I’m always up for discussing it.
Want access to a lively community of writers and readers, free writing classes, co-working sessions, special speakers, weekly writing games, random pictures and MORE for as little as $2? Check out Cat’s Patreon campaign.
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"(On the writing F&SF workshop) Wanted to crow and say thanks: the first story I wrote after taking your class was my very first sale. Coincidence? nah….thanks so much."
~K. Richardson
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GenCon 2024: Where I'll Be
Thursday, 10 AM Twenty Types of Terror: Exploring Horror Subgenres in Fiction and Games
Marriott Ballroom 1 – Cost $16, duration 2 hours
Horror comes in a variety of flavors, each with its own special advantages and disadvantages. Content warning: horror writing may range into all sorts of sensitive areas, including graphic violence and death. In this workshop, award-winning author and teacher Cat Rambo will run through the various forms, talking about how to write them, and performing exercises to generate storylines in several subgenres.
Thursday, 2 PM Get in the Fight: Activism in Genre Writing
Marriott Ballroom 2 – free, duration 1 hour
Join our panel of writers as they discuss the need for every one of us to do what we can in the fight for equality – and what that could look like within the pages of your stories. Featuring: Cat Rambo, Bryan Young, Danian Darrell Jerry, Khaldoun Khelil, Victor Raymond PhD.
Thursday, 4 PM Book Signing and Meet & Greet with Cat Rambo and Jeremy Bernstein
Exhibit Hall – free, duration 1 hour
Swing by the back of the Exhibit Hall to meet the panelists of the Writers’ Symposium and get your books signed. Or, buy a book or game – and get it signed on the spot. Or, just stop by and say hello! Most panelists will have merchandise for sale, but you’re welcome to bring what you already own to get signed. You may stop by without a ticket and we’ll try and accommodate you, time permitting.
Join writers of the Gen Con Writers’ Symposium to say hello, get your existing books signed, or purchase new ones here). Tickets are nice but not required during this 3hr open-house event! Many authors will have books for sale, and the GCWS USB drive will also be for sale. Featuring: Akis Linardos, Anthony W. Eichenlaub, Ava Kelly, Ben Riggs, Bradley P. Beaulieu, Brady McReynolds, Brandon Crilly, Brandon O’Brien, Bryan Young, C. S. E. Cooney, Carlos Hernandez, Cat Rambo, Kwame Mbalia, Danian Darrell Jerry, Daniel ‘Doc’ Myers, Dedren Snead, E.D.E. Bell, Erin M. Evans, Gabrielle Harbowy, Gregory A. Wilson, Howard Andrew Jones, James Farner, Jason Sanford, Jennifer Brozek, Jeremy Bernstein, Jerry Gordon, Jordan Jones-Brewster, Jordan Kurella, Khaldoun Khelil, Linda D. Addison, Marie Bilodeau, Michael R. Underwood, Monica Valentinelli, Richard Dansky, Sharang Biswas, Sheree Renée Thomas, Victor Raymond PhD, and Will Sobel.
Friday, 10 AM Ageism in SFF: Broadening the Ages of Protagonists
Marriott Ballroom 3 – free, duration 1 hour
Join our panel of writers as they discuss ageism in genre fiction, and the need for and techniques of writing diverse protagonists of a certain age. Featuring: Ava Kelly, Cat Rambo, Chris A. Jackson, Danian Darrell Jerry, and Jeri “Red” Shepherd.
Friday, 12 PM Embrace Your Weirdness (and Find Where it Intersects with Markets)
Marriott Ballroom 2 – free, duration 1 hour
Join our panel of writers and multi-media creators as they discuss how to effectively market authentic weirdness – and love yourself more for it!
Featuring: Cat Rambo, Akis Linardos, Briana Lawrence, Jerry Gordon, and Shauna Aura Knight.
Friday, 2 PM New Books! New Games! New Love!
Marriott Ballroom 3 – free, duration 1 hour
Join our panel of authors as writer and host S.E. Lindberg asks each about the inspirations and challenges behind their new books, games, and works. This fun experience back from last year by request! Featuring: S.E. Lindberg, Cat Rambo, Erin M. Evans, and Kwame Mbalia.
Friday, 5 PM Story Fundamentals: How to Write Short Stories – Cost $34; duration 4 hours
A compressed version of a six-week workshop, this single-session class gives you all the tools you need to start writing and sending out your own stories. You will do some writing exercises in class, but most of the time will be spent on lecture and discussion. You should emerge from the class with a greater command of storywriting as well as a hearty store of encouragement and motivation for creating new stories. In this workshop, award-winning author and teacher Cat Rambo will cover story structure, character-building, worldbuilding, plotting, and submitting the stories you’ve written.
Saturday, 10 AM How to Unban Books
Marriott Ballroom 4 – free, duration 1 hour
Practical advice on how to challenge book challenges, run for school and library boards, and otherwise defend books. Featuring: Mikki Kendall, Cat Rambo, Dedren Snead, Kwame Mbalia, and Richard Lee Byers.
Saturday, 1 PM Book Signing and Meet & Greet
Exhibit Hall – free, duration 1 hour
Swing by the back of the Exhibit Hall to meet the panelists of the Writers’ Symposium and get your books signed. Or, buy a book or game – and get it signed on the spot. Or, just stop by and say hello! Most panelists will have merchandise for sale, but you’re welcome to bring what you already own to get signed. You may stop by without a ticket and we’ll try and accommodate you, time permitting.
Sunday, 9 AM Systems of Magic: How to Use Your Magic to Enrich Your Worldbuilding
Marriott Ballroom 2 – cost $16, duration 2 hours
How magic works in your world affects its inhabitants, its economy, and so much more, down to the smallest details. We’ll cover how to use a magic system to create a world that can cast a spell over its readers. In this workshop, award-winning author and teacher Cat Rambo will provide tips, techniques, and writing exercises will enable you to create or flesh out a world’s intrinsic magic.
Sunday, 10:30 AM Farewell Breakfast for Patreon supporters and Wayward Writers Academy supporters
Location TBD – free, duration 1 1/2 hours
Time to say goodbye! Let’s do it over a late breakfast in a location that will be announced on Patreon and the Discord server, or ping Cat in e-mail to get the details.
This morning the question was raised for me as to whether or not SFWA will hold a business meeting at World Fantasy if they do not produce a policy for handling harassment that matches up with the SFWA guidelines. (I myself am not attending WFC this year for reasons that have no connection to any of this; Susan Forest, the current SFWA Secretary, will be running the meeting if it is held.)
There’s been alotofcontroversy about the current WFC policy and my understanding is that they are looking at amending it right now. So my answer depends very much on how it’s amended, actually. If the policy doesn’t match up with ours sufficiently to keep SFWA members and their families able to enjoy the convention and participate freely, we may not have the business meeting. That remains to be seen.
The SFWA guidelines, which have been around since 2011, are here. I’m not part of the group that produced them, but I’d like to go through and explain why I find ours adequate in a way the existing WFC policy is not.
Introduction
SFWA sponsors or hosts discussion forums, publications, the SFWA website, the Nebula Awards Weekend, the SFWA suite and other programs and activities (the “Venues”). SFWA is dedicated to assuring that the use of and access to the Venues by SFWA members is free of all forms of harassment, intimidation and discrimination on the basis of race, age, sex, gender, gender identity, national origin, ancestry, disability, medical condition, religion, sexual orientation, veteran status, marital/domestic partnership status, or citizenship.
SFWA’s concern here is SFWA space at the convention. We hope to lead by example, not to try to police conventions (a pretty futile task, imo), in order to make sure our spaces are open and free of harassment or intimidation for all parties — not just members, but potential members, member friends and family, etc.
This Policy is applicable to members of the SFWA Community that participate in the Venues. The SFWA Community is comprised of SFWA staff, employees, officers, members, and non-member guests. This Policy helps to promote the realization of SFWA’s mission to inform, support, promote, defend and advocate for our members. This Policy is procedurally separate and distinct from SFWA’s employment-related policies.
Basically if you’re in SFWA space, physical or virtual, these guidelines apply to you.
Definitions
Sexual harassment proscribed by this Policy includes (1) unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other physical, verbal or written conduct of a sexual nature, and (2) creating an intimidating, hostile, or sexually offensive environment by severe or pervasive conduct. Written conduct includes postings or similar conduct in online or electronic venues. Sexual harassment may occur in hierarchical relationships or between peers, and between persons of the same sex or opposite sex.
The standard counterargument to erect (hee) here is that some cultures/people find sexual advances common, and how do you know advances are welcome OMG you are killing flirtation all hail the jackbooted thugs of sexless oppression. But since if you look a little later in the doc, the first thing to do in response is to tell the advancer that what they’re doing isn’t welcome, you would have to be attaching “even when presented with a firm no” to the “how can I tell that my advances aren’t welcome” question, that all seems moot.
A hostile environment can be created by, among other things, unwanted jokes, gestures, and unwelcome comments and repartee; touching and any other bodily contact such as scratching, rubbing, or patting a person’s back, backside, or chest, grabbing another person around the waist, or deliberately interfering with a person’s ability to move, or written conduct referring to same; repeated requests for dates or sex that are turned down, or other unwanted flirting, and transmitting or posting emails or pictures of a sexual or other harassment-related nature.
See usual straw crowd, who are huffed and puffed away by the strong wind of “severe or pervasive conduct,” at least in my opinion. But I also believe common sense is a basic human trait, despite being proven wrong on a daily basis.
With regard to access to or use of the Venues, discrimination or harassment that is based on race, age, sex, gender, gender identity, national origin, ancestry, disability, medical condition, religion, sexual orientation, veteran status, marital/domestic partnership status, or citizenship, is also prohibited by this Policy.
This Policy is implicated when the harassment, intimidation or discrimination is sufficiently severe or pervasive to deny or limit a person’s ability to participate in or benefit from SFWA’s Venues. It is not necessary that the harassment, intimidation or discrimination have been directed specifically at any complaining party.
Still seems reasonable to me. But it’s also a policy that depends on people letting us know when their ability to participate or benefit is being infringed on, which is one reason I’m grateful to the SFWA member whose letter about this I received this morning.
Free Speech and Artistic Freedom
As participants in creative industry, most members of the SFWA Community are particularly cognizant of the free speech protections guaranteed by the First Amendment of the United States Constitution and Article I, Section I of the California Constitution. Moreover, SFWA itself is organized around the principles of free inquiry and the collective search for knowledge, and views creative freedom as a special area of protected speech. However, freedom of speech and artistic and creative freedom are not limitless and do not protect speech or expressive conduct that violates federal, state law, or SFWA’s properly adopted policies.
The purpose of this Policy is intended to discourage harassment, intimidation and discrimination in SFWA Venues, in a manner that is consistent with SFWA’s organizational principles. Therefore, this Policy shall be implemented in a manner that recognizes the importance of the freedom of speech and expression: no provision of this Policy shall be interpreted to prohibit conduct that is legitimately related to fiction, teaching methods, or public commentary of an individual member or the educational, political, artistic, or literary expression of members in fiction and public Venues.
Again reasonable. SFWA has no interest in taking care of things that are outside its proper bounds. We are concerned with SFWA venues and hope that other organizations will see fit to follow our example. We’ve tried to make that as easy as possible by making them easily available on our website.
Reporting Procedures
The first step of a person who believes that there has been a violation of this Policy should be to communicate calmly with the individual engaging in the offensive behavior and tell him or her that you find his or her behavior to be inappropriate and request that it cease.
If such behavior does not immediately cease, or if direct communication is insufficient or uncomfortable, the behavior may be reported to the SFWA Ombudsman, the SFWA President or SFWA Event Organizer. Such report should include the substance of the complaint, date(s), a list of witnesses and/or, when appropriate, reference URLs. In addition to notifying the individuals identified above, a complainant may also request assistance from any SFWA officer, employee or volunteer.
I do know that sometimes it’s uncomfortable to tell someone to back off. Unfortunately, sometimes it’s also necessary as part of human to human interaction, and if a fellow human reacts inappropriately to being told to back off, any of us will step in and have your back.
Non-Retaliation
This Policy prohibits retaliation against a member of the SFWA Community for reporting harassment, intimidation or discrimination and for participating in an investigation relating to same. The sanctions for Retaliation are the same sanctions available to address any other violation of this Policy.
It’s important to let people have a mechanism for reporting harassment that they feel they can use.
False Allegations
It is a violation of this Policy for a member of the SFWA Community to knowingly or with reckless disregard for the truth make false claim of harassment, intimidation or discrimination. Failure to prove a claim of unlawful harassment is not, by itself, equivalent to a false claim.
Using harassment claims to harass or intimidate someone is serious stuff.
Sanctions for Violation Of Policy
Harassment, intimidation and discrimination in violation of this Policy is materially and seriously prejudicial to the purposes and interests of SFWA. When it has been determined that a violation of this Policy has occurred, the SFWA Board Of Directors will determine, in its sole discretion, the appropriate sanction.
Decisions are up to the overall SFWA board, not a specific person.
Notwithstanding the foregoing, the SFWA President may take or direct to be taken any temporary action appropriate to protect the purposes and interests of SFWA, including warning or alerting the offending party as to the nature of the offense, removal of either the complainant and/or the accused harasser from the SFWA Discussion Boards where the harassment or discriminatory conduct occurred, or otherwise diffusing the situation to protect both the participants and others in SFWA space from further harm or unpleasantness. Should such action be taken, a detailed report of the incident should be submitted to the rest of the Board so it can consider taking further action in the matter.
I’ve got some personal responsibility here, which I take pretty seriously.
Should conduct believed to be in violation of this Policy occur at a physical venue (the Nebula Weekend, SFWA suite, meeting, or other event) the SFWA Board member, employee, or volunteer in charge of the event at the time of the conduct may take reasonable action to stop the apparent harassment and ensure the safety of persons at the event. Reasonable action may include, but not be limited to, verbal notification to the individual that the behavior believed to be in violation of this Policy should be discontinued immediately, and/or removal of the individual from the immediate area. If action is taken, the person taking the action shall deliver a written report on the event incident (including a detailed narrative of the incident and the names of all persons involved and of any witnesses) to the Ombudsman and/or the SFWA President, who shall submit the report to the Board so it can consider taking further action in the matter.
No matter what happens, there must be a written report made to the Board.
The SFWA Board of Directors is responsible for the implementation of this Policy and the administration of the associated procedures. Upon receiving a report of a violation of this Policy, the SFWA Ombudsman or the SFWA President, as the case may be, shall provide formal notice (the “Notice”) of such conduct to the Board. As supplements or alternatives to the sanctions of suspension or expulsion, the Board may also take one or more of the following non-exclusive actions:
Warning one or more parties involved that specified behavior is inappropriate
Requiring a formal apology on behalf of the complainant(s)
Removing access to SFWA spaces or Venues on a temporary or permanent basis
Barring a non-member from future membership
Removal of a director from the board of directors (As per Article V, Section 5, Subsection c of SFWA Bylaws: Removal of a Director by the Board)
If the Board concludes that the behavior is sufficiently egregious to warrant suspension or expulsion, the procedures relative to the Notice and the Board’s action thereon shall be those procedures set out in SFWA’s Operating Policies and Procedures Manual (“OPPM”), “Procedures For Suspension and Expulsion Of Members”. The Board may pursue an investigation in cases when the complainant is reluctant to proceed.
What the Board can do. I note that challenging the offending party to a duel seems to have been left off the list. The Procedures for Suspension and Expulsion are long and rigorous, and my hope is to never see them invoked on these grounds.
Confidentiality
The SFWA Board of Directors will make every reasonable effort to conduct all investigations into allegations of harassment, intimidation or discrimination in a manner that will protect the confidentiality of all parties. Notwithstanding the above, confidentiality is not absolute, and those with a legitimate business reason to know and to be informed of the allegations will be so informed. Parties to the complaint should treat the matter under investigation with discretion and respect for the reputation of all parties involved.
This seems unobjectionable, except for the lack of an Oxford comma.
Conclusions? Harassment policies are definitely something SFWA should pay attention to, both in making sure our own is workable and useful as well as encouraging other institutions to do the same. We need to make sure that SFWA events fall under our own guidelines and that we communicate those guidelines clearly to participants. It’s my hope that WFC will feel free to draw upon the SFWA guidelines in creating ones that make the convention accessible to all participants.
Thursday, 6 PM
10 Responses
You’d certainly have my butt in the audience for the flash panel.
In my writing F&SF class, we always spend a good bit of time on the flash markets and how to write flash. Because we do a lot of in class writing exercises, students end up with a number of possible stories and we talk about how to polish them up and send them out. In fact, the most recent 10 Flash has a story by both myself and one of my former students, who writes as Folly Blaine! 🙂
Thanks for the mention, Cat! I can’t tell you enough how glad I am to have had the opportunity take your class. I know you’re speaking about panels, but if you offered a class or one-day workshop called “Making the Transition from Short Story to Novel” I would sign up.
Great list, Cat! Here are a few of my fveoritas: Ted Chiang, Jeffrey Ford, Barry Lopez, Aimee Bender, Maureen McHugh, and Jay Lake. You’re also on my list. I’m not sure Ted Chiang is someone to study. I’m not certain mortals can recreate what he does. I’m also not sure I would want to write a Ted Chiang style story because they do seem to be a signature. However, his works are a joy to read and feel like a discovery every time. Every story is like a sky scrapper. A beautiful work of art and engineering. Right now, I just want to make a bird-feeder or a dog house. Jeffrey Ford’s works definitely fit in that world between speculative and literary. They aren’t always structurally satisfying, but the characters always seem to have a natural reality to them. Also a good one to read for prose. I think Ford was one of the first writers I discovered that made me realize fantasy was more than just D&D fan fiction. After reading him I started taking fantasy seriously as a genre.Barry Lopez’s works are probably lesser known. He has a few works that are more magical realism than speculative, but still a joy to read. This one is definitely more on the literary side though. Aimee Bender is just amazing. Also more literary, but the way her stories flow and feel so natural makes them a fun read. She also has a real compassion for her characters, something I’d like to capture in my own works.Maureen McHugh is in my opinion the go-to writer for character. Her stories are almost always all character–they have a plot, but they almost don’t need it. She captures voice like no one I’ve ever read. I would also consider her a bit more literary, but her stories tend to be in speculative anthologies and magazines. Jay Lake is just awesome. This guy has more world building skills in the tip of his pinky finger than most people will ever develop over a lifetime. And these skills come out in the prose and characters. I love his shorter works and have just started appreciating his novels. Jay is both a heroic figure on the page as an author and in real life. I’m certain you’ve read most of these, but thought I would throw them out there as part of the conversation.
These are all great ideas. Con organizers, take note! And if anyone is implementing #2, reading submissions without the author’s name attached, I’d lover to hear how that is going.
Thanks, Rebecca! I’ll keep you posted if I find out anything. 😉
Er, I meant I’d “love” to hear . . .
I’d attend all three of these. I am now a short fiction writer, and novels frankly terrify me. It seems like a black box the way I hear it explained – words go in, novel comes out, ta dah! And the second idea is something I would love to hear people’s opinions about (though I think it is a great idea, personally, I don’t know a thing about the business).
Yeah, novels are different. And yet the same. It’s very weird and a little frustrating to be realizing something that I should have had engrained already on what is essentially the 11th draft of this book. ARGH.
All three of these would grab my interest, the short story to novel one would take top billing, architecture in the country of the blind is a topic I hadn’t considered before, and while I’ve only sold flash so far, I’m always up for discussing it.