Gems from pandemic's virtual literary events

 I spent the past two-plus years stuffing myself with more virtual literary conferences and classes than I could have afforded to attend in person. And even as we cheer the pandemic's apparent wind-down, it's hard to deny that the virtual world has its benefits. I written several posts about details of these virtual events, but there are so many gems that couldn't find a place. Until now!

• Hacks to keep us writing: Tie a desired action with a habitual one. . . 'when I pour a cup of coffee, I will spend 10 minutes (doing desired action).' -- Kathy Ver Eeke, Pitch to Published virtual class

• On creating characters: A character sketch is an outline that asks and answers questions about your main characters. Don't skip this step! You'll know how your character will behave and react in any situation. . . Look at the famous people who have the personality types that most interest you. -- Shayla Raquel, WORDfest virtual conference, 2020

• On those 'crappy' first drafts: If you write with somebody looking over your shoulder, you're screwed to begin with. I write like everybody I know is dead. -- Joe R. Lansdale, Writers League of Texas virtual conference, 2021

• Still more 'crappy': I encourage young writers to write without editing. -- Varian Johnson, Writers League of Texas virtual conference, 2021

• Last of the crappies (for now!): Give yourself permission to write badly! -- Shayla Raquel, Writers Guild of Texas online video

• On reading when you're a writer: It can be hard to read a book without picking it apart -- or wishing I'd written it myself! -- Jeffrey Kraatz, Writers League of Texas virtual conference, 2021

• More reading as a writer: You never know where your next inspiration will come from. -- Kathleen Kent, Writers League of Texas virtual conference, 2021

• On knowing your audience: It's really hard to write books without meeting the people who read them. -- Jeff Kinney, North Texas Teen Book Festival, 2021

• On planning a book: The more books you write, the more you need to plan. Or it's all going to end up sounding like the same book. . . You can veer away from the recipe once you know what the recipe is. -- Michelle Stimpson, WORDfest virtual conference, 2020   

• On getting 'unstuck': If you're feeling stuck, go back to your outline. If you didn't outline, go back and do so! -- Shayla Raquel, Writers Guild of Texas online video

• 'Showing' vs. 'telling': Put the character in situation in which they interact in ways you want to show. 'In the head' is telling. It's the action that's 'showing.': Dan Crissman, Pitch to Published virtual writing group

• On not sweating the small stuff: Clothing descriptions don't need to happen unless it's important to the story. We can assume (the characters) are wearing clothes. -- Robert Dugoni, Thrillerfest virtual conference, 2021

• On literary agents: I became an agent because I was in law school but didn't want to be a lawyer! -- Kirby Kim, Writers League of Texas virtual conference, 2021

• How to research agents: Get two bowls with 50 marbles in one. Take a marble from the first bowl and put it in the second bowl for each agent researched. Caution -- do not substitute candies for marbles in this exercise.
  :  -- Kathy Ver Eeke, Pitch to Published virtual writing group

• I'll end with this spit in the eye of the pandemic: During COVID-19, I had to find a place to write where it was outdoors but safe -- I went to the cemetery. -- Jeff Kinney, North Texas Teen Book Festival, 2021

image by Kaitlyn Millet from Pixabay

There you have it. Useful tips or at least some that may make us smile. I'm happy to say that some of these events have or plan to go live in 2020. The North Texas Teen Book Festival went live earlier this month, and Writers League of Texas and Thrillerfest are full steam ahead with plans for in-person conferences. The Writers Guild of Texas is still operating virtually out of its Facebook page but sadly, WORDfest, an event of the Writers Organizations 'Round Dallas has disappeared from sight. Keep checking back here for updates. And keep writing!

        

The world in your hands – 2020’s virtual literary events

It started when an ad flashed across my screen for a literary event on the other side of the country. An event I never have the funds to attend, much less the nerve to travel to during a pandemic. Then, as I was about to scroll past, the magic words appeared – now online!

I dashed to the website, checked the cost – less than half of what the in-person event would have been, plus no travel or lodging fees, pulled out a credit card, and then wondered what else is there that I’d love to go to if only I could afford it. And wasn’t scared of catching my death of COV-19 to attend.

Usually, this blog concentrates on event in Texas, especially in my region of the state. But with online events, no place is too far!

image: cocoparisienne from Pixabay

June 26-28: Writers’ League of Texas bills the 2020 version of its annual Austin, Texas, event as an “unconference.” Sad to report, this one doesn’t include the list of agents and editors that are usual sweeteners, but there’s still plenty of craft information as well as other goodies such as genre meetups for writers and the popular “yoga for writers.” And it’s free! See the site for details, but hurry, this one’s coming up fast. The final schedule should be available June 23. See the site for details.

June 27: 2020 Austin African American Book Festival has also gone virtual. It's free but attendees must register on Eventbrite (see the site for links). The festival includes four Zoom sessions from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., with New York Times bestselling authors Isabel Wilkerson and Dr. Damon Tweedy, American Library Association-recognized librarian and archivist kYmberly Keeton, and a tribute to poet Paul Laurence Dunbar. The festival's theme -- "We Wear the Mask: Surviving Oppression in the 21st Century," pays homage to one of Dunbar's most famous works. 

July 6-14: Thrillerfest is the New York conference whose announcement first ignited my attention, with package prices starting at $149. At that price, writers get the basic Mega CraftFest, which includes videos with more than 120 of the best thriller authors in the world. Or upgrade to Master Class for $399 with a maximum of 10 attendees per instructor in a private Zoom room. Pitch sessions with agents and consulting sessions with editors are available for additional fees, although most are already sold out.

CareerFest is a free add-on with both CraftFest and Master Class and includes discussions of what agents want in a pitch, social media use, book reviews, and more. See the site  for details.

July 29-August 2: WorldCon is the worldwide conference on science fiction and fantasy, originally scheduled to be held in Wellington, New Zealand, now goes virtual, with the likes of author guests of honor Mercedes Lacks and Larry Dixon and toastmaster George R.R. Martin, and more. To attend, buy memberships through the sponsoring convention, CoNZealand. Cost is $300 NZ for attending adults, with discounts for teens and children. At this writing, program details have not been confirmed. Check the site for updates and payment information.

August 28-30: Romance Writers of America are also going virtual with the annual RWA Conference. Early registration opens June 23, at 11 a.m. Central Time, starting at $139 for RWA members and $189 for nonmembers, with discounted rates available for students. Expect inspiring speakers, workshops and networking. Recorded sessions will be available to attendees for the remainder of 2020. (Wondering about the recent publicity surrounding RWA’s diversity issues? Black authors who are RWA members may attend free of charge. One hundred scholarships will be available for non-RWA member Black authors. Details available when registration opens.)

October 16-17: Bouchercon is the world mystery convention, originally scheduled for Sacramento, California, but now virtual. Details are still being worked out, with registration opening July 1-October 4. Refunds for attendees who registered for the Sacramento conference by April 16 should receive a full refund. Keep an eye on the site for details.

October 29-November 1: Not to be outdone by WorldCon, the World Fantasy Convention 2020 has also gone virtual. Cost $125. Programming details still to come, but guests include author guest of honor Stephen Gallagher, editor guest of honor Anne Groell, artist guest of honor David Cherry and author special guests Brandon Sanderson, C.J. Cherryh, Cindy Pon, and Stephen Graham Jones.

November 5-7: Writer's Digest Annual Conference also goes virtual, with a new date. Still with writing instruction--including pre-conference workshops with David Corbett and Windy Lynn Harris, plus inspiration and publishing advice in flexible viewing sessions. Registration is open. Cost for the basic conference (November 6-7) is $349. The pre-conference workshops (November 5) are available as add-ons to the basic conference for $149 each, or can be bought as stand-alones for $199. There's also a pitch-slam add-on for $149, with preparation starting August 14. See the site for details and registration. 

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What’s not on this list?

 I’m still waiting for ArmadilloCon to respond to my request about the status of its August 7-9, Austin, Texas, sci-fi/fantasy event.

 FenCon, the Dallas-area sci-fi/fantasy convention originally scheduled for September 18-20, has been postponed until 2021. Memberships, vendor and art show space already purchased will be rolled over to 2021 or contact the convention by September 1to request refunds.

The Historical Novel Society has also cancelled its 2020 conference in Durham, England, but plans to reschedule for 2022. (Note: the HNS North American conference is still on track for June 24-26, 2021, in San Antonio, Texas.)

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I woke up June 23 to a report of an assault at the 2019 (nonvirtual) Bouchercon. The incident was passed on to Thrillerfest which, although not associated with Bouchercon, initially published the victim's name. (This information had been deleted before I saw the post.) Although virtual conventions will eliminate the possibility of physical assault, please exercise compassion and common sense in all contacts, including virtual ones.

(This post has been updated 10:25 a.m. CDT, June 23, to note assault report at a previous year's convention and at 4:01 p.m. CDT, June 25, to include the Austin African American Book Festival. Information about the Writer's Digest conference was added June 29. I will not add more updates to this post, but will provide more details about the late summer and fall conferences in additional posts.)