Last Saturday, I attended ICON, a scifi conference in Coralville, Iowa. I met a lot of other authors, spoke on several panels, and sold books to interested readers.
Idea Development
The day started with a panel discussing how great ideas go wrong, or right. What happens on the road from concept to first draft, and when should a writer abandon a story that’s not working? Joining me were author (and convention organizer) Athena Foster and author Shannon Ryan.
Flight of Fancy or Found in the Future – Vehicle Edition
In the next panel, aircraft engineer Tim Smyth and author Ransom Noble and I discussed why some fictional vehicles are so real you dream about riding them. We listed our favorites and gave advice on how to create vehicles readers will love.
Book Signing
I sold and signed books for about an hour. This con marked the launch of my new book, 48-State Odyssey.
Reading 101
This panel attempted to create a reading list for a Science Fiction and Fantasy 101 college course. What books would be required, and how do they represent the genre? Authors Ivy Ru, Susan Leabhart, and I came up with a fine list.
Friends Without Benefits
This fascinating panel topic found poet Jules Mohr, author Alanna Steininger, and I discussing character relationships in SF/F. Why so much romance, and so little friend relationships, or family relationships? We concluded that there’s room for more stories along those lines.
Creative Persistence
Fitting for the last panel of the con, beginning at 10:00pm, we pondered how writers keep creating when the rest of life crowds out the time. We listed barriers to creativity and how to overcome them. Exhibiting our own persistence, the audience and the panelists—Tricia Andersen, Athena Foster, Allana Steininger, and I managed to stay awake.
In summary, a great (and long) day for—
Poseidon’s Scribe