Armadillocon 32
Kapoor has survived another Armadillocon, this time with mixed results. The panels weren't as helpful as in previous years, but the location was better and the company and room parties better as well.
Friday, Kapoor attended panels on revision and on changing history. Neither gave Kapoor much additional food for thought, so they were a bit of a wash. Immediately after a reading, he struck up a conversation with Chang the Merciless and came away completely depressed.
Chang: What panels are you on?
Kapoor: None.
Chang: Why not?
Kapoor: Because I haven't done anything!
Kapoor realized after this exchange that most of the people in the advanced critique group he frequents have gone on to some degree of literary or editorial success, whilst Kapoor has done nothing! Depressing at first, but by Saturday it had become a call to action. Kapoor must try harder!
Saturday started with the most useful panel, on gaming and its influence on writing. UCLA writing instructor Don Webb stated that he found he was able to identify the gamers and non-gamers in his classes. Gamers started stories at moments of high tension, while non-gamers started with prose, describing backstory, places, people, etc. Furthermore, gamers knew how to write action scenes with good pacing and timing. Kapoor wonders if it's time for gaming to be part of a creative writing curriculum.
The Saturday night Space Squid room party was great, despite the fact that the hotel had sabotaged their TVs so the aux jacks didn't work; this prevented the showing of short SF films and the playing of Guitar Hero. One person from Kapoor's beginning critique group basked in Kapoor's awesomeness. Author D.B.Grady suggested Kapoor get on Twitter; apparently Grady knows a Twit when he sees one!
Sunday was short and interesting. In the panel on worldbuilding, one author suggested that writers consider starting their worldbuilding with food. He recommended acquiring a textbook on the fundamentals of food crop production, as the food people grow and eat will tell a great deal about climate, soil, and technology.
Kapoor comes away from Armadillocon 32 with mixed feelings. After nine years he's still not a good writer, but he still enjoys making up stories. What might be a good idea is to try once again to get a writing job at Bioware; they apparently treat their writers well, it's a steady job (pretty rare in the game industry), and Kapoor's probably good enough. He just needs to learn how to use the Neverwinter Nights module builder, because that is Bioware's tool for evaluating applicants.
Friday, Kapoor attended panels on revision and on changing history. Neither gave Kapoor much additional food for thought, so they were a bit of a wash. Immediately after a reading, he struck up a conversation with Chang the Merciless and came away completely depressed.
Chang: What panels are you on?
Kapoor: None.
Chang: Why not?
Kapoor: Because I haven't done anything!
Kapoor realized after this exchange that most of the people in the advanced critique group he frequents have gone on to some degree of literary or editorial success, whilst Kapoor has done nothing! Depressing at first, but by Saturday it had become a call to action. Kapoor must try harder!
Saturday started with the most useful panel, on gaming and its influence on writing. UCLA writing instructor Don Webb stated that he found he was able to identify the gamers and non-gamers in his classes. Gamers started stories at moments of high tension, while non-gamers started with prose, describing backstory, places, people, etc. Furthermore, gamers knew how to write action scenes with good pacing and timing. Kapoor wonders if it's time for gaming to be part of a creative writing curriculum.
The Saturday night Space Squid room party was great, despite the fact that the hotel had sabotaged their TVs so the aux jacks didn't work; this prevented the showing of short SF films and the playing of Guitar Hero. One person from Kapoor's beginning critique group basked in Kapoor's awesomeness. Author D.B.Grady suggested Kapoor get on Twitter; apparently Grady knows a Twit when he sees one!
Sunday was short and interesting. In the panel on worldbuilding, one author suggested that writers consider starting their worldbuilding with food. He recommended acquiring a textbook on the fundamentals of food crop production, as the food people grow and eat will tell a great deal about climate, soil, and technology.
Kapoor comes away from Armadillocon 32 with mixed feelings. After nine years he's still not a good writer, but he still enjoys making up stories. What might be a good idea is to try once again to get a writing job at Bioware; they apparently treat their writers well, it's a steady job (pretty rare in the game industry), and Kapoor's probably good enough. He just needs to learn how to use the Neverwinter Nights module builder, because that is Bioware's tool for evaluating applicants.