So I realize people are still thinking about *this* WriterCon . . .

[sahiya]

. . . but tonight antennapedia and I were talking as we filled out our surveys, and we ended up brainstorming possible workshop/panel/roundtable ideas for next WriterCon! Since we're all fresh off this last one and still buzzing about it, I thought it might not be too early to see what everyone else was thinking. The survey does this as well, but of course we

Comments

[sahiya]

Hee, I suggested Portland for next time around.

antennapedia says the beta reading job is all about authorial intent - figuring out what the writer wants to do and then helping them do it. I can see how that last bit might get lost if there were too many people. So what you're saying is that the fic exchanges should be three people, max, rather than the 4-5 I suggested. That makes sense, though in that case we would probably end up structuring it differently (i.e. giving people a space to meet each other and then letting them schedule their own discussion/con crit time).

[harmonyfb]

Portland was one of the cities we considered for 2009, but the hotel prices were prohibitive.

[sahiya]

I'd think Eugene would be hard to fly into.

[spiralleds]

Great thread.

maybe campus facilities could be rented for the con? or do you always use the hotel's meeting rooms?--

While most colleges have some sort of summer convention rental space, because they are tax exempt and get state/federal monies, etc., there are strict rules for what kinds of groups they can and can't have so they aren't competing unfairly with the hotel industry. A group has to have a significant educational component. Even with our panels, etc., I think it's doubtful we'd qualify.

[sahiya]

Yes, though I'm not sure this is entirely feasible in this setting. It sounds like the sort of problem that I talk out at-length with my betas. At some point we have to make a trade between letting everyone who wants a face-to-face con crit experience have it, and giving everyone a very in-depth con crit experience. If there were four people per group and we allowed 90 minutes for it, each person would have twenty minutes; the mod for each group (and I think there should be one) would have to be very strict so people at the end didn't get short-changed, but I think that if people do their homework (i.e. read and think about the stories ahead of time), it's possible for someone to receive a lot of very useful feedback in twenty minutes.

In the end, after all, it's up to the writer to figure out what the problem is. Your betas saying to you, "The ending doesn't feel right" and giving you feedback on your characters was invaluable to you, just not perhaps in the way they (or you) thought it would be.

[texanfan]

I think the problem you faced (this is very true of most fanfiction) was a matter of audience. When I go to the Mcshep forum, for example, I go with a certain set of expectations and biases. I will view the writing in a certain way. Where you are likely to post your fic your audience will have a set of expectations which will be in keeping with your intentions. I think you were thrown because it sounded like none of us knew what camp it was coming from.

[sahiya]

This is why I think the groups should at least be fandom-specific. If there was enough interest, I think we could even have pairing specific groups, but there is something to be said for getting feedback from someone who is not affected by the expectations of people who read extensively within a certain OTP or OT3.

[texanfan]

But I think there is much benefit in having people from the fandom clustered together. Someone who has at least seen the shows can tell you if you've got the voices right, if something is in or out of character.

[texanfan]

It is a part of the richness of the stories, and the fandom, that we can have such different takes on the same characters.

I'm probably greatly influenced by the fact that the characters I love are often like my favorite character in Stargate Atlantis, Rodney McKay. Rodney is a deeply flawed human being who, nevertheless, has a good heart and is, essentially, a good person. I like playing with those conflicts and how, depending on your method of encountering someone, you could have totally different while equally valid takes on them.

I'm glad the input I gave wasn't totally valueless. :) I also find lengthy discussions of character interesting but there is never enough time in a setting like Writer Salon.

I really appreciated your comments on my story and I was deeply gratified that it was comprehensible even though you were unfamiliar with the fandom. It was a pleasure to meet you as well.