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Confluence 2016 Conference

The Confluence 2016 Conference.

I attended the Confluence 2016 Conference.

Introduction

The Confluence 2016 Conference was held on from July 29 to July 31, 2016, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

I attended the Confluence 2016 Conference on July 30 and July 31, 2016. I drove from Cleveland, Ohio to the conference that was located at the Sheraton Pittsburgh Airport Hotel. The conference is run by the Parsec organization of Pittsburgh. It is a literary science fiction, fantasy, and horror conference. The events included panels, readings, interviews, writing workshops, and filk concerts. I was focused on attending as many panels as I possibly could on Saturday and Sunday. I attended 15 panels and the U.S.S. Improvise improv sketch comedy routine.

http://parsec-sff.org/confluence/

Saturday: July 30, 2016

Ancient Wonders Panel

Ancient Wonders was a talk about the earliest science fiction and fantasy writings.

Communicating with Aliens Panel

Communicating with Aliens was a talk about how communicating with aliens can be written about in science fiction. The nature of determining intelligence is not always clear. How the author describes the communication is determined by if humans have gone to find the intelligent life or the intelligent life has found humans on earth.

The Basics of Ancient Warfare Lecture

Next, Timons Esaias gave an interesting lecture on The Basics of Ancient Warfare. He began talking about local soldiers using their locally available weapons. Professional armies were a threat to the local king, so wars were fought by mercenaries, who were paid and then dismissed after the war was over. This did not change until the development of the heavy infantry of the Greeks, which was called the phalanx. There are three types of warriors; on foot, on animals, and on a ship. Other topics in the talk were the Welsh longbow, Roman artillery, and the Huns and Visigoths use of horses to defeat the Romans.

The How (Not) to Sabotage Your Writing Panel

How (Not) to Sabotage Your Writing was a panel where the panelists gave their unique advice on how they persevered in becoming writers. That advice included; be okay with criticism, collaborate with your editor, engage your audience, know your tools as a writer, and take the time to learn to be a better writer.

Alien Worlds and Races Panel

In the Alien Worlds and Races panel, the panelists talked about they designed alien lifeforms. The P.E.R.S.I.A. acronym for determining a race’s culture was discussed. It stands for political, economic, religious, social, intellectual, and artistic institutions.

What the U.S. Navy Taught me About Starfleet Lecture

Christopher Weuve gave a lecture on What the U.S. Navy Taught Me About Starfleet. He started with giving three points about the U.S. Navy. First point, the history of the U.S. Navy starts with battleships. The torpedo and then the airplane drastically changed naval warfare. Second point, a surface ship uses hiding to avoid enemies. Third point, hydrodynamics affects the ship’s maximum speed. The, he gave three points about Starfleet. First, Starfleet is really not like the navy. It is more like the coast guard because it has multiple missions including law enforcement. Second, Starfleet has a really hard problem. Space is really big. The ships do not have shore support and there is no international law in space. Third, Starfleet has it easy because no one is incompetent and stuff doesn’t break. A final observation was that rank is not a job description.

Promoting Your Writing Panel

The next panel explored how you should be Promoting Your Writing. The panel advises starting promoting a book at least six months before it comes out. The rule of thumb is to spend 80% of your time writing and 20% on marketing. The work does not end when you turn in the manuscript. You are your brand. Plan to attend cons, do readings at bookstores and libraries, participate in anthologies, and also use targeted Facebook and Twitter ads. Create publicity by having a newsletter, an author’s website, a mailing list, a blog, make guest posts on other blogs, and create podcasts.

Mapping the Fantastic Panel

Mapping the Fantastic was about how authors invent worlds that make spatial sense. A map is a perception. Geography dictates much about the plot of a story.

U.S.S Improvise Sketch Comedy Show

The only event at this time was held in the ballroom, where many conference goers arrived to see the sketch comedy show called U.S.S Improvise. I thought that the cast was engaging and funny. Most of their riffs were from Star Trek: The Original Series and Star Trek: The Next Generation. It was a welcome change to hearing seven panels and lectures.

Writing Alternative History Panel

The next panel described how they were Writing Alternate History. It’s important to do the research. There are many pivotal historical events, when changed for fiction lead to interesting stories.

Game of Thrones Panel

The last panel I went to on Saturday was on Game of Thrones. The moderator was unable to attend, so the audience became the panel. We debated different topics on the books and the HBO show. I was exhausted at the end of the day, so I went home after the abbreviated discussion.

Sunday: July 31, 2016

The Crystal Palace Exhibition of 1851 lecture

The first lecture on Sunday was on The Crystal Palace Exhibition of 1851 presented by Timons Esaias. The Industrial Revolution led to Iron, Steel, the Steam Engine, and the Railroad Engine. In 1851, an exhibition was planned to showcase the technology of the times. Joseph Paxton designed a huge modular greenhouse to hold the exhibit in Hyde Park in London, England. It was called the Crystal Palace. The event brought people, technology, and ideas from all over the world. In effect, the exhibition was the first World’s Fair.

Indistinguishable from Magic Panel

The next panel asked when do advanced technologies become Indistinguishable From Magic? This panel takes its premise from Arthur C. Clarke’s Third Law, which states that any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic. In other words it was suggested that magic is technology that we do not understand yet.

Near Term Technology Panel

The panelists described what Near Term Technology is available.

Getting There Panel

The next topic was on the technology of space propulsion called Getting There. In non-manned flight laser propelled sails are being researched. The biggest change in manned flight has been the beginning of commercial means of getting to space. In the NASA approach, failure must be avoided because failure leads to review boards. Commercial flight companies are willing to fail because eventual success will pay off well. Nuclear rockets are needed now, electro propulsion should be seen in the near term, and wormhole technology is a long term option.

The Economics of Self-Publishing Panel

The last scheduled panel was on The Economics of Self-Publishing. All four of the panelists have self-published and related their experiences to the audience. Authors who self-publish must design, edit, publish, and market their work. They suggest that it is vital that the author spends money on a professional editor. Book covers sell the product, so money spent on a cover designer is necessary to promote the book. Purchase multiple ISBN codes, one for each format used such as hardcover, paperback, e-book, and audiobook.

Self-publishing is easier now because of print on demand. Self-published authors no longer must pay for a print run of books and then sell them one by one. There are two main print-on-demand formats, Ingram-spark and Createspace (An Amazon Company). I was inspired so much by the panel that I purchased a book from the panel’s moderator, Chris Kennedy. The book is called Self-Publishing for Profit. He details how he became a best-selling self-publishing author.

Wrap-up

I had a great time at the Confluence 2016 Conference. It the first conference that I have ever attended. I learned many things and was glad that I made the time to take the trip. I plan to go to the next Confluence. It is scheduled for August 4 to August 6, 2017.

Links

A similar Conference to the Confluence 2016 Conference was the Western Reserve Writers Conference 2016. Winter Fiction Fest is sponsored by Literary Cleveland while the Cuyahoga County Public Library sponsors a similar event called the Western Reserve Writers Conference 2016.

This is my recap for the Western Reserve Writers Conference 2016 on September 24, 2016. It was located at the South Euclid-Lyndhurst branch of the Cuyahoga County Public Library at the new William N. Skirball writer’s center which is located at the branch. It was a one-day event with an introduction, a keynote speaker, three breakout sessions, and one Q & A panel.

Western Reserve Writers Conference

Western Reserve Writers Conference

Introduction

The Western Reserve Writers Conference was held on September 24, 2016, at Lyndhurst, Ohio

I attended the 33^rd annual Western Reserve Writers Conference on September 24, 2016. It was located at the South Euclid-Lyndhurst branch of the Cuyahoga County Public Library at the new William N. Skirball writer’s center which is located at the branch. It was a one-day event with an introduction, a key note speaker, three breakout sessions and one Q & A panel.

The conference is sponsored by the Cuyahoga County Public Library.

https://cuyahogalibrary.org/

Summary – Keynote Speaker

The day began at the large meeting room which contained chairs for over 100 attendees and the tables for the presenters’ book sale. We were first welcomed by Laurie Kincer, the librarian for the writer’s center, and Deanna R. Adams, the conference coordinator. They detailed how the conference would proceed. The conference was previously located at Lakeland Community College located in Kirtland, Ohio. This is the first year that the conference has been held at this location. The keynote speaker, John Ettorre, was introduced. He spoke about his relationship with writer and editor William Zinsser. Zinsser was a mentor of his who had passed away last year. He described how Zinsser had encouraged him and many others in the craft of writing. Zinsser’s most famous book is On Writing Well.

Summary – Organizing Your Novel

At the first breakout session, I chose to listen to Julie Anne Lindsey who commented on organizing your novel. She writes young adult novels and cozy mysteries. She said that she finds that what helps in her writing is to create outlines. That way she knows that every writing day she has one chapter to write and what that chapter will contain. I thought that it was interesting that she mentioned Stephen King’s On Writing as a great resource since he advocates writing as you feel. George R. R. Martin comments on his Not a Blog that writers are either gardeners or architects. King and Martin are certainly gardeners while I would put Lindsey as an architect. Both are valid ways to write. Every writer has their own process and it was an invaluable insight to learn Lindsey’s process.

Summary – Query Letter

I listened to Deanna R. Adams at the second breakout session. Her presentation was about how to draft a winning query letter. She showed us examples straight from her book, The Writer’s GPS. In fiction writing, the author must finish and edit the work before sending out a query letter. The query letter goes to agents and not to publishers. The agent will submit the work to publishers. The query letter is a business letter, double spaced with four sections. Those sections are the lead (a hook), the body (a synopsis), the author’s credentials, and a short conclusion. Her information was clear and to the point.

Summary – Q and A

Next was a Q & A panel with three panelists. Steve FitzGerald handed out a list of upcoming Ohio writers retreats. His meet-up group is called Island Writers club found at http://www.meetup.com/Ohio-Writers-Retreats/ Deanna R. Adams talked about perfecting your first pages. Lastly, Diane Taylor talked about the benefits of belonging to a writers group.

Summary – Les Roberts

In the last breakout session, I chose to attend Les Roberts’s talk about “Using Red Herrings in Mystery Writing.” His thesis was that every character must be a suspect. All must be in some way corrupt. The reader must be surprised on every page. The writer needs to shock the reader. He advises writers to write what they want to write since he writes the books that he wants to read. He also believes that the most important writing that a writer does is the re-write. His latest novel is Speaking of Murder, the 19^th novel in his Milan Jacovich series. His session was fun with his anecdotes and informative on his thoughts about being a writer.

Conclusion

In conclusion, I was very much impressed with the content and variety that was found at this conference. I will be sure to attend next year.

Links

The Confluence 2016 Conference was a writing conference similar to the Western Reserve Writers Conference. I attended the Confluence 2016 Conference on July 30 and July 31, 2016. I drove from Cleveland, Ohio to the conference that was located at the Sheraton Pittsburgh Airport Hotel. The Parsec organization of Pittsburgh runs the conference. It is a literary science fiction, fantasy, and horror conference. The events included panels, readings, interviews, writing workshops, and filk concerts. I attended as many panels as I possibly could on Saturday and Sunday. I attended 15 panels and the U.S.S. Improvise improv sketch comedy routine.

Confluence 2016 Conference

Ohio Readers and Writers Expo

Introduction

I attended Ohio Readers and Writers Expo on July 23, 2016, presented by Ohio Expos

This was the first year that this one-day event was held. There was a book fair and panel presentations at the Holiday Inn in Fairlawn, Ohio. I am a part of a writing group meet up sponsored by Cleveland Writers Press. Amy Joy and Marie, who are two of the organizers of this event, presented what they hoped to accomplish at this conference to our group. They were interested in creating an event where North East Ohio literary writers could showcase their work and point of view. There are not many opportunities in this area for writers to accomplish this, so they have found a good niche to develop by having this conference.

Over forty writers were available for book sales and signings. The reader’s room held eight talks and panels discussing different genres. The writer’s room held six talks and panels about different aspects of writing. There were also presentations in the writer’s room by Project Learn of Summit County, Cuyahoga County Public Library, and the Cleveland Writers Press. I spent the whole day in the writer’s room, so I will comment on what I learned there.

Summary One

The first panel was “Risk-Taking in Writing and Publishing.” What was interesting about this panel was that it featured four authors from different backgrounds. Their books were a memoir, a recipe book, poetry, and contemporary fiction.

Summary Two

Next was a presentation about “Overcoming Roadblocks to Writing Success.” The presenter had all of us in the audience introduce ourselves to each other and say one specific line. We all said, “I am a successful writer.” That exercise was great for me because it got me to think. I am a writer. Just because I have not published yet doesn’t mean that I am not a writer. If you write, you are a writer. The main thing I got out of her workshop was that it is important to set goals. Think about what your goals are and set mini-deadlines so that you can tell if you are progressing in your overall goals. She advocated the S.M.A.R.T goal setting. Goals that are Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, and Time-Bound.

Summary Three

There was a lecture on “From Mind to Market: Five Steps to Bringing Your Book to Life.” He stated that everyone has a book inside of them. To do that you should set a goal, choose your topic, set a schedule, gain distribution, and market your book. Very informative.

Summary Four

“After the First Draft” was the next presentation. They handed out a nice folder titled “What’s Next” with a copy of their workshop paperwork. They did a media presentation as well. After your first draft, let the book rest and do the things you need to do to make the book successful. They suggest building your writer’s platform, build a following through social media, and create a marketing plan. Then you should edit your book and use beta readers to improve it. The best thing about the presentation was a link to writerswrite This is a writer’s blog with a large amount of useful content that I highly recommend.

Summary Five

A librarian from the Cuyahoga County Public Library introduced the new William N. Skirball Writer’s Center located at the South Euclid-Lyndhurst branch. I have registered for three events because of this presentation. The center holds a monthly self-publishing roundtable. There are fiction writing workshops held at the center. The center will host the 33^rd annual Western Reserve Writers Conference on September 24^th. I will write another post about this conference.

Link to the Cuyahoga County Public Library.

https://cuyahogalibrary.org/

Summary Six

There were four panelists for “Writing & Publishing: Risks & Rewards.” They detailed their experiences with small press and self-publishing.

Summary Seven

The final panel was on Crime and Mystery Writing. The best quote from the panel was that a writer needs four things to write in the genre: mystery, surprise, suspense, and romance.

Summary Eight

The last talk was by the Cleveland Writers Press, the group that I am a member.

Conclusion

In Conclusion, I was pleasantly surprised by this event. All the panels were informative and the location was excellent. I hope that the organizers will hold a second Expo next year. If they do, I will certainly attend it.

Links

The Western Reserve Writers Conference 2016 was a writing conference like the Ohio Readers and Writers Expo Conference linked below.

I attended the 33^rd annual Western Reserve Writers Conference on September 24, 2016. It was located at the South Euclid-Lyndhurst branch of the Cuyahoga County Public Library at the new William N. Skirball writer’s center which is located at the branch. It was a one-day event with an introduction, a keynote speaker, three breakout sessions and one Q & A panel.

Western Reserve Writers Conference