Confluence Conference Pittsburgh 2019
Introduction
I attended the Confluence Conference Pittsburgh 2019 on July 27, 2019, and July 28, 2019. They held the conference at 1160 Thorn Run Road Coraopolis, PA in the Sheraton Pittsburgh Airport Hotel. I also attended the conference in 2016, 2017, and 2018. The Parsec organization of Pittsburgh runs the literary science fiction, fantasy, and horror conference. The events included panels, readings, interviews, writing workshops, and filk concerts. I attended five panels, two fiction writing workshops, and the guest of honor presentation.
The link to the Confluence website.
http://parsec-sff.org/confluence/
They held the Confluence Conference Pittsburgh 2019 at the Sheraton Pittsburgh Airport.
Confluence Conference Pittsburgh 2019 Program Guide Cover
Picture of my badge from Confluence Conference Pittsburgh 2019
Summary
Saturday, July 27th at 9 AM
First Pages Writing Workshop with Cat Rambo.
This workshop was by pre-registration only. She instructed us to bring the first 500 words of our novels to the workshop. Cat Rambo took the nine submissions and mixed them up. She read the submissions one at a time. After reading the submission, she commented on what questions she had to the reader from the submission. I submitted the first two pages from my novel, Assassin in New Marl City. Her comments were useful and to the point. Her comments make me think I need to write a new chapter one set before the pages I submitted. I liked hearing what the other people submitted. This workshop clarifies that the first two pages of a novel are critical for making the novel publishable. I’m glad that I attended the workshop.
They held the workshop in the Boardroom with 9 attendees.
Saturday, July 27th at 11 AM
NASA Innovative Advanced Concepts, a lecture by Geoffrey Landis.
The program started as the NASA Institute for Advanced Concepts. It operated from 1998 to 2007 under that name. They submitted proposals about concepts that are anticipated for 40 years in the future. In ten years they submitted 1309 proposals. In 2011 NASA revived the program under its current name, NASA Innovative Advanced Concepts. The process is to first submit a white paper, submit a proposal, and then conduct a Phase I study. About one-third of the projects go on to Phase II.
He detailed four proposals. The Venus land sailor challenge is to create a Venus rover mission. The obstacles are the need for high-temperature electronics and a method of locomotion. A wind-powered turbine is workable. The triton hopper would explore Neptune’s moon, triton, by hopping up to 20 km per day from the pole to the equator of the moon. 120 hops would take two years covering 2400 km. Other options are to use the hopper system on Pluto or Europa. A submarine on Saturn’s moon, Titan, would explore areas not seen from orbit. Kraken Mare is a lake about the size of Lake Superior. They approved a Phase II study called Dragonfly.
Geoffrey Landis wrote an SF novel about a manned mission to Mars.
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1501279.Mars_Crossing
They held the lecture in Ballroom 1 with 42 attendees.
Saturday, July 27th at 2 PM
Beginnings and Endings panel with Cat Rambo, Frederic S, Durbin, and Bob Angell (his pseudonym is R. R. Angell)
The panelists gave advice about writing story beginnings and endings. The first chapter has to leave the reader convinced that the story will go somewhere. All scenes must mean something. There are three levels of editors, development, copy, and proofreader. They are important in different ways. An editor is experienced at finding problems but not fixing them, that’s what you as the writer must do. Successful flash fiction is about one thing. It’s important to orient the reader at the story’s beginning because the reader needs a reason to care about the characters. Show an item in action before you explain it. Weave in something relatable to explain an unknown item. Use cliffhangers, always leave the reader wanting more. Avoid the unsatisfying ending. Tie everything up and don’t miss the aftermath. The panelists all gave sound advice.
They held the panel in Commonwealth East with 43 attendees. (It was a full house, standing room only)
Saturday, July 27th at 3 PM
The Guest of Honor Presentation with Tobias S. Buckell.
He started with a speech about himself. He is from Grenada and is of mixed-race but looks white. Buckell came to the US in 1995. He overcame his ADD and dyslexia to become a published writer. His status as a mixed-race person became real for him when Leonard Nimoy passed away in 2015 because Spock was biracial. He became an SF fan after reading Childhood’s End by Arthur C. Clarke when he was nine.
Buckell read his short story called Toy Planes.
Buckell finished his presentation with a Q and A session.
His most recent novel is the Tangled Lands written with Paolo Bacigalupi.
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/35297399-the-tangled-lands
They held the presentation in Ballroom 1 with 47 attendees.
Saturday, July 27th at 4 PM
Return to the Solar System: Recent SF Set in Our Solar System panel with Geoffrey Landis, Ian Randal Strock, Bill Keith, and Ken Chiacchia.
The panel recommended authors that have set their stories in our solar system. Some are Allen Steele’s novels, the Expanse series by James S. A. Corey, and The Quantum Thief by Hannu Rajaniemi. Others are Mike Flynn’s alternate histories, Thin Air by Richard K. Morgan, and Icehenge by Kim Stanley Robinson. More are Terraforming Earth by Jack Williamson, Kirinyaga by Mike Resnick, and the Proteus series by Charles Sheffield. Many good recommendations, I’ll move a few of these up my Goodreads to-read list.
They held the panel in Commonwealth West with 29 attendees.
Saturday, July 27th at 5 PM
Blue-Collar SF and Fantasy panel with Marie Vibbert, Charles Oberndorf, Eric Leif Davin, and Tamora Pierce.
Stories written from a worker’s POV will be more rooted in reality than wish-fulfillment stories. As the US changes from an industrial to a service economy it will change the nature of the stories told. Some authors who use the blue-collar perspective are Thomas Disch in 334, Alfred Bester in The Stars My Destination, and Mack Reynolds in Black Man’s Burden. Other writers using the theme are China Mieville and Cory Doctorow.
They held the panel in Commonwealth West with 29 attendees.
Saturday, July 28th at 9 AM
Short Story Writing Workshop with Cat Rambo
This workshop was by pre-registration only. The participants submitted a story under 5000 words by June first. She distributed the stories of the other participants on July first. She required the participants to-read each of the stories and make written comments on a copy of the stories. At the workshop, the participants followed the Milford workshop format.
Cat’s Critiquing Guidelines
1. In the session, you will speak up to 3 minutes with your critique; you do not need to use up the entire three minutes, but Cat will ruthlessly cut you off at the three-minute mark.
2. Focus on the big picture items, not typos or nitpicks. Pacing, character, plot, world-building, etc.
3. The author wants to know what worked, what was effective, and that you’d like to see more of as much as they want to know what didn’t work, wasn’t effective, or seems removable.
4. Identifying what’s broken and why will probably be more useful to the author than suggested fixes.
5. You will give the author a copy of the story with your notes on it.
Seven people submitted stories, and we workshopped them in this order.
Kathleen Monin–The Morality Variable
Deborah Stevenson–Cursed Good Luck
Brandon McNulty–Insert
Gene Turchin–Machines
Karen Yun-Lutz–Last Entry
Gary Gillen–Grognard
Richard Lohmeyer–Small, Fragile Things
After the Participants critiqued each story, then Cat Rambo gave her critique. All the stories were great. I think all the stories could be published soon. I appreciate all the comments on my story and I’m glad that I took part in this workshop.
They held the workshop in the Boardroom with 7 attendees.
Saturday, July 28th at 12 PM
The Evolving Short Story Market panel with Mary Soon Lee (prolific short story writer), Scot Noel (publisher of Dream Forge magazine), and Mark Painter (podcast creator).
The three panelists were knowledgeable on the subject and had varied backgrounds. Some good markets for online free magazines are Strange Horizons, Uncanny, and Beneath Ceaseless Skies. Scot Noel publishes a print magazine called Dream Forge. They have recently published the second issue. https://dreamforgemagazine.com/ Magazines have submission guidelines and the writers must follow them precisely to hope to make a sale. The writer must know about the magazine they are sending to so the writer has the best chance to succeed. Social media has changed the writer’s responsibility. Writer’s need a platform. The publisher wants to know how the writer can help the publisher sell the story, like a musician’s responsibility. They suggested getting a 25-year-old mentor, so you can get an insight into how to sell to that age group.
They held the panel in Commonwealth with 15 attendees.
Recommendation – Conclusion
I’m glad I attended the Confluence SF Conference Pittsburgh 2019. My star of the con was Cat Rambo. She conducted both workshops I attended with insightful comments and relevant anecdotes. She also moderated an excellent panel on writing. I attended five panels, two fiction writing workshops, and the guest of honor presentation. My other highlights were the lecture on NASA Innovative Advanced Concepts and the Guest of Honor Presentation. I also attended Confluence in 2016, 2017 and 2018 and plan to return in 2020. They will hold confluence 2020 from July 24 to 26, 2020 with author guest of honor Martha Wells.
Links
Recap for the Confluence SF Conference on July 30 and July 31, 2016, at the Sheraton Pittsburgh Airport Hotel. I attended 15 panels and the U.S.S. Improvise improv sketch comedy routine.
They held the Confluence Conference from August 4 to August 6, 2017, at the Sheraton Pittsburgh Airport Hotel. I attended seven panels, one writing workshop, one author reading, and the guests of honor presentation.
They held the Confluence Conference from July 27, 2018, to July 29, 2018, at the Sheraton Pittsburgh Airport Hotel. I attended two lectures, two panels, one fiction writing seminar, one author reading, and the guest of honor presentation.