DFW Writer Con Report

So, this past weekend I went to DFW Writer Con.  It was my first time at this con, and my first time at this type of con, where there are a lot of agents and pitch sessions with the agents.  There is a con of that nature in Austin every year, but it has always been sparse when it comes to agents who represent Fantasy.  DFW Con had a wealth of such agents, so I felt it was time to take the chance.  I figured it would be, at the very least, a learning experience, even if what I learned was, "Don't do that again."

I'm happy to say that wasn't what I learned, and the experience was well worth it.


First of all, it was somewhat refreshing to be at an event where everyone is a writer, but being a fantasy and sci-fi writer was an uncommon minority.  I think sometimes I can get a bit tunnel-visioned-- pretty much all the professional writers I know are genre-writers, so it was cool to meet people who write radically different things than me.  Especially non-fiction stuff that I wouldn't even THINK of.  I witnessed one impromptu pitch of a non-fiction idea that caused the agent in question to almost squeal, "I need that book myself!  Send it to me!"  And it was a brilliant idea, but it was something that I would never think of.  That kind of wide-net exposure was fun. 

Plus when I said I write fantasy, I'd often get the excited, "That's what I read, but not what I write" response.  That felt good.

(It does help that I've beaten out my old attitude of saying, "I write fantasy and sci-fi" with an almost shameful, half-apologetic tone.  I wear my genre brand with pride now.)

I went to some good workshops on structure and character, which were very helpful.  I also adored Kristen Lamb's discussions on using social media, blogging and platform building, and how important it is for authors today.  I was pleased to find out I hadn't fallen into many of the common mistakes she noted.  Admittedly, that was partly out of inaction.  But you should all check her out.

One of the best panels was the "Query Gong Show", in which queries were (anonymously) read out loud, and the panel of agents would hit the gong whenever they would stop reading said query, and then talk about why they would.  Really funny, and really educational.  I couldn't do justice to summing up everything that happened at the Query Gong Show. Fortunately, Roni Loren has already done a fantastic job.  Check it out.


All in all, a great weekend, and I heartily recommend it.

A theatre announcement

At long last, selections for the upcoming ScriptWorks 10-minute play showcase have been made!

COMMODIUS VICUS - Amparo Garcia-Crow
ENTROPY - Marshall Maresca
FAMILY TRADITIONS - Devo Carpenter
FINN'S LAST DAY - Max Langert
JOYCE, OR THE UNKNOWING - Hank Schwemmer
RIVER RUN PAST - Sarah Saltwick
THE DO NEVER - Lowell Bartholomee
TRASH TALK - Susan McMath Platt

The plays will run April 7-9 and 14-16 at Salvage Vanguard.

No One Cares About Your Word Count

I've heard the above phrase several times.  Not specifically directed at me, but as a general message to unpublished writers.  And it's true.  As unpublished writers, no one really cares that much about where we are in the process.  Sure, friends and family may show interest, but at the end of the day, the only ones who it really matters to is ourselves.

But still-- and I'm no different-- unpublished writers post their word counts on line all the time.  Why do we do this?  I think it's exactly because no one cares.  No one is holding us to a deadline.  No one is waiting for that finished draft.  So we post our word counts to give ourselves some level of accountability.  So on some public level, hopefully, someone will be paying attention, or at least COULD pay attention, and say, "Hey, are you going to finish that?"

So, for those reading this: Maradaine Constabluraly is currently at 50,000 words.  I intend to reach my rough-draft goal of 70-75K by February 19th.