Wednesday, May 30, 2007
Home again, Home again
jiggety jig.
Fortunately, my drive home was far less eventful than my drive to WisCon.
As usual, WisCon was a tremendous experience. The writers' workshop alone was worth the trip, as my pro, Laurie Marks, sparked an epiphany about what was wrong with the first chapter of my sequel, which I had been struggling with for some time. Her questions were the perfect goad for me to realize that the focus of the opening scene was really off, which, of course, is why it felt so wrong. Funny how I couldn't see that on my own.
I take a bit of pride in being able to spot what other manuscripts need to make them sing; it's humbling when I'm fumbling about with my own manuscript and need others to do the very same thing for me. It is always good to remember that we all can benefit from the eye of an editor or an intelligent critiquer.
Other than that, it was a blessing to sit and talk with friends who I've known long enough that I might dare call them old friends, even though I only see them once a year. It's interesting how a community like that, where most of us only see each other once a year, can come to feel like home.
The panels this year were exceptionally good. WisCon always offers up a banquet table of food for thought, but this time around there was not only tons of stuff to think about, but with very few exceptions the panels were well organized; the speakers stayed on topic; the moderators had interesting questions to pose; very few commentators rambled about with their own (boring) opinions. All in all, you might call it a miraculous set of panels.
I can only hope that the Muslims for Progressive Values conference in a couple weeks goes as well. ¶ 1:40 PM
Fortunately, my drive home was far less eventful than my drive to WisCon.
As usual, WisCon was a tremendous experience. The writers' workshop alone was worth the trip, as my pro, Laurie Marks, sparked an epiphany about what was wrong with the first chapter of my sequel, which I had been struggling with for some time. Her questions were the perfect goad for me to realize that the focus of the opening scene was really off, which, of course, is why it felt so wrong. Funny how I couldn't see that on my own.
I take a bit of pride in being able to spot what other manuscripts need to make them sing; it's humbling when I'm fumbling about with my own manuscript and need others to do the very same thing for me. It is always good to remember that we all can benefit from the eye of an editor or an intelligent critiquer.
Other than that, it was a blessing to sit and talk with friends who I've known long enough that I might dare call them old friends, even though I only see them once a year. It's interesting how a community like that, where most of us only see each other once a year, can come to feel like home.
The panels this year were exceptionally good. WisCon always offers up a banquet table of food for thought, but this time around there was not only tons of stuff to think about, but with very few exceptions the panels were well organized; the speakers stayed on topic; the moderators had interesting questions to pose; very few commentators rambled about with their own (boring) opinions. All in all, you might call it a miraculous set of panels.
I can only hope that the Muslims for Progressive Values conference in a couple weeks goes as well. ¶ 1:40 PM
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That's how I am with almost everything -- it's so much easier to evaluate from a distance. At the very least, I need time away from something to be able to achieve any honesty with myself.
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