My Origins 2013 Schedule

As I mentioned in my post yesterday—HEROES! Anthology Information—I’ll be attending Origins Game Fair in Columbus, OH from June 12-16. The theme of this year’s convention is “Superheroes” and, no, I will not be dressed in any sort of superhero outfit. My nine-year-old son, however, may show up one day in his Ironman costume.

This will be my third year participating in The Library program at Origins. The Library is a section of the floor dedicated to authors of all sorts, but mostly those in the speculative fiction (fantasy, sci-fi) arena. People can come in, chat with the authors, get books signed, sit down in a chair because their feet are tired. Whatever.

The attending author list seems to grow every year, both in number and luminosity. This year’s group:

Patrick Rothfuss
Michael A. Stackpole
Timothy Zahn
Aaron Allston
Bradley P. Beaulieu
Maxwell Alexander Drake
Aaron Rosenberg
Jaym Gates
Me
Jennifer Brozek
Donald Bingle
Bryan Young
Sarah Hans
Janine Spendlove
Tracy Chowdery
Sheryl Nantus
Pat Tomlinson
Kelly Swails
Addie J. King
Dylan Birtolo
Gregory Wilson
Steven Saus
Daniel Myers

Beyond The Library, panels comprised of these same authors run—all day, every day, on the hour—in two of the convention hall’s rooms. The topics run the gamut. Some are serious, others are a bit more tongue-in-cheek, but they all loosely tie back to writing.

A couple example titles from this year’s tract:

Crafting the Love Scene
Principles of Medieval Cooking
Schrödinger’s Plot
Sexism: How much is too much?
Good Guys Wear Black Hats

Some of them can be quite intimate with only 10-20 attendees in the audience.

This year, my schedule is as follows:

Thursday:
11:00 AM:  Military Tactics with Janine Spendlove, Dylan Birtolo, R. T. Kaelin, Don Bingle
Military science fiction writers aren't the only ones who need to know the ins and outs of the military. Our panelists will help you brush up on the basics and tell you how much detail you need.

6-8 PM: Group Reading with Steve Saus, Janine Spendlove, Bryan Young, R.T. Kaelin
I’m not sure what I’m going to read. Probably a short story excerpt or two.

Friday:
11:00 AM: The myth of Writer's Block with Pat Tomlinson, R.T. Kaelin, Don Bingle, Addie J. King, Bryan Young
Have you faced a malevolent force that prevents you from finishing your manuscript? How can you defeat the dark power that keeps your fingers motionless on the keyboard and your brain in neutral? Our panelists have battled this dreaded demon, and they’ll teach you how to best it.

Saturday:
11:00 AM: Writing the Trilogy with Timothy Zahn, Brad Beaulieu, Pat Rothfuss, RT Kaelin, Sheryl Nantus
Is there more to your story than can fit into one book? Or is it the other way around—do you have too much material for your tale and need to cut a few hundred pages? Our panelists will tackle trilogies and open-ended series, including how to approach writing the multi-part saga and how to market it.

12:00 PM: A Rose By Any Other Name with Dylan Birtolo, Aaron Rosenberg, RT Kaelin, Tracy Chowdery, Mike Stackpole
Sure, it might smell as sweet, but what about a book title? You better have something with punch so the reader will pluck it off the shelf. A title with zing can entice an editor or slush reader to give your story a look, too. A good name can also make your heroes and villains memorable and help define their character. We discuss the fine are of naming.

3:00 PM: Self-publishing by Bryan Young, RT Kaelin
A checklist of the hundred odd tasks you’ll have to do yourself if you don’t have a publisher doing it for you. And how much it could all cost.

As of now, that’s it. More than likely, I might sit in on a couple panels here and there if the other authors do not mind. I have my eye on a couple topics on Friday afternoon and some on Sunday.

Hope to see you there.