Hi folks! I know I am overdue for some State of the Writer communication, but for now, I’ve got just a brief update that I’m at ArmadilloCon this weekend! I will give a more indepth update in the near future.
In the meantime, here is my schedule for ArmadilloCon:
Friday, August 4
9pm
It’s An Epic Urban Gaslight Fantasy with Atompunk Aesthetics: The Evergrowing Subgenres of Fan
Ballroom E, 9pm – 9:45pm
R.W.W. Greene (moderator), Marshall Ryan Maresca, Ari Marmell, Marie Brennan, Sara A Mueller
Subgenres make it easier for audiences to find the kind of fantasy they are looking for, but they also can be a headache of forcing things into labeled boxes. Do we need better labels or more boxes? Why are we naming things -punk and -core? How can we help someone who might love a dieselpunk story find it if the word “dieselpunk” already makes them tear their hair out? Is there a better way?
Saturday, August 5
12pm
You Call This Archaeology? 40+ Years of Indiana Jones
Ballroom E, 12pm – 12:45pm
Mark Finn (moderator), Marshall Ryan Maresca, Avery Parks, David Afsharirad
This year saw the release of Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, the fifth movie in a franchise that launched in 1981— a franchise that also included a television series, spin-off books, comics, video games, and gave a generation wrong ideas about archaeology. We get nostalgic for a series that was, itself, nostalgic of the cliffhanger serials of the 30s and 40s. Is there still more life in this franchise, or does it belong in a museum?
1pm
The MCU: What Was Phase IV? What Is Phase V?
Ballroom E, 1pm – 1:45pm
Alan J. Porter (moderator), Aaron de Orive, Marshall Ryan Maresca, Bonnie Jo Stufflebeam, Robert Jackson Bennett, Jess Nevins
The MCU Finished Phase III in 2019, and since then, the discourse has gravitated around one core concept: Where is it going now, and why? For better or worse, it has now finished Phase IV, and the question “What was Phase IV about?” is a very valid one to ask. And now with Phase V underway, where is it going? And, do we need to know where it’s going? Or does the very nature of knowing what’s coming next color our interpretation of what’s happening now?
3pm
Autographing: Maresca – Ransom – Wells
Marshall Ryan Maresca, Martha Wells, Tonia Ransom
Autographing
5pm
Building and Fostering a SFF Community
Brenda Noiseux (moderator), Holly Lyn Walrath, Marshall Ryan Maresca, Jessica Reisman, Sequoia Nagamatsu, D.L. Young
WIth so much of the publishing industry falling apart, means of promotion and connection collapsing, and three years of pandemic isolation, it’s clear that the best thing to help us all strive and succeed in the coming years is each other. How can we find each other, lift each other up, and make the genre and the community a better place?
Sunday, August 6
10am
Reading – Maresca
Conference Center, 10am – 10:30am
Marshall Ryan Maresca
12pm
Crafting Court Intrigue & Battle Scenes
Ballroom D, 12pm – 12:45pm
Patrice Sarath (moderator), Marshall Ryan Maresca, Aparna Verma, Eva L. Elasigue, Nia “N.E.” Davenport , C.S. Humble
Some of the most memorable moments in a book or a TV show/film is a battle or fight scene (think: the fighting montage in Everything Everywhere All at Once or the epic, Middle Earth-shaking Battle of the Pelennor Fields), as well as the intricate, thorny court politics that led to these battles. So how does one write an effective and memorable battle scene? How do you set the stakes? What makes court intrigue interesting and nefarious, versus contrived and tasteless?
1pm
How to Build & Implement A World Bible: Methodologies, Infrastructure, & Tools
Ballroom F, 1pm – 1:45pm
Marie Brennan (moderator), Marshall Ryan Maresca, Sara A Mueller, C.L. Irwin , Eleanor Haglund
A discussion of world bible building “best practices” which would also include a brief overview and comparison of various world bible building systems and software like Scrivener world bible templates, World Anvil, Campfire + worldbuilding add-on pack, Scapple, Plottr, Aeon Timeline, Obsidian.MD, etc.. We could also discuss the pros and cons of each method and/or tool.