I have here in my inbox...

[rolanni]

The preliminary Boskone schedule arrived on the overnight; reproduced below for your listening pleasure:

Sat 12:00 noon
The Business Side of Writing
Our experienced panel is all business as they discuss topics such as
how to get, grok, and get along with agents and publishers; why
keeping good records prevents bad karma; whether you can deduct
Boskone from your taxes; and what to do after submitting your latest
story. (Hint: start your next one.)
Jeffrey A. Carver
Gay Haldeman
(M) Sharon Lee
Darlene Marshall


Sat 2:00pm 0.5 hours
Reading
Sharon Lee
Steve Miller


Sun 11:00am
Making Writing More Vivid and Memorable
How can a writer make the story particularly vivid or more memorable?
Omit needless words? Show, don't tell? (And never say "very"?) Does
the use of specific place names or particular word choices help? How
else do writers bring those marks on the pages to life? Why do some
passages or details stay with us after the book is done, but others
are gone a month later. Perfectly prepared panelists may even bring
favorite passages.
Tobias Buckell
Greer Gilman
(M) Sharon Lee


Sun 2:00pm
The Devil Is in the Details
Sometimes, a writer can get some details wrong and a story can still
be a great one. At other times, getting the details wrong is a killer.
What details does a writer have to focus on? Where can you get away
with missing something? How does this vary, depending upon your
audience? What kinds of things will an audience ignore, even if they
know that they are wrong?

Michael F. Flynn
Rosemary Kirstein
(M) Sharon Lee


In other news, it has snowed/is snowing and the day's outlook is for More of the Same. Currently a balmy 27F(-3C).

Mozart wants his wake-up cookies, and I want a cup of coffee...

Comments

[papersky.livejournal.com]

Cool panels. Wish I could be there.

If you get the chance, do ask Rosemary Kirstein from me about the status of The City in the Crags -- Z and I are both pining for it!

[sraun]

Mistakes - never get your basic arithmetic wrong! Have you heard my rant about McCaffrey's Dragonflight? The only way I can re-read the book is to skip a specific two-page chapter.

[keristor.livejournal.com]

The mating flight at Mach 2? The interesting orbit of the Red Star? The march of the Holders halfway across the continent? Fortunately my suspension of disbelief can cope with those while I'm actually reading. But nothing beats 'Doc' Smith's "acceleration at the unthinkable rate of twice the speed of light!" ("The Skylark of Space") which makes me giggle for several minutes.

However, I have a good memory for names and characters, so when one rider's dragon changes colour three times in the space of one book, and another changes name, I do get a little peeved...