Updates on the workshop and Mary’s talk

So, if you missed me and Mary Robinette Kowal at CMU in Pittsburgh yesterday (Sunday, 2/12/2017), then you missed a really great time.

At 1:00 p.m., I gave a writing workshop called “The Art of the Character Study”, which talked about a technique I use to break out of writer’s block, deal with the dilemma of show vs tell, and write interesting characters. We had 16 people signed up, and I think the workshop went really well. If you missed the workshop, but you’d like to see the slides (not the example Character Studies I brought, which I think everyone liked), you can see the slides here:

The Art of the Character Study (PPT | PDF) | Examples (PDF)

At 3:00 p.m., I introduced Mary and she talked about her career in puppetry and how it has influenced her science fiction and writing career. She also talked about diversity in science fiction, the obligations of being a writer, and a lot about the industry. Afterword, we had a book signing with both authors, and I gave away several paperback versions of Lucifer’s Odyssey and The Goblin Rebellion (if you haven’t picked up these covers, know that I am going to be changing these very, very soon). We then had dinner at the Union Grill with students, writers, and artists and talked about all kinds of fun subjects. Topics ranged from the Nebula awards to the future of robotics in science fiction and the real world. It was a lot of fun, and Mary is of course a fascinating thinker and speaker.

Other updates: I submitted a short story called “Remembrance Day” to the Parsec Ink – 2017 Parsec Short Story Contest – A Hidden Underlying Truth contest. The story is about a boy who learns about the real reason behind humanity’s collaboration and harmony in the near future. If you have your own ideas about “a hidden, underlying truth”, feel free to submit your own!