We’ve had some discussions, tossed around a few ideas and here is the next list of possible panels. Feel free to comment, add your own suggestions and if you’re coming, and there’s a panel you just have to be on, let me know. Note that Conflux will have a maximum of four people on a panel, and we want to try to limit people to three or four appearances at the convention, so there are lots of different views shared.
Welcome to the con – how to get the most out of the experience
Where to start – the must-reads
Writing the tie-ins – novels from series
Moving on from mobiles – where to next for technology
Filking 101 – the secret of the great song
Cultural tales – writing ethnicities into your work
What people want – spec fic booksellers tell all
Flying fire – dragons in literature and story
Fans v.2 – how do we grow fandom
Clarion revisted – do structured writing workshops work
AAAARRRRGGGHHHH! – the worst SF and Fantasy in history
Blinded by science – the state of psychological sci fi
Pilots with pms – women in sci fi
Blowing the ship with one shot – fiction of science fiction battles
Levels 1 to 10 – the role of gaming in developing the genre
How to find a hero – avoiding the king-hidden-as-shepherd type clichés
Beach balls and strobes – cheap but effective special effects
It came in a dream – how to generate story ideas
Writing for the end of the world – environmental sci fi
Returning to the world – when you have to go back.
It’s great – the art of the review
Type and photocopy – creating a fanzine
Scary or weird – what is horror
10 things beginning writers get wrong
Prayer and prophet – creating an authentic fictional religion
Keep the hero going – just what does he/she need to reach the end of the story? Looking at food, sleep and so on
Writing disciplines – the impacts of other styles of writing
The dead body – how to kill someone
Young adult fiction – is it real or just marketing
Blogs – the new community
What is fear and what is evil
Gothic romance – the genre
Literature vs film – where does horror belong
What makes a good villain in story and real life
Scientification – the history of fandom
Dr Who – the fans talk
Beasts of Burden – moving around in literature
Space opera – did it ever die
Love, crime and spells – cross-genre work
Scrolling through the story – past, present and future of webpublishing
Cons – why do it
Making you squirm – horror writers read their work
It’s over – what we think of Harry Potter
Authors blogs – good pr or a waste of time
Take me to your leader – who the aliens should talk to
Original versus derived – spec fic movies
Hi. Sign me up for “What People Want” and “Levels 1 to 10”. They sound right up my alley. Thanks.
I’d still like to see some panels on urban fantasy and paranormal romance. They are the two genres that are booming over in the states, and practically every major publisher is after them. Seems odd that they’re not included, but gothic romance (a much harder sell) is.
But there’s some great sounding panels there! (sign me up for the dead body one. It’s always something I need to know more about 🙂 )
Hi,
I feel responsible for hassling about the blogging panels so if you can’t find anyone more qualified to sit on any of those panels count me in. I would also be interested in the ‘Levels 1 to 10’ panel, though my qualifications in this area are severely antiquated.
Phill Berrie.