Meet me at Capricon

[mount_oregano]

I’ll be at Capricon this weekend, a four-day science fiction convention held annually in the Chicagoland area since 1981. During the day, members can attend panels, workshops, readings, lectures, concerts, and theater; hear from our guests of honor; play games; and visit the art show and dealer’s room. Topics include books, movies, television, science, space exploration, costuming, and crafts, including a children’s track. At night, there are parties, filk music, and fun.

This is all created and run by volunteers. We do what we want, not what a corporation hopes will turn a profit (although you can buy art, books, clothing, and other needful things direct from vendors at the art show and dealer’s room).

You can still join the convention. Memberships are available for one-day visits or the entire weekend.

Here’s my schedule — and of course I’ll be having lots of fun.

Off the Beaten Format roundtable discussion, 1:00 p.m. Friday, Wacker Room — Diaries. Letters. Space Tumblr. There are all sorts of ways to format a story other than in prose. What stories best take advantage of this? What other formats could be explored? And what are the benefits of using an alternative format in the first place? I’ll be moderating the discussion.

It’s A Start: A Workshop On Your First Paragraph, 2:30 p.m. Friday, Michigan Room — A good opening paragraph for a story or novel will carry the work to success. In this workshop, we will consider 17 different ways to start a work of fiction, explore how each one will affect the reader, and evaluate the promise it sets for the story. Come ready to write and try out some new approaches. I’ll be leading the workshop.

Robots as Protagonists and Characters panel, 8:30 p.m. Friday, Chicago A Room — Some popular sf books have robots as protagonists, from Martha Wells’s Murderbot to the multiple narrators of Annalee Newitz’s Automatic Noodle. What are the challenges of writing a robot character? What stories can we tell with a robotic protagonist that we couldn’t with a human main character? Shaun Duke (moderator), Andrea Hairston, Sue Burke.

Science Fiction Haiku workshop, 11:30 a.m. Saturday, Michigan Room — Can you write a SciFaiku? Yes, you can and you will. This hands-on workshop will introduce the concept of science fiction and fantasy haiku, discuss how it is like and unlike other kinds of haiku, and guide you through the actual creation of some poems. Bring a pen or pencil. Inspiration will be provided. I will lead the workshop.

Geeky Gardening panel, 4:00 p.m. Saturday, Monroe Room — We will discuss how to grow weird, wonderful plants for the backyard, balcony, or windowsill. Karen Herkes (moderator),    Wendy Robb, LaShawn Wanak, Sue Burke.

Non-US Tropes panel, 10:00 a.m. Sunday, Chicago B Room — US media has a lot of its own conventions and expectations, but how many of them are US-specific? And what else is out there? Wil Bastion (moderator), Oleg Kazantsev, Sue Burke.

From the Kernel of a Thought panel, 11:30 a.m. Sunday, Chicago G Room — Inspiration is found in all sorts of places — music, TV, other books… even looking out the window. Where do you find inspiration? And — undoubtedly the harder part — how do you take those ideas and develop them into a whole story? Mark Huston (moderator), Brian Babendererde, LP Kindred, LaShawn Wanak, Sue Burke.

Comments

[larryhammer]

Now I'm curious: how is scifaiku like and unlike other kinds of haiku?

[mount_oregano]

The SciFaiku Manifesto
http://www.scifaiku.com/what/

[mount_oregano]

Science Fiction & Fantasy Poetry Association – The official website of the SFPA
https://sfpoetry.org/wp/