Nancy-Lou Polk
Sessions in which Nancy-Lou Polk attends
Friday 12 February, 2021
A discussion on the lore and fandom of the Dresden Files. Including a discussion of headcanon, actual cannon, and speculation on what will come of the aftermath of "Battleground"?
Not everything about the dark ages was dark, but everyday people led much different lives than we do now. Join our panelists for a discussion on how to avoid inserting modern bias into your story, or how to best employ anachronism for dramatic effect.
Those beings that often drive your stories and games, the characters. How does one write/build a character so that it is believable and enjoyable. From the hero to the villain, the most beloved characters are those we can relate to. But what makes a character relatable?
Saturday 13 February, 2021
According to Jung's archetypes theory and Campbell's Hero with a Thousand Faces, humans seem to need story the way we need sunlight and air. What is it about stories that makes them so compelling to our nature? Why do we seek them out and how do they help us? Can a story do the opposite of helping? If you are a reader, movie watcher, or even a creator, come learn the behind-the-scenes mental mechanisms of why we like to watch the journey of someone else.
Part of what defines a culture is its system of shared beliefs--not only religious, but also secular. Designing and understanding the belief systems of your characters adds depth to the world in which they live, so let's discuss how to do so.
Especially given the industry changes from last year, it can be paramount to think on your feet, or act from your living room; wherever you can set up a recording studio. Learn tips for your remote work days and how to thrive in your own content creation.
Author Ted Butler will read from his newest book.
Medieval weapons, armor, and their use. A mythbusting panel; combat realities.
Video production isn’t just for the pros with high end equipment and software anymore. There is a lot you can do on a budget if you are willing to put in a little work. Come get some tips from people who make it happen.
One of the key marketing tricks in writing is...reading! Come listen to this panel of authors talk about how to read your stories out loud and make it entertaining.
Every artist dreams of seeing their work in print. These days it's easier than ever to make it happen through crowdfunding platforms like Kickstarter and Indiegogo, and various publishing methods that are friendly to the self publisher. Find out what they are and how to make use of them to make your dream a reality.
I've collected antique arms and armor since 1989. I have made armor for years. My library is literally not replaceable. Parts of my collection have been published many times. This is the first time that we can talk about everything, from modern swords to ancient ones, to collecting, to using for fighting, to cut-testing. If you like swords, come talk!
What's the sci-fi ideas do you wish someone would write about? For example, Stephen Hawking once said, "Imaginary time is like another direction in space. It's the one bit of my work science fiction writers haven't used because they don't understand it." What crazy ideas do you have? Have you ever ended up writing about something because no one else would? How did that go? How important is the premise in a sci-fi story to you versus the action, or the plot, or the character interactions?
From aliens to furries, we'll discuss how to write the non-human pov, how to create an character that is still relatable without coming off as a human in alien skin, and how to capitalize on unique non-human traits to make epic alien, animal, and inanimate objects come to life on the page.
A recent text analysis by AI found a subtle pattern in stories collected from around the world and in hundreds of languages. This supports my observation that the structures of theater, traditional and modern, from Japanese Noh plays and Chinese operas to the Hollywood 3-Act screenplay, as well as Freitag's Pyramid, and the 7-sentence fairy tale (the basis for all Pixar films) all describe the same basic pattern of rising and falling tension: the secret structure of all stories.
Tips, tricks, and suggestions on how to keep motivated and have forward progress on your writing projects while still balancing a busy life.
If you are a writer, I’m sure you have had writer's block. But you don't want to simply get unstuck. To put forth your best effort and end with the finest version of your creation, you will need to build upon and maintain your momentum.
Creatives tend to be neurodivergent, that is, our brains are built a little differently. In exchange for active minds, sometimes our thoughts are a little too active, to the point of distraction. It's hard to stay focused, the desk is a mess, projects become difficult to manage, and so on. These abilities are what psychologists call "executive function," that is, our ability to understand how to approach a task. Come borrow ideas as we share tips and tricks for staying organized around our pr...
Ted Butler will share his "recipe" for writing his novels. He has seven out and an eighth completed. He is author of the teen SF Belt Republic series.
In all of our fictional worlds, there is some way that the world came into being. And then, there is the way the denizens of that world believe that they came into being. From the creation of gods to the way people explain their world without them we will examine how to create truths and fallacies that make your world more compelling and relatable.
Even before the pandemic threw publishing schedules into disarray, the publishing industry was facing enormous change. The change from physical to electronic books, blurring of boundaries between traditional, small press and independent authors. What is our industry becoming? How can writers plan for the future?
Sunday 14 February, 2021
We all have a rough idea of what constitutes disability in our human world, specifically in American culture. What would be a severe disability to an alien but not to us? Where losing a sense of smell might be somewhat limiting to humans, how would that affect a being in a civilization of dogs-creatures? What about an intelligent plant-creature with no roots? What if everyone but you had the ability to jack into an immersive virtual cyberpunk world? What alien or "future" disabilities have al...
Dragons… How do they work? Making Creatures in your world that make sense for the environment you have created.
There are a lot of things that are different about us that some may think would make impossible to do a craft, but it turns out that if you want to create bad enough, nothing can get in your way. Our panelists will talk about how their disabilities have altered how they do their craft, and sometimes even enhanced the outcomes.
We have to eat when we send people beyond Earth's surface. What has been done so far to prepare for that need?
Many a good story teller have appeared to be good writers because of their editors, and many good writers produce amazing works for the same reason. Learn about some of the things that an editor brings to your writing and why they are worth their weight in gold.
A Guide to hands-off storytelling and the reasons to not be a helicopter parent to your characters. Hear from “writers” who choose to witness their stories and how their characters come to form their own adventures.