Gather at the virtual Hanged Man, bring your own cheese and whine, and we'll all talk about Dragon Age!

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"?

Yes, writing is a lonely business. But feedback from peers, encouragement from others, and prods to keep writing are important, too. And you can get all that in a Writers' Group. Discussed will be how to find a writer's group, writer's group etiquette, and other topics important to the group environment.

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?

The annual presentation of what the other Space Agencies are doing. This could include, but is not limited to, the European Space Agency, Russia, Japan, Canada, and China.

What can and can’t magic do in your world and why? Having consistency in the rules of your magic makes it more compelling. Draw in your readers with a more engaging and believable magic.

You want your orbit to be stable, right? What's up with geostationary orbit around Mars? Speaking of Mars, astronauts travelling to Mars and then back to Earth will suffer poor health without gravity. A spinning space ship could work. How fast would it need to spin? In my spinning space ship, when I drop a wrench, how far will I have to chase it? All of this is pretty easy to calculate once you know how.

Making a movie in 72 hours, what you need to know.

Come talk with the Aegis crew. Learn about Vendrial, the Aegis and the upcoming projects within the Aegis of the Elements IP. Including the Board Game and our first Anthology.AotE takes place on the living world of Vendrial. The inhabitants are integral to her survival and consist of 6 great humanoid species. And we will be talking about them all.

Budo (the Way of the Warrior) is not a philosophy for fighting and dying - it is a philosophy for living. Three of the more famous books on these concepts are Sun Tzu's "The Art of War", Miyamoto Musashi's "The Book of Five Rings" and Morehei Ueshiba's "The Art of Peace". This panel will discuss how martial arts training and understanding can be utilized in daily life such as anger management, interpersonal interactions, anti-bullying programs, police training and business etiquette & eth...

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.

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.

Reading from his book and some works in progress. 

With the advancements of computer and audio technology the barrier of entry for voice acting has dropped significantly. Here we will talk about the tips and tricks that help bring that barrier down even further for the beginner voice actor.

Author Ted Butler will read from his newest book.

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.

Medieval weapons, armor, and their use. A mythbusting panel; combat realities. 

ERAlix will read from her recently published work "Sylvan Dreams."

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.

Did George Washington really chop down a cherry tree? Did he have wooden teeth? Was Napoleon really short? We'll examine common myths that have been passed along as historical fact and discuss how they became so well (and incorrectly) known.

Author Luna Corbden reads from: That Time I Got Demon-Doxxed While Smuggling Contraband to the Red States.West is on a mission: To get boxes of humanitarian food past the frontlines into the Red States, which have been cut off from the rest of the internet. And more importantly, she needs to smuggle in a router to help antifa forces connect to the Red-State SpiritNet. But first, she's got to deal with a little demon problem.

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.

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!

Author Sanan Kolva reads from her works.

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.

The Royal Manticoran Navy is the official fanclub for the Honorverse series created by David Weber. This is an international club that is always happy to have new members. This is a Q&A for anyone interested in the club. We will be happy to answer any questions that you may have.

Tips, tricks, and suggestions on how to keep motivated and have forward progress on your writing projects while still balancing a busy life.

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.

How does a game set in the real world Dark Ages differ from a classic fantasy setting typical of D&D? What things do game masters need to consider when running such a game? Come and find out from our panel of experts.

Come and play some Jackbox games! Please be aware the chat may have content not suitable for those under 18.

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...

Despite blowing up prototypes, SpaceX is making amazing progress toward reusable interplanetary spacecraft with hundred ton payloads. While the details change every day, it's time to review where they are and think about what this means for the not very distant future and and the expansion of our "playground" for real.

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.

Whether you are just starting as a GM, or you have just built your very own game engine, the ways that you design your narrative, gameplay, and system rules are pivotal in creating an experience that others will be drawn to and enjoy!

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?

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...

If you are new to the industry or trying to break in, this can be quite jarring compared to “regular” job applications. For some this will be an awesome part of applying for a new Job, where you get to show off and brag about all the cool stuff you have done. But for many, it can be a daunting experience, leaving you to wonder if you are missing the secret entry code into the job you seek. Here, we will clear the air and snuff out those pesky mistakes before they happen!

Tropes are one of the building blocks of stories, but they can be misused, overused, and just plain worn out. How can you use tropes effectively in your writing? What are some stories that have done to well? Let's talk about using tropes, with and without flipping them around.

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.

So you want to tell a story, but can’t code? Or you have coded a game, but there is nothing for the players to do? If you can’t do both, you will likely have to work with someone from the other side of the brain. There may be barriers, but we are here to give tips and share our experiences working with the other half.

If you aren’t one of those people who can both draw and write, then there’s a good chance you will be collaborating with a creative type who does the thing you don’t. We will share some tips and tricks we have learned that help keep communication clear and projects moving forward.

Come bid farewell to our guests! 

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.

How and How Long will it take to get from here to there in space? G. David Nordley will provide some rules of thumb for constructing timelines that involve interplanetary and interstellar journeys. Along the way, he will point out where conventional wisdom is seriously oversimplified in a conservative way, and where one may need to make some hard choices between what is possible and what one might want for a plot.