Tag: (business) Conventions

E is for Enter Late, Leave Early

Erin Penn 5 Comments

Meme created by Erin Penn

During the March 10th weekend this year, I attended the SAGA Professional Writer’s Conference in Winston-Salem NC (http://sagaconference.com/). A lot of good advice was to be had, and several of them had me making memes the minute I got home. I am a hands-on learner and making a visual memes helps things to stick.

I normally post three days a week, which leaves me twelve days to fill in for the A-to-Z Blogging Challenge for April. I’m going to post the five writing meme I made during my non-standard days complete with why the writing advice is important.

Both Dr. Hartley and Dr. Leverett, in two different presentations at the conference, gave a piece of writing advice stolen from the movie industry: Get in a scene as late as you can and leave as early as you can. Distill the action as much as possible. Obviously the advice is very important when two different people present the same information, and the advice works in different storytelling mediums.

What “Enter Late, Leave Early” means is focus the action. You don’t need the camera (or the written narrative) following the person climbing out of the car, going in the house, ringing the doorbell, getting welcomed, receiving a drink, taken into the family room, and the conversation starts. The important bit, distilled down, is when the visitor says, “The results came back with anomalies.” Heck, you can even push it back a couple of more seconds to the home owner responds with a shocked “Anomalies?”. “Yes, anomalies. I know we said it was a standard test but…”

At the other end, “Leave Early,” cut out of the scene the second the last bit of important storytelling data is presented. Only at the very end of the book, when providing closure, do you need to end a scene with all the bow-ties and swirls. Until then, push, push, push the storyline forward.

Should there be extraneous data beyond the mainplot line? Of course, there is backstory, character development, the emotional storyline, the action storyline, the series overarc seeds and advancement, and, my personal favorite, worldbuilding. All these things make a story layered like a good baklava.

But each individual scene needs to only have what is happening for that scene, and rarely does that include walking through doors.

Oh, that would be a good piece of advice too: Don’t Walk Through Doors

Other Cool Blogs: Magical Words (Self Care)

Erin Penn

87660978 © creativecommonsstockphotos | Dreamstime.com
Self-Care Everywhere
It’s con season, or would be if the COVID wasn’t an issue. I thought I would touch base on a few of the things we need to do to keep healthy at conventions (and at other places too).
1. Drink water – We don’t do it nearly enough, especially on long con days followed by a bar tab night. Do not start the night dehydrated, otherwise day two of the con is really gonna suck. And if it is a long convention, like DragonCon, you won’t make the distance.
And remember, it is also important to drink water when typing or longhand writing your manuscript. Drink water while editing, etc. We are bags of mostly water, and we need to replenish is constantly. Water is a primary go juice for your brain, beating out even sugar.
Additional note: When flying, the air on planes is being dehydrated, therefore dehydrating you. Pour water down your throat to recover, otherwise you will have a travel dehydration headache. Not a happy place to be when you hit the ground running into the first panel of the convention.
2. Eat regular – At a con, with panel after interview after contest, it is easy to forget to eat. Put it on your schedule. Pack snacks. The candy at the artist alley is not enough. Protein and other long-time digestive substance is required. A good protein-laden breakfast will push you further than coffee and a box of donuts.
And, again, while writing, EAT. Do not skip meals to find more writing time. The brain chews through about 20% of the day’s calories even though it is only 2% of the weight. Active use kicks up the calorie count, just like muscles burn more when actively used. And while it is tempting to pour sugar on it – that is a surge-and-crash method. Long-term at the keyboard needs fiber like apples and protein like cheese.
3. Make friends – The publishing industry is a tough gig. You need friends. Especially in the middle of a pandemic. Build that support network. The network is both keeping in touch with the industry – finding out about changes in self-publishing, when anthologies are looking for submissions, and what agents have openings – AND keeping in touch with humanity. The first is silver and the second is gold. The first allows you to be a writer, the second allows you to live.
Other self-care and attending convention tips can be found in the following Magical Words:
9/6/2011 – Misty Massey – Eating at Con –
5/20/2015 – Tamsin Silver – Con-Prep (aka organized chaos) –
6/4/2016 – John Hartness – Making Money Mondays – Mental Health & Money 
6/13/2016 – John Hartness – Making Money Mondays – More Revenue or Lower Overhead? –

Editing Rant: Don’t Cover Your Mouth

Erin Penn

Image courtesy of David Castillo Dominici at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

While convention season has changed from In-Person to Video, it never hurts to go over the basic reminders for the people behind the table and how they may apply to the video format.

  1. DO NOT COVER YOUR MOUTH WITH YOUR HAND WHEN TALKING!!!!!

Many of the audience are hearing impaired and need to see your lips move to understand things. In addition, it breaks up the sound waves and your voice doesn’t carry as far and is distorted.

In video format, this can interfere with the microphone picking up your voice. And while you might think that the hearing impaired may be able to just crank the sound louder at home, for some it is a frequency level (high or low pitches) or clarity of words. Keep those hands away from your mouth.

2. Do not sit with arms crossing your chest either when you are talking or listening to others.

I think all of us know enough about body language to understand why. (Yes, ConGregate and other conventions get really cold. While on stage, you are acting and get to suck it up. Just saying.)

In video format, act like you are listening. While it may be hard to keep staring at the camera instead of taking the downtime in a large panel to get some emails responded to, your job is still to act like you are paying attention. Remember this filming is evergreen – two or three years from now, people will see you dissing your fellow authors. Keep an open and attentive persona for the screen.

3. Modesty.

Do not manspread (applies to women too), whether in a kilt/skirt or pants. Often you are set higher than the audience … and they can see everything. Pray for tablecloths to the floor, but don’t expect them. It’s fun and fine to be all sexy on top; showing how far you shave is not fun or fine.

In video format, pants. Wear them. Please.

4. Be polite.

These are paying customers. Even your panel mates. You’re in a customer service gig – smile like you are working as a retail cashier.

In video format, smile. And remember when talking … evergreen and open to the entire world. This is not the time to air any dirty laundry.

5. Get water.

An hour is a long time. Get water at the start because getting up during interrupts the show.

In video format, stick to water. Other items can become problematic while shooting. Milk products produce mucus; sodas gas (burbs and other noises). Adult beverages can limit the audience for your video. Another aspect is the reader who is watching your video is reading what you are drinking INSTEAD OF paying attention to you.

In addition, anything you bring to your mouth will be on screen. This is where the evergreen kicks in – sometimes companies do stupid things a year or ten down the line. Do you ALWAYS want to be associated with this company in every circumstance? 

6. Bathroom break.

Grab a bathroom break before going in if you can.

In video format, prep. Get everything ready that you will need. Test things out in advance for the video and sound and be ready when the “live” format begins.

 

Other Cool Blogs: Magical Words 6/2/2010

Erin Penn

Dragoncon 2019

Conventions are to writing as Facebook meal shots are to food. You don’t think that dozens to thousands of people on top of each other has anything to do with writing, but they do. Networking, career advice, and squealing when you realize, yes – that is EXACTLY who you think it is!!!! are just a few of the reasons to attend. Newbie writers to season pros, enthusiastic readers wanting to become beta reads to editor-publishers, fanfic artists to cover artists. Everyone has a place at the registration table and a reason to be rubbing elbows.

Faith Hunter provides lists of what a person should aim to get out of a con – as an unpublished writer, as a published writer, and as a reader – in the Magical Words 6/2/2010 “More on Cons” –

Other Cool Blogs: The Dennison Collective 7/14/2017

Erin Penn

February 2019 ConTagion – Muggles Market Two – Artist Side of the Convention Hall
Picture by Erin Penn

Tomorrow would have been when ConCarolinas begins. I have the sadz. Three long days of work as an editor-writer-student-audience-fan-professional missed. I paid for the tickets as soon as they went on sale last June (as I do every year), getting them for less than the cost of attending Saturday as a last-minute walk-in. I pay early – even if I hope to qualify for a free pass .

Because conventions are expensive y’all.

And not just to me. I want ConCarolinas to keep happening, so I throw money at it. I’m not even asking for a refund. It is my local convention and fairly awesome. (If you live in the greater Charlotte area – it is COMPLETELY worth the price of door-admission.)

A couple-few years back, Kara Denison published an article of “CONVENTIONS: Where Does Your Money Go?“

I already had a fairly good feel, having run over a dozen events of varying sizes myself. But there is a level of difference between a church-sized venue and a hotel convention hall. Food restrictions, extra costs for tables, etc. I already knew that nearly all the “guests” are really attendees, having to pay for food and hotel space.

But sometimes when I see the hotel staff down on the convention level with a table selling hot dogs and soda, I get sticker shock by the food since – especially at ConCarolinas – most things are reasonably-priced. (Meaning I’m only paying $20 for something crazy instead of $40, like at a RenFair.)

Read the article. The art of event budgeting should be properly admired for everything from a small book-con put on by a local college group to Atlanta’s DragonCon (one of the largest volunteer-run functions in the country) to San Diego Comic Con (put on by professionals, and a lot of volunteers). And think about all those cancelled conventions and what the cost is going to be to the smaller (and larger) conventions. Some cons aren’t going to be returning next year. Those that do are likely to be smaller and need several years to recover.

http://karadennison.blogspot.com/2017/06/conventions-where-does-your-money-go.html?spref=fb&m=1