Origins On Saturday with Steve

I’m currently at Origins in Columbus – and here’s my schedule for today! When I’m not actively on a panel, I will most likely be at the Library area in the dealer’s room – stop by and say hi to us!

Saturday:

Rm 226 – 11 AM: Setting As Character. In some tales the setting is as key as the heroes and villains who stride across the landscape. Some writers are able to paint their setting so well that their readers sweat in the bayou, shiver in the arctic, and gag in the swamp. We’ll discuss techniques for turning your story’s backdrop into a place so vibrant, mysterious, scary, or enchanting that the reader will feel a part of it . . . and all without letting your prose go purple. Panelists: Jean Rabe, Marc Tassin, Steven Saus

Rm 226 – 12 PM: Writing Right—Dialog and Language: Whatchu wanna learn ‘bout writing conversations? There’s a right method for capturing dialects and slang without making your readers strain their brains in an effort to fathom what you mean. Learn the techniques for adding flavor and a smidgen of grammatical incorrectness. Panelists also discuss creating languages to make your worlds come alive. How do you keep your characters from having names and discussions that look like someone slapped the keyboard? Panelists: Steven Saus, Walter Hunt, Janine Garner.

Rm 226 – 2 PM: Nothing But ‘Net. Our web gurus demonstrate that the Internet is a great writing tool. But if you spend too much time hooked to it, you won’t have time to write. They’ll show you what resources are worth using, what you should stay away from, and how to avoid Internet addiction. They’ll also cover web pages, blogs, Twitter, and various writer-help sites. Panelists: Steven Saus, Bryan Young

Rm 226 – 4 PM: The Business of Writing: Agents, Query Letters, and Taxes. The fun part is writing your story. But there’s a “work’” element to consider and we’ll cover that here . . . agents, expenses, tax deductions, contracts, conventions, and more. Panelists: Jean Rabe, Walter Hunt, Steven Saus

Rm 226 – 5 PM: The Techniques of Terror: Our resident horror-masters discuss how you can frighten your readers. What writing tools do you need to send shivers down their spines? They cover the different styles of horror writing and who are the best authors working in the genre today. Panelists: Steven Saus, Bryan Young, Marc Tassin

Rm 216 – 6PM: Reading: I’ll be reading (most likely) "Kicking the Habit" and "Hero, Everyday".