Below are the 20 most recent journal entries recorded in Writercon's LiveJournal:

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Saturday, July 11th, 2009
2:31 pm [nwhepcat]	Scholarship plea I have a couple of requests for those who applied for and/or were awarded scholarships for Writercon 09. If you were awarded a scholarship and it turns out you are unable to attend, please let us know as soon as possible. It might work out that someone else could use your funds if we could let them know enough in advance to make plans to attend. If you applied but are still on the waiting list, please let us know if you know you definitely are coming even if you don't receive an award. If we get a very very late notification that someone's award won't be used, it would help us go immediately to someone who we know will attend rather than knocking on a lot of random doors and losing a lot of time. If you are on the waiting list and your plans have changed entirely, please let us know you won't be attending and we will withdraw your name from the scholarship drawing pool. I hope everyone will make it -- I'm looking forward to a grand time and meeting new fanfolk. (Comment on this)
Thursday, July 9th, 2009
9:36 am [mintwitch]	Words are the physicians of a mind diseased. Writercon is fast approaching, and I'm feeling out out out of the loop. I've got this vague gnawing feeling in my stomach, part anticipation, part nerves, and part craving. The first two will be solved when I land in MSP (assuming that Delta quits trying to rape and plunder my bank account), but the third can only be assuaged by fic. Lots and lots of fic. So, your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to rec me fic. Any fandom, any length, any anything. Point me to your favorite story, or stories. I will read it (or them) with joy and gratitude. You can even quiz me at the con, if you like! Current Mood: curious Current Music: Kaki King, "Dreaming of Revenge" (4 Comments |Comment on this)
Monday, July 6th, 2009
10:48 pm [missmurchison]	Fic library reminder I've been put in charge of the fic library for the Con Suite Hospitality Suite. This is a collection of hard copy fics that people can pick up and read during the con. On the last day, most of the fics are put up for "adoption" so congoers can grab something to read on the way home. It was popular at the last Writercon and details for participating are here. I need more fics in a wider variety of fandoms and types, so I'm asking again nicely. Don't make me come after you. P.S. Please spread the word on fic comms and forums. (10 Comments |Comment on this)
9:16 pm [nwhepcat]	Scholarship Announcement Hey, y'all! I just wanted to let those who applied for a scholarship know that all available scholarships for the 2009 Writercon have now been awarded, and our fundraising season has ended. Since our first round of announcements, we've been able to award two more, and notifications have gone out. If you haven't heard from me, your name wasn't chosen in our drawings. I wish we could have had enough funds to accommodate everyone who applied -- we want as many fanfic loving people at Writercon as can possibly attend. I'd also like to thank everyone who contributed donations to the fundraisers, and those who wrote drabbles for the Drabblefest pledges. It was a lot of fun to see such enthusiasm and creativity and generosity. And also thanks to the concom members who helped with administrative biz and comm modding, which helped me enormously. You've all been wonderful -- THANK YOU!!! (Comment on this)
1:22 pm [rm]	Wheat/Gluten allergies Wondering if anyone else going to the con has celiac disease or other Wheat or Gluten problems? I've friends in Minneapolis who will be taking me shopping for gluten-free goodies when I land, but I'm happy to pick stuff up for other people or the ConSuite if there's a demand. (1 Comment |Comment on this)
Sunday, July 5th, 2009
9:50 pm [rusty_halo]	Workshop Signups Closing We're closing Writercon workshop signups tonight. Please click here to sign up for workshops if you haven't yet. Remember that you have to be registered for the convention to sign up for workshops. Some (but not all) workshops will also have open slots at the convention. (Comment on this)
Thursday, July 2nd, 2009
9:52 am [inkandchocolate]	Hand Holding Wanted Is anyone getting in on Thursday evening who might be willing to lead me towards the hotel? I can get lost in a shoebox and really don't want to hack up $30 for a cab to the hotel. My flight gets in 8:30-ish, depending on the whims of the airlines, and I am willing to hang out at the airport for someone getting in later if they'll get me to the hotel. PS - I will bring chocolate. Really. Lots. :) EDIT: Got two kind souls to help me out, which is further proof of fandom being a big giant mass of totally amazing people. Thanks everyone!! (11 Comments |Comment on this)
Wednesday, July 1st, 2009
6:13 pm [lilachigh]	Nervous laughter rings out I have been given a whole hour and a half to answer questions about the differences between British and American culture, class, education, law, whatever, etc. Eeek! I thought I would just sit in a corner of the bar and field the odd question but I have a time and a room and - what if no one comes in? So, with this in mind, if there is a question you want to ask and you get a moment, e mail me in advance at lilachigh@mac.com or through LJ. I can field the basic questions but if there is something that needs a little more research then a few days grace would be useful. This isn't supposed to be a group where you have to stay for the whole session. You can just ask a question and flee to the next group. And do at least put your head round the door at some point and give me a wave. I'll be the one sitting by herself in an empty room! (9 Comments |Comment on this)
Tuesday, June 30th, 2009
8:55 pm [spiralleds]	Ever been plagiarized? Besides being on Con Comm as the Volunteer Chair, I am also one of the mods at stop_plagiarism. Because of that role, I will be part of a session on plagiarism at Writercon. We're interested in including the perspective of a person who has had a story or stories plagiarized. So if you've been plagiarized (doesn't matter if it was investigated via stop_plagiarism or not), and you might be willing to be part of a panel on the topic, please comment in this post. I've got comment screening on, which means you can reply, share of a bit of your story, and seek out more details before making a commitment. Thank you! (Comment on this)
10:41 am [scarlettgirl]	Hotel Deadline Can you believe we are only one month away from Writercon? It seems like just yesterday we starting planning for 2009. I just wanted to remind everyone that July 7 is the last day in which to make your guaranteed hotel reservation at the Radisson Plaza Hotel. After today, reservations will be subject to availability and the prevailing rates may apply. So make those reservations soon! More information and links to the hotel can be found HERE. Further - if you've made a hotel reservation that you do not attend to keep, please contact the hotel and let them know. It affects all sorts of boring administrative things like attrition and catering budgets. Thanks guys! Thirty days..OMG! (4 Comments |Comment on this)
Friday, June 26th, 2009
4:02 pm [mintwitch]	Magic Box and CafePress Writercon is only about a month away. OMG! I've ordered the T-Shirts from the printer, so if you haven't already placed your order onWritercon.com, I highly recommend do that soon. Attendance is lower this year, so we've ordered fewer T-Shirts-- only 25 each in M, L, XL, & XXL. I can't guarantee all sizes will be available on-site. Sorry! Also, the CafePress store is open for business. CafePress ain't quick, so if you want swag to arrive before the convention, order soon. (Comment on this)
2:03 pm [scarlettgirl]	Workshops, Panels and Writercon..oh my! Just a quick update to let everyone know where we stand on our workshops. We had a great response to our pre-registration and everyone who signed up for Salon or Inner Lives workshop has been notified via email. These workshops are full and there is a waiting list. If you've not received an email, please let me know and I'll let you know your status. I'm also happy to report that our third, limited-attendance workshop, Weird Americana: Local History as Source and Background Material for Supernatural Fanfic. presented by our guest, Debra Doyle, quickly maxed out but she has graciously agreed to open up the workshop to those who were on the waiting list. Congrats! The workshop looks fascinating. If you registered for any workshop not listed above, you were accepted. With the exception of Martha Wells' "Making The Leap" (which had a large enough cap that everyone was accepted), all workshops had no limit and could accommodate everyone who registered. We are also sending out panel invitations and notices this week. I want to apologize for the delay but our programming chair had to deal with an unexpected and tragic family emergency. I know you all join me in wishing harmonyfb the very best during this difficult time. We're nearing our one month countdown...I can't wait to see everyone in Minneapolis! (5 Comments |Comment on this)
Wednesday, June 24th, 2009
2:23 pm [rm]	Sharks Vs Jets: Writing Fight Scenes -- poll! If you are planning to attend or are even considering attending the Sharks Vs Jets: Writing Fight Scenes workshop, I would love if you could fill out the poll below, so that I can tailor my material (handouts! there will be handouts!) more specifically to people's needs. Also, please feel free to comment with anything more specific you're looking for answers on, stuff about what you're working on, what you're hoping to get out of the session and so forth. Thanks! Poll #1420587 Sharks Vs Jets: Writing Fight Scenes Open to: All, detailed results viewable to: All I am working on fiction involving View Answers hand-to-hand combat 15 (83.3%) bladed weapons (swords, knives, etc.) 15 (83.3%) historical guns 2 (11.1%) modern guns 7 (38.9%) futuristic weapons 5 (27.8%) weapons with some sort of magical component 7 (38.9%) I am particularly looking for information on View Answers combat strategy 12 (66.7%) technical information about weapons 3 (16.7%) results of specific forms of violence 8 (44.4%) training necessary for particular types of fighting 6 (33.3%) writing technique -- I understand violence, but want input on ways to depict it 17 (94.4%) I have studied or have other personal exerience with View Answers Eastern martial arts (karate, akido, etc.) 7 (87.5%) Western marial arts (historical fencing, boxing, etc.) 0 (0.0%) sport/Olympic fencing 1 (12.5%) firearms 5 (62.5%) (Comment on this)
Wednesday, June 17th, 2009
11:51 pm [michelel72]	Fiction Exchange community I had previously floated the possibility of a less formal fiction workshop exchange and there was some interest. I've submitted for a Fan Led Event, but as support I've now also created a new community: The Writercon Fiction Exchange at wcon_fixchange. It's a moderated-membership community so that participants may feel more confident about posting works that aren't necessarily ready for publication. It's meant only for Writercon folk. The theory is that participants will post their works, all participants will prepare feedback on whichever works they feel qualified to address, and the feedback will be delivered at the con. If the Fan Led Event is approved, we will use that timeslot; if it is not, we will make other plans for convention workshopping of submissions. (If authors turn out to prefer feedback on their posts, this plan may change.) At this time, I am accepting memberships for people who want to give workshop feedback but not necessarily submit their own works. If submitting authors object, that may change. I've written an introductory post and guidelines here. I'm currently the only moderator, so there may be slight delays, but I will attempt to address requests as quickly as possible. Anyone both interested and prepared to participate is invited. Feedback, suggestions, commentary, or criticism encouraged. Current Mood: contemplative (Comment on this)
Sunday, June 7th, 2009
1:25 pm [nwhepcat]	SundaySundaySUNDAY!!!! Steel cage grudge match!!!!! Vote via donation to the Writercon Scholarship Fund: Kripke vs. Joss vs. J.J.!!! Three enter ... only one returns. Unless there's a tie. Then it might be two. But if there's a three-way tie, all three might emerge. So anything can happen, really. Please enter donation amount (minimum $2.00): $ Choose: Eric Kripke Joss Whedon J. J. Abrams Winner will be announced ... soon. Go forth! Vonate! (Comment on this)
Sunday, May 31st, 2009
1:33 am [rusty_halo]	Lead a Fan-Led Event! Deadline Today Midnight EST As we put together the final version of our schedule, we're doing our best to work in as many fan-led events as possible. Fan-led events are just that -- events run by you. We'll hook you up with a space and put your event on the schedule; you'll control how it runs. It can be a panel, discussion, informal gathering, or an all-out party. Since we need to get the final schedule figured out soon, we've set Sunday May 31 at midnight EST as the deadline for fan-led event submissions. If you want to run an event, please get your submissions in asap! We can't guarantee that we'll be able to accommodate every event, but we're certainly going to do our best. If you want to gauge interest for a potential topic, feel free to post at the Writercon LiveJournal community or at the Writercon.com forum to see if others are interested. Click here to submit a fan-led event! (Comment on this)
Thursday, May 28th, 2009
4:08 pm [missmurchison]	Anyone in need of a ride from Eastern Iowa? I'm driving up to Writercon on Thursday, July 30, and coming back on Monday. I'd be happy to pick up anyone who needs a ride from Iowa City or north of there. Just comment or email me. (4 Comments |Comment on this)
Wednesday, May 27th, 2009
6:36 pm [missmurchison]	Call for Fics for the Writercon Library The Writercon Fic Library is different from the Writercon Archive maintained by chrisleeoctaves. (That is a wonderful resource, so if you haven't already, go visit and submit fic.) But back to the Fic Library. It is, or will be, a much more ephemeral collection of fic that will be available in the Hospitality Suite. Con goers can enjoy a story during downtime or check one out for a few hours. If you would like to submit a hard copy of a story or stories, email me at missmurchison at gmail dot com with the following info: -title -author -fandom -pairing or gen -approximate word count (see below for length restrictions) -short summary (100 words or less for our labels - longer summaries can go on the first page of your fic) -website (if you would like this included) -whether you will mail your fic or bring it with you Print out your fic, 3-hole punch the pages, and put them in a report binder. (Cheapest kind works fine. But loose pages get torn and lost easily.) If you aren't attending, email me and I'll let you know where to mail the fic or, if it's short, I'll print it for you. I'll bring along extra binders and labels for all the fic I'm informed about ahead of time. I'll also create a "catalog" that I'll post online to make it easier for people to find fic they didn't have time to finish or other fic by the same author. On the last day of the con, all the fics will be put up for adoption unless otherwise noted. Last time, people grabbed the stories to read on the trip back and everything had a home. So if you want your hard copy back, mark this information clearly on the front cover. Fic requirements -If you submit more than one fic, provide stories from different categories and fandoms, if possible. We'd like a good variety. -You may submit fics of up to 20,000 words. (Yes, you may go 500 words over that limit. No, don't send all of your 300,000 word saga. Remember, it's just a weekend con!) -If you want to share a fic of over 20,000 words, print out a sample and/or provide a URL for the rest of the story. -If you have several short fics, please consider submitting them together, especially if they are part of a series. -Collections of drabbles and other very short fics may be submitted - in fact they're a great idea. But please place as many as possible in one collection and provide a title for the collection, not the individual fics. For instance, print out all your drabbles about a particular 'ship and label them "Spectacular and Sexy Spander Shorts." Or group them by rating, fandom, etc. Let me know if you have any questions or if you notice I've forgotten something important. (27 Comments |Comment on this)
Sunday, May 24th, 2009
1:36 pm [lilachigh]	Being a Brit! Hi, not sure if I'm the only Brit coming to Writercon in July. Surely not! But, anyway, I was wondering if there would be any call for me to answer any questions anyone might have about customs, way of life, education systems, anything really that you might need if you are working with a British background or characters? I know myself that anything to do with American schools and colleges always confuses me because the system is so different. I thought I might sit in a corner somewhere and people could just ask me questions if they wanted to, but only if you thought people might want to ask! (The grammar of that sentence is dreadful, but sure you know what I mean!) (13 Comments |Comment on this)
Saturday, May 23rd, 2009
11:34 pm [michelel72]	Testing the waters: Beta tips and tricks? I had thought I had seen reference to a session on how to "Be a Better Beta", but I'm not seeing that on the tentative schedule now. Given that, would anyone be interested in a round-table or panel sort of thing about beta duties? Whether you've never or almost never been a beta (hi!) and want to know how to do a good job, or you're a Big Name Beta with good advice to offer, or you're an author who has never used a beta and wants to know what the big deal is, or you're an editor who wants to know the difference between editing and beta-reading ... if you're interested in sitting around and chatting about that, please let me know. If there's sufficient interest, I can submit for a Fan-Led Event. Along those lines, if you would want to be on a panel for such an event, or even would want to run it, please feel free to say -- I'm willing to be the point person if needed, and I'd like to see this kind of content, but I'm not particularly possessive about it. Meanwhile, if I've just misread the website and there will be all sorts of beta-related content, or if someone out there has already submitted for an event along these lines, feel free to slap me upside the head here, too. Current Mood: curious (3 Comments |Comment on this)