WFC, Day 2 (Friday)
Nov. 1st, 2004 10:27 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
klwilliamsFriday morning Ann and I wandered over to the con suite for breakfast, which was conveniently four doors down from our room. We met interesting people there, including Tamara Siler something, who just had a book out, and was very smart and nice. We also ran into Eileen Gunn, who unfortunately (for me) lives in Seattle now. I got to catch up some with her before she ran off to her 10:00 panel ("Children Characters in Fantasy and Horror"), which Ann and I went to soon afterwards. The panel was fun, and afterwards we wandered around the dealer's room, where I bought (surprise, surprise) books, including a book of ballads illustrated by Charles Vess, and Eileen's new collection of stories, which I got signed.
After that, Ann and I went back to the con suite for lunch (sponsored by next year's WFC committee), then I went to "Making Her Real", a panel on making sure your characters aren't cliches. This wasn't as satisfactory a panel as it could have been, since all of the writers on it (Charles de Lint, Fred Saberhagen, Jo Walton, and moderator Louise Marley) don't write cliched characters, and were too nice to use examples to illustrate their points. They did explain how they go about creating characters, including discussing the pros and cons of making out detailed biographies of characters, etc. It was also fun to see Fred Saberhagen, who is one of those giants in the field who has been writing longer than I've been alive.
After that I went to my second favorite panel of the convention, "Mistakes in Creating Strong Female Characters", with Jennifer Roberson, Gwyneth Jones, Doranna Durgin, David B. Coe as the token male, and Kate Elliott.
One of the points that was interesting was the difference between inner and outer strength, and that "Conan with a bra" as a female character type was a first step on a path towards realistic strong female characters.
After that I was starving, and went to lunch with Alis, David (briefly), a very nice friend of Alis's named Maria (who was at her first WFC), and Sherwood. It was great catching up with them (and meeting Maria), and we ate and talked for several hours. In fact, by the time we were done it was almost time for dinner.
Later that evening I went to the autograph reception, held in the dimly lit courtyard, with long tables filled with writers with pens. I had brought a co-worker's copy of the latest Stephen Donaldson book, which I got signed, and I wandered around and said hi to a bunch of friends I hadn't yet run into. I also got my illustrated ballads book signed by Charles Vess, who was stuck in a corner next to his friend Charles de Lint, who had a very long line of people in front of him.
After the reception was over, Ann and I bailed on the various parties and went to sleep instead.
After that, Ann and I went back to the con suite for lunch (sponsored by next year's WFC committee), then I went to "Making Her Real", a panel on making sure your characters aren't cliches. This wasn't as satisfactory a panel as it could have been, since all of the writers on it (Charles de Lint, Fred Saberhagen, Jo Walton, and moderator Louise Marley) don't write cliched characters, and were too nice to use examples to illustrate their points. They did explain how they go about creating characters, including discussing the pros and cons of making out detailed biographies of characters, etc. It was also fun to see Fred Saberhagen, who is one of those giants in the field who has been writing longer than I've been alive.
After that I went to my second favorite panel of the convention, "Mistakes in Creating Strong Female Characters", with Jennifer Roberson, Gwyneth Jones, Doranna Durgin, David B. Coe as the token male, and Kate Elliott.
One of the points that was interesting was the difference between inner and outer strength, and that "Conan with a bra" as a female character type was a first step on a path towards realistic strong female characters.
After that I was starving, and went to lunch with Alis, David (briefly), a very nice friend of Alis's named Maria (who was at her first WFC), and Sherwood. It was great catching up with them (and meeting Maria), and we ate and talked for several hours. In fact, by the time we were done it was almost time for dinner.
Later that evening I went to the autograph reception, held in the dimly lit courtyard, with long tables filled with writers with pens. I had brought a co-worker's copy of the latest Stephen Donaldson book, which I got signed, and I wandered around and said hi to a bunch of friends I hadn't yet run into. I also got my illustrated ballads book signed by Charles Vess, who was stuck in a corner next to his friend Charles de Lint, who had a very long line of people in front of him.
After the reception was over, Ann and I bailed on the various parties and went to sleep instead.
