Christopher D. Votey's Blog, page 17
June 20, 2014
Madness Blog-Con PC 14 – Janni Lee Simner
One of the tough things about visit booths is that writer’s hope you will buy their book. They never put that pressure on people coming up to their booth, nor do they mention it. I do feel a bit guilty that I can’t buy one of their books and support them even more. However, that guilt is my own doing.
I swear one of these years, I’ll bring $1000 with me so I can buy one book from each author I can. Now just to get the $1000.
Here we are with Janni Lee Simner
As with all authors, I scour websites...
Madness Blog-Con PC 14 – Tom Leveen
Any great experience you have is met with a great memory. The great thing about Comicon is that there are many opportunities to have a great experience. Each panel you go to, each party you attend, and every person you meet is a new chance to have an unforgettable memory.
The key to a great memory is getting out there and getting it. Rarely does it come to you.
On our next stop, we get a chance encounter with Tom Leveen.
Tom Leveen was born and raised in Arizona, where he currently lives with hi...
Plot and Character Assassination – Star Trek VI: Battle for Peace (explained)
Welcome to Plot and Character Assassination. Each article will discuss various plot and character concept we find in a variety of media, putting them into the squared circle and dissecting them down to their very core to understand them in a way that only writers can. From this, we can gain new insight that we may not previously had and obtain a new understanding.
This article discusses the final battle of Star Trek VI. Now maybe it is the nerd in me, but when I watch a movie that I’ve seen ma...
June 19, 2014
Madness Blog-Con PC 14 – Jason M. Hough
The best advice I can offer you in getting noticed is asking a lot of questions. This is more important during a panel than at a booth, but still applies. A number of writers I met recognized me because I asked questions during panels and they were like, “Hey, I remember you”. It also helps I was wearing a browncoats shirt… and who doesn’t like browncoats.
Today we visit Jason M. Hough.
Before Jason was a writer, he was a 3D artist, animator, and game designer. Having worked on Metal Fatigue, A...
Madness Blog-Con PC 14 – Danielle L Jensen
When you meet a writer, you want to ask them all sorts of questions. Where did they get their ideas, how long did they want to become a writer, at what point did they realize they wanted to become a writer.
Then when you get a chance to talk to them, you ask them none of these questions. Thankfully, we live in the world of the interwebz and we can find all sorts of information as writers do like a bit of the spotlight and they tell their story.
Today we visit Danielle L. Jensen.
Danielle was bor...
June 18, 2014
Madness Blog-Con PC 14 – Austin Aslan
It’s easy to forget that not everyone starts off writing. We meet these wonderful writers and imagine that they spent their time doing only writing and became successful. Perhaps it is because that is what we want, so we imbue it on others.
Often times, like ourselves, writing is something done on the side, a hobby hoping to make a career. We are all there, but the most important thing is to take a dream and try to make it into something real.
I introduce Austin Aslan, who has had a full life b...
Madness Blog-Con PC 14 – Leanna Renee Hieber
An interesting experience I had in meeting with Authors, especially novelists, is that they wanted to know more about me as a person over what I was writing. I admit that I myself want to know the people behind a book more than the book itself, though I thought I was unique in that.
It is great to find that some of your idiosyncrasies are shared by other successful people and you definitely feel you are in the right place.
One of the few people I remember really well from the con is Leanna Rene...
June 17, 2014
Worldbuilding #7 – Deserts
Time for another thrilling edition of my Worldbuilding series. Thanks to the reddit community, my series has picked up in popularity. In the last week, I’ve had over 300 views, which is over double what I had the prior month. I plan to produce these articles a little more often.
Most sources I see for worldbuilding recommend designing your tectonic plates first then your continents, followed by mountains. Or, your continents first, then your mountains. I go in a different direction, doing dese...
Madness Blog-Con PC 14 – Gerimi Burleigh
Initially when I went to Comicon, I was going only to meet the novelists. After my first day there, I met the majority of them. I then realized, that if I only did that, the rest of my time there would be quite boring. So I decided to go see everyone. To my surprise, those who I thought were artists, were also authors themselves. There’s a lesson to be learned here, cast a wide net.
In doing so, one of the people I met was Gerimi Burleigh. Not only is he a great artist, but also a fantastic wr...
Madness Blog-Con PC 14 – Jamie Wyman
Comicon brings out the most diverse group of people. It’s a culture like no other, with everyone having a different story to tell. It’s really good to talk to people, as you never know what hidden treasure awaits at the next booth.
For our next booth, we have Jamie Wyman. I do not remember a lot of details in our conversation, but I do recall getting some pictures and her having encouraging words.
I find Jamie to be a great inspiration. Sometimes when we start our lives, we have a focus on what...
