New Miscon Schedule

I’ve got a new schedule at Miscon, the Missoula Scifi/Fantasy convention May 26-29th. If you’re planning to go, here’s where you can expect to see me:

panel Fri 1:00 – 1:50 PM, Meet & Greet Signings, Spotlight

Panelists: Daniel Bensen, Carol Berg, Guy Pace

Meet a few of our authors, get signatures, and see what they’re up to these days.

panel Fri 5:00 – 5:50 PM, How to Appear Human, Rocket Tent (1)

Panelists: Daniel Bensen, C.J. Cherryh, Jane Fancher, Tex Thompson

We all want to make friends on Earth, but we don’t always know how. Human social customs are strange and complex, and can baffle even the most well-meaning being. Make the most of your time at this convention by learning some ways to have fun while talking to humans.

panel Fri 6:00 – 6:50 PM, Care and Feeding of a Writers’ Critique Group, Madison

Panelists: Daniel Bensen, David Boop, Guy Pace, D.L Solum

Over the course of this weekend, we want you to do have opportunities to create, mold, and join writers’ groups, so in this panel we’ll discuss how you find, maintain, and organize a writers’ group. We’ll learn how to give and take critiques, and how to use those critiques to improve your writing (ie: what do you use and what do you ignore?).

panel Sat 11:00 – 11:50 AM, How People Actually Learn Languages, Glacier

Panelists: Daniel Bensen

It doesn’t happen in a montage. Language-learning is much harder, and much more interesting, than most books and movies make it look. It has a lot to do with the inner workings of both our minds and our cultures.

panel Sat 2:00 – 2:50 PM, Build a Better Monster, Dragon Pavilion (1)

Panelists: Daniel Bensen

Build a Better Monster: Biology and Creature Design in Scifi and Fantasy

Not all monsters are created evil. The best ones don’t look like they were created at all, but evolved like real animals. We’ll talk about the ecology, bio-mechanics, and phylogeny of creature-creation — that’s everything you need but the test tube full of mutagen.

panel Sun 1:00 – 1:50 PM, Building Immersive Worlds, Glacier

Panelists: Daniel Bensen, Larry Bonham, Alyson Peterson, Peter Wacks (pjwacks)

We know an immersive, deep world when we see it. Everything just fits together, in casual, unforced fashion. Sometimes the best researched and written worlds aren’t immersive. Heinlein claims it’s all about same until proven otherwise, but other authors insist it is the other way around. Our authors will discuss classic world building techniques, mistakes and go-to solutions.

panel Sun 5:00 – 5:50 PM, Kingdoms Outside Europe, Gallatin

Panelists: Daniel Bensen

Your fantasy kingdom doesn’t have to be based on Plantagenet England. Why not the Ottoman Empire, the Aztec Triple Alliance, Heian Japan? There are a lot of ways to be a king.

Panelist: Daniel Bensen

Some of the panels only have me as a panelist? But I’m sure they’ll fix that. Anyway, I’ll be there. I’ll probably also be at these juicy-looking panels:

Retro versus Future Noir (Writing, Geek Discussion)

Sat 10:00 – 10:50 AM, (Jefferson)

Pros and Guests: M. H. Bonham (Maggie), David Boop, Jill Bowers, Joyce Reynolds-Ward

Moderator: David Boop

Dark mysteries set in the past, or in the future, have very specific tropes. What do these two genres have in common, and where do they diverge?

Writing Alternate Histories (Writing)

Sun 3:00 – 3:50 PM, (Gallatin)

Pros and Guests: Jill Bowers, Eric Scott Fischl, Tex Thompson

How do you write alternative history? How much do you really need to know about the original timeline to make a convincing fork in the road? Where, when and why do you sprinkle in details to give a sense of time, and alternative time? Where’s the line between enough and trying too hard.

Write a Story on the Fly, Vol 3 (Writing)

Mon 1:00 – 1:50 PM, (Dragon Pavilion)

Pros and Guests: Spencer G. Ellsworth, Tex Thompson, Krista Wallace

Moderator: Krista Wallace

In this panel, the panelists will improv a story on the fly, one sentence at a time. It will be written down as they go, and will be read aloud at the end. Promises to be a rolickin’ good time!

See the whole schedule

See you there I hope!