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Nov. 28th, 2009 10:49 pmI spent today at the Freecon. I spent the early evening at a nice Italian place in Haberfield, being happy with friends. As we left, the waiters and other diners walked past the table to see Llyn's sketch of the street. Tonight I'm watching good TV in good company. All this explains the sad randomness of my convention report,
The Freecon was fun. I was given leave to not be on the movie panel (claiming lack of movie knowledge) as long as I heckled from the audience – I asked exactly one question, which just shows how wise I was to beg off the panel. My reading was postponed until the afternoon, which meant I wasn't on a panel with Kate Forsyth (sob).
Ater her reading, Kate was asked a question about dreams and stereotypes and archetypes. She pointed out that you get the universal in novels by writing the particular ie creating strong individuals. Pamela Freeman had issue with Jung having convinced people about the truth of archetypes without clear demonstration that they existed.
What struck me was the number of Aussie spec fic writers who either have doctorates or are getting them. An intelligent mob. Also a mob that has interesting discussions because the theory and understanding of writing are so clearly related.
I did a quick tally of writers present here and at Conflux and their day jobs. There are public servants, scientists, newspaper/magazine bods, martial artists, computer bods, doctors, teachers of various types, lawyers, writers (ie day job is writer, including fiction, NF, technical, etc)
Nyssa was there and reminded folks about Awritergoesonajourney's latest competition (worth checking out – books as prizes! I can find you the URL when I'm home and using a normal size keyboard, if you want it). Next Carnival is mid-December, BTW and you can send suggestions of blogposts to Nyssa. That's not 'can' – it's 'should.' Otherwise how will the rest of us find out about all the cool stuff out there?
Writers who read before lunch: Richard Harland, Pamela Freeman, Kate Forsyth, Alan Baxter, Terry Dowling. I've already written here about Alan's books and about Pamela's trilogy (if this all happened too long ago, I can talk about them again. Just tell me.
One of the fine things about attending the same event year after year is being able to follow the progress of writers, and Alan and Pamela and Richard have had fascinating career developments in recent years.
Kate's writing has entered a magic zone recently. It just works, on so many levels. She's found a perfect place and is writing from it. I need to put her new books on my shelves with Elizabeth Beresford and Edith Nesbitt and Nicholas Stuart Gray. They have that same sense of magic and mysterious pasts being just a step way from our everyday.
Now I'm going to inflict liveblogging. It's irresistible. Richard Harland is interviewing Van Ikin
Richard has asked Van about SF in Australia in 1970s. There wasn't much, it seems. Van called one reviewer 'the beacon of science fiction.' Jh Baxter 1960s Pacific SF -that was about it. Paul Collins then appeared and did anthologies (I have at least one of these! time to revisit, since I doubt I've read it in the last 20 years).
Van Ikin wrote to Anne Saxton asking where to send SF stories in Australia. She said.”Send them to America,” but she also gave him one single address (Murrays in Sydney). He wrote and rewrote a story until it finally was published: he was paid $21. He didn't know what magazine, so asked a receptionist. He was called into an office, and eventually was given a paper in an envelope, July 1967 issue of Pocket Man, “Mum, I truly didn't know.” Damien Broderick, Albert Vann, A Bertram Chandler all published in that sort of magazine.
Van teaches at the University of Western Australia. Richard asked him “What problems do writers have?” For students in their first 3 years, it's often – translating a tremendous idea into structured actions. Van says need to find one's own way. Stick to who you are and do what you can do. Students' solutions, even if feeble, are the first proper step on the way to a real solution.
He also said that it's ery hard to rewrite entirely from a false draft – you will hear the echoes of the original. Also that students are a bit conservative in modelling new tech because their models are dated ie many people writing from their reading experience rather than from their lives.
And for the whole of the afternoon I was on panels or giving readings. No live blogging. so that's an end of Gillian-the-reporter.
The Freecon was fun. I was given leave to not be on the movie panel (claiming lack of movie knowledge) as long as I heckled from the audience – I asked exactly one question, which just shows how wise I was to beg off the panel. My reading was postponed until the afternoon, which meant I wasn't on a panel with Kate Forsyth (sob).
Ater her reading, Kate was asked a question about dreams and stereotypes and archetypes. She pointed out that you get the universal in novels by writing the particular ie creating strong individuals. Pamela Freeman had issue with Jung having convinced people about the truth of archetypes without clear demonstration that they existed.
What struck me was the number of Aussie spec fic writers who either have doctorates or are getting them. An intelligent mob. Also a mob that has interesting discussions because the theory and understanding of writing are so clearly related.
I did a quick tally of writers present here and at Conflux and their day jobs. There are public servants, scientists, newspaper/magazine bods, martial artists, computer bods, doctors, teachers of various types, lawyers, writers (ie day job is writer, including fiction, NF, technical, etc)
Nyssa was there and reminded folks about Awritergoesonajourney's latest competition (worth checking out – books as prizes! I can find you the URL when I'm home and using a normal size keyboard, if you want it). Next Carnival is mid-December, BTW and you can send suggestions of blogposts to Nyssa. That's not 'can' – it's 'should.' Otherwise how will the rest of us find out about all the cool stuff out there?
Writers who read before lunch: Richard Harland, Pamela Freeman, Kate Forsyth, Alan Baxter, Terry Dowling. I've already written here about Alan's books and about Pamela's trilogy (if this all happened too long ago, I can talk about them again. Just tell me.
One of the fine things about attending the same event year after year is being able to follow the progress of writers, and Alan and Pamela and Richard have had fascinating career developments in recent years.
Kate's writing has entered a magic zone recently. It just works, on so many levels. She's found a perfect place and is writing from it. I need to put her new books on my shelves with Elizabeth Beresford and Edith Nesbitt and Nicholas Stuart Gray. They have that same sense of magic and mysterious pasts being just a step way from our everyday.
Now I'm going to inflict liveblogging. It's irresistible. Richard Harland is interviewing Van Ikin
Richard has asked Van about SF in Australia in 1970s. There wasn't much, it seems. Van called one reviewer 'the beacon of science fiction.' Jh Baxter 1960s Pacific SF -that was about it. Paul Collins then appeared and did anthologies (I have at least one of these! time to revisit, since I doubt I've read it in the last 20 years).
Van Ikin wrote to Anne Saxton asking where to send SF stories in Australia. She said.”Send them to America,” but she also gave him one single address (Murrays in Sydney). He wrote and rewrote a story until it finally was published: he was paid $21. He didn't know what magazine, so asked a receptionist. He was called into an office, and eventually was given a paper in an envelope, July 1967 issue of Pocket Man, “Mum, I truly didn't know.” Damien Broderick, Albert Vann, A Bertram Chandler all published in that sort of magazine.
Van teaches at the University of Western Australia. Richard asked him “What problems do writers have?” For students in their first 3 years, it's often – translating a tremendous idea into structured actions. Van says need to find one's own way. Stick to who you are and do what you can do. Students' solutions, even if feeble, are the first proper step on the way to a real solution.
He also said that it's ery hard to rewrite entirely from a false draft – you will hear the echoes of the original. Also that students are a bit conservative in modelling new tech because their models are dated ie many people writing from their reading experience rather than from their lives.
And for the whole of the afternoon I was on panels or giving readings. No live blogging. so that's an end of Gillian-the-reporter.