Tag Archives: Dragon*Con

Celebration VI Odds and Ends

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If you’re going to be in attendance at Celebration VI and want to catch up with us (we’re not scary, I promise), you can find us with this tentative schedule. As we’ve mentioned before, we do have some Tosche Station swag to hand out! If you time things right, you might even get to be an impromptu guest on this week’s podcast.

I’d also suggest that if you’re going to CVI or any major convention, you head on over to Club Jade and read their convention tips. There’s a lot of practical advice to survive cons as well as some behavioral advice.

Looking for an interesting event or two to attend at Celebration VI? Give one of the author workshop panels a chance. Even if you’re not a writer yourself, it’s fascinating to see how their creative processes work. Aaron Allston and Timothy Zahn in particular put on great clinics that you should check out. As a note, if you’re going to be at Dragon*Con, you should consider attending Mike Stackpole’s 21 Days to a Novel workshop as well.

Can’t make it to Celebration VI? Don’t worry, we’ve got you covered. Both Nanci and myself will be at major panels and events where announcements are likely to occur, such as the Dark Horse 2013 and Future of Star Wars Books panels. While we will have blog posts up shortly after such events recapping the news, you can get that information even faster by following the official blog and podcast Twitter account.

For various observations, hastily taken cell phone pictures, and snark from the conventions themselves, you can also follow both myself and Nanci on Twitter.

Aaron Allston’s Celebration VI and Dragon*Con Schedule

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Expanded Universe author Aaron Allston has updated his appearance schedule to note just where he’s going to be at both Celebration VI and Dragon*Con. As we’ve said before on the blog and the podcast, Allston is a fantastic guest to sit down and listen to. If you’ve got a chance to see one of his panels or writing workshops, you owe it to yourself to do so. 

Celebration VI

  • Friday 10:30 am-11:30 am, Behind the Scenes Stage (W414 ABCD): What’s Coming From Del Rey.
    “Acclaimed Star Wars authors Aaron Allston, Troy Denning, Drew Karpyshyn, James Luceno, and Timothy Zahn join Shelly Shapiro of Del Rey and Jennifer Heddle of Lucasfilm to reveal what’s coming next in best-selling Star Wars fiction.”
  • Friday 2:30 pm-3:30 pm, Star Wars University (W300):
    Laying Down Tracks: A Different Way to Write Your Novel.
    “Most people writing their first few novels start with an outline, or just a sense of how the early chapters should progress, and then write straight through to the end. But that’s not necessarily the best method for all novelists. In this seminar,New York Times bestselling author Aaron Allston (X-Wing: Mercy Kill) discusses an alternate method of novel writing intended to capitalize on each writer’s individual strengths and passions. This method helps bypass some causes of writer’s block, invokes ‘flow state’ writing, and prevents the sort of discouragement that can kill a novel. If you’ve ever wondered whether the standard novel-writing methods are holding you back, come to ‘Laying Down Tracks.'”
  • Friday 6:00 pm-7:00 pm, Barnes & Noble Booth (Booth #129):
    Signing. Aaron Allston, Troy Denning.
  • Saturday 3:00 pm-4:00 pm, Barnes & Noble Booth (Booth #129):
    Signing. Aaron Allston, Troy Denning.
  • Sunday, 11:00 am, Del Rey Booth (Booth #910):
    Del Rey 2012 Star Wars Sampler Signing.
    Drew Karpyshyn, Timothy Zahn, James Luceno, Aaron Allston, Troy Denning, John Jackson Miller.
Dragon*Con
  • Friday 2:30 pm-3:30 pm, Seminar 4:
    Talk to Me: Dialogue.
    “Aaron Allston discusses the art of writing dialogue — to improve characterization, to influence the reader’s responses, and to deliver the emotional wallop your story needs.”
    Room: Hanover A-B (Hyatt). Additional seminar charge will apply.
  • Friday 4:00 pm-5:00 pm, Seminar 5:
    Description.
    “Have your descriptive passages become blocks of text that stop your story cold? Aaron Allston discusses techniques to transform those passages into memorable experience that propel your story to its conclusion.”
    Room: Hanover A-B (Hyatt). Additional seminar charge will apply.
  • Friday 5:30 pm-6:30 pm:
    Meet Your Favorite Star Wars Authors.
    “Have a burning question for your favorite authors? They’ll be here to talk to you!” Panelists TBA.
    Room: A706 (Marriott)
  • Saturday 1:00 pm-2:00 pm, Seminar 8:
    Ruining Your Career Before It Gets Started.
    “Aaron Allston walks you through the minefield of deadly career-killers, including query letters that spell doom, research practices that murder a writer’s reputation, ‘everyone knows’ fallacies that lead novices and even experienced writers into quicksand, and fan interactions that are pure poison.”
    Room: Hanover A-B (Hyatt). Additional seminar charge will apply.
  • Saturday 2:30 pm-3:30 pm, Seminar 9:
    Style and Mood.
    “Aaron Allston talks about establishing and sustaining the tone of a novel — how to switch from technique to technique, like a pitcher switching from a curve ball to a fastball, in order to make the readers experience exactly what you want them to.”
    Room: Hanover A-B (Hyatt). Additional seminar charge will apply.
  • Saturday 5:30 pm-6:30 pm:
    Masculinity in Star Wars.
    “Vader, Han Solo, Luke, Lando — just what does it all mean, and where was the Maker going with chivalry, patriarchy, and the definition of masculinity?” Panelists TBA.
    Room: A706 (Marriott)
  • Sunday 11:30 am-12:30 pm:
    Literature of Gaming.
    “The world of gaming has provided a grounding for a number of books. We’ll discuss what makes it popular and writing for a preconceived world.” Panelists TBA.
    Room: Greenbriar (Hyatt)
  • Sunday 2:30 pm-3:30 pm, Seminar 14:
    Unclogging Your Plot.
    “Aaron Allston describes the Thirteen Deadly Sins that can grind your novel’s plot to a halt — how to detect them, understand them, and bulldoze them out of your way.”
    Room: Hanover A-B (Hyatt). Additional seminar charge will apply.
  • Sunday 4:00 pm-5:00 pm, Seminar 15:
    Showing Off Your Manuscript.
    “Aaron Allston discusses ways to put your fiction before the eyes of others, including advance readers, workshoppers, editors, and agents. We’ll also talk about the hazards of showing off your manuscript, including submission mistakes, hurtful reviews, and loss of creative energy.”
    Room: Hanover A-B. Additional seminar charge will apply.
  • Monday 2:30 pm-3:30 pm:
    Discussion of Mercy Kill with Aaron Allston.
    “Just what the title says — Allston discusses his latest Star Wars novel, the long-awaited continuation of the X-Wing series, released August 7.”
    Room: A706 (Marriott)

If you’re going to be at Dragon*Con, I strongly encourage you to attend both the Expanded Universe multi-author panel as well as the Mercy Kill panel. 

 

Talking Celebration VI on the next Tosche Station Radio – Ask us your Questions!

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It’s Thursday, which means Nanci and I will be sitting down to record another episode of Tosche Station Radio. This week we want talk heavily about Celebration VI and what you can expect there. If you’ve got any questions about the convention or want to know what we’ll be up to, please leave a question in this post and we will answer it.

In addition to our answers, be sure to check out Dunc’s Convention Tips over at Club Jade.

We’re also going to be at Dragon*Con if you have questions specific to that event as well. Again, leave your inquiries, comments, and questions in the comments!

Tosche Station Radio #23: Fan Convention

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After a week off, the hosts are back and feeling extra tangent-y as they talk about conventions on this episode of Tosche Station Radio!

Kicking off the show, the hosts highlight what’s new on the blog. Nanci reviewed Wraith Squadron and Iron Fist as part of Tosche Station’s ongoing summer X-Wing retrospective. Shane reviewed Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, the novel. We asked, and you delivered: the future of Star Wars at San Diego Comic Con. Emily recapped her trip to Fandom Fest. Finally, we’re starting a grassroots effort to get the release date of Scoundrels pushed up a week.

In Fixer’s Flash, Nanci’s been busy reading Janine Spendlove’s latest book, War of the Seasons: The Half-Blood. She’s helping to prepare for a Wizard Rock concert. What’s Wizard Rock? Stay tuned and you’ll find out! Brian’s still reading Mageworlds, but mostly he’s lamenting his poor decision to stack college and work at the same time.

Deak’s Dirt brings casting updates from Catching Fire. The Dramatis Personae for Mercy Kill was released by Random house, along with a new excerpt featuring Myri Antilles. They also released the cover blurb for Scoundrels. Not content with just that, Random House also wants to record your fan fiction, and the hosts go on a tangent as a result.

In this week’s Camie’s Concerns, the hosts are tackling two topics. First off, they offer advice for those attending Celebration VI and Dragon*Con this year. Later in the segment, they discuss what future Expanded Universe books they expect to hear announced from San Diego Comic Con this week as well as what listeners and readers are hoping to have announced.

For Wormie’s Works, Nanci highlights Wizard Rock group The Whomping Willows and Brian links to EUCantina’s contest to raise awareness for children’s literature.

The hosts round out the show by answering questions from listeners and discussing the Trope of the Week: Genre Savvy.

Tosche Station Radio is the official podcast of Tosche-Station.net and a part of the Solo Sound network. If you like what you hear, please leave a review on the iTunes Music Store or the Zune Marketplace. We can also be found on Facebook and Twitter.

Nanci and Brian are the co-founders and writers of Tosche-Station.net. You can find Nanci on Twitter with the handle @Nancipants and you can find Brian with @LaneWinree