The first note is a list of short story ideas, many from things Bill Ledbetter and I talked about on the drive up. We also talked about the half novel I wrote last NaNo, worked out some of the problems I had in the second half (hence why I stopped working on it), and now I’m feeling pretty good about it. We talked about his work too, but I’m not sure I was as helpful to him. Of course just talking about writing is energizing.
I went to many panels, but I’m only going talk about a few of them. Gordon Van Gelder, the editor of Fantasy & Science Fiction Magazine had some very interesting panels. His assistant, John Adams sorts through around 500-700 submissions every month. They only accept two submissions a month! Adding onto those sad figures, they publish many stories from professional authors with lots of published books. Basically, it’s a hard magazine to get into, even if you have a good story. It’s a good thing I like a challenge.
Some of my friends didn’t believe I’d do it, but I asked Gordon Van Gelder to lunch with me and some people in our writers group. He agreed, but since no one believed I’d ask him, they’d all disappeared! I was embarrassed. Gordon and I headed over to a nearby restaurant, and there we found Bill. Yay!
Gordon is a pretty cool guy. Yes, he’s rejected everyone and their dog, but see the above bit about how many stories he needs verses how many are submitted. I talked a bit about other stuff, but the conversation kept returning to writing, which was cool to hear things from Gordon’s perspective and experience. Still, I felt more pressure than I did talking with Tor editor Paul Stevens or agent Lucienne Diver. I wish I’d had more time to get to know Gordon with less shop talk, but things didn’t swing that way. It was a very busy Con with lots to do.
If you’re a writer and you ever get the chance to go to one of Shanna Swendson’s panel on Mythology and Psychology of Characterization, DO IT! This was one of the best panels I’ve ever been to. She has lots of information on her website also. Good stuff.
Another fun panel was The Art of Slush with Gordon Van Gelder and K. D. Wentworth. Many funny, over the top metaphors were where K. D. stopped reading various submissions. If you’re trying to get into (and perhaps even win) the Writers of the Future contest, do not, I repeat, DO NOT use the word "orb." Got it? Just call it what it is, eye, sun, whatever.
I’m not a big filk (folk fan music) fan, but I love Firefly filk, especially the stuff from the Bedlem Bards (The song "Leaf on the Wind" still makes me cry). It seems to me almost the whole crew of Serenity has a song, except for my favorite character, Zoey! I meant to mention this, but forgot. If anyone happens to run into Cedric or Halk, please ask them for a Zoey song.
The parties were good, all two of them, Yard Dog and FenCon. I spent time with Cat Conrad and Rachel Caine, two super nice people. Rachel finally has use of both arms again after what seems like a year of recovery for two broken bones. It was good to see her out of the sling. She has a contest going for anyone buying her latest Weather Warden book this week (I love this series). Check it out!
Home again! My desk is a mess and I’m really tired. I just don’t get enough sleep at cons! Still…. Back to writing! 
Delilah Rehm
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