Don’t Fear the Reaper

Today was the first day of the last Orycon, a local SF/F convention I’ve attended since the mid 90s.

As I sat in the common area after picking up my badge, I watched the few people wandering to and fro. Familiar faces with white hair. White beards. This one using a walker. That one limping with a cane.

It’s a testament to the elderly fandom and its tenacity that the convention has lasted 45 years. Don’t get me wrong. There were a few “youngsters,” hovering somewhere between their twenties and forties. But if I looked closer, many were just as familiar as the oldsters. They’d attended with their parents during their tender school-aged years!

As I perused the program book, I noticed that panel choices seem sparse, though that may be more my perception rather than reality. And the number of first day con-goers seemed small. Until I recalled that the con was traditionally held on Veteran’s Day weekend - a large number of folk would have checked in Thursday night if they’d had a three day weekend this year.

I sat and read a book until my first panel came up at two o’clock. It was an effort to not go home. The lackluster attendance had infected my enthusiasm. (Knowing this was the final Orycon certainly didn’t help my mood.)

Luckily, I stuck it out and made it to the meeting room. Here are my notes from that panel. (Please note that all “quotes” from panelists are paraphrased.) All colored text boxes are the connections I made between their words and my writing.

Short Stories vs. Novels - How do you convey it all in only a few thousand words? Authors discuss how their process differs for their short stories versus their novels, elements of a good short story, and tips, tricks and pitfalls to watch out for in short story writing.

Panelests: Maquel A. Jacob, R S Wells, Ken Lizzi, Anthony Pryor, Warren Lapine and Luke Elliott.

Lapine: Roger Zelazny said that all of his short stories that had won awards were really the last chapter of novels never written.

Q: How to even begin writing a short story?

Lapine: Begin short stories in the middle to hook the reader. Then add a brief backstory explaining the start if needed.

Q: In novels characters must change from the beginning of the book. Is that possible with a short format? Is it necessary?

Lapine: Orson Scott Card said characters must have an objective that they cannot reach unless they change.

Pryor: That’s a modern invention. How many short stories are there of Conan the Barbarian? Did his character ever grow and change?

Q: How long is a short story?

Elliott: Figure about three thousand words for online posts. Printed stories can range up to forty-five thousand words, though that’s bumping into novella territory. Check and follow publisher guidelines.

Q: How to outline a short story?

Lapine: I don’t outline because it feels like work. And I don’t want to work, I want to have fun.

Wells: If you write a mystery, outline backwards.

Pryor: I outline the first section and start. Inevitably, I veer off on a tangent. Once it peters out, I outline the next section and do it again. I don’t know where a story will end.

Wells: You can read many Agatha Christie short stories and compare them to her novels. This can give an idea of pacing for a short story.

Q: Tools and software?

Elliott: Storyplanner.com

Pryor: Most writing software has a way to track your plots. Scrivener, for instance has a digital corkboard to view your outline.

Q: Final thoughts?

Jacob: If you already write long format work, all you need to do is write fanfic of your novels!

Lizzi: That’s exactly what I’ve done.

Lapine: Check out our website, Positronic Publishing.

And it was a wrap in forty-five minutes.

When I looked around, I realized that the room was well-occupied. Not standing-room-only, but a good three quarters of the seats were filled. That’s not the norm for early panels on the first day, even when there’s a three-day weekend.

As usual, I almost always find a gem in one of these panels. It might not be much, but it’s often worth the effort of showing up. The concept of writing fanfic of my own material isn’t new to me, but Roger Zelazny’s statement about short stories being the final chapter of novels unwritten was an inspiration.

I think I’ll review my list of story ideas (seventy-six and counting.)

Don’t fear the reaper indeed.