Conflux 8 Report – Part 1: Pre-Con Workshops

Conflux 8 was the first writing conference I’ve been able to attend in a long time—a very long time. I’d like to thank the organisers for the wonderful experience they put together for those who were able to attend, and to thank those who sat on the panels during, and ran the workshops prior to, the convention. I am looking forward to seeing what they do for Conflux 9, now.

Conflux 8 ran over two days, with a day of workshops run the day before the convention opened. I was fortunate enough to be able to attend three of the workshops and many of the panels, although discovered I was a bit short on stamina by the time late afternoon arrived, so I didn’t attend the afternoon or evening sessions.

Pre-con workshops were very, very good, and I regret I couldn’t clone myself or use a magical device to attend more than the three workshops I managed. I also regret not taking out my camera and photographing those I could attend. To recap:

Workshops—Friday 28 September 2012

I know I’ve covered these in a previous post, but here they are again:

0900-1100: Writing Backstory with Nicole Murphy

This was a well-presented and valuable workshop on the whys and hows of incorporating backstory into a story while avoiding the risk of drowning the reader in details they don’t need, or slowing the pace of your story. As Nicole’s workshop showed, not only was it important to be aware of the details the reader needed to know, but to be aware of the details the writer actually knew about the situation. The activity accompanying this section of the workshop showed us how to identify these details so we could select the most relevant ones to incorporate. This section of the workshop was followed by instruction and activities revolving around a number of methods that could be used to incorporate backstory. This workshop makes me look forward to the others she will be running at the NSW Writers’ Centre.

1100-1230/1300-1400: Intro to Writing for Games with Rik Lagarto

I really wanted to attend this session in the hopes it would give an insight into writing for computer- or similarly based games. It did not disappoint. Rik gave those attending the workshop one of the most in-depth introductions to the industry that I could have hoped for. He managed to compress an overview of the industry, the roles of writers in a design team, industry-specific terminology, and activities based on the types of writing required into a scant two-and-a-bit hours. I am looking forward to seeing more courses from him.

1400-1600: Fighting the Details with Alan Baxter and Ian McHugh

When I first attended this workshop, I thought it might be about incorporating detail into your writing. I was both right and totally wrong. Not only was it about looking at details to incorporate in a scene, as the first activity helped emphasise, but it was about incorporating realistic details of combat into your work. Practical exercises made those of us with no experience in physical fights, aware of the factors that affect combatants. Scripting a fight and then watching other people stepping it through, gave an insight not only if the fight was physically possible as described, but also how others might interpret what we had written. If you have a chance to attend one of these workshops, I recommend it as a valuable learning experience.