CM Simpson: Writer & Gamer

Day 1: Those of you who know me, know I don’t do high volumes of people well… but most people can’t pick it. Until I’d attended three days of convention, I didn’t fully understand this about myself either. Day 1 was the first time I’d been to a public event in a number of years. It was wonderful. Full credit should go to the Conflux 8 organisers and panellists for putting this event together… and I am very much looking forward to Conflux 9, early next year. Now, on to Day 1: 0910-0950: The Opening Ceremony FILDENSTAR! Oh, wait, first there was Jack Dann opening the convention and welcoming us, paying respects to the traditional landowners of the ACT region, and THEN introducing Fildenstar, a pair of performers who brought us speculative songs like Ghost Butterfly Ships . Memorable. 1000-1100: What makes a good fantasy/sf/horror story with Sue Isle, Ian McHugh and Alan Baxter This panel discussed the different elements that writers should pay attention to, if t...

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 ...

Today I got to attend a full day of workshops and learn more about the writing craft. Speakers included Nicole Murphy , Rik Lagarto and Alan Baxter and Ian McHugh , whose sessions I attended, and Gillian Polack , Jack Dann and Dawn Meredith whose sessions I couldn't make. The day was not the spring day I could have hoped for, being grey and rainy, but at least I had no regrets for spending the day inside... although with these workshops, that would have been hard to do. Session 1: Writing Backstory The day started with Nicole Murphy's workshop on Writing Backstory , which ran from 0900 to 1100. I have to admit, I didn't really know what to expect when I went into this workshop. I had half an idea that it would be about how to write backstory that I could then draw from for my stories, but it was so much more than that. Backstory might include everything you know about your characters (major and minor), your world, and the history of it all, but everyone knows t...