Another panel for CaperCon 2020

Here’s the other panel talk I’ll be presenting at CaperCon this weekend. No time scheduled yet, but I’ll update when I know more details.

2020 has been a difficult year for many creative types–but creativity can be a struggle even when there isn’t a global pandemic! In this panel we’ll talk about strategies for reclaiming your creative self and even using it to get through tough times. There will be time for Q&A after the talk.

All of the convention panels will be delivered via Zoom, and I’m planning some Q&A time for this one as well.

Check the CaperCon Facebook page for more info on the con as it becomes available, and I hope to “see” you there!

CaperCon 2020 is Coming!

As with many conventions this year, CaperCon will be delivered to your desktop or mobile device entirely virtually (the 17th and 18th of October). Even though things are not the way we’d like them to be, we have to make the best of what 2020 has thrown our way, and I’m super happy to be offering two panel talks for this year’s virtual con. I don’t have times yet, but I’ll post them when I do. Today I’ll tell you about one of the panels, and I’ll post the second one soon.

The inclusion of strong, multi-dimensional characters who grow and change over the course of the story is just as important in a good story as plot or idea. But when your characters and your plot are strongly connected, you have a story that works every time! Come join me to talk about finding the synergy between these two important elements of your story.

The convention panels will be delivered via Zoom, and for this one I’m planning to have some time for Q&A. I don’t know all the logistics yet, but I expect you’ll be able to ask your questions in the chat, and I’ll get to as many as I can.

Check the CaperCon Facebook page for more info on the con as it becomes available, and I hope to “see” you there!

Hal-Con 2018 World-Building Panel: Links and Resources

After our standing-room-only crowd for the World-Building panel offered by some members of the Genre Writers of Atlantic Canada group on Sunday, I promised to post my mapping and visuals resources here (because I sure didn’t have enough handouts!). If you were there and didn’t get a copy, my apologies! Thanks for attending, and here they are:

Donjon.com https://donjon.bin.sh/scifi/world/ A multitude of world-building tools and other generators.

Azgaar Fantasy Map Generator https://azgaar.github.io/Fantasy-Map-Generator/ Very full-featured world map generator producing beautiful and customizable maps.

Inkarnate https://inkarnate.com/ Beautiful map generator with icon library (upgrade $25/yr, $5/mo).

Medieval Fantasy City Generator https://watabou.itch.io/medieval-fantasy-city-generator Great city map generator – turn off some items and maps can also be used for more modern cities.

Worldspinner.com https://worldspinner.com/ Create an entire world and map. Free account. All paid features $9.95/year.

Planet Map Generator https://topps.diku.dk/torbenm/maps.msp Adjust parameters to create a globe map of your created world.

Autodesk Sketchbook https://sketchbook.com/ For the more artistically inclined, this computer drawing program is now entirely free.

World-building questions http://www.sfwa.org/2009/08/fantasy-worldbuilding-questions The definitive world-building questionnaire, by Patricia C. Wrede.

Holly Lisle – Worldbuilding https://hollylisle.com/how-much-of-my-world-do-i-build/ How Much of My World Do I Build?

Seventh Sanctum Generators http://www.seventhsanctum.com Broad variety of name and idea generators for writers and others.

And here’s a bonus one I thought of later that wasn’t on the sheet: a fabulous collection of historical maps by David Rumsey. https://www.davidrumsey.com/

Top Self-Editing Tips Panel

This post is for all those who attended my self-editing panel at CaperCon this weekend. I promised to post a .pdf of the presentation, so here it is! You can download it from the link below.

(Psst! Even if you weren’t at my panel but would like some self-editing tips, you can download it, too! My aim with this panel was to help writers learn how to find some basic areas for line-edit improvements in their writing.)

In at least one of my panels, I also mentioned the submission planning spreadsheet I made, which is available for download from this site. You can find[intlink id=”3546″ type=”post”] that post here.[/intlink]

Finally, we talked a little bit about Scrivener, as well. [intlink id=”2672″ type=”post”]Here’s a post[/intlink] about setting up a submission tracker as a Scrivener project.

Thanks to everyone who stopped by the table, bought a book, chatted, and came to my panels this weekend. You helped make it another wonderful convention experience!

 

Friday Desk Report – September 29, 2017

*looks around, swipes a finger across the desk*

Wow, pretty dusty in here. Looks like I’ve been away for the whole summer!

Well, yes, I was. Not away from home (much), but away from my digital home. and from my office, too. That was messy enough to take two days to clean up, but that’s done, so I’d better clean up here, too. And I actually do have stuff to report, because I was back at my desk much more this week.

First up: Over the summer, I turned in the manuscript for Nearspace #3, Beyond the Sentinel Stars. It’s been through edits and although I don’t have a definite release date to share with you yet, it’s coming! For those who love Luta and her crew, I think you’ll really enjoy this installment of their adventures.

Next up: pre-orders are now open for the Gumshoes Bundle from BundleRabbit. If you’re a mystery lover, you won’t want to miss out on this one! It includes my urban fantasy/mystery The Murder Prophet, as well as a host of other great titles.

More news: Where Evil Dwells is out! This anthology of Nova Scotia horror includes my story, “The Girl in the Stones,” and some other writers you’ll probably recognize. Available in stores and at all the usual online locations.

One more thing for today: I’ll be at CaperCon 2017 as a guest, and I have a great lineup of panels and workshops! I’ll post details about them all here next week. CaperCon runs October 20-22 and takes place at Centre 200 in Sydney this year, so plan to come by and visit! It’s set to be bigger and better than ever!

Virtual Fantasy Con

virtualfantasyconThis week I’m taking part in the Virtual Fantasy Con over on Facebook. I’ll have a “booth” on Science Fiction Monday, Urban Fantasy Wednesday, and YA Fantasy Sunday.

The entire week looks fun, with many authors participating. Book sales, panels, contests, and other events will take place all week, and of course the best part is that you can participate in all of it from the comfort of your home!

I’ll be checking in regularly at my booth, hosting some giveaways, answering questions, and talking about some things that (with luck) folks will find interesting.

The first link above should provide you with a jumping-off point for all the convention pages and events. Drop by and say hello!

Friday Desk Report – September 16, 2016

Oh, my, it’s been a while, hasn’t it?

But in my defense, there wasn’t a whole lot of activity at the old desk this summer. We travelled for most of July, and then there was much to do for the Big Fat Geek Wedding happening at the beginning of September. What? You want a picture from that? Well, here you go. It just happened to happen on my own anniversary, so we celebrated at the photo booth.

sherry-terry-geeky-anniversary

 

And of course, I took a little bit of time for just enjoying summer. I did manage to read and make notes on a novel manuscript while on airplanes, and I have a new novella in the editing stage. So I guess I wasn’t entirely a slacker, was I?

This week has been mostly getting ready for CaperCon. This is the second year for this convention, and last year’s was a tremendous success. This year it looks like things have only grown, so I’m looking forward to being a guest. Here’s my schedule for the weekend:

Reading/Q&A – Friday @3:30
Crafting Stronger Stories (with Third Person Press) – Friday @6:30
Self-Publishing for Success – Saturday @ 11:00
Plotting and Outlining – or Not – Sunday @ 10:30
Blue Pencil Cafe (with Third Person Press) – Sunday @ 12:00
Writing a Series – Sunday @ 1:30
Insider’s Guide to Marketing and Publishing (with Third Person Press) – Sunday @ 3:00

If you’re there, please drop by my table and say hello!

Friday Desk Report – Oct. 30/15

IMG_4522.JPG This week’s report comes to you from the convention trail. We’re on the road to Hal-Con 2015 with coffee on board, tunes on the radio, a van full of cosplay and stunning fall foliage all around.

What moments I could snatch at my desk this week were mainly spent on planning for NaNoWriMo. We spent a good evening also brainstorming at the kitchen table for the three novel projects happening in the household next month. Much of my novel continues to float, indistinct as a distant nebula against the velvet black of space. But it will come.

A few times over the weekend, I’ll be hanging out at the Writers’ Federation of Nova Scotia table at Hal-Con. I’ll have books and I’ll be happy to sign them, but drop by even just to say hello!

Yesterday I found out my lineup of WITS visits for this school year. I’m looking forward to interacting with some great teachers and students again this year.

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Monday, Nov. 2/15

So Friday’s post started off well (although I was composing it on my phone, which was somewhat cumbersome) and then we started running into Generalized Road Difficulties. I won’t go into all the boring details, but simply say that the blog post fell by the wayside as GRDs escalated, and then we were at Hal-Con and that was the weekend.

Hal-Con was great overall, although the weather was cold and rainy off and on, and this year they didn’t have the underground pedways open. So that meant a trip outside for decent food, access to parking, etc. The expanded space this year was great, but the traffic changes, not so much.

imageHowever, I had a spectacular time hanging out at the WFNS table with the Federation folks (Writers’ Federation, not United Federation of Planets, of course), and chatting with/meeting other writers like C.S. MacCath, Clare C. Marshall, Kat Kruger, and B.R. Myers. Sold some books, too, and ran into several old and new friends. Attended some great panels like Whales in Space and Star Trek Empires in the Night Sky, and a very entertaining Q&A with Kelley Armstrong. She answered the question “What’s the hardest thing about being a writer?” with the too-true answer “The hardest thing about being a writer is *staying* a writer.”

And despite yesterday being a travel day, I managed 1136 words to start NaNoWriMo, which was more than I’d counted on. My true daily goal this year is considerably more than the standard 1667, but I was pleased to make a start and discover a character attribute I hadn’t previously known about one of my viewpoint characters. Love it when they surprise me with something. :)

And so, as the Asura say, Excelsior!