Where You Can Find Me At Capclave This Weekend

I believe this is more or less my official programming schedule for Capclave this weekend. Please note that while I’ll be there all day Saturday and Sunday, I won’t be there on Friday. I should arrive around 7:30 am on Saturday. If you are on the fence about going, I saw go! It’s a lot of fun, they have great programming (as they always do). And the guest of honor is a New York Giants and Jets fan. But I can’t remember his name.

Saturday

• 9:00 am: Online Writing Tools (Ends at: 10:25 am)
  Panelists: Jamie Todd Rubin (M), Bud Sparhawk
  Bud Sparhawk and Jamie Todd Rubin guide you through the use of some of the most helpful tools available today.
• 11:00 am: Writers and Fandom (Ends at: 11:55 am)
  Panelists: Catherine Asaro, Laura Anne Gilman, Pamela K. Kinney (M), Jamie Todd Rubin, Hildy Silverman
  Some authors were fans before they wrote, others came to the convention scene after getting their start. How does that affect fan interaction? Does it make a difference in how authors view conventions?
• 12:00 pm: Space Wars (Ends at: 12:55 pm)
  Panelists: Catherine Asaro, Edward M. Lerner, Jamie Todd Rubin, Janine Spendlove, Christopher Weuve (M)
  How would it be waged and why? Why would you want to go to war with a planet that takes 30 years to get to? What books have the best space wars?
• 4:00 pm: The Worlds of Clifford Simak (Ends at: 4:55 pm)
  Panelists: Jamie Todd Rubin (M), Darrell Schweitzer, Alex Shvartsman, Michael Swanwick
  50 years ago Simak won a Hugo for Way Station. He also wrote City and the Hugo and Nebula winning “Grotto of the Dancing Deer.” Yet today, few younger fans have read his work which is available only in the small press and “public domain” compilations. What happened? What makes his stories so timeless? What do you think is his best work and how can it be revived for today’s audiences?

Sunday

• 10:00 am: Hand Waving or Sci-fantasy? (Ends at: 10:55 am)
  Panelists: David Bartell, D. Douglas Fratz, Inge Heyer, Jamie Todd Rubin, Lawrence M. Schoen (M)
  Many classic Science Fiction authors didn’t spend a lot of time describing the technology or science of their futures. Things worked, but if you look more closely, they may not make sense. Today authors still use this technique. Is this a legitimate form of science fiction or lazy writing? Have the standard furniture of sf — the FTL drive and time machine — become so common the author does not need to explain them, just use them for a story? Do all the details and the scientific equations get in the way?
• 2:00 pm: Low Tech Writers (Ends at: 2:55 pm)
  Panelists: Dina Leacock, Jamie Todd Rubin (M), Michael Swanwick, Howard Waldrop
  Harlan Ellison uses a typewriter, a manual typewriter. Asimov refused to fly. And our special guest Howard Waldrop doesn’t use email. Why might some writers about the future refuse to use technology? How does this influence their fiction? What would happen to society if more people followed their example and opted out?
• 3:00 pm: Anything You Say May End Up In My Novel (Ends at: 3:55 pm)
  Panelists: Charles E. Gannon, Laura Anne Gilman (M), Annette Klause, Jamie Todd Rubin, Jim Stratton
  How do writers mine their own lives? Are they always on duty, ready to steal what they see and hear? What changes do you make to real life in your fiction (assuming you don’t normally hang out with elves and aliens)?

And those who wish to point out the irony that I am giving a talk on Online Writing Tools and moderating a panel on Low Tech Writers, well, I’ve kind of already noticed that. It should be interesting.

I’m looking forward to seeing everyone there. If you are looking for me, but can’t find me, give me a shout on Twitter.