LTUE 2019 Schedule

I'll be at the annual Life, the Universe, and Everything symposium here in Provo in just a couple weeks! This is the one that's basically in my own back yard. Incidentally, LTUE is the conference I've been attending the longest and most consistently--10+ years--and it also happens to be one of my favorites. LTUE is great on a number of levels, but their programming is usually top-notch (I've posted mine below, which I'm quite excited about this year), they have great guests and panelists, and it's a great place to meet other writers and folks in the business, especially if you're local. Also, at $55 for the three-day experience, and a measly $5 for students, it's a steal.

So, there's my plug! If you're a sci-fi/fantasy writer in the area and aren't attending LTUE, that's something you need to remedy, like, now.

Plus, you'll see me there! So, win-win-win!

MY SCHEDULE:

Thu 14 Feb

11 AM (Zion) - A Punch in the Face: Writing Gripping Fight Scenes
"Action, well done, will draw in the audience and keep them on their seats. Not so well one, it leads to boredom and fatigue. How to keep your work in the first category and avoid the second." I've been on at least a half dozen versions of this panel, probably more, but we usually find an interesting way to approach and discuss the subject. More often than not, I learn something here, too.

12 PM (Elm) - Not Just Shock: Writing Good Grimdark
"Grimdark isn't just shocking deaths and violence. How to create compelling stories in a grimdark environment." Ah, ye olde grimdark. Views on this vary widely, so these panels are always interesting.

6 PM (Bryce) - Writing LDS Themes in Mainstream Fiction
"Even though none of the characters are LDS (or sometimes, human) doesn't mean that the Plan of Salvation or doctrines on redemption can't make an appearance. LDS authors publishing mainstream fiction will talk about how they use these themes and others." Because what is more fantastical (or, at least, promotes more of a fantastical worldview) than Mormonism??

Fri 15

6 PM (Arches) - Pantsing: Making the Most of Draft 0
"Discovery writing can be a great way to work out your ideas as you go. It is also a great way to throw yourself off track and cultivate lazy writing. Come listen to professional panthers (and pantsers-at-heart) talk about how they make the most of discovery writing." I've taken a different approach to this recently, mainly in that I use both methods depending on which fits the story best. So that'll be my perspective, here.

Sat 16

12 PM (Arches) - Writing with the Door Open: How to Revise
"You can put whatever you want in a first draft, but at some point, the day of reckoning comes. How to revise with purpose, and what you should be looking for to strengthen your story." Standard revision discussion, I suppose. Revision was (and, in some ways, continues to be) one of the most difficult parts of the process for me, so I've done a lot of learning in this area. Should be a good discussion.

3 PM (Bryce) - Three Types of Terror: Gore, the Unnatural, and Deep Terror
"According to Stephen King, every good horror tory includes three kinds of terror: the blood and guts gore, the unnatural (like a spider the size of a bear), and the deep psychological terror of the unknown. How to use all three to the greatest effect." Advice I've discussed many times before, but advice that is generally useful nevertheless. Plus I'm always up for discussing Stephen King, or something he wrote, or something he said, etc....

4 PM (Elm) - Writing Stories without Villains
"Antagonists do not have to be people. How to have conflict and a satisfactory resolution without a bad guy." Stories! Without villains! Okay!

LTUE 2017 Schedule

I'm working on a post to update everyone about the goings-on of the last few months (and, specifically, the last few weeks), but I wanted to let everyone know about LTUE as soon as possible!

I'll be at the Life, the Universe, and Everything Symposium once again this year, and I have the privilege of participating in five panels! Check them out below, or the full LTUE 2017 schedule here.

Thursday 16 February at 9:00 AM - "Novel vs. Short Story" (Arches)
The novel vs. the short story. How can they benefit from each other? How are the skill-sets different? How do you know which to choose?

Thu 16 Feb at 11:00 AM - "Joining Plot and Character" (Zion)
Where do plot and character meet? Do you start with a character, or the plot?

Thu 16 Feb at 1:00 PM - "Writing Villains" (Canyon)
How do you make a believable villain? What are the clichés you should avoid? Why is the villain important to the story?

Fri 17 Feb at 1:00 PM - "So You Want to Write Fantasy..." (Canyon)
Get tips for writing fantasy. How do you know if fantasy is for you? Tips for beginners.

Sat 18 Feb at 9:00 AM - "Writing Part-time vs. Full-time" (Arches)
The pros share how they keep motivated and productive when writing full-time vs. part-time.

I think LTUE is going to be a blast this year--who am I kidding, I love it every year! If you'll be there, come to one of my panels and say hello!

LTUE 2014

LTUE was great. I really think it's one of the best conventions in Utah. Great panels, great panelists, well organized, great community. I was able to meet a lot of people this year, including Larry Correia, Eric James Stone, and L.E. Modesitt Jr.; Megan who owns a sweet bookstore down in Cedar City, and Dawn Ray who reads 500 books a year, and tons of others, and of course caught up with some old friends in the area.

I also told Brandon Sanderson that I just signed with JABberwocky (which may or may not have come out of my mouth as follows: ZOMG BRANDON YOU ARE AMAZING GUESS WHAT I SIGNED WITH JABBERWOCKY SO WE ARE LIKE AGENCY BROTHERS WE SHOULD TOTES DO BROTHERLY THINGS LIKE BUILD PILLOW FORTS AND PLAY VIDEO GAMES AND TOTES HANG OUT ALL THE TIME CUZ TOTES ZOMG) and he was over the moon about it. No, really, he was actually excited! He loves to hear success stories from old students, and it was cool to let him know the good news.

My notes from LTUE this year were mostly through my twitter account, and many awesome things were said, including but not limited to the following:

"When your tire blows, you don't talk about the other three that worked perfectly, you bitch about the flat one" @mbcollings #LTUE #endings
— Christopher Husberg (@usbergo) February 13, 2014

That was Michaelbrent Collings on endings--basically saying that readers remember endings, even if they forget everything else, so the ending better be amazing. Which isn't to say that other parts of the story aren't important, but, like tires, they should do their freaking job.

"Efforts aren't worth shit unless they yield results. Entertainment comes first." L.E. Modesitt throws down a pretty hefty gauntlet. #LTUE
— Christopher Husberg (@usbergo) February 13, 2014

L.E. Modesitt, Jr. was a freaking rockstar--definitely one of my favorite panelists this year. And, as previously mentioned, I had the pleasure of meeting him! So that was a thing and it was cool. I think the above quote went more along the lines of "'Efforts' aren't worth a damn if you write like shit." Basically, putting effort into your writing is meaningless unless you are actually entertaining people while you're at it. That isn't to say writers don't have room to grow, improve their craft, etc., but they have to put their effort into the right places. Modesitt's 64th book (Rex Regis, I believe), was just released a month ago, and he's been in the business for about thirty years. That's two books a year, for thirty years. That kind of consistency is worth its weight in gold, and definitely something I aspire towards. Like I said, a freaking rockstar.

"Emotion isnt drama; emotion is the result if drama. If youre adding emotion to up the drama, youre doing it wrong." -Clint Johnson #LTUE
— Christopher Husberg (@usbergo) February 14, 2014

Clint Johnson, in a fantastic panel on creating drama in fiction.

"You've got to learn to be your own best critic. The sooner you learn that, the better a writer you'll be." L.E. Modesitt #LTUE
— Christopher Husberg (@usbergo) February 15, 2014

And another gem from Mr. Modesitt. And a good note to end on, actually. Long story short: LTUE was great. And you should totes go next year.

LTUE and The Blood Queen Series

Just a quick update before going to bed. Attended the first day of LTUE today. Always a pleasure. LTUE was the first writing convention I ever attended (5 years ago, in fact), and it'll always have a special place in my heart. So many local writers and fans--Utah has one of the best and largest writing communities I know of, and it is cool to be a part of it.

So, yeah. LTUE is cool and going great.

In other news, I think I've found an official title for the series I've been working on (the working title has been The Rising Series, but I've always felt that has been pretty bland). So, officially: Duskfall is going to be the first novel in what I'll now be referring to as The Blood Queen series. I like it. It's not too long, but its strong. The tone fits the series, I think.

What am I working on right now in The Blood Queen series, you ask? An overall series outline at the moment (brief, sticking mostly to emotional beats and Dan Harmon's Story Structure--I usually don't work much from outlines; if I use them at all, it is in the revision process), and then I'm moving on to Book 2. I just might reveal the tentative title for that one in the near future, too.

LTUE

I attended LTUE, the local SF/F convention, a few weeks ago, and it was one of the better local cons I've been to in some time.  More and more, LTUE seems to be the quintessential SF/F con of the northern Utah area--which may not seem like much, but there are actually quite a few cons/conferences around here.

Here's a brief recap of the panels I attended:

• Tolkien's The Hobbit:  The Book and the Films
• First Time Novelists - an advice session from a few recently published authors
• The Good, the Bad, and The Ugly of Publishing (regarding self-publishing, small presses, and traditional large publishing houses) - one of the first of many panels I attended regarding the shifting world of publishing.
• "Punk" Literature - an analysis of cyberpunk, steampunk, and other "-punk" genres
• Collaboration - a discussion of the pros, cons, tips, and tricks behind co-authoring
• Economics of Supervillainy
• How to Market Your Book
• Writing in Spite of Adversity - how to write despite the day-to-day struggles of life, as well as the once-in-a-lifetime traumatic events
• Contracts - a discussion of contracts in the publishing industry, and certainly one of the most informative panels I attended.
• Current Trends in Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror
• Five Things to Know Before Sending Out Your Novel
• Crafting Mystery within Your Novel
• Writers of the Future - a panel with David Farland, the coordinating judge of the contest (and the guy who read and sent me my critique for my recent semifinalist story), as well as Brad R. Torgersen and Eric James Stone, two past winners of the contest.  (I had a brief conversation with David Farland after the panel; he remembered my story, and encouraged me to keep submitting, which was pretty cool.)
• How to Sell More eBooks through Amazon - another one of the most informative presentations of the con; this one was by Aaron Patterson, who had a lot of fascinating things to say about the industry.  Too much to talk about here, in fact; it'll have to be the subject of another post.
• Publisher's Panel - a panel with editors from four local (and, generally, small) publishing houses: TM Publishing, JollyFish Press, StoneHouse Ink, and Shadow Mountain, who discussed their changing business models and expectations that accompany the changing industry.
• Write for the Market or Write What You Know?
• What You Need to Know to Write Science Fiction and Fantasy
• Making a Living as a Writer
• The Structure of Epic Fantasy - a fascinating presentation by Tracy Hickman about the structure of The Lord of the Rings and how that structure is applicable to today's fantasy stories.
• What I Wish I'd Known Before Publishing My First Novel
• Being LDS and Writing Horror - another intriguing panel about the issues of writing Horror and belonging to a religion that has, historically, been very hostile to the genre.
• Backstory

But, of course, the best part of the con was meeting up with old (and new) friends.  Steve Diamond, who now runs a very successful book review site and is working on a bunch of his own publications, from one of my first writing groups, was there.  So was Joe Vasicek, a vehement voice for self-publishing who has published a half-dozen or so of his own novels (and, incidentally, was also in that first writing group).  Other friends, from my MFA program and other writing groups, as well as tons of local authors, were there, too.  Overall, it was a great con.

Perhaps most interesting was the tone of LTUE this year; more than ever before, the focus was on the changing publishing industry and the increasing validity of small presses and self-publishing.  Again, this is a can of worms I'll have to open later, but figured I'd mention it.  Things really are changing, and it's interesting to see how some people are (and others are not) adapting.

Anyway, the point is this:  LTUE was awesome this year.

The Homestretch, or, Why I'm Going to Start Blogging Again

I've been hanging out at LTUE this weekend, and its gotten me thinking about a number of things--one begin that I want to get back into blogging.  My plan was to start up again after I graduate in April/June, but I really have no reason not to start right now.

It's sort of a moment of kairos, as we say in my Writing 150 class.  This is an interesting semester for me; it's the last full semester I'll have (hopefully) before I graduate, so I'm taking 6 credits of thesis hours and no real literary/criticism or workshop classes, which has actually been great.  Devoting most of my working hours to revisions on my thesis is not a bad way to end the program, if you ask me.  Of course, I'm also teaching two classes--the typical Writing 150 (Writing and Rhetoric/Freshman English) as well as English 218R (Intro to Creative Writing)--which adds quite a bit to my workload, but so far both classes are going well.  I'm teaching an experimental section of Writing 150 that focuses on blogging as a medium for rhetoric, and that has been an educational experience (and all the more reason to keep up my own blog, of course).  And English 218R is awesome--workshopping and talking about interesting pieces of writing, what more could I want?

Anyway, other than a few "student activity" courses I'm taking (basketball and a spinning class), that's pretty much my semester.  Hopefully I'll defend my thesis in early April (speaking of which, I've updated the Current Projects and Backburner pages of the site, so check them out if you're interested), and that will be that.

So all this is to say that I really have no excuse not to be blogging right now, and I want to di it anyway, so why not start (again)?  It might even serve as motivation to attack my thesis revisions with a fiery vengeance.  So let it be written.