{"id":168,"date":"2017-02-23T03:47:29","date_gmt":"2017-02-23T03:47:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lucysnyder.com\/?p=168"},"modified":"2017-02-23T03:56:49","modified_gmt":"2017-02-23T03:56:49","slug":"gen-con-writers-symposium","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lucysnyder.com\/index.php\/gen-con-writers-symposium\/","title":{"rendered":"The Gen Con Writer\u2019s Symposium"},"content":{"rendered":"<p dir=\"ltr\">Gen Con is first and foremost a gaming convention. It is a <em>massive<\/em> gaming convention. It completely fills the 700,000+ square feet of the Indiana Convention Center and spills over into the event space offered in the six very large hotels connected to it. Last year, over 60,000 people attended Gen Con, and this year\u2019s attendance may be\u00a0even larger.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">If you are interested in writing for any of the many RPG and board gaming companies, this is an ideal place to make new business contacts. Paizo buys a lot of tie-in fiction, and they have a strong presence at Gen Con, as does Margaret Weis Productions and other groups. Many video game companies also send their people to the convention; on Saturday night there was an impromptu bar gathering of video game writers who talked about how to break into the business.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">Even if you have no interest whatsoever in media tie-in fiction or game writing, this is still a convention you should consider. Why? Because of the Writer\u2019s Symposium.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">The <a href=\"http:\/\/www.genconwriters.com\/\">Gen Con Writer\u2019s Symposium<\/a> was founded by Jean Rabe and is currently run by Marc Tassin. It\u2019s aimed at both beginning and experienced writers and offers panels, workshops, readings, book signings, and critique sessions. The Symposium is a tiny part of the overall Gen Con experience, but it\u2019s bigger than most standalone writing conferences.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">I was on three panels\u00a0the first year I attended \u2014 \u201cDark Fantasy\u201d, \u201cUrban Fantasy\u201d and \u201cHorror\u201d \u2014 and my panels at Gen Con had bigger audiences than I\u2019ve had at World Horror or World Fantasy. I even had a decent turnout for my reading, and I was mostly reading to strangers rather than supportive friends. All told, the Symposium offered over 100 hours of programming spread across 65 sessions. Over 50 authors participated.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">Writers attending Gen Con also have the option of signing up for space in the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.gencon.com\/exhibit\/authorsave\">Author\u2019s Avenue<\/a> section of the massive exhibit hall.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">So, if you have trouble with huge crowds, obviously this is not an ideal convention for you. Nor is it an ideal choice if you have trouble walking, because you will need to traverse large spaces to get from Point A to Point B. (Fortunately, Marc Tassin and the other organizers of the Writers\u2019 Symposium have made sure that all the writing track panels happen in the same three rooms that are right next to each other and well away from noisier events.)<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">But if you want to get your work out in front of a huge number of speculative fiction fans, talk to gaming industry editors, and get to see a lot of cool games and media in your free time? This might be the perfect convention for you.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">If you want to participate, you need to sign up early. The symposium organizers have their programming set well in advance of the convention \u2014 as in six months in advance. \u00a0We all know instances in which a pro writer decides to go to a convention at the last minute and is able to slide onto panels. That likely won\u2019t happen at Gen Con unless you\u2019re a <em>very<\/em> big name. So, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.genconwriters.com\/contact-us\">contact the organizers<\/a> as early as you can if you\u2019re interested.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">Marc Tassin runs a really good symposium. It is seriously one of the best-organized writing events I\u2019ve ever participated in.\u00a0This year Marc prepared a special 12-page handbook for Symposium authors to help them navigate the convention. As a participating author, you\u2019ll be able to attend authors-only events like dinners, parties, and game nights. The networking opportunities really are tremendous. I didn\u2019t expect to do much business this year; my energy for schmoozing was at pretty low ebb. But despite myself, I came away from the convention with several new anthology invites \u2014 writing invitations I really could not have gotten if I\u2019d stayed home.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">I\u2019m definitely going back to Gen Con this August, and I hope I see some of you there!<\/p>\n<div id=\"wpautbox-below\" class=\"a-tabs\"><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<div class=\"mh-excerpt\"><p>Gen Con is first and foremost a gaming convention. It is a massive gaming convention. It completely fills the 700,000+ square feet of the Indiana <a class=\"mh-excerpt-more\" href=\"https:\/\/www.lucysnyder.com\/index.php\/gen-con-writers-symposium\/\" title=\"The Gen Con Writer\u2019s Symposium\">[&#8230;]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":169,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[4],"tags":[13,14,15],"class_list":["post-168","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-writing-advice","tag-conventions","tag-gen-con","tag-networking"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.lucysnyder.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/genconws.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p8qT6f-2I","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":5074,"url":"https:\/\/www.lucysnyder.com\/index.php\/gen-con-online\/","url_meta":{"origin":168,"position":0},"title":"Gen Con Online &#038; Whether Change Kickstarter","author":"Lucy A. Snyder","date":"July 21, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"The panel list for the Writer's Symposium at Gen Con Online is now available. I'll be on the panel \"Apocalyptic Fiction: What COVID Has Taught Us\" on Friday, August 31st at 1pm Eastern with authors Steve Drew, Melissa F. Olson, and Dan Moren. Registration for the convention is free! In\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;convention&quot;","block_context":{"text":"convention","link":"https:\/\/www.lucysnyder.com\/index.php\/category\/convention\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Gen Con Online Logo","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lucysnyder.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/2020.online.linktile.home_.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lucysnyder.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/2020.online.linktile.home_.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lucysnyder.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/2020.online.linktile.home_.png?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lucysnyder.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/2020.online.linktile.home_.png?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lucysnyder.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/2020.online.linktile.home_.png?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":3002,"url":"https:\/\/www.lucysnyder.com\/index.php\/saluki-con\/","url_meta":{"origin":168,"position":1},"title":"Special Guest at Saluki Con (Sept. 28-29)","author":"Lucy A. Snyder","date":"September 25, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"This weekend, I'll be a special author guest at Saluki Con at Southern Illinois University in Carbondale, IL. The convention will be held in the SIU Student Center and will feature tabletop gaming and RPGs, esports, cosplay, workshops, panels, and vendors. The organizers say: This is the third consecutive year\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Writing Advice&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Writing Advice","link":"https:\/\/www.lucysnyder.com\/index.php\/category\/writing-advice\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"salukicon","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lucysnyder.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/salukicon.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lucysnyder.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/salukicon.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lucysnyder.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/salukicon.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lucysnyder.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/salukicon.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":2842,"url":"https:\/\/www.lucysnyder.com\/index.php\/my-schedule-at-gen-con\/","url_meta":{"origin":168,"position":2},"title":"My Schedule at Gen Con","author":"Lucy A. Snyder","date":"July 18, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"In two weeks, I'll be one of the speakers at the Gen Con Writer's Symposium! Here's my schedule: Thursday, August 1 10:00 am: Writing About Places You've Never VisitedLaShawn Wanak, Lucy Snyder, Seth Skorkowsky, Corry Lee (Mod)How do you understand the vibe of a place well enough to translate it\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;convention&quot;","block_context":{"text":"convention","link":"https:\/\/www.lucysnyder.com\/index.php\/category\/convention\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lucysnyder.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/genconws.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1398,"url":"https:\/\/www.lucysnyder.com\/index.php\/engaging-gaming\/","url_meta":{"origin":168,"position":3},"title":"On Gaming and Engaging Players","author":"Lucy A. Snyder","date":"July 3, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"I've had the opportunity to write for educational games, and so I've been trying to think more critically about games (particularly board games and card games) in terms of figuring out why the ones I like engage me. Playing the game is a positive social experience. If it's not a\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;game&quot;","block_context":{"text":"game","link":"https:\/\/www.lucysnyder.com\/index.php\/category\/game\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lucysnyder.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/chicks-dig-gaming-cover-web.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lucysnyder.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/chicks-dig-gaming-cover-web.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lucysnyder.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/chicks-dig-gaming-cover-web.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lucysnyder.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/chicks-dig-gaming-cover-web.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lucysnyder.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/chicks-dig-gaming-cover-web.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lucysnyder.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/chicks-dig-gaming-cover-web.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":2771,"url":"https:\/\/www.lucysnyder.com\/index.php\/origins-game-fair\/","url_meta":{"origin":168,"position":4},"title":"Origins Game Fair","author":"Lucy A. Snyder","date":"June 12, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"I'll be participating in the Origins Game Fair this week as part of the Origins Library. The Library programming and author tables have moved to a new location. Previously, our signing tables were way in the back of the huge vendor hall, and our programming was tucked away in a\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;convention&quot;","block_context":{"text":"convention","link":"https:\/\/www.lucysnyder.com\/index.php\/category\/convention\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Origins Game Fair","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lucysnyder.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/origins.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lucysnyder.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/origins.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lucysnyder.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/origins.png?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lucysnyder.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/origins.png?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lucysnyder.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/origins.png?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lucysnyder.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/origins.png?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":2719,"url":"https:\/\/www.lucysnyder.com\/index.php\/garden-of-eldritch-delights-and-chiral-mad-4-nominated-for-shirley-jackson-awards\/","url_meta":{"origin":168,"position":5},"title":"Garden of Eldritch Delights and Chiral Mad 4 Nominated for Shirley Jackson Awards","author":"Lucy A. Snyder","date":"May 30, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Two of my books have been nominated for Shirley Jackson Awards this year! Garden of Eldritch Delights has been nominated in the Single-Author Collection Category, and Chiral Mad 4 (which I co-edited with Michael Bailey) has been nominated in the Edited Anthology category. The Shirley Jackson Awards were established to\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;horror&quot;","block_context":{"text":"horror","link":"https:\/\/www.lucysnyder.com\/index.php\/category\/horror\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"The covers to Garden of Eldritch Delights and Chiral Mad 4","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lucysnyder.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Duo-1.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lucysnyder.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Duo-1.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lucysnyder.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Duo-1.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lucysnyder.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Duo-1.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lucysnyder.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Duo-1.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lucysnyder.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/168","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lucysnyder.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lucysnyder.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lucysnyder.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lucysnyder.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=168"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lucysnyder.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/168\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lucysnyder.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/169"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lucysnyder.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=168"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lucysnyder.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=168"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lucysnyder.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=168"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}