I attended the Gotham Writers Conference 2023.
Introduction
The Gotham Writers Workshop held the Gotham Writers Conference 2023 as a virtual conference on August 12, 2023. I attended the conference at the Ace Hotel in New York City on October 25, 2019. I also attended the virtual conference from October 16, 2020, to October 18, 2020. On August 12, 2023, they held four presentations which I attended. On August 13, 2023, they held three pitching roundtables which I did not attend.
This is the link to the Gotham Writers Workshop, the sponsor of the event.
https://www.writingclasses.com
Summary
Saturday, August 12th at 11:00 AM
Dangerous Worlds: Finding the Stakes in Speculative Settings Panel with Susan Breen, George Jreije, Holley Cornetto, and Kemi Ashing-Giwa.
Resist the urge to focus on setting, instead focus on character. If not on first draft, do so in revision.
Figure out your why, the stakes, the message.
Brace for rejection, it is part of the process. Spend time researching writing queries.
Speak to yourself like you would speak to your best friend.
Don’t be too perfectionist. Get out of your own way. Be positive.
Saturday, August 12th at 12:15 PM
Story is the Story: Exploring Real Lives Through Fantastical Plots Panel with Mike Chen, Peng Shepard, Nicky Drayden, and Robert Repino.
The panel started with questions to the panel from the moderator.
How do you find inspiration? Find the quirk to your character to frame how they see the world.
What is your favorite non-protagonist character? The Amnesiac in the Book of M by Pend Shepard.
What is the most difficult part to revision? Don’t let your character off too easily. Up the conflict in the revision.
How are issues conveyed into your fiction? Using vampire blood as analogues as the idea of Universal Basic.
How did your life experiences inspire your characters? Reading and media.
What character tropes do you not want to see anymore? Post-apocalyptic cult,
Then there was a Q and A session with the audience.
How do you build your community? Writing Groups.
Do you research before or during writing? Outline the book, then research by reverse engineering the story.
How do you develop your character? Create character profiles. Listen to people talking at the coffee shop. Learn by writing fan fiction, since the world building is done.
What do you do if the agent likes your novel but says it is too long? Sometimes they are right byt not always.
Saturday, August 12th at 1:30 PM
Publishing GPS: Navigating Pre-Query Research presentation conducted by Sharon Pelletier.
Begin by creating a strong list of prospective agents. It’s not just a numbers game.
A query is a two-way street, just like a job interview.
Publishers Marketplace is a paid website with important information on agents.
Search agents at TOR. Search agents that represented similar books to yours.
Saturday, August 12th at 2:45 PM
Featured Author Interview: Ken Liu conducted by Seth Fried.
We all start out by working from models but break away as soon as you can.
Motivation comes from reading. How can I write it better?
Work hard to recheck your original idea for the story.
Does the story illustrate the idea?
Dig deeper to find your original idea. If it comes too easy, it might be a cliché.
Push against the idea of being lazy. Find your voice.
Guard against eternal mediocrity.
Kill your Darlings. Get your butt on the chair and write.
Do what excites you. You will do better work following your muse.
Don’t focus on word count, focus on the story.
Recommendation – Conclusion
I enjoyed virtually attending the Gotham Writers Conference 2023. My star of the Con was Ken Liu because his interview was interesting and insightful. I attended the 2019 conference presentations in New York City. Then I attended the 2020 conference presentations and round table virtually. I attended the 2023 conference presentations and virtually. The conference was well worth the time invested, and I would like to attend next year including the round table.
Links
Recap for the Gotham Writers Conference 2020 from 10-16-20 to 10-18-20 sponsored by Gotham Writers Workshop. It was a virtual conference. I attended six presentations and a science fiction/fantasy pitching roundtable.
Recap for the Gotham Writers Conference in New York City, New York on October 25, 2019, sponsored by Gotham Writers Workshop. There were five panels and presentations at the conference. I did not attend on October 26, 2019, for the pitching roundtables.