Marie Vibbert Archives - Gary David Gillen

Conference Recap Cleveland Concoction 2023

Introduction

I attended the SF conference, Cleveland Concoction, at 600 North Aurora Road, Aurora, Ohio, at the Bertram Inn and Conference Center from March 17 to 19, 2023. I attended Cleveland Concoction in 2017, 2018, 2019, 2023, 2024, and 2025. (2020, 2021, and 2022 were canceled due to COVID-19).I attended the opening ceremony, seven panels, three concerts, one performance, the state of the convention meeting, and the closing ceremonies.

The link to the Concoction website.

http://www.clevelandconcoction.org/

Concoction 2023 Banner

Cleveland Concoction 2023 Program Guide Cover

ConCoction 2023 Badge

Bertram Inn and Conference Center

Summary

Friday, March 17 at 2 PM

Mistakes Beginning Authors Make 1.0, a panel with Linda Robertson Reinhardt, Marcus V. Calvert, J. D. Blackrose, Joelle Presby, and Tory Gates.

[Insert Summary Here]

They held the showcase in Hayes A Room with 8 attendees.

Friday, March 17 at 3 PM

Animal Sidekicks, a panel with Cassandra Morgan, Addie J. King, Olivia Berrier, James Fadeley, and David F. Balog.

[Insert Summary Here]

They held the showcase in Hayes A Room with 12 attendees.

Friday, March 17 at 5 PM

The Opening Ceremonies.

[Insert Summary Here]

They held the ceremonies in the Pegasus Room with 40 attendees.

Friday, March 17 at 6 PM

A Concert by The Harp Twins

[Insert Summary Here]

They held the showcase in the Pegasus Room with 60 attendees.

Friday, March 17 at 8 PM

Flash Fiction, a panel with Olivia Berrier, Weston Kincaide, and Marie Vibbert.

[Insert Summary Here]

They held the showcase in Hayes A Room with 7 attendees.

Saturday, March 18 at 10 AM

Mistakes Beginning Authors Make 2.0, a panel with Jason R. Lady, Marie Vibbert, James Fadeley, and Clif Flynt.

[Insert Summary Here]

They held the showcase in Hayes A Room with 10 attendees.

Saturday, March 18 at 12 PM

Difficulties in Dating, a performance with The Confused Greenies.

[Insert Summary Here]

They held the showcase in the Pegasus Room with 12 attendees.

Saturday, March 18 at 1 PM

Star Maps and Alternate Earths, a panel with Andy Presby

[Insert Summary Here]

They held the showcase in the Hayes C & D Room with 7 attendees.

Saturday, March 18 at 3:30 PM

A Concert by The Harp Twins

[Insert Summary Here]

They held the showcase in the Pegasus Room with 110 attendees. (A Full House)

Saturday, March 18 at 7 PM

Quitting Your Day Job, a panel with J. D. Blackrose, Joelle Presby, Olivia Berrier, and Linda Robertson Reinhardt.

[Insert Summary Here]

They held the showcase in Hayes A Room with 7 attendees.

Sunday, March 19 at 10 AM

Structuring Your Story, a panel with Evan Graham, Marie Vibbert, Weston Kincade, and Tony Gates.

[Insert Summary Here]

They held the showcase in Hayes A Room with 9 attendees.

Sunday, March 19 at 11 AM

A Concert by The Harp Twins

[Insert Summary Here]

They held the showcase in the Pegasus Room with 65 attendees.

Sunday, March 19 at 1 PM

The State of the Convention

[Insert Summary Here]

They held the showcase in the Pegasus Room with 12 attendees.

Sunday, March 19 at 2 PM

Closing Ceremonies

[Insert Summary Here]

They held the showcase in the Hayes C&D room with 37 attendees.

Recommendation – Conclusion

Conference Recap Cleveland Concoction 2023

[Insert Recommendation Here]

Links

I attended the SF conference, Cleveland Concoction, at 600 North Aurora Road, Aurora, Ohio, at the Bertram Inn and Conference Center from March 7 to 9, 2025. I attended 11 activities. My star of the con was Marie Vibbert. The con returns in March 2026.

Conference Recap Cleveland ConCoction 2025

I attended the SF conference called Cleveland Concoction at 600 North Aurora Road Aurora, Ohio at the Bertram Inn and Conference Center from March 8 to 10, 2024. I attended the opening ceremony, eight panels, two author showcases, and the closing ceremony. This year’s theme was the Neverending dungeon. My star of the con was Becca Lynn Mathis. The con returns from March 7 to March 9, 2025.

Conference Recap Cleveland ConCoction 2024

Links Continued

I attended the SF conference Cleveland Concoction 2019, at 600 North Aurora Road, Aurora, Ohio, at the Bertram Inn and Conference Center from March 1 to 3, 2019. I attended the opening ceremony, four panels, and the closing ceremony. This is a link to my conference recap. I also volunteered in the Programming Department for four hours and in the ConSuite for four hours.

Conference Recap Cleveland ConCoction 2019

I attended the SF conference Cleveland Concoction at 600 North Aurora Road Aurora, Ohio at the Bertram Inn and Conference Center from March 9, 2018, to March 11, 2018. The 2019 convention was from March 1 to 3, 2019 and I realized as I was writing a recap for that conference, I had not posted a recap for the 2018 conference. This is a recap for the conference from last year. I attended the opening ceremony, five panels, two author showcases, a performance, and the closing ceremony. I also volunteered in the ConSuite for eight hours.

Conference Recap Cleveland ConCoction 2018

This is my recap for the SF conference Cleveland Concoction from 2017. They held it from March 10, 2017, to March 12, 2017. I attended nine activities and volunteered in the ConSuite for twelve hours.

Conference Recap Cleveland ConCoction 2017

Conference Recap Cleveland ConCoction 2025

Introduction

I attended the SF conference called Cleveland ConCoction at 600 North Aurora Road Aurora, Ohio at the Bertram Inn and Conference Center from March 7 to 9, 2025. I also attended Cleveland ConCoction in 2017, 2018, 2019, 2023, and 2024. (2020, 2021, and 2022 were canceled due to COVID-19).I attended the opening ceremony, seven panels, two author showcases, and the state of the convention meeting. This year’s tag line was Race Back to The Castle. Celebrating the 40^th anniversary of the release of the movie Back to the Future and the 40^th anniversary of the Super Mario Brothers Nintendo platform game.

ConCoction 2025 Banner

Cleveland ConCoction 2025 Program Guide Cover

ConCoction 2025 Badge

The link to the ConCoction website.

http://www.clevelandconcoction.org/

Bertram Inn and Conference Center

Summary

Conference Recap Cleveland ConCoction 2025

Friday, March 7 at 5 PM

The Opening Ceremonies.

Mogchelle the emcee (she was also a cosplay guest, dressed as Beetlejuice at this ceremony) introduced the guests and staffers at the con. Marie Vibbert was the author guest of honor, Big Girl Little World was a cosplay guest (dressed as a shrunken head employee from Beetlejuice Beetlejiuce), the duo LoRTH were cosplay guests, and Eric Hogg was the Con Chair.

They held the ceremonies in the Pegasus Room with 20 attendees.

Friday, March 7 at 6 PM

Author Showcase with Barbara Doran, Becca Lynn Mathis, Megan R. Engelhardt, and Vik Walker

Each author read for 15 minutes. Vik Walker read from their paranormal romance. Barbara Doran read from her novel, The Book Hunter’s Apprentice. Becca Lynn Mathis read from her novel, Wound Shadows. Megan R. Englehardt read from her novel, The Way We Used to Walk.

They held the showcase in Hayes A Room with 7 attendees.

Friday, March 7 at 7 PM

Finish the Novel, a panel with Evan Dicken, Jahrod K. Anderson, Marie Vibbert, Charlie Oberndorf, and J. D. Blackrose.

Tips and tricks for productive, sustainable writing practices. Oberndorf said that the key to finishing a novel is to find the heart of your story to get to the ending. Blackrose said that you must find a way to write out of the issue you are stuck on. It’s important you have a writing habit. A novel is a marathon, not a sprint.

They held the panel in the Hayes A Room with 4 attendees.

Friday, March 7 at 8 PM

Paths to Publishing, a panel with Evan Dicken, Jahrod K. Anderson, Becca Lynn Mathis, David F. Balog, and J. D. Blackrose.

The modern landscape of publishing and cultivating an audience. Mathis used Wattpad to get her work out there. She also said to get on social media, Facebook and Instagram for the older crowd, and Tik Rok and Tumblr for the younger crowd. Mathis said that you need to remember that you need at least 25 Amazon reviews to get into the Amazon Algorithm.

They held the panel in the Hayes A Room with 6 attendees.

Saturday, March 8 at 10 AM

Using Flashbacks/ Flash Forwards in Writing, a panel with Weston Kincade, Barbara Doran, David F. Balog, and J. D. Blackrose.

Is it a good idea? Make sure you don’t leave your reader in the wrong century. Blackrose said that it is important to keep your flashbacks short, so you don’t lose the narrative flow of your main story. Balog and Doran both said to start in mid-action and then flash back for your backstory.

They held the panel in the Hayes A Room with 7 attendees.

Saturday, March 8 at 12 PM

Building a Writing Habit, a panel with Cindy A. Mathews, J. D. Blackrose, Charlie Oberndorf, and Megan R. Engelhardt.

Step-by-step talking about finding the barriers keeping you from writing and how to overcome them. Oberndorf suggests writing early in the morning, deadlines help you focus and create a rhythm in your writing habit. Blackrose said that it helped her to have a part-time and flexible work schedule. Oberndorf said that stories are about things going wrong, start there.

They held the panel in the Presidential Board Room with 5 attendees.

Saturday, March 8 at 2 PM

No Hero Does It Alone, a panel with A. J. Mathews, Vik Walker, Weston Kincade, Alan Bailey, Sama Cleveland, and Cindy Mathews.

Writing standout sidekicks and side characters. Question: What are the equalities of a well written sidekick? Cindy Mathews said they are less informed but have a complementary talent for the hero. Walker said they can bring humor or serve as a mentor to the hero. Question: The uses of a sidekick. Cindy Mathews said that the sidekick can propel the plot forward. Question: Who is your Favorite Sidekick? A. J. Mathews, Samwell in Lord of the Rings, Cindy Mathews, Dr. Watson in the Sherlock Holmes series, and Kincade, Hermione Granger in the Harry Potter series,

They held the panel in the Hayes A Room with 6 attendees.

Saturday, March 8 at 4 PM

Going From Short Story to Novel, a panel with Cindy Mathews, Marcus Cook, Marcus Calvert, and Megan R. Englehardt.

It’s not just about adding adjectives. Calvert said you can learn the craft to write-by-writing short stories. Mathews said a short story has a limited premise solving a smaller problem than a novel. The audience asked for a definition of a short story. The answer was under ten thousand words. Calvert said to aim for a three-thousand-word short story which takes about ten minutes to read.

They held the panel in the Hayes A Room with 10 attendees.

Saturday, March 8 at 5 PM

Plantsing vs Pottsing, a panel with A. J. Mathews, Evan Dicken, Jahrod K. Anderson, Tory Gates, and Clif Flynt.

Do you plot or write by the seat of your pants? Panelists discuss the pros and cons of careful plot outlines, bullet points, pitch, spreadsheets, and other ways to get from blank screen to a finished story. Flynt is a plotter and brought a ten-foot-long sheet of paper where he had written out the plotting of one of his novels. Mathews said that you need all your plot points before writing murder mysteries. Gates said he gets ideas first, then writes character sketches, then a synopsis/timeline, and only then does he write the narrative. Dicken said that he writes IP novels, so he must submit an outline before he can start writing. Anderson said he is a pantser by nature, so he feels that detailed outlining stifles his creativity.

They held the panel in the Hayes A Room with 16 attendees.

Sunday, March 9 from 10 AM

The State of the Convention

Wasn’t this a great weekend? No? Come tell us (gently) why and we’ll tell you what’s been going on with the Con. Seven members of the convention committee were present. They were former Con Chair Laura, Amy Schman from Programing, Eric Hogg the Con Chair and Hotel Liaison, Stan Paulson from Security, Sin from Operations, Ashley Berry from Publicity, and Casey Taylor from Gaming. Concoction is the second biggest event at the Bertram this year, the first is Twinsfest in Twinsburg. They plan to develop an anime track to attract younger attendees. The committee always need volunteers. They wondered if a book club would be beneficial to the Con.

They held the ceremonies in the Pegasus Room with 8 attendees

Sunday, March 9 at 11 AM

Author Showcase with Weston Kincade, David F. Balog, and Geoffry Landis.

Listen to your favorite authors read excepts from newly released and soon to be released works. Find your next great read. Ask questions and discover the world behind the books. Balog read a chapter from his novel, The Necromancer’s Sorrow. (Note: Balog has the owl Glitter featured in his books perched on his shoulder.) Kincade read the short story “Permadrunk” from his collection, Tales from the Box. Geoffrey Landis (Mary Turzillo was scheduled for the showcase but she was sick, not COVID, and he substituted for her.) read three poems. Kincade read a poem from his collection. Balog read a preface/poem from his novel.

They held the showcase in Hayes A Room with 8 attendees.

Recommendation – Conclusion

Conference Recap Cleveland ConCoction 2025

ConCoction 2025 was wonderful. The Bertram Conference center is nice. The con was held previously at the Airport Sheraton which was torn down this year. My star of the con was Marie Vibbert, the last-minute Author Guest of Honor. I saw her in one panel, attending several panels, and giving a reading in the Consuite. My other highlights were seeing Weston Kincade and David F. Balog who were both on panels and in an author showcase. I’m planning on attending next year.

Links

Conference Recap Cleveland ConCoction 2025

I attended the SF conference called Cleveland ConCoction at 600 North Aurora Road Aurora, Ohio at the Bertram Inn and Conference Center from March 8 to 10, 2024. I attended the opening ceremony, eight panels, two author showcases, and the closing ceremony. This year’s theme was the Neverending dungeon. My star of the con was Becca Lynn Mathis. The con returns from March 7 to March 9, 2025.

Conference Recap Cleveland ConCoction 2024

I attended the SF conference Cleveland ConCoction 2019 at 600 North Aurora Road Aurora, Ohio at the Bertram Inn and Conference Center from March 1 to 3, 2019. I attended the opening ceremony, four panels, and the closing ceremony. This is a link to my conference recap. I also volunteered in the Programming Department for four hours and in the ConSuite for four hours.

Conference Recap Cleveland ConCoction 2019

I attended the SF conference Cleveland ConCoction at 600 North Aurora Road Aurora, Ohio at the Bertram Inn and Conference Center from March 9, 2018, to March 11, 2018. The 2019 convention was from March 1 to 3, 2019 and I realized as I was writing a recap for that conference, I had not posted a recap for the 2018 conference. This is a recap for the conference from last year. I attended the opening ceremony, five panels, two author showcases, a performance, and the closing ceremony. I also volunteered in the ConSuite for eight hours.

Conference Recap Cleveland ConCoction 2018

This is my recap for the SF conference Cleveland ConCoction from 2017. They held it from March 10, 2017, to March 12, 2017. Attended nine activities and volunteered in the ConSuite for twelve hours.

Conference Recap Cleveland ConCoction 2017

ConFusion Detroit 2025 Conference

ConFusion Detroit 2025 Conference Recap

Introduction

I attended the ConFusion Detroit 2025 Conference at 21111 Haggerty Road Novi, Michigan at the Sheraton Detroit Novi from January 24, 2025, to January 26, 2025. I also attended ConFusion Detroit in 2019, 2020, (2021 was canceled due to COVID-19), 2022, 2023, and 2024. The Ann Arbor Science Fiction Association Sponsored the conference. I attended the opening ceremonies, the guests of honor dessert reception, three panels, a concert, and two author readings. This year’s theme was Monumental Confusion celebrating the fiftieth time they have put on the conference.

This is a link to the ConFusion website.

http://confusionsf.org/

The Ann Arbor Science Fiction Association sponsors Detroit ConFusion.

This is my badge for ConFusion Detroit 2024.

[insert badge here]

Summary

ConFusion Detroit 2025 Conference Recap

[insert summary here]

Recommendation – Conclusion

[insert recommendation here.]

Links

This is my post about the SF conference ConFusion in Detroit, Michigan from January 19 to 21, 2024. The theme was the Labyrinth of ConFusion. My star of the con was Author John Scalzi.

ConFusion Detroit 2024 Conference Recap

In January 2023, I attended the SF conference ConFusion in Detroit, Michigan. I still want to write a post about that.

I attended the SF conference ConFusion in Detroit, Michigan from January 21 to 23, 2022. The theme was Rising ConFusion. My stars of the con were Guest of Honor author Jim C. Hines and Science Guest of Honor Dr. Jordan Steckloff.

ConFusion Detroit 2022 Conference Recap

I attended the SF conference ConFusion in Detroit, Michigan from January 16 to 19, 2020. I attended four panels, two readings, and one interview. The con theme was How to Train Your ConFusion, based on the movie, How to Train Your Dragon. My star of the con was John Scalzi. He gave an excellent reading of Chapter Two of his upcoming book named The Last Emperox. My other highlights were Kameron Hurley’s interview and the lecture on Edible Insects and Human Evolution. I’ll be back next year.

Conference Recap ConFusion Detroit 2020

I attended the SF conference ConFusion in Detroit, Michigan from January 18 to 20, 2019. The con’s theme was Storming the ConFusion, so they chose the areas with names related to the movie The Princess Bride. I had a great drive to Detroit just before the snowstorm came. My star of the con was John Scalzi. He gave an excellent reading and was engaging in the panel I attended. My other highlights were Ada Palmer’s interview and watching The Princess Bride at the Con. I’ll be back next year.

Conference Recap ConFusion Detroit 2019

Conference Marcon Columbus 2022

Conference Marcon Columbus 2022 Recap

Introduction

I attended the SF Conference Marcon Columbus 2022 on May 7, 2022. They held the conference at 350 North High Street Columbus, Ohio 43215 at the Hyatt Regency Columbus. The drive was two-plus hours taken in the morning and back in the evening. I also attended Marcon in 2017, 2018, and 2019. The missing two years were because the conference was canceled those years. The story going around the con this year was that this might be the last Marcon because the coordinating group of this con will no longer do it going forward. Will someone run the con next year? Stay tuned. I attended three panels and one concert at the 2022 conference.

This is a link to the Marcon Conference Facebook account. Their website was down then and still is down.

https://www.facebook.com/MARConOH/

Summary

Saturday, May 7th at 11:00 AM

It was the best of Kynes, it was the worst of Kynes: The new Dune film, a panel with Denver Karchner, Ted Dickinson, Paul Hahn, Emily Lydic, and Sean Mead.

The panel debated what they liked and didn’t like about the Dune (2021) film. The film covered the first part of the novel Dune. They will make a second film covering the rest of the novel and its scheduled release is on October 20, 2023. They compared the current film with the Dune (1984) film and the Sci-Fi Channel series from 2000. The panelists enjoyed the movie but felt that some concepts could have been explained better for non-book readers. They are cautiously optimistic that the second film will answer their questions.

They held the panel in Salon B/C Room with 19 attendees.

Saturday, May 7th at 12:00 PM

The Harp Twins, a concert with Camille Kitt and Kennerly Kitt.

The Harp twins are identical twins that both play electric harps. They arrange their music. They played nine songs in the concert including Nothing Else Matter by Metallica and Fear of the Dark by Iron Maiden. In between songs they engaged in humorous banter between them and introduced each piece before they played them. A very enjoyable concert, not what I expected, but they won me over.

This is a link to their website which has a bio, links to purchase their music, music videos, and a schedule of upcoming performances.

https://www.harptwins.com/

They held the concert in the Buckeye Room with 70 attendees.

Saturday, May 7th at 1:00 PM

Writing for Hire, a discussion with Marie Vibbert.

The discussion was about the author’s experience in taking a writing for-hire job. She says that a lot of mass-market books are ghostwritten. She told us what it’s like writing someone else’s property to a specification. The book is expected to be released on July 12, 2022. The book is named MegaDeath with the name of the author Tory Quinn. The interesting thing is that the book says Tory Quinn with Marie Vibbert. The other two books “written” by Tory Quinn were written by other ghostwriters. Marie said it was an interesting experience. She was given a specific outline that must be followed in writing the book. The business model for the publisher was pitching a movie concept by having a written novel adapted into a screenplay. There wasn’t much room for creativity but the pay was good.

This is the link to the Goodreads page for MegaDeath by Tory Quinn

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/56603442-megadeath

They held the discussion in the Capital Room with 7 attendees.

Saturday, May 7th at 2:00 PM

Babylon 5: Reborn or Retreaded, a panel with Lee Shamblin, Rachael Thurston, Denver Karshner, Emily Lydic, and Ken Keisel.

The reason for the panel was to discuss the proposed reboot of the series by the original show writer, J. Michael Straczynski. At the time of the panel, the details of the reboot were hazy. What complicates matters is that the CW channel planned to produce it with a projected release in 2023. Nexstar will purchase CW and that might impact the status of the Babylon 5 reboot. The panel questioned what would happen going forward.

They held the panel in Salon B/C with 27 attendees.

Recommendation – Conclusion

I had a great time at Conference Marcon Columbus 2022. My co-stars of the con were The Harp Twins for their concert and the Writing for Hire discussion presented by Marie Vibbert. I also attended Marcon in 2017, 2018, and 2019 and hope the con will return in 2023.

Links

Recap for SF Conference Marcon Columbus on May 11, 2019. They held it at Crowne Plaza – Columbus North. I also attended Marcon in 2017 and 2018. This year I attended four panels, a performance, and an interview.

Recap Marcon Conference 2019

Recap for SF Conference Marcon Columbus I attended on May 12, 2018, at the Hyatt Regency in Columbus, Ohio. I attended four panels and two game shows.

Marcon Conference 2018

Recap for SF Conference Marcon Columbus on May 13, 2017. They held the conference at the Hyatt Regency Columbus. I also attended Marcon in 2018 and 2019. I attended five panels at the 2017 conference.

Conference Recap Marcon Columbus 2017

Western Reserve Writers Conference 2022

Introduction

I attended the 37^th annual Western Reserve Writers Conference on March 26, 2022. They held the Conference at the South Euclid-Lyndhurst branch of the Cuyahoga County Public Library at the William N. Skirball writer’s center at the branch. It was a one-day event with an introduction, a keynote speaker, three breakout sessions, and one first-page critique panel.

This is the link to the Cuyahoga County Library.

https://www.cuyahogalibrary.org/

This is the link to the writer’s center at the library branch.

https://www.cuyahogalibrary.org/Services/William-N-Skirball-Writers-Center.aspx

Summary

Saturday, March 26th at 9:30 AM

Welcome and Conference Overview

Deanna R. Adams is the conference coordinator and Laurie Kincer is the librarian in charge of the writer’s center.

Laurie explained how they set up the library, where the three meeting rooms were located, and about the door prizes available at 4 PM. Deanna introduced the keynote speaker, Erin Hosier.

They held the welcome and conference overview in the meeting room A/B/C with about 90 attendees.

Saturday, March 26th at 9:40 AM

Keynote Speaker: The Who, What, When, Where, and Why of Literary Agents.

The keynote speaker was Erin Hosier. She is a veteran agent and author.

Erin specializes in representing non-fiction biographies, memoirs, and contemporary fiction. She gave an example of one of the books that she sold from submission to publication. Self Care by Leigh Stein is a contemporary fiction novel. It was pitched to 25 editors in March 2019. 23 responded and they held an auction three weeks later. The winner was Penguin books which published the novel on June 30, 2020.

In a Query Letter, it is important to get the comp titles correct and make them recently published.

She went over the steps for a book proposal for non-fiction works.

An editor accepted her proposal for her memoir, Don’t Let me Down: A Memoir. It took her seven years to write it.

She gets about 50 proposals a month and accepts about five per year.

They held the talk in the meeting room A/B/C with about 90 attendees.

Saturday, March 26th at 10:30 AM

Breakout Session: What Authors Should Know About the Law: Publishing Law 101.

The presenter was Jacqueline Lipton. She is a literary attorney and literary agent.

Jacqui wanted to write a book about explaining legal matters simply for writers because that book was not on the market.

She went over copywriting basics.

Trademarks are a tricky concept. She explained it this way. Trademarks (commercial) versus patent (ideas) versus Copywrite (also ideas).

Goodreads link to Jacqui’s book: Law and Authors: A Legal Handbook for Writers

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/51852533-law-and-authors

Jacqui is the founder of the Raven Quill Agency found at this web address.

Home

They held the talk in the meeting room A/B/C with about 40 attendees.

Saturday, March 26th at 3:00 PM

Breakout Session: Writing and Submitting Short Stories.

The presenter was Marie Vibbert. She has sold over 70 short stories and her debut novel, Galactic Hellcats.

What is a short story? She describes it this way. It is a complete story of about one thousand to eight thousand words. A short story is enjoyable and impacts the reader emotionally. It has at least four ideas covering character, place, a problem, and a theme.

Her advice is to know and read in your genre. Every genre has its own conventions which you learn by reading. She writes science fiction almost exclusively. Fantasy doesn’t work for her.

Beginnings are crucial. Figure out the beginning of the story to fit with the ending.

So, you have a draft. What now? Here are three ways to find markets to sell.

For Science Fiction stories, you can submit them to any of the SFWA qualifying markets.

https://www.sfwa.org/?s=market+report

Qualified markets pay a professional rate.

Use the submission grinder to track your submissions.

https://thegrinder.diabolicalplots.com/ Use an open call in a Facebook Group.

This is the link to the Goodreads page for Galactic Hellcats.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/53388150-galactic-hellcats

They held the talk at the Homework Center with about 30 attendees.

Recommendation – Conclusion

The Western Reserve Writers Conference 2022 returned well. I attended the conference in 2019, but they canceled the conference in 2020 and 2021 because of COVID-19. I’m glad they held the conference, and it seems as well attended as before the pandemic. My Star of the Con was Marie Vibbert. She had some brilliant advice for aspiring short story writers. I saw her speak at the virtual conference, Cleveland Inkubator 2021 and her presentation was great then too.

Links

I attended the 36^th annual Western Reserve Writers Conference on April 27, 2019. They held the Conference at the South Euclid-Lyndhurst branch of the Cuyahoga County Public Library at the William N. Skirball writer’s center at the branch. It was a one-day event with an introduction, a keynote speaker, three breakout sessions, and one first-page critique panel. I attended the introduction, a keynote speaker, and two breakout sessions. I thought The Western Reserve Writers Conference was well run, diverse in the presentations offered, and informative. My Star of the Con was Bree Barton. Her presentation was fun, the exercises were useful, and I liked her personality.

Western Reserve Writers Conference 2019

I attended the 34^th annual Western Reserve Writers Conference on September 23, 2017. I could not attend last year. This is a link to my review of the 2017 conference.

The Western Reserve Writers Conference

Cleveland Inkubator Writing Conference 2021

Introduction

They normally hold the Cleveland Inkubator Writing Conference at the Louis Stokes Wing of the Cleveland Public Library, 525 Superior Avenue Cleveland, Ohio 44115. This year they presented a virtual event using Zoom between July 11, 2021, to July 25, 2021, for the Cleveland Inkubator Writing Conference 2021. Over the two weeks, they presented forty-two workshops, panels, and special events. I attended two panels, one craft talk, and one workshop (which was held over two days).

Literary Cleveland sponsored the event. Literary Cleveland’s mission is to create and nurture a vibrant literary arts community in Northeast Ohio. The group sponsors writing workshops, author interviews, and a monthly group meeting mixer.

http://www.litcleveland.org/

Summary Introduction

I attended two panels, one craft talk, and one workshop (which was held over two days). I will summarize the four events I attended in the next four sections.

Workshop with D.M. Pulley

They split this workshop into two days, Wednesday, July 14, 2021, from 4 PM to 5 PM, and Wednesday, July 21, 2021, from 4 PM to 5 PM. The topic was Writing Multiple Storylines. She taught the workshop using a PowerPoint presentation. The conference coordinator distributed a copy of the presentation to the participants after the workshop. I have noted the four most important ideas I learned in the workshop in the following paragraphs.

She talked about five structures used in multiple storyline novels and gave an example for each. All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr uses a Dual Narrative Structure. It features two protagonists on the same timeline. The Girls by Emma Cline uses a Dual Timeline Structure. It features a single protagonist with an early and later timeline.

The Dollhouse by Fiona Davis uses a Dual Narrative and Dual Timeline Structure. It features two protagonists each with an early and later timeline. A Visit from the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan uses a linked Short Story or Novella Structure. It features many characters and many timelines with linked narratives. Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut uses a Gestalt Timeline. It features one protagonist with many scattered timelines. There are other examples.

Writing Exercise #1 was to describe what your story is about. Writing Exercise #2 was to figure out whose story your work is about.

She gave examples of the guideposts, transitions, and plotting from the five novels listed above.

Writing Exercise #4 was to draw a three-point plot arc for your story. Writing Exercise #4 was to storyboard your story.

D.M. Pulley is a historical mystery writer with four published novels. No One’s Home is her most recently published novel. I linked the Goodreads page to No One’s Home below.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/52921754-no-one-s-home

Craft talk with Marie Vibbert

This craft talk was on Wednesday, July 14, from 7 PM to 8:30 PM. The topic was So You Wrote a Short Story-Now What? She presented her talk using a PowerPoint presentation. The conference coordinator distributed a copy of the presentation to the participants after the talk. I have noted the three most important ideas I learned in the talk in the following paragraphs.

When submitting a short story, follow the submission guidelines posted on each website of the magazine where the submission is going. Each magazine has specific requirements, if not followed will diminish the possibility of a sale. Submissions should follow the Shunn format rules linked here. https://www.shunn.net/format/classic/

She presented a live demonstration of submitting a story. She tracks her submissions at the Submission Grinder website. https://thegrinder.diabolicalplots.com/ Each author has a password-protected account. The website is a submission tracker and a market database. The website search engine helps the author find suitable markets to submit each unique story. She submitted one of her completed but unsold stories to the Clarkesworld Magazine in the demonstration. http://clarkesworldmagazine.com/

She says to expect a lot of rejections. On Submission Grinder she has tracked her submissions for the last six years. She has over 900 submissions with 73 accepted stories. The highest number of rejections for her for a story before it sold was 42. She is an accomplished author, and it was instructive to see her record of submissions.

Marie Vibbert is a science fiction short story writer. On the Internet Speculative Fiction Database (isfdb.org) she has 43 short stories listed. They published her first novel Galactic Hellcats this year. I linked the Goodreads page for Galactic Hellcats below.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/53388150-galactic-hellcats

From Dream to Reality: A Panel with Four Debut Authors

They held this panel from 10 AM to 11:30 AM on Saturday, July 17, 2001. The four authors in the panel published their debut novels in early 2021. The novels were The Kindest Lie by Nancy Johnson, Bride of the Sea by Eman Quotah, On Fragile Waves by E. Lily Yu, and Body of Stars by Laura Maylene Walter. Laura Maylene Walter was the moderator and posed questions for the panel to answer. Each author started by repeating the elevator pitch for her novel. I have included one question and answer I thought insightful from each author.

What was the most challenging part of writing your novel? E. Lily Yu answered learning Persian was necessary to complete the novel.

Explain your experience of the agent side of publishing. Nancy Johnson answered the key was an excellent query letter. She used the phase Hook-Book-Cook to describe what you need in your query. The Hook is your elevator pitch; the Book is a brief summary of your book (only add your most interesting points), and the Cook is adding any works published and workshops attended.

Explain how you write a novel with a day job, and how do you keep your motivation up? Laura Maylene Walter answered she gets up before work to write, she takes unpaid weeks off work to write. She doesn’t have kids, so that helps. Her goal is 1000 words per day, or she uses a time goal like a certain number of words per half hour.

What surprises you about the writing and publication business? Eman Quotah answered pay attention to the small successes you achieve. A handwritten card from a beta reader can be the best validation you can receive. Don’t get caught up in other writers’ successes.

Eyes of the Editor: A Panel with Four Editors

They held this panel from 7 PM to 8:30 PM on Wednesday, July 21, 2021. The four editors on the panel were Angela Kim (Berkley, romance), Kate Napolitano (Dey Street, non-fiction), Nadxieli Nieto (Flatiron Books, cross-genre), and Shannon Jamison-Vazquez (Little, Brown, mystery/thriller/suspense). The moderator was Brandi Larson. After the panelists introduced themselves, the moderator posed questions to the panel. I have included one question and answer I thought insightful from each editor.

What is your impression of someone trying to get a job in publishing today? Kate Napolitano answered that publishing is an apprenticeship industry. Earning an MFA is not the only way to get in.

What is a must-have for a query (fiction) or a proposal (Non-fiction)? Nadxieli Nieto answered that for commercial fiction, understand your placement in the marketplace and the relation of your work to the current trends.

What are the hot trends? Shannon Jamison-Vazquez answered you can’t write to trends. The most important thing is to use your voice. That is what is unique about you and will sell your novel.

What do you look for in the opening paragraphs? Angela Kim answered momentum is important. Don’t put too much info in at once. Be active with witty dialog. Use an active voice and a distinctive voice.

Before the panel, attendees volunteered to send in the first paragraphs of their novels. They picked six author paragraphs at random, and the panel read and discussed each.

The panel ended with final thoughts and advice.

Conclusion

I enjoyed the programs that I attended at the Cleveland Inkubator Writing Conference 2021 and plan to attend in person in 2022. My highlights were D.M. Pulley’s Writing Multiple Stories Workshop and Marie Vibbert’s talk about submitting short stories. I thought using Zoom worked well. At the in-person conference, you must pick one of four talks in three different time slots on the Saturday of the conference. Being spread over two weeks enabled me to pick the talks that I wanted to see. I appreciated the flexibility but will like to go back to the in-person conference next year.

Links

I attended the Cleveland Inkubator on August 4, 2018, at the Louis Stokes Wing of the Cleveland Public Library, 525 Superior Avenue Cleveland, Ohio 44115. Literary Cleveland sponsored the event. Literary Cleveland’s mission is to create and nurture a vibrant literary arts community in Northeast Ohio. I enjoyed the programs that I attended at the Cleveland Inkubator and plan to attend next year.

Cleveland Inkubator Writer’s Conference 2018

They held the Cleveland Inkubator on July 29, 2017, at the Louis Stokes Wing of the Cleveland Public Library, 525 Superior Avenue Cleveland, Ohio 44115. Literary Cleveland sponsored the event. Literary Cleveland’s mission is to create and nurture a vibrant literary arts community in Northeast Ohio. I enjoyed the programs that I attended at the Cleveland Inkubator and plan to attend next year.

Cleveland Inkubator Writer’s Conference