Reflecting on the 2015 PNWA Writers Conference

Last week I attended the Pacific Northwest Writers Association’s annual writer’s conference in Bellevue Washington. I’ve been attending this conference since 2009, and have always been impressed with the scale of the event as well as the variety of writers and presenters.

At this year’s conference I presented a new workshop that focused on the various subgenres of fantasy and science fiction. Rather than a lecture on the technical definitions of each offshoot within speculative fiction, I chose to focus on the terms and definitions that are most commonly used by the readers of these genres. It was a lot of fun, and I was happy to help my students understand how to anticipate the expectations that their readers would have based on a story’s label.

Of course, I spent most of my time at the conference as an attendee rather than a presenter, even if I didn’t personally get a whole lot out of the presentations that were offered. This wasn’t necessarily the fault of PNWA, however. As a full-time author and writing coach, I feel like I already have a firm grasp of the basics of both the craft and business of writing. This year’s conference seemed to be focused on introductory-level workshops, and while I found several of them entertaining, I can’t say that I really learned anything new. Of course, there were half a dozen workshops going on simultaneously at all times throughout the conference, so it’s very likely that I simply chose workshops that ultimately weren’t targeted to me.

In addition to workshops on craft and marketing, the conference also offered pitch blocks and panels including a variety of agents and editors. Since I’m interested in being both traditionally and independently published, I did my share of pitching this year, and am happy to say that all the agents I spoke to invited me to query them. This included one agent that I pitched to in an elevator, which means that I can now say that I have successfully given an actual elevator pitch.

As my writing career has progressed, I’ve added more and more organizations and conferences to my growing list of contacts and events. I still have three more writing conferences that I’ll be teaching at this year, not to mention additional Cons and fan-focused events. But the PNWA conference will always hold a special place in my heart because it was the first such event I’d ever been to, and I hope to return and teach there again next year.

Game Story Review - Mass Effect Trilogy

As promised, here is my review of the storyline spanning the entire trilogy of this epic, sci-fi adventure series. First, let me just say that I played the bundled trilogy without any additional DLC or outside media (web comics, etc.). My Commander Shepard was a male soldier with an average rating of about 90% Paragon and 10% Renegade. I played every side-mission in each game, and finished each game’s storyline, loading my character from one game to the next until the final credits rolled.

Now, with that out of the way, let’s get to it.

Premise

This series of games follows Commander Shepard, a human space marine in a universe where humans are the new kids on the block among more than a dozen distinct alien races and cultures. The primary storyline is focused on the Reapers, synthetic lifeforms that are set on subjecting or destroying all intelligent organic life. Shepard’s adventures begin with the discovery of the Reapers and end with a final battle over the fate of the universe. Along the way, Shepard makes many friends and enemies, and gains a reputation as the most capable lifeform in existence.

Review

An alien invasion intent on destroying all life is certainly nothing new. What sets Mass Effect apart is the mind-blowing variety and variation that has been pre-scripted into it. Every major choice (and quite a few minor choices) have long-term effects throughout the entire series. For example, there’s an alien bounty hunter that you can recruit in the first game. At one point, this alien becomes a danger to the team, and it’s up to you whether you kill him or talk him down. I chose the diplomatic option, and was rewarded with this alien not only making appearances in later games, but playing a major part in several subplots, all of it fully voice-acted and scripted. This is why I felt the need to explain exactly how I had played the games, since it had such a large effect on my personal experience.

That being said, I think that there are a few comments I can make on the game that will be true regardless of what specific choices are made by the player. For example, the characterization, both in dialogue and motivations, was amazing. I won’t go into too much detail on the dialogue system since I’ve already dedicated an entire article to the subject, but I will say that I’ve started playing another Bioware RPG since finishing Mass Effect, and I already miss the organic conversations of Mass Effect rather than the one-sided monologues delivered by voice actors that are desperately trying not to sound like they’re having conversations with themselves.

In addition to the writing, there’s a lot to be said for the cinematography and overall presentation in the game. The lighting, camera angles, and music all work together to create appropriate emotional responses to each scene, whether it’s a humorous argument or the death of a beloved character. Speaking of character death, the game really excels at portraying the sweet poignancy of the death of a friend, and it’s a tribute to the writers, actors, and developers that I got a little choked up during each of those scenes.

OK, now that I’ve praised the game a little for its amazing storyline, let’s address the elephant in the room. While gamers and reviewers have raved about the amazing writing and storytelling of Bioware games and the Mass Effect series in particular, the ending of the trilogy has garnered reactions ranging from mild disappointment to violent outrage. Ever since I started reviewing the storyline in games, I’ve been getting requests to give my own opinion on this sensitive subject.

For those of you who haven’t played the series, let me explain what happens. After two games of building up the Reapers as the ultimate threat to life in the universe, the third game focuses on the desperate struggle to survive the invasion and culminates with Shepard standing at the heart of the Reaper’s control center. Dozens, if not hundreds, of little decisions have been made by the player to get to this final moment of confrontation. And that’s part of what makes this ending so disappointing.

The final outcome of this unprecedented, branching space epic comes down to three choices that are totally unaffected by anything the player has done up to that point. Whichever choice you pick here determines your ending, which, to be honest, isn’t all that different from the other endings. I’ve heard that there’s DLC to pad out the epilogue, but as I said, I’m reviewing the original game series without considering the damage-controlling bandages or purposefully withheld plot elements that developers charge additional money for.

So, what’s my reaction? Well, first I have to say that I was anticipating some kind of stumble at the finish line, just because of the amount of attention that it got in the gaming world. As a result, I felt myself inwardly flinching as the game came to its conclusion, and I probably didn’t have as violent of a reaction as those who finished the game without prior warning. That being said, I will admit that while I was frustrated with the abrupt ending, I think that the final game in the series made a bigger mistake than wrapping everything up with a “Choose Your Ending” conclusion.

As I mentioned earlier, the majority of the third game is focused on trying to confront the Reaper menace. Nearly every mission, side-quest, and conversation is focused on building your war assets as you strengthen your coalition forces for the final confrontation. I loved this idea of mustering the troops, and I worked hard to get every last soldier, resource, and ship for the war effort. By the end, I’d maxed out my navy strength bar, and the game told me that my assembled forces had an even chance of winning an outright battle with the Reaper fleet. This was especially rewarding since so many of the war assets that I’d acquired were the results of decisions I’d made in the previous games, giving the sensation of unexpected dividends for wise choices made in the past.

And yet, when it all came down to it, the game ignored all of my hard work. I was brusquely informed that my navy was not strong enough, and that the fate of the universe would all come down to a trench warfare section and a MacGuffin device. In my opinion, this was worse than the final, three-choice ending. The developers effectively negated all that I had done over the course of the three games, just to shoehorn in the climax that they wanted to use. For a game series that had been so open to player interpretation up to that point, this felt like a betrayal, and I played the final mission with the begrudging petulance of a child in the backseat of a car headed to the grocery store instead of the promised game store.

I guess the only remaining question was whether this ending ruined the entire trilogy for me. The short answer is no. I put over a hundred hours into the world of Mass Effect, and I felt like I was well rewarded for the most part. The fact that it ends on a sour note is unfortunate, but the overall experience was good enough to bring me back for another play-through some time in the distant future. Don’t be surprised if I stop before that final mission though.

What was your experience with this series? Do you agree with my observations? Leave a comment below and suggest another game storyline that you’d like to see me review.

A Look Back at GEAR Con 2015

Last weekend I attended GEAR Con in Portland, a steampunk-themed convention embracing the art, literature, and music of this unique subculture. Not only was this my first real Con, but it was also my first author appearance outside of Washington state as well as being my first time running a vendor table. Luckily, I wasn’t alone. I shared my table (well, half a table, more on that later) with veteran authors Lee French and Jeffrey Cook. Lee and Jeff were great fun to hang out with, and I tried to learn as much as I could about Cons and the art of selling my books in person.

Speaking of selling books, this was my first time running a vendor table over a three-day period and it was definitely a learning experience. First off, we found out after arriving at the Con that we would only have half a table to display nearly twenty different titles. While our table-sharing neighbors were very polite, it was difficult to use our limited space effectively and for once I was grateful that I only had two different books to display.

If I had to pick just one lesson that I learned from the vending experience, it would be the value of selling other authors’ books. While this may seem counter-intuitive, the truth is that our customers seemed to respond much better when we praised each other’s books, rather than trying to compete with each other. I think that our customers appreciated that we really tried to find the best book for each person, even if that book wasn’t one of our own.

By far, the most memorable encounter at the vendor table came on Saturday afternoon. A pleasant looking fellow came up to us, glanced at the table, and said “I’ll take one of each!” We laughed, since we’d heard this joke several times already, and asked him what sort of book he was looking for. He then picked up one of Lee’s books and asked what it was about. She got about one line into her pitch and he said “I’ll take it.” Then he picked up The Beast Hunter.

“What’s this about?” he said.

“Well, it’s the story of a steampunk monster hunter who-”

“I’ll take it.”

He did this with each book on the table, slowly building up a pile of titles until he finally had one of each. He then paid for it all in cash. I talked with Lee and Jeff about it, and both of them agreed that they had never seen anything like it before.

Of course, I did a lot more than stand by our vendor table for the whole event. Over the course of the Con, I had the opportunity to give several workshops, sit in on a couple of panels, and do a reading from The Beast Hunter. My favorite presentation was on Sunday when I was invited to take part in a panel that included a variety of steampunkers from a multitude of backgrounds including writers, artists, musicians, and game developers. Sitting there among my peers, I was struck again by the feeling of community and acceptance that seemed to permeate the entire Con. I felt like I was part of a group that managed to be close-knit without being exclusive, as everyone I met was both friendly and excited to be there.

I really enjoyed my time at GEAR Con, and I’m sure that I’ll be doing more Cons and steampunk events in the near future. If you’d like to keep up to date on my ever-changing schedule, then be sure to follow this blog and keep an eye on my workshop and appearances page.

My Writing Playlist

I was recently asked by another writer in one of my author networks if there was any particular type of music that I listen to when I write. Actually, as an avid music collector for many years, I have an ever-evolving list of songs that I listen to while I work. So today, just for fun, I thought I’d share what types of music I prefer to listen to for various types of writing.

Dialogue – 60’s Pop

I grew up listening to the Oldies, so there’s always been something soothing for me in the upbeat, simple melodies and messages in this style of music. As well as just making me feel better, I find that everything from the British Invasion to Motown makes it easier for me to formulate responses between two or more people in a written conversation.

Description – New Age

Whether it’s Clannad or Yanni, I really prefer tranquil music when I am trying to translate a breathtaking visual scene in my head into written words on a screen.

Sad Scenes – 70’s Soft Rock

Much of pop music in the 70’s took on a subdued tone after the tumultuous 60’s, which is often well suited to writing melancholy scenes.

Action Scenes – Hair Metal

The 80’s were filled with music that was equal parts ethereal and powerful. With driving rhythm sections and soaring guitar solos, these songs provide a perfect backdrop to the type of other-worldly battles that seem to happen so frequently in my writing.

Line-editing – Classical

I’m not normally a classical music fan, but I find Mozart and Bach are very stimulating during the sometimes brain-numbing process of fixing grammatical errors.

Proof reading – Anything Loud

By the time I get to the proof reading stage on a story I’m usually so familiar with the manuscript that I could recite it from memory, making last-minute troubleshooting very difficult. At this point, I find that it helps to crank up my music as loud as I can stand it so that I really have to focus in order to see what I’m reading, forcing me to pay close enough attention to spot any lingering mistakes.


Do you have a special playlist of music that you listen to while writing? Leave a comment below!