Gollanczfest - hanging with my tribe

Last weekend I went to Gollanczfest.  The weekend was hosted by science fiction publisher Gollancz, and held at Foyles Bookshop in Charing Cross Road in London.

The Saturday had a whole day of writing sessions.  I opted to go to the morning one.  Joanne Harris talked about her writing process.  "At page 150 I think the book is pants.  It happens every time" she said.  And "you have to be rejected.  You have to fail."  Joanne said that when we publish "we send a story out into the world.  Everybody will take out of it what they need."  She reminded us to "write what is emotionally real" to us.  She talked about getting into characters' heads, "almost like method acting".

The second session featured Pat Cadigan, Adam Roberts,Alastair Reynolds, and Aliette de Bodard.  Pat said she "wrote a skeleton" for her books.  "Have a road map, but leave some wriggle room" she advised.  Aliette pointed out that it's easier to fix things in the planning stage.  Alastair felt that a plan often didn't reveal character motivations.  Adam considered "writing is a two part process. First you get it written, then you get it right."  And Pat said you had to "trust the process" to know when the book is  finished. 

On the afternoon I attended some of the panels.  I was especially interested in a panel titled 'The Utopian  Ideal'.  Stephen Deas thought now was the time to write something optimistic.  They considered "the literary problem of utopia". If there is no dystopia there's no story, because there's no conflict.  And we need to bear in mind that what is utopia for one person isn't for another.  Star Trek is a utopia, but the utopia is in the background.  The same in Ian M Banks' Culture novels.  The novels aren't about the Culture, but about the trouble around its edges.

In the 'Enduring Science Fiction' panel, Simon Morden considered there was a 'sweet spot' for enduring SF - not too close to the present, or too far ahead.  Pat Cadigan considered that "what makes SF enduring is the same as what makes any story enduring.  A damn good story."  The story "speaks to the qualities of the human condition."

I'll certainly go to this weekend again next year.  And next week I'll talk about the Sunday publishing industry day.