Stacia Kane

Sorry this is so late. I overslept a bit this morning, and we finally, finally got Princess registered for school, and so went to take a little tour of the building. So I’m just now really sitting down.

So. On Monday I ask what your thought processes were as you critiqued last Thursday’s paragraphs, and I think the responses are great. Pretty much all of you said you read the paragraphs over once or twice first, then started thinking of places that felt not-as-strong to you, or places that didn’t work.

It could be argued I tipped your hand a bit by specifically telling you something was wrong and insisting that you find it, but then, most of the time when we’re given work to critique that’s exactly what we’re being asked to do.

So I think it’s great that you guys gave such thoughtful initial critiques, and then did a bit of thinking about your process as you gave it. I also think it’s great that a few of you commented that you hadn’t found anything wrong–nothing jumped out at you–so didn’t comment at all. That’s also fine.

I’ll be *very* interested to see your comments later, when given a piece to critique by someone who isn’t me and with whom you thus won’t have any familiarity.
Read the rest of this entry »

My official schedule just arrived in my Inbox! So here it is! I will be part of the following panel discussions:

Title: A Writer’s Guide to Goth & Punk
Description: Explores ways that writers can create believable and accurate goth and punk characters.

Time: Fri 01:00 pm Location: Montreal / Vancouver – Hyatt (Length: 1 Hour)

Title: Memento Mori: Ghost Stories
Description: How contemporary writers put a fresh spin on a venerable supernatural tradition.
Time: Fri 04:00 pm Location: Montreal / Vancouver – Hyatt (Length: 1 Hour)

Title: City of Dreadful Night
Description: World-building in dark fantasy.
Time: Fri 08:30 pm Location: Montreal / Vancouver – Hyatt (Length: 1 Hour)

Title: Little Deaths
Description: The strange relationship between eroticism and horror.

Time: Fri 10:00 pm Location: Montreal / Vancouver – Hyatt (Length: 1 Hour)

Title: Fun With Demonology
Description: Demons in fiction – both as heroes and as villains.
Time: Sat 07:00 pm Location: Montreal / Vancouver – Hyatt (Length: 1 Hour)

Title: Strong Female Protagonists
Description: How do you write strong female protagonists who are still vulnerable enough to seem real? The pros tell how to develop believable heroines.
Time: Sun 01:00 pm Location: Manila / Singapore / Hong Kong – Hyatt (Length: 1 Hour)

Title: Whatdunnit?
Description: Mixing the supernatural and mystery genres.
Time: Sun 07:00 pm Location: Montreal / Vancouver – Hyatt (Length: 1 Hour)

Title: Working the Graveyard Shift
Description: A look at the various jobs available to supernatural investigators and creatures of the night.
Time: Sun 08:30 pm Location: Montreal / Vancouver – Hyatt (Length: 1 Hour)

I have also let Mark Henry, Kat Richardson, and Yasmine Galenorn talk me into requesting a reading/signing period, so I will be reading out loud on Saturday at one p.m. I’ll give the location as soon as I can, or it should be in the program. I’m very nervous at the idea of it, and afraid no one will show up and I’ll feel like a total ass.

So…who’s coming to see me?

So thanks to all who played along and left comments/critiques to my little snippet on Thursday. I’m going to address a few of the comments specifically in the post, but more important than the specific comments is the Ultimate Lesson (yes, this series is just like a Very Special Episode) I’m hoping you’ll all see:

Critiques are subjective.

See, I actually rather liked those two paragraphs. They weren’t perfect at all, and I’m going to talk about my feelings on their specific problems in a minute. But I was fairly pleased with them, which was one reason I was so happy/curious to see what you all made of them.

To refresh our memories, there were the paragraphs:

Lucy pulled her ragged jacket closer around her shoulders, but it didn’t help much. The wind cut through her like shards of ice, whipping around the lonely buildings to shred her soul. Up ahead home waited for her, warm bright rooms and her mother’s smiling face. But here on the street only the echoes of her footsteps kept her company.

She passed through the square of pale gold light on the street made by the pub window. Inside men shouted and laughed, lifting pints, slapping each other on the back when one of them hit a bullseye. If she only had some money, she could walk in and have a drink too, defrost her aching extremities by the gentle coal fire.

Read the rest of this entry »