Less than four months!
Jun. 21st, 2009 05:22 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
mis_creationUntil Sirens, that is. Three and a half, give or take a few days, anyway.
I'm registered, Erin's registered, and I just really want to go and have a good time. I haven't been to Vail in a long-ass time, and never on my own. Oh! Indy's first road trip!
That's the other bit of news, too. I can't go to Hiawatha 'cause Erin backed out and I can't afford expenses by myself. But it's a hand-off, because I get to go to the Colorado Ren Fest that weekend, which is the music and dance weekend, and maybe I can pick up some more bellydance music. I'm totally addicted to it. Bellydance and Blackmore's Night is my kick for now. It was metal and country a while ago, don't ask me why...
Anyway, Sirens! It is going to be so much fun! They've put up the list of presentations, roundtables and workshops, and I'm excited for several of them. But they haven't posted the schedule yet, so I don't know if they're going to overlap each other or what.
Papers and Lectures:
A History of the Literatures of the Imagination: A Cross-Cultural Look at the Origins of Fantasy, with a Nod to Science Fiction
Frances A. May
It's always a good idea to know where you've been, to chart the future. We will trace the evolution of fantasy, from ancestral fires to urban lofts and coffee houses. The discussion will cover the ancient myths and folk tales which now form the inspiration for many fantasy writers; the Matter of several countries, including the Matter of Britain; fairy tales and old wives' tales; science fiction, where it enters the picture, and where there is crossover between the genres; and the role of women as warriors, whether bearing swords and axes, or staffs and wands.
History of Fantasy, essentially. Whoo!
Why Don't More Girls Carry Swords?
Valerie Frankel
Silver slippers, golden compasses, magic elixir, enchanted books—why don't more girls carry lightsabers? Heroines actually have the harder journey, battling the terrible mother in the underworld without even a dagger as defense. Dorothy conquers her witch in Oz with a bucket of water; Philip Pullman's Lyra wins a kingdom for her friend Iorek Byrnison and frees fellow children from the land of the dead, all through her “silver tongue.” In Narnia, Lucy and Susan keep vigil at Aslan's deathbed, then return the Queen's victims to life, saving the battle. Each of these heroines accomplishes her quests without violence, needing cleverness and fortitude more than Excalibur.
Note to self: Make Chicks With Swords T-shirt/top. I must have something I can do that with. Maybe Shana can help me silk-screen it... Whoo!
Bite Me, I'm Yours: Vampire Romance, Female Readership, and Negotiating Ideology
Elizabeth Abinante
This paper examines the ways in which non-academic readers may use mass cultural texts to interrogate ideologies and their position within hegemony. I use the example of the contemporary vampire romance to argue that female readers are able to work with the text, no matter how restrictive, to come to a better understanding of the power structures of which they are a part. I cite examples from Charlaine Harris's Sookie Stackhouse series as well as Stephenie Meyer's Twilight saga. I argue that mass culture is important to study because of its ability to influence many, and its popularity and presumed innocence.
I'm less interested in this one, but I just know that Erin is going to want to go to this one, and I admit I'm a little curious about what exactly draws everyone to vampires and such because they've always kind of annoyed me, and everyone else seems incredibly fascinated with them. *shrug* We'll see.
Workshops:
Dramatic Dialogue
Anne Osterlund
Nervous about writing fight scenes? Struggle with adding action to dialogue? Use theatrical techniques to turn dialogue into drama. Come choreograph a sword fight between Miranda and Ferdinand from Shakespeare's The Tempest, write your own dramatic dialogue for prose, and practice weaving dialogue together with action, setting, and emotion. Crowns, swords, and chocolate will be present!
I don't know how I am at dialogue. I don't talk the way most people do, for a variety of reasons.
Fantasy Writing Workshop
Valerie Frankel
If you've always longed to write that novel, professional author Valerie Estelle Frankel will guide you through the process from start to finish. Build a magical world from scratch, with maps, cultures, plants, and animals. Create your characters and send them forth on a magical quest. Finally, we'll learn all about the world of publication and discuss how to break into magazines, anthologies, and more. All types of writers welcome.
I'm half afraid my fantasy writing is too unoriginal to stand up to scruitiny. So this will help, I think.
Mary Sue: An Intervention
Sarah Benoot
As much as we'd like to deny it, every writer of fantasy has at least one great Mary Sue inside us. There is, however, one sure way to defeat her. How, you ask? By giving her her time in the spotlight, of course. Here, we will use words and pictures to create the most Sueish Mary Sue we possibly can, for only by embracing our inner Sue can we defeat her.
(Anyone here unfamiliar with Mary Sues should go over to Wikipedia.) Ha! This just sounds like fun.
Roundtables:
Finding Femininity in a Warrior's World
Katie Hoffman
This roundtable discussion investigates how our warrior heroines connect with their inner woman. After first discussing what it means to be “feminine,” we will examine a few specific examples from the works of Tamora Pierce, Sherwood Smith, and J. K. Rowling, and discover the means by which our heroines become comfortable in their own body and their society's “woman” identity. We will critique our heroines' method of working within feminine conventions to become comfortable with their femininity and discuss whether connecting with such an identity is critical to the character. As these heroines' identities often influence our own, discussion will rely on participants' understandings of femininity and influence how we define “woman.”
Tough Love: When Partnership Becomes a Paradox
A. Grey
This roundtable discussion will explore the effects of love and all its complications on strong female characters. We will examine several examples of women warriors from the works of Kristin Cashore, Anne Bishop, and Tamora Pierce who successfully juggle love and weapons. Participants will be encouraged to debate whether women need love in order to be viewed as strong, well-rounded warriors, while at the same time critiquing the commonly accepted social standards of femininity and maternity against which women warriors are judged.
...Actually, I'm not sure about roundtables at all. I don't know exactly what they entail, how much input and stuff. *shrug* We'll see.
Whee! I'm really excited about this! My first conference!
I'm registered, Erin's registered, and I just really want to go and have a good time. I haven't been to Vail in a long-ass time, and never on my own. Oh! Indy's first road trip!
That's the other bit of news, too. I can't go to Hiawatha 'cause Erin backed out and I can't afford expenses by myself. But it's a hand-off, because I get to go to the Colorado Ren Fest that weekend, which is the music and dance weekend, and maybe I can pick up some more bellydance music. I'm totally addicted to it. Bellydance and Blackmore's Night is my kick for now. It was metal and country a while ago, don't ask me why...
Anyway, Sirens! It is going to be so much fun! They've put up the list of presentations, roundtables and workshops, and I'm excited for several of them. But they haven't posted the schedule yet, so I don't know if they're going to overlap each other or what.
Papers and Lectures:
A History of the Literatures of the Imagination: A Cross-Cultural Look at the Origins of Fantasy, with a Nod to Science Fiction
Frances A. May
It's always a good idea to know where you've been, to chart the future. We will trace the evolution of fantasy, from ancestral fires to urban lofts and coffee houses. The discussion will cover the ancient myths and folk tales which now form the inspiration for many fantasy writers; the Matter of several countries, including the Matter of Britain; fairy tales and old wives' tales; science fiction, where it enters the picture, and where there is crossover between the genres; and the role of women as warriors, whether bearing swords and axes, or staffs and wands.
History of Fantasy, essentially. Whoo!
Why Don't More Girls Carry Swords?
Valerie Frankel
Silver slippers, golden compasses, magic elixir, enchanted books—why don't more girls carry lightsabers? Heroines actually have the harder journey, battling the terrible mother in the underworld without even a dagger as defense. Dorothy conquers her witch in Oz with a bucket of water; Philip Pullman's Lyra wins a kingdom for her friend Iorek Byrnison and frees fellow children from the land of the dead, all through her “silver tongue.” In Narnia, Lucy and Susan keep vigil at Aslan's deathbed, then return the Queen's victims to life, saving the battle. Each of these heroines accomplishes her quests without violence, needing cleverness and fortitude more than Excalibur.
Note to self: Make Chicks With Swords T-shirt/top. I must have something I can do that with. Maybe Shana can help me silk-screen it... Whoo!
Bite Me, I'm Yours: Vampire Romance, Female Readership, and Negotiating Ideology
Elizabeth Abinante
This paper examines the ways in which non-academic readers may use mass cultural texts to interrogate ideologies and their position within hegemony. I use the example of the contemporary vampire romance to argue that female readers are able to work with the text, no matter how restrictive, to come to a better understanding of the power structures of which they are a part. I cite examples from Charlaine Harris's Sookie Stackhouse series as well as Stephenie Meyer's Twilight saga. I argue that mass culture is important to study because of its ability to influence many, and its popularity and presumed innocence.
I'm less interested in this one, but I just know that Erin is going to want to go to this one, and I admit I'm a little curious about what exactly draws everyone to vampires and such because they've always kind of annoyed me, and everyone else seems incredibly fascinated with them. *shrug* We'll see.
Workshops:
Dramatic Dialogue
Anne Osterlund
Nervous about writing fight scenes? Struggle with adding action to dialogue? Use theatrical techniques to turn dialogue into drama. Come choreograph a sword fight between Miranda and Ferdinand from Shakespeare's The Tempest, write your own dramatic dialogue for prose, and practice weaving dialogue together with action, setting, and emotion. Crowns, swords, and chocolate will be present!
I don't know how I am at dialogue. I don't talk the way most people do, for a variety of reasons.
Fantasy Writing Workshop
Valerie Frankel
If you've always longed to write that novel, professional author Valerie Estelle Frankel will guide you through the process from start to finish. Build a magical world from scratch, with maps, cultures, plants, and animals. Create your characters and send them forth on a magical quest. Finally, we'll learn all about the world of publication and discuss how to break into magazines, anthologies, and more. All types of writers welcome.
I'm half afraid my fantasy writing is too unoriginal to stand up to scruitiny. So this will help, I think.
Mary Sue: An Intervention
Sarah Benoot
As much as we'd like to deny it, every writer of fantasy has at least one great Mary Sue inside us. There is, however, one sure way to defeat her. How, you ask? By giving her her time in the spotlight, of course. Here, we will use words and pictures to create the most Sueish Mary Sue we possibly can, for only by embracing our inner Sue can we defeat her.
(Anyone here unfamiliar with Mary Sues should go over to Wikipedia.) Ha! This just sounds like fun.
Roundtables:
Finding Femininity in a Warrior's World
Katie Hoffman
This roundtable discussion investigates how our warrior heroines connect with their inner woman. After first discussing what it means to be “feminine,” we will examine a few specific examples from the works of Tamora Pierce, Sherwood Smith, and J. K. Rowling, and discover the means by which our heroines become comfortable in their own body and their society's “woman” identity. We will critique our heroines' method of working within feminine conventions to become comfortable with their femininity and discuss whether connecting with such an identity is critical to the character. As these heroines' identities often influence our own, discussion will rely on participants' understandings of femininity and influence how we define “woman.”
Tough Love: When Partnership Becomes a Paradox
A. Grey
This roundtable discussion will explore the effects of love and all its complications on strong female characters. We will examine several examples of women warriors from the works of Kristin Cashore, Anne Bishop, and Tamora Pierce who successfully juggle love and weapons. Participants will be encouraged to debate whether women need love in order to be viewed as strong, well-rounded warriors, while at the same time critiquing the commonly accepted social standards of femininity and maternity against which women warriors are judged.
...Actually, I'm not sure about roundtables at all. I don't know exactly what they entail, how much input and stuff. *shrug* We'll see.
Whee! I'm really excited about this! My first conference!
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2009-06-21 11:47 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-06-22 02:09 am (UTC)Semi disappointing, actually, as I had a few things I wanted to say to her about Thin is the New Happy (not as bad as it sounds but not as good as it could've been...). But Tamora Pierce is going to be there, so yay!
no subject
Date: 2009-06-22 02:13 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-06-22 03:09 pm (UTC)