This weekend I’m a guest of honor at Penguicon, which is a hybrid convention for science fiction/fantasy and open source software. Howard Tayler is the toastmaster, so it should be a lot of fun. If you’re in the Detroit area, consider registering at the door if you haven’t preregistered.

Penguicon
Troy Marriott
200 W Big Beaver Rd
Troy, MI 48084

FRIDAY

6:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m., Dennison 1
Attack of the Plot!
Ferrett Steinmetz, Brandon Sanderson, Christian Klaver, Charles Zaglanis
How authors attack the idea of plot.

7:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m., Big Top
Opening Ceremonies

8:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m., Dennison 1
To Series or Not to Series. That Is the Question.
Stephanie Osborn, Steven Lake, Merrie Haskell, Brandon Sanderson, Jim C. Hines
The pros and cons of writing a series.

SATURDAY

1:00 p.m. – 2:00 p.m., Board Room
A Reading with Brandon Sanderson

3:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m., Ballroom A
And Let It Be Said!
Stephanie Osborn, Steven Lake, Merrie Haskell, Brandon Sanderson, Christine Purcell
A look at dialog and scene/action description in writing, and how to effectively pull off quality dialog and scene descriptions your readers will remember.

4:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m., Ballroom A
It’s OKAY, the First Draft Is SUPPOSED to Suck!
Stephanie Osborn, Brandon Sanderson, Jim C. Hines, Lydia Nyx, Michael Cieslak
Turning off the inner editor.

7:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m., Ballroom G
The Art of the Critique
Ferrett Steinmetz, Merrie Haskell, Brandon Sanderson, Christine Purcell, Charles Zaglanis
When you’re writing stories, one of the quicker ways to get better is to have talented people critique you. But where do you find good people? What does a good critique consist of? And how can you use that feedback to improve your story?

10:00 p.m. – 1:00 a.m., Dennison 2/3/4
Magic: The Gathering Non-Sanctioned Booster Draft Tournament
Brandon Sanderson, Timothy Geisler
We are having a non-sanctioned booster draft tournament. Space is limited.

SUNDAY

10:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m., Ballroom A
Writers Groups
Brandon Sanderson, Jim C. Hines, Michael Cieslak, Stewart Sternberg, Charles Zaglanis
The pros and cons.

11:00 a.m – noon, Ballroom A
Let There Be Life!
Ferrett Steinmetz, Stephanie Osborn, Brandon Sanderson, Lydia Nyx
How writers form characters and make them seem real.

12:00 noon – 2:00 p.m., Niles
Writing Excuses Podcast
Howard Tayler, Brandon Sanderson

3:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m., Big Top
Closing Ceremonies