This coming weekend, I'm attending Con-Volution 2017, a sci-fi and fantasy convention with a strong focus on all things crafty in the genre.

(con-volution, convolution, 2017, redshirts, sidekicks, minions, lee moyer)

While I will not pretend I can crochet a light saber coozy or program a light board for that perfect ET finger glow, I will share insight into my own craft: writing! Sunday, 10/8, at 12 Noon, I am teaching Destroy All Cling-Ons! This writing workshop is designed to help writers polish their work for publication. Attendees will learn the common phrases, words, and sentence constructions that may be the undoing of an otherwise solid story. Bring in a printed excerpt of your own work or work from my sample, and together, we'll mercilessly cut out stage directions, prepositions, passive writing, and filler words in accordance with current speculative fiction preferred styles.

What makes me qualified to teach Destroy All Cling-Ons? In addition to the publication of nearly a dozen speculative fiction short stories, a contemporary romance novel, and a YA fantasy novel through traditional routes, I have also copyedited academic and fiction writing for eight years. I co-lead the East Bay Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Meetup group, a Women Who Submit Writing - San Francisco chapter, and a few Facebook groups dedicated to helping the careers of female writers grow.

If you'd like to join me for this workshop, you'll need to purchase a membership to Con-Volution at the registration tables at the San Ramon Marriott when you arrive. You can opt for just a Sunday membership (I believe it'll be $30), but if you want to join in the fun all weekend, the way to go is the full weekend pass for $70. Con-Volution begins with an opening ceremony at 3 pm on 8/6, and closing ceremonies are at 3 pm on 8/8.

I assure you, there will be lots to see and do at this con! But if you want more time with me, I'll also be leading a discussion group on 8/6 at 4 pm: The Companion as Hero - From Samwise Gamgee to Bill Potts. Join me in discussing the heroic roles that companions have played in genre fiction. Doctor Who, Samwise Gamgee, Chewbacca, and the Buffy Scooby Gang are just a few possible angles. Who is your most memorably heroic sidekick?

I hope you'll tell me there!