Sirens, part the first.
Oct. 16th, 2009 10:49 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
coraaThis is going to be full of squee, because I loved Sirens. Loved loved loved Sirens. Let me just say that I'm pre-registering as soon as pre-registration opens for next year, and that I can't wait. So if I seem effusive... that's why. I really did have that good of a time.
It's also taken me a while to write because I'm painfully long-winded, especially with squee. Oh well.
I left for Sirens early in the morning two Thursdays ago -- that is, October 1. We had a bit of excitement because I got all packed and![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
jmpava kindly got up early to take me to the airport and we went out to the car and it... wouldn't start. Fortunately I did not freak out, but instead we called a taxi company and I was driven to the airport by a very chatty cab driver who filled the time by discussing weather and the name origins of all the states. ("California," he said, "I don't know where the word 'California' came from, except that it sounds Spanish." I supplied, "I think it was from Queen Califia, a mythical Amazon warrior woman from a Spanish romance. I think she lived in the mountains with her Amazon warrior band and some gryphons." Although it turns out that origin is disputed, he seemed pleased.)
From there it was all smooth sailing to Denver.
I arrived safely in Denver a good couple of hours before the Sirens Shuttle was to arrive. (Side note: having a shuttle for attendees from the Denver airport to the hotel itself was a very good idea -- not just because Denver-to-Vail is a non-trivial trip, but also because it gave everyone a chance to chat and get to know one another, which -- as far as I could tell -- they did. I'm hoping that next year there'll be a shuttle on Wednesday as well; lack of transportation was the only thing that kept me from showing up a day early for the Sirens Supper!)
Anyway, the Sirens newsletter had recommended that those who show up early meet at the Boulder Tap House to meet people. Here's something that those who know me might have trouble believing: I'm actually terminally shy. Yes, I talk a lot, but that's only if it's either a person I'm comfortable with or a topic I'm passionate about -- mostly I have to be coaxed out of curling up with a book and ignoring everyone. But I was brave and went to the Boulder Tap House, ordered a beer, and peered around the place trying to figure out whether I could figure out who was a Sirens attendee. But I was too shy to actually take the risk, so I turned back to my beer.
Behind me I started to hear words like "fantasy" and "writer" and "fiction," and then "fanfiction" and "Harry Potter," and that was the point at which I decided I could be brave.
"Excuse me," I said, "but do you happen to be here for -- "
" -- Sirens?" said one of the two.
So I got to meet Valerie andartemisgreyvale. Valerie left shortly to mingle with more people, but artemisgreyvale and jessryn and I sat and chatted for the full remaining time -- about books, about writing, about horses (I was going to Camp Lipizzan after Sirens; she works on a farm and has horses of her own). We got on the bus near each other and continued to chat during the trip up the mountains.
...but mostly we admired the mountains. Colorado in early October is amazingly gorgeous. Where bare rocks were visible, they were beautiful shades of silver-grey and rose-gold; mostly, though, we saw trees: thick stands of deep green pine, and aspens! The aspens had almost entirely turned, and were vivid shades of yellow from almost cream-pale through incredibly rich deep gold. With their slim white trunks -- and against the darker colors of the pine trees and the earth and stone of the mountains -- they were breathtaking.sartorias has a picture here; newsboyhat has some more here.
In due time, we arrived at the hotel, checked in, got registered (pretty good swag at this conference, I must say!), and I went up to the room to decompress and dump off some stuff, and then back down later for the dessert reception.
Meetingartemisgreyvale at the Tap House was great, not only because she was awesome and I had fun talking to her, but also because it meant that I had someone to sit with and talk to so I didn't feel quite so shy and alone. But, as Amy, one of the organizers, pointed out, most of us had come on our own. I think -- combined with the small number of attendees -- that explains why everyone was so friendly: it was a small enough group to be intimate, and there were very few pre-existing groups, so everyone was looking for someone to talk to.
At that dinner, I talked more with her, and met a few other people whose names escape me -- partly due to the good icebreakers, but partly also just because it was a very fun, relaxed atmosphere, and everyone was very friendly, pleasant, and easy to talk to. Everyone was interesting, friendly, and approachable, and a lot of people were talkative, which broke the ice very quickly. I was also impressed by the age ranges -- everything from eighteen to sixty-five was represented. (As a rough triangulation, I'd say it was a younger crowd than most SFF conventions I've been to, but a slightly older one than most anime conventions.) There was also a real diversity of jobs: the women I met (and it was something like 98% women) were everything from farm assistants to law students to Air Force engineers to teachers to librarians to programmers to graphic designers. And of course students, and writers. There were also Christians, pagans, agnostics and atheists (and probably other religious backgrounds, too, that's just the ones I heard about), and they were talking about religion without being at one another's throats, which was kind of astonishing. It was really nice to meet so many smart, friendly (I keep using that word, but only because it's true) women with such a diversity of talents and backgrounds. (The one thing I must say, having had my eyes opened to my own privilege this year, is that the crowd was largely white -- not entirely, but largely. I hope that it was a good experience for the people who were not white, too, and that we may see a bit more diversity on that end as Sirens matures.)
Anyway, Tamora Pierce (tammypierce) gave a very interesting keynote speech over dessert -- essentially her personal history with books and reading, with fantasy, with female protagonists, and with writing. A lot of it set the tone for the weekend -- what you're told, as a girl, as a woman, that you can and can't do, and how you deal with that, work around it, or reject it outright. She grew up in a very different time than I did (when the idea of a woman presidential candidate was a joke, not a very real possibility), but still, a lot of it resonated a great deal -- at the Scary School I got a lot of messages as to what I was and was not to do, and a lot of the struggle of adolescence was sorting out what I wanted from what I was told to want. So that struck a chord with me.
Her talk also started the theme of how we write -- not warbling about inspiration (which I tend to get bored by pretty quickly, frankly) but the nuts and bolts of methods and drafts, which is more fun. If I recall correctly, she writes six or seven drafts, usually, but the Song of the Lioness quartet went through something like fifteen drafts -- it started out as a single adult novel, and was revised a few times, and then rewritten as four YA novels, and more revisions, and so on. Including -- fascinating, to me -- the revelation that (spoilers for the Song of the Lioness books) (skip) originally Alanna wound up with Jonathan at the end, instead of George. This is not something I would have guessed on my own, but it was interesting to hear how she came to realize that Alanna/Jonathan would not work in the long run, whereas Alanna/George and Jonathan/Thayet would.
(Interesting side note: she doesn't care for Ursula LeGuin. While I do like LeGuin and have devoured most of her novels, I can understand her objection all too well -- compare the mystic society of isolated men in A Wizard of Earthsea with the mystic society of isolated women in The Tombs of Atuan, and wince. I love Atuan, but, well, yeah. I can't deny that there's an issue there.)
But you know, although the writers talked about their methods some during their keynotes, most of the keynotes -- and most of the panels, roundtables, and papers -- were by and for readers, and about reading, which was delightful. There's only so much writerly navel-gazing that I can handle (especially since all too often it shades into One True Wayism), but I can listen to readers, and talk as a reader, more or less indefinitely.
So, the panels (which were actually mostly papers, roundtables, and workshops). There was a generous mix of the academic and not-so-academic, the serious and the silly. I don't have my program in front of me, and I know I'm forgetting some sessions, but I had a great deal of fun at all of them, and I got to talk! About books! And girl heroes! Which I love.
...Er, this is getting kind of long, isn't it? I'll break it up and tackle the panels, the workshops, the other keynotes, and the dance in another post. Or posts.
It's also taken me a while to write because I'm painfully long-winded, especially with squee. Oh well.
I left for Sirens early in the morning two Thursdays ago -- that is, October 1. We had a bit of excitement because I got all packed and
jmpava kindly got up early to take me to the airport and we went out to the car and it... wouldn't start. Fortunately I did not freak out, but instead we called a taxi company and I was driven to the airport by a very chatty cab driver who filled the time by discussing weather and the name origins of all the states. ("California," he said, "I don't know where the word 'California' came from, except that it sounds Spanish." I supplied, "I think it was from Queen Califia, a mythical Amazon warrior woman from a Spanish romance. I think she lived in the mountains with her Amazon warrior band and some gryphons." Although it turns out that origin is disputed, he seemed pleased.)From there it was all smooth sailing to Denver.
I arrived safely in Denver a good couple of hours before the Sirens Shuttle was to arrive. (Side note: having a shuttle for attendees from the Denver airport to the hotel itself was a very good idea -- not just because Denver-to-Vail is a non-trivial trip, but also because it gave everyone a chance to chat and get to know one another, which -- as far as I could tell -- they did. I'm hoping that next year there'll be a shuttle on Wednesday as well; lack of transportation was the only thing that kept me from showing up a day early for the Sirens Supper!)
Anyway, the Sirens newsletter had recommended that those who show up early meet at the Boulder Tap House to meet people. Here's something that those who know me might have trouble believing: I'm actually terminally shy. Yes, I talk a lot, but that's only if it's either a person I'm comfortable with or a topic I'm passionate about -- mostly I have to be coaxed out of curling up with a book and ignoring everyone. But I was brave and went to the Boulder Tap House, ordered a beer, and peered around the place trying to figure out whether I could figure out who was a Sirens attendee. But I was too shy to actually take the risk, so I turned back to my beer.
Behind me I started to hear words like "fantasy" and "writer" and "fiction," and then "fanfiction" and "Harry Potter," and that was the point at which I decided I could be brave.
"Excuse me," I said, "but do you happen to be here for -- "
" -- Sirens?" said one of the two.
So I got to meet Valerie and
artemisgreyvale. Valerie left shortly to mingle with more people, but artemisgreyvale and jessryn and I sat and chatted for the full remaining time -- about books, about writing, about horses (I was going to Camp Lipizzan after Sirens; she works on a farm and has horses of her own). We got on the bus near each other and continued to chat during the trip up the mountains....but mostly we admired the mountains. Colorado in early October is amazingly gorgeous. Where bare rocks were visible, they were beautiful shades of silver-grey and rose-gold; mostly, though, we saw trees: thick stands of deep green pine, and aspens! The aspens had almost entirely turned, and were vivid shades of yellow from almost cream-pale through incredibly rich deep gold. With their slim white trunks -- and against the darker colors of the pine trees and the earth and stone of the mountains -- they were breathtaking.
sartorias has a picture here; newsboyhat has some more here.In due time, we arrived at the hotel, checked in, got registered (pretty good swag at this conference, I must say!), and I went up to the room to decompress and dump off some stuff, and then back down later for the dessert reception.
Meeting
artemisgreyvale at the Tap House was great, not only because she was awesome and I had fun talking to her, but also because it meant that I had someone to sit with and talk to so I didn't feel quite so shy and alone. But, as Amy, one of the organizers, pointed out, most of us had come on our own. I think -- combined with the small number of attendees -- that explains why everyone was so friendly: it was a small enough group to be intimate, and there were very few pre-existing groups, so everyone was looking for someone to talk to. At that dinner, I talked more with her, and met a few other people whose names escape me -- partly due to the good icebreakers, but partly also just because it was a very fun, relaxed atmosphere, and everyone was very friendly, pleasant, and easy to talk to. Everyone was interesting, friendly, and approachable, and a lot of people were talkative, which broke the ice very quickly. I was also impressed by the age ranges -- everything from eighteen to sixty-five was represented. (As a rough triangulation, I'd say it was a younger crowd than most SFF conventions I've been to, but a slightly older one than most anime conventions.) There was also a real diversity of jobs: the women I met (and it was something like 98% women) were everything from farm assistants to law students to Air Force engineers to teachers to librarians to programmers to graphic designers. And of course students, and writers. There were also Christians, pagans, agnostics and atheists (and probably other religious backgrounds, too, that's just the ones I heard about), and they were talking about religion without being at one another's throats, which was kind of astonishing. It was really nice to meet so many smart, friendly (I keep using that word, but only because it's true) women with such a diversity of talents and backgrounds. (The one thing I must say, having had my eyes opened to my own privilege this year, is that the crowd was largely white -- not entirely, but largely. I hope that it was a good experience for the people who were not white, too, and that we may see a bit more diversity on that end as Sirens matures.)
Anyway, Tamora Pierce (
tammypierce) gave a very interesting keynote speech over dessert -- essentially her personal history with books and reading, with fantasy, with female protagonists, and with writing. A lot of it set the tone for the weekend -- what you're told, as a girl, as a woman, that you can and can't do, and how you deal with that, work around it, or reject it outright. She grew up in a very different time than I did (when the idea of a woman presidential candidate was a joke, not a very real possibility), but still, a lot of it resonated a great deal -- at the Scary School I got a lot of messages as to what I was and was not to do, and a lot of the struggle of adolescence was sorting out what I wanted from what I was told to want. So that struck a chord with me.Her talk also started the theme of how we write -- not warbling about inspiration (which I tend to get bored by pretty quickly, frankly) but the nuts and bolts of methods and drafts, which is more fun. If I recall correctly, she writes six or seven drafts, usually, but the Song of the Lioness quartet went through something like fifteen drafts -- it started out as a single adult novel, and was revised a few times, and then rewritten as four YA novels, and more revisions, and so on. Including -- fascinating, to me -- the revelation that (spoilers for the Song of the Lioness books) (skip) originally Alanna wound up with Jonathan at the end, instead of George. This is not something I would have guessed on my own, but it was interesting to hear how she came to realize that Alanna/Jonathan would not work in the long run, whereas Alanna/George and Jonathan/Thayet would.
(Interesting side note: she doesn't care for Ursula LeGuin. While I do like LeGuin and have devoured most of her novels, I can understand her objection all too well -- compare the mystic society of isolated men in A Wizard of Earthsea with the mystic society of isolated women in The Tombs of Atuan, and wince. I love Atuan, but, well, yeah. I can't deny that there's an issue there.)
But you know, although the writers talked about their methods some during their keynotes, most of the keynotes -- and most of the panels, roundtables, and papers -- were by and for readers, and about reading, which was delightful. There's only so much writerly navel-gazing that I can handle (especially since all too often it shades into One True Wayism), but I can listen to readers, and talk as a reader, more or less indefinitely.
So, the panels (which were actually mostly papers, roundtables, and workshops). There was a generous mix of the academic and not-so-academic, the serious and the silly. I don't have my program in front of me, and I know I'm forgetting some sessions, but I had a great deal of fun at all of them, and I got to talk! About books! And girl heroes! Which I love.
...Er, this is getting kind of long, isn't it? I'll break it up and tackle the panels, the workshops, the other keynotes, and the dance in another post. Or posts.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
Le Guin
Date: 2009-10-16 06:42 pm (UTC)Re: Le Guin
Date: 2009-10-16 06:45 pm (UTC)(I'm also more than a bit suspicious of the term Properly Feminist. It sounds a bit too much like PC to me, which is to say, a way of dismissing legitimate concerns by labeling them.)
Re: Le Guin
Date: 2009-10-22 09:42 am (UTC)Retconning an established series because the author's views have changed seems to usually produce dismal results. Or at least, clumsiness.
no subject
Date: 2009-10-16 06:37 pm (UTC)This con sounds great!! I really miss writing fiction. Academic writing really takes it out of me. I don't know how you can write for a living and for fun, but I truly applaud you.
no subject
Date: 2009-10-16 06:47 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-10-16 06:47 pm (UTC)I'm another talkative shy person. It took me years to realize that I wasn't the only one who felt shy and awkward even as I enjoyed talking to people ... and was a comfort when I figured out that it wasn't just me!
no subject
Date: 2009-10-16 06:54 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-10-16 06:55 pm (UTC)(Also, love the icon!)
no subject
Date: 2009-10-16 07:21 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-10-16 07:24 pm (UTC)And yeah. It's particularly pronounced in the Alanna and Keladry books, since both are different takes on a woman doing a traditionally male job for the first time and the struggles she faces, but it's in most of her stuff. I think part of the reason I devoured them when I was thirteen or fourteen was that I really wanted that encouragement.
no subject
Date: 2009-10-16 07:24 pm (UTC)We should, like, actually talk sometime, about books. I am particularly interested in fantasy written by women because I find I can't stand most fantasy written by men (usually because their female characters suck).
no subject
Date: 2009-10-16 07:29 pm (UTC)The interesting thing I've discovered in the past two or three years is that the most interesting things happening in fantasy -- and especially fantasy by and about women -- is happening in YA, not in adult fantasy. There are exceptions, but most of the books that have gotten me really enthralled and/or excited have been YA. I'm not sure why that is, but it's interesting.
Next year the theme is faeries, which should be cool!
no subject
Date: 2009-10-16 07:36 pm (UTC)Then again, my taste in fantasy lately involves lots of nasty, viscious characters, mental illness, genderbending, noncon, and BDSM, which you don't really find in YA fiction (for good reason). Speaking of which I need to catch up on my book reviews on my LJ, I'm falling behind again...
no subject
Date: 2009-10-16 07:44 pm (UTC)That said, yeah, you might have an easier time finding what you want in adult. I'm not sure.
no subject
Date: 2009-10-16 07:53 pm (UTC)Fantasy is like bread (bizarre analogy, I know). Looking at the shelves of fantasy books is like going into a bakery, where each different type of book is a different type of bread. Most breads, I like. A few (like pumpernickel and rye) I can't stand. Some I could take or leave (plain wheat or white bread). Some I slightly prefer (honey oat bread, cinnamon raisin bread). But if that bakery has a loaf of raisin challah made with honey, I will ignore every other loaf in the store to get that one.
no subject
Date: 2009-10-16 07:54 pm (UTC)Fire might be your best starting point, actually -- it's brand new and quite good. And, uh, thanks to a screw-up I happen to have two copies of it. Would you like one?
no subject
Date: 2009-10-16 08:01 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-10-16 08:18 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-10-16 08:34 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-10-16 10:43 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-10-16 11:47 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-10-29 03:47 pm (UTC)