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[Firefury Amahira]

So, I will have to update the post with panel times later once I can double check with One, but apparently all four of our fanfic workshop panels that we submitted last week have been approved already. We are ready to rock 'n roll!

Fanfiction 101: Friday - Panels 4 - 4pm The crash course into story basics. Cooking up your plot, setting it in motion, perspective writing, action scenes, crossovers, alternate universe, and so on. Also includes common fanfiction jargon and other basic foundation material for creative writing as it applies to fanfic.

Fanfiction 201: Saturday - Panels 4 - 1pm The character focus panel. Whether it's how to develop existing characters, or create new ones, design new villains, or just how to avoid making a Mary Sue, this panel focuses entirely on characters. Somewhat more advanced material focusing on character design and development for a story.

Fanfiction 369 (18+): Sunday - Panels 2 - 10pm The "How to write sex" panel. Adults-only panel focusing on erotic content in fanfiction writing. Advanced panel that includes a brief discussion of sexual anatomy and function (including fictional anatomy such as tentacles,) and how to apply it when writing erotic fanfiction. Includes a new "Quickie Guide" booklet similar to the regular workshop writing guide.

Fanfiction 120: Monday - Panels 4 - 12pm NEW! Fanfic "Open Lab" panel for further discussion of fanfic topics, as well as subjects relating to fanfiction that don't necessarily fit in elsewhere. Possible topics include writing/responding to reviews, formatting advice, use of foreign language in fanfic, 'tagging' your content, and other occasionally controversial topics including fan-generated unofficial lore, romantic pairings, and so on.

And provided One and I manage to sit down and get it ready in time, we'll have an updated Version 3.0 of our Fanfic Reference Guide booklet with expanded/new material. Version 3.0 of the Writing Guide is ready and will be available at the panels! Folks are welcome and encouraged to bring their ideas, questions, and even stories to brainstorm over; the panels are always at their best when it's not just One and I up front talking the entire time; audience participation is most definitely welcome!

So... I think that should about cover everything for the moment. Suggestions for the panels/packet are always welcome, too!

POST-FANIME UPDATE: Feedback time, and posted my initial after-action musings on how it went!

[Firefury Amahira]

Hooooly crap, two weeks out and we're still working on the packet and stuff. x_x Some of the planned new additions to the packet tie in material from the new 120 panel, including titles/summaries, writing/responding to reviews, probably some stuff about language use... and probably reworking a few existing sections so it's less bullet-pointy.

[Firefury Amahira]

Whoohoo! Cut it a tad close, but we got the revised writing guides done- hopefully 200 packets will be enough for the 3 regular panels (and I think 250 for the adult fanfiction panel's reference guide thingie.) Also updated the first post with the panel times/locations.

Lookin' forward to this weekend, guys!

[Firefury Amahira]

Just checking in with a quick after-action report for my impressions on how the fanfiction panels went this year:

Fanfic 101 and 201: Both went off pretty well, IMO. Lots of good back-and-forth with folks, and Panels 4 was filled to capacity (and apparently with people outside waiting for a spot to open up so they could get in.) Nothing particularly earth-shatteringly different from last year, and the Version 3.0 writing guide seemed to be pretty well-received.

Fanfic 369: Slightly lower attendance than last year, though I suspect part of that was due to being an hour later (10pm Sunday night) than we were for 2013 (9pm Sunday night.) This one suffered from some mismanagement of the available time and we weren't able to cover everything One had planned for, though fortunately everything we were going to cover was also included in the "Quickie Guide" booklet. No disruptive drunks this year though!

Fanfic 120: Fairly small panel, but that was expected for an afternoon panel on Monday. It was pretty sleepy, but seemed to work as a nice little 'odds and ends' and more relaxed panel than the 101 and 201 panels. Also a good way to spend more time/revisit material from those panels that we may not have had as much time for at the earlier sessions.

Thoughts for next year:
-Maybe reclass 101 and 201 as regular panels rather than workshops or otherwise try to get one of the slightly larger rooms; while the tables are nice when writing notes, given the attendance for those two panels this year, being able to actually fit everyone in who wants to attend would probably be better.
-Put the writing advice and info section of the 369 panel BEFORE the Masters & Johnson/anatomy stuff, and only take questions at the end. There were a lot of questions this year, and taking them over the course of the panel contributed to running out of time before getting everything covered. Also, consider the possibility of applying for 369 to be a two hour panel instead.
-No real thoughts right now on improving the new 120 panel for next year. We've been toying with the notion of developing additional more focused writing panels and maybe rotating those around so it's not just 101, 201, 369, 120 again and again every year. Possible such focus panel ideas include one specifically for developing antagonists, possibly a 16+ panel on writing violence (thinking of calling that one the "Science of Squick") and probably a few others that are currently escaping me at the moment because I've been up since about 6:30 this morning and had a long drive back to LA from SJ.
-Possible 3.5 revision to the writing guide booklet, mostly formatting revisions for the sections that are still all bullet-pointed from earlier versions. Not sure yet.

Thanks everybody who came this year, and as always, feedback is appreciated!

[Kava]

Just as a note: Panels 4 was much smaller than we expected it to be this year, and as a consequence we will be moving the rooms around a bit. Next year, Panels 4 will be in the room it was in during the 2013 Con Year, so that it should have sufficient audience size.

Apologies for the super small room this year!