Life, the Universe, and Everything

As I said, in a previous post, Life the Universe, and Everything is a writing conference that is held annually in February in Provo, UT. The conference is mainly focused on science fiction and fantasy genres, but in my experience the content of the classes and panels I attended are able to translate over to any genre. 

I took advantage of the conference this year because I got in for free since I'm a student. We're always looking for perks and free things, and this conference gives students everything they could need. 

Each class or panel is taught by professionals who have been published (both traditionally and self-published and everywhere in between). There are not just authors of fantasy or sci-fi either. There were cartoonists, illustrators, publishers, and editors, and probably many more people with occupations I couldn't even guess at. In fact, my favorite class was probably the first class I attended on Saturday.

The class was called Practice Trumps Talent, and it was taught by Howard Tayler, artist and author of the webcomic, Schlock Mercenary. He said a few things in that class that me and my Mom (she came with me to the conference, as did my sister, and a couple of friends) found really helpful. He said, in essence, when you tell someone that they must be talented when you see their artwork (or read their stories), you are demeaning all the hard work they spent on that piece. Instead, if you tell them that they must have worked hard on that piece, it pushes them to work harder next time and do even better. Basically that was what he got from this study he read about here: http://nymag.com/news/features/27840/. So when you see someone's art or read's someone's story, don't tell them that is was good or that they must be talented (as if someone had to be born with some innate ability to write or draw well), tell them they must have worked hard on that.

Some other classes I enjoyed this year were Are You Ready for an Agent?, Gun Use in Fiction, and Constructive Criticism - Getting the Most Out of Your Writer's Group. I think those three were my 2nd, 3rd, and 4th favorite. 

There were others that I wished I could've gone to such as Psychology of a Serial Killer or How to Build an Action Plot or Creating Snazzier Sentences or even Superheroes and Gender: What It Is and Why It Matters. 

If your interested in reading more about LTUE go here: www.ltue.net.

Wanna know more about LTUE and my experiences there, ask me questions in the comments section or shoot me an email at [email protected]. Were you at LTUE? Great, tell me about your favorite class or what you enjoyed most about the conference. I look forward to hearing from you!

Keep on Creating, 
K. A. Jairl