A mixed bag from the Writer's Institute - a great reconnection with April Eberhart and as always a treat to visit with Laurie Scheer, but the ball did not go out of the park on the pitches.
         The conference attendance was up again this year, by about 40 or 50 if what I heard is true. Heard several stimulating ideas, listened to a wonderful story crafted by Ann Garvin (and bought her book even though it's not my genre at all), made what I hope will be two or three longer-term connections with other authors.
         I had hoped to make more of a splash in the pitching room. I was pretty down for a few hours on Friday but now that I'm home I find myself stoked up and ready to apply more heat. One works and works to get something to catch fire and after a while it's hard to get excited about more smoky embers. C'mon, flame dammit!
        OK, I've descended to curse words (little ones). Time to get back to writing fiction where that's OK.

       Working to have all the ducks in a row for the UW Midwest Writer's Institute starting tomorrow evening. I will pitch Lane Shefter Bishop on Friday and April Eberhardt on Saturday. Giving each of them the same pitch will not work - at least not equally well. Always hard to know how much one's pitch is about the project and how much about the person on the other side of the table?
       I meant to  blog twice this week  . . . The best laid plans . . .

          I mentioned in a previous blog that I expect Laurie Scheer’s latest book, “the Writer’s Advantage” to be most useful as I prepare to pitch my various projects. With the Midwest Writer’s Institute now only about three weeks away, I am focused on exactly that – honing my pitch for “Andy." (the TV series)
           I’ll be brief – it is a blog post after all.
           One step in the process is to identify the quintessential text within the genre of your work. “Andy” is sci-fi, and more specifically robots and/or androids raising the question, “Why can’t I be human?” Of course “Star Trek, the Next Generation” deals with that in the character of Data (Brent Spiner’s role). Some readers have said they are reminded of the Cylons from "Battlestar Galactica" when they imagine an android indistinguishable from a human.
          In the world of feature films, the quintessential texts are “Westworld,” “A.I.” and “I, Robot.” A little less directly related are “Blade Runner,” “The Stepford Wives,” “Terminator” and “Bicentennial Man.”
           In nearly all of those, the android/robot poses a threat to mankind – “robots run amok,” perhaps as a theme. “Bicentennial Man” stands out as the exception. The Robin Williams character is funny (duh!) but what’s unique about the story is that his goal is to just be the best person he can be.
           So as I prepare to pitch “Andy,” I am readying myself for the question, “How is ‘Andy’ like the other texts within its genre – and what about your story makes it unique?” My time is well spent, I think, making sure my answer is well thought out and carefully crafted.