First seminar was a success!
I’m pleased to say that my first speaking engagement at the Writer’s Convention last weekend went really well. I survived all of the pitfalls and problems that were likely to occur at a “First Annual” event, and which did indeed happen, and managed a respectable presentation. Or so I was told afterwards by people I trust to tell me otherwise, had I not.
A slow start due to a problem with seating meant I was a little rushed along the way to fit my time limit, but the faster pace didn’t seem to harm the content. I would have liked to go out to the audience and solicit questions along the way, but I just didn’t have the time until the end, and even then, only two or three were answered. I’ve been asked if I’d offer the seminar again, at a later date and a different venue, so perhaps I’ll have the chance to tweak things on take two.
For a first time, I’d say that I am pleased with how things went, though. The slides worked well, or so I was told, and all those little things I did to make myself look a bit more professional paid off. Which has earned me a few more speaking engagements, I think.
Beyond the chance to reoffer this seminar, I’ve already been scheduled for a second, on a different topic, and asked also if I would be willing to sit down and be interviewed. I’m not sure about the interview, as I’ve never been the topic of conversation before…at least, not to my knowledge — what happens around the water cooler, I’m sure I don’t know — but I’ll manage. It’s what I do 
Both events will help me market myself and my first Second Life book, which I expect will be published in early October. I’m looking forward to seeing the reaction it garners and have high hopes that it may actually succeed. Time will tell — and sales, of course…
My first convention as a speaker
I have been invited to speak at an upcoming writer’s convention in Second Life. I’m pretty proud of that, and a little more nervous than I’d like to admit.
You see, the headline Guest of Honour is Larry Niven. The NY Times Best Selling author of the Ringworld series, among others. There will be other writers and guests of course, and even some music and poetry, but Larry is the main draw, to be certain.
I’ll be speaking about how to set up a successful critique workshop within Second Life. I’ve learned a lot over the last nine months (has it really been nine months!?!) and much of it has to do with the differences between running a workshop in Second Life as opposed to first life. Heaven knows I’ve answered more than my fair share of questions from residents about my own workshop. My FAQ has grown substantially over the last while, so I figure that will be my starting point.
Kat Klaybourne (Kat Alderson inSL) will be following my seminar with a lecture on how to market your publications in Second Life. I’ll be paying close attention to this one, because I’ll be publishing my first book in Second Life shortly, but that deserves it’s own post.
For now, you’re more than welcome to join me at The First Annual Monogram Virtua Writers Convention on Saturday, August 30th. Just follow the link to the convention centre. The event begins at 11:00am SLT (that’s Pacific) and runs until sometime after 8:00pm. My speaking engagement runs from 4-5pm SLT.
Wish me luck!
Stepping into a new world…
This is me. Honestly, it is! Or perhaps I should say that this is my avatar in Second Life. All three of those statements are true, but some of them may take some explaining.
As I mentioned before, Second Life (SL) is a virtual world that rivals our own in terms of the myriad possibilities open to us. Really, the only limit is your own imagination.
Many “residents” of SL are happy to call it a game. It certainly shares many traits with MMORPGs already cramming the interwebs that waste untold man-hours every day, but the differences are what I want to focus on.
See…unlike the people who joined SL to play a game…I joined the community to learn and teach. I didn’t know much about the “game” aspect of SL. All I knew is that real-world people were using the program to connect with other people like me. Those of us stuck in the small towns, or the big ones, for that matter. Those of us who would benefit from a more diverse community than our home towns allowed.
In my “first life,” I was only able to attend writing seminars at annual conventions. Professional, and local, workshops were out of the question as well. Using SL, however, I am able to bridge the gap between my office desk and the industry professionals who can help me the most.
When I heard from Mike Stackpole that he was developing a free, writer-based community using Second Life, I had to check it out. With thoughts of easy access to workshops, networking possibilities with other industry professionals, and potential new-media publishing possibilities, I signed onto SL for the first time and found that most of my expectations were met.
Setting aside the fact that I was blown away by the scope of SL, I found that it offered a lot of potential for advancement within my targeted field of writing. There were industry professionals, there were writing groups, there was lots of marketing being done, but there was also room for improvement.
Mike had been working hard, not just marketing, but publishing inside SL as well. He had also begun the early-days of community-building with the founding of Third Life Books alongside his friend Kat Klaybourne. The Third Life concept was to bring first-life people into SL for the purpose of making something bigger than either of those individually (first life+second life=third life).
Nearly a year has passed, since those very early days, and Third Life has grown into a fully realised community. Third Life Books has now expanded to include FarPoint Media, a group of first-rate podcasts, Third Life Interiors, offering furniture for your virtual home, and various resources for the newly-minted resident.
I am happy to say that I also play a role in this new community. Not content to wait around for things to happen, I took the initiative and, with Mike’s and Kat’s help, began to organise the Fantasy & Science-Fiction Writer’s Workshop. The workshop is a real-world tool for real-life writers to meet, network, discuss, learn, and teach. This is a group of serious writers who, for one reason or another, have found that using SL as a learning tool works for them.
In future posts, I hope to tell you more about Third Life Books, the F&SF Writer’s Workshop, and my experiences in Second Life. For now, if you’re interested, you can check out our workshop bio by using the link at the top of the page, or just clicking here.
So, rather than think of SL as a game, I suggest you think of it as a tool. As with all tools, what you do with it is up to you.
What is Second Life?
…And why am I going to write about it so much?
Second Life is a virtual world that, at it’s most basic, is a glorified chat program. It’s also so much more than that, though.
Last December, Michael Stackpole sent out an invitation for all his ‘followers’ to visit him in Second Life. With promises of writer’s workshops and industry connections, I thought I’d check it out. What I found actually amazed me.
I had heard about Second Life before but, even in my tech-savvy brain, I didn’t realise how advanced the interface had become. Assuming you have a decent enough computer, the virtual world of Second Life is pretty close to our ‘first life.’ If you can do it in the real world, you can do it (or a close approximation) in Second Life (yes, even that). Oh yeah, and you can fly too. How great is that?
Well, with a bit of a learning curve, I stepped into a new world and all of the sudden I saw the possibilities for myself. Instead of being stuck in a small, suburban city, the world became available to me. Writers from around the world could interact in real-time, sharing their work, offering critiques, marketing themselves, and even promoting their ‘real-life’ work. It is a very powerful tool.
If you’d like to join me in Second Life, you can download the viewer here. Once you’ve gone through a short tutorial on how to get dressed and move about etc… you’ll be able to visit the rest of the world. I suggest you begin your visit at Third Life Books by following this link and clicking on Teleport Now. This is a newbie-friendly area for writers and readers alike. It is also where I run my writing workshop (more on that later).
Second Life will take a bit to learn, and you’ll likely find yourself upgrading from the free service to the ‘micro-economy’ model before long. Doing so lets you buy some nicer clothes, a better body for your avatar, and some hair that actually blows in the wind instead of something that looks like it was made with plasticine, but all are worth it.
If you’re like me, you’ll be building stuff and meeting new people in no time. If you’re lucky, also like me, you may also find that someone special and get married in your Second Life. But that’s also a story for later…
