My Norwescon 41 Schedule

It's that time of year: I don't know why Norwescon always falls on Easter weekend (probably some combination of hotel contracts and fannish tradition) but it's happening again! If you'll be there at the end of this month, here's where you can stalk* find me (recommended sessions are ★ starred, YMMV):

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Friday, March 30

Reading: Tina Connolly
10:30–11 a.m. @ Cascade 4
Something new and different. Tina Connolly reads something you probably haven’t heard before. There may be marshmallows. Rated: PG.
(SPOILER: I'm joining her to present a selection from BOX, a thriller play she co-wrote!)
Tina Connolly (M)

First Page Idol
2:00pm - 3:00pm @ Cascade 11
Curtis C. Chen (M), Tina Connolly, Mark Teppo, Cory Skerry
Feeling brave? Want to see how your first page holds up in a cold read? Send the first page of your manuscript to idol@norwescon.org to have it anonymously read aloud and critiqued by a panel of pros.

★ The Best Comedy Workshop You've Ever Attended
5:00pm - 6:30pm @ Cascade 13
Curtis C. Chen, Tegan Moore
Do you want to write funny stories? Or would you prefer to be a wry storyteller? What’s the difference between jokes and humor? (Don’t say one’s a liquid. DON’T SAY ONE’S A LIQUID.) Tegan Moore and Curtis Chen explain it all. No props, no animals, no hyperbole, no refunds. Presented by Clarion West. Ages 18+. Space is limited and advance sign-up is required in Cascade 1.

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Saturday, March 31

Writer Talk: Dig That Rhythm
10:00am - 11:00am @ Cascade 10
Tod McCoy (M), Jack Skillingstead, E. Lily Yu, Curtis C. Chen
All writing must have rhythm: a balance between dialogue, internal monologue, action, and narrative. Without rhythm, a story bogs down and loses the reader’s interest. Tone is often tied to this rhythm, but authorial voice and theme can impact rhythm too. Chat with pros about how they find this music in their writing.

★ Reading: Curtis C. Chen
11:30am - 12:00pm @ Cascade 4
Curtis C. Chen (M)
Kangaroo Too. Kangaroo’s back! And this time it’s personal… maybe? Come hear an excerpt from the sequel to Waypoint Kangaroo, in which our hero travels to the moon in search of information and ends up digging up long-buried secrets from the past that will make his future very complicated. Rated: PG.

Autograph Session 2
3:00pm - 4:00pm @ Grand 2
Chris Pramas, Galen Dara, Ken Liu, Matthew Wedel, Nicole Lindroos, Barth Anderson, Tina Connolly, Fonda Lee, G. Willow Wilson, Joseph Carriker, Kat Richardson, Nancy Kress, Sandra M. Odell, Tanya D., Curtis C. Chen, Dawn Vogel, Nisi Shawl, E. Lily Yu, Eva L. Elasigue, Jack Skillingstead, Joseph Brassey, K. C. Alexander, Lee Moyer, Meg Elison, Pat MacEwen, Patrick Swenson, Rhiannon Held, Scott James Magner, Dean Wells
Our attending professionals are available to sign autographs. Please note that so as many fans as possible can participate, we will be enforcing a three-items-at-a-time (or single-sketch) autograph limit.

Ready, Set, Practice That Pitch!
5:00pm - 6:00pm @ Cascade 11
Curtis C. Chen (M), Susan Chang, Cory Skerry, Randy Henderson
Are you ready to pitch an agent? What’s the difference between the elevator pitch, a three-liner, and an extended pitch? Hear pros throw out some examples and listen as audience members share their elevator pitches with the pros. Find out if your pitch is worthy of a request for pages!

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Sunday, April 1

★ What is SFWA?
11:00am - 12:00pm @ Cascade 5 & 6
Cat Rambo (M), Curtis C. Chen
Panelists will discuss the origin and history of the Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA), what the organization does for professional SF&F writers and the genre, and what its direction will be in the coming years.

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There is also a nonzero chance that I'll be at Friday night karaoke, one or more Saturday night room parties, and a Codex meetup at some point during the weekend. Follow me on Twitter for reminders and random thoughts!

*Stalking is bad! DON'T DO IT.

Kangaroo Cocktails

As you know, Bob, space tourism features pretty heavily in both of my Kangaroo books: the first one takes place mostly on an interplanetary cruise spaceship, and the second book sees Kangaroo going undercover as a civilian on the Moon.

And, of course, tourism often involves drinking. Like modern cruise ships, the Dejah Thoris in Waypoint Kangaroo encourages its passengers to imbibe early and often; and the Hotel Tranquility in Kangaroo Too boasts a well-stocked, all-hours lobby bar (liquor laws are a little looser on Luna). I have been known to take a drink now and then, myself, and I had fun writing some beverage-fueled encounters into both books.

Enter my friend Huw Evans, one of the workshop administrators for Clarion West (the writing boot camp I attended in 2014) and a real-life cocktail enthusiast, among other things. I had the wacky idea to ask him if he wanted to actually come up with a recipe for the vaguely described "Zero-Gravity Football" drink from Waypoint Kangaroo, and he did! So of course I also asked him to do the same for Kangaroo Too this year, for the unnamed cocktail that Kangaroo shares with Breyella Wilgus in chapter eight.

The point of all this is to say that it's nice to have people who support your wacky ideas and help you celebrate things. I look forward to many more book launches, readings, and afterparties with Huw and my other Seattle-area friends.

Below you'll find the complete recipes for both Kangaroo cocktails. Enjoy in good health and good company!

My Norwescon 40 Schedule

Earlier today I realized that Norwescon is NEXT WEEK. Time to start making plans! Here's where you can find me at the con (other than the bar):

Thursday, April 13

Write Your Elevator Pitch Workshop
Cascade 12
2–3 p.m.
Got a good elevator pitch for your manuscript? Whether you’re seeking an agent and traditional publisher, or planning to self-publish, you need to have an elevator pitch of your book. Loglines and elevator pitches are ways to explain your story/series and pique interest in your work in one or two sentences. This workshop will teach you how to condense your 90,000 word novel or 5 book series into a quick, effective elevator pitch. Ages 18+. Space is limited and advance sign-up is required in Cascade 1.
Curtis C. Chen (M)

What is a Story?
Cascade 9
3–4 p.m.
Writers talk about story, but what is it really? Something with a beginning, middle, and end? A witch’s brew of words and punctuation? Come discuss with our panelists what separates a coherent narrative from a random series of events.
Marta Murvosh (M), Cat Rambo, Curtis C. Chen, Nancy Kress, James C. Glass

Friday, April 14

Reading: Curtis C. Chen
Cascade 2
5–5:30 p.m.
Kangaroo Too, sequel to Waypoint Kangaroo (Thomas Dunne, 2016). A suspicious spacecraft accident sends our favorite superpowered secret agent to the Moon hunting for information, but there are more secrets buried there than he suspected. Rated PG.
Curtis C. Chen (M)

Saturday, April 15

Technical Sci-Fi
Cascade 11
1–2 p.m.
The balance between technical details and story are discussed as our panelists dive into the junction between being specific and still captivating the audience.
Curtis C. Chen (M), Dr. Rob Hoyt, John Cramer, PJ Manney

Autograph Session 1
Grand 2
2–3 p.m.
Our attending professionals are available to sign autographs. PLEASE NOTE: So that as many fans as possible can participate, we will be enforcing a three-items-at-a-time (or single-sketch) autograph limit.
Ethan Siegel, Ian McDonald, Catska Ench, Cory Ench, Nancy Kress, Marc Gascoigne, Mike Underwood, Carol Berg, Alex Irvine, Annie Bellet, Caroline M. Yoachim, Curtis C. Chen, Dean Wells, Greg Bear, Jack Skillingstead, James C. Glass, Jeff Sturgeon, John Cramer, Kat Richardson, Lee Moyer, Nathan Crowder, Nisi Shawl, Peter Orullian, Randy Henderson, Scott James Magner, Tori Centanni, Wendy N. Wagner, PJ Manney, Julie McGalliard, Crystal Connor, David D. Levine, Susan diRende, Claudia Casper, Kristy Acevedo

Singularity
Evergreen 3&4
4–5 p.m.
Join our panelists as they discuss the concept of the singularity, both as a scientific principle and an element in fiction.
Django Wexler (M), PJ Manney, Curtis C. Chen, John Cramer

First Page Idol
Cascade 9
5–6 p.m.
Feeling brave? Want to see how your first page holds up in a cold read? Send the first page of your manuscript to idol@norwescon.org to have it anonymously read aloud and critiqued by a panel of pros.
Curtis C. Chen (M), Wendy N. Wagner, Patrick Swenson, Mark Teppo


Follow @curtiscchen on Twitter for up-to-the-minute shenanigans.

ALSO: the following week (April 19-20), I'll be in Hong Kong for the first-ever Melon HK conference. Tell your Southeast Asian friends!

I Have Some Busy Weekends Coming Up

For the record, I'm not doing this as a #humblebrag or anything douchey like that. I'm writing this down as yet another reminder of all the crap I need to do BECAUSE I'M OLD AND I FORGET THINGS OKAY.

This weekend is GameStorm 17 in downtown Vancouver, where DeeAnn and I are re-running a modified version of the "Number Five Is Alive" puzzle hunt from JoCo Cruise 5. We'll hopefully also have time to play some games ourselves, and go to the Doubleclicks concert! Some of Thursday night's events will be in the hotel garage, which should be interesting.

Next weekend, after we do our taxes dammit, I'm going up to Seattle to help staff the Clarion West table at Emerald City Comic Con. I may or may not also have time and energy to wander around the con stalking Gail Simone, but mostly I want to go help out an organization I love (ObDisclaimer: I am a CW alumnus) and hang out with some awesome writers.

The first weekend in April is our friend Maria's birthday, and our other friend Natalie is organizing a chocolate field trip through Portland. You're either super excited and looking forward to this or deeply sad that you can't join us.

The second weekend in April includes my pal Fonda Lee's book launch party for her debut novel Zeroboxer! And probably a few hours prepping the next Puzzled Pint event, which may or may not include scrambling to lock down locations in all cities and/or last-minute revisions to puzzle materials. Did I mention we're an all-volunteer, non-commercial event?

And with any luck, one month from now on April 18th, we'll actually have some free time to relax and watch the third season premiere of Orphan Black.

The Portland Food Pyramid

A cautionary tale: this is what happens when you spend too much time on social media.

On Thursday, I tweeted about my lunch at Burgerville. Technically, I guess it was a sub-sub-tweet, since I didn't mention the name of the restaurant or even the specific food items (pepper bacon cheeseburger, waffle cut fries, chocolate milkshake). Anyway. My fellow Portlandians Wink and Brian added their own remarks, and then Larry cascaded it into a very cheesy conversation.

Meanwhile, on Facebook—where my tweets get auto-cross-posted—others continued the ad hoc comedy workshopping. And because I have nothing better to do on a Friday night than answer Puzzled Pint e-mails and watch Downton Abbey, I decided to turn my hasty sketch into something more suitable for Thomas to post in his kitchen.

Here's the original:

@sparCKL/566073118629048320/photo

And now (drum roll, please) the new hotness:

snout.org/pfp

The pictured foodstuffs are (top to bottom, left to right):

• Hot Sauce: Secret Aardvark Habanero Hot Sauce
• Beer: Puzzled Pint (logo by Victor Asteinza; not actually food, but definitely a Portland institution!)
• Whiskey: Eastside Distilling Burnside Bourbon
• Butter: Tillamook Butter
• Caffeine: Stumptown Coffee Cold Brew "Stubby"
• Chocolate: Moonstruck Milk Chocolate Mayan Bar
• Fat: raw bacon (stock photo by Floortje)
• Salt: J&D's Bacon Salt (actually a Seattle company, but I'll allow it because BACON SALT)
• Starch: Kenny and Zuke's Pastrami Cheese Fries (photo by Robyn Lee for Serious Eats)
• Sugar: Voodoo Doughnut Maple Bacon Bar

I'm not sure when in the process the diagram became Portland-specific, but it just felt right. Also note that everything is covered in cheese because come on why wouldn't you do that.

If this infographic amuses you, <zoidberg>HOORAY!</zoidberg> And Happy Valentine's Day? Feel free to share the permalink: http://snout.org/pfp

So that happened.

This concludes tonight's episode of How's Curtis Wasting His Goddamn Time Now? Come back next week for more frivolity. Or just follow me on Twitter if you simply cannot wait that long.

<3 CKL

SnoutCast #212: Lindsay Morse & Nate Martin

This month, we talk to Lindsay Morse and Nate Martin, co-founders of the Puzzle Break room escape games in Seattle and San Francisco!

Fun fact: we actually recorded this interview last month, and astute listeners will be able to determine from clues in the conversation exactly what the date was. :)

[ Download mp3 ]

Show length: 44:27
File size: 42.7MB

Stuff and things:

• the Puzzle Break web site
• Coffee Talk!
• Nate's Reddit post
• grimdark

Follow @PuzzleBreak on Twitter for more!

What Else?

• Dan Egnor's Escape Room Directory (and Puzzle Hunt Calendar)
• Chris Dickson's Exit Games UK
• Rich Bragg's ClueKeeper

Tell us we're wrong on the Internet! E-mail podcast@snout.org or post a comment at www.snout.org/podcast.

Music: instrumentals from "Code Monkey" and "Mandelbrot Set" by Jonathan Coulton

[ Subscribe to SnoutCast / iTunes link / Stitcher link ]

   

I Am Home

It's been less than a week since my Clarion West (CW) adventure concluded, and I'm still readjusting to normal life and catching up on all the e-mails I've been ignoring for six weeks or more. I'm almost done clearing out my inbox, and then I'll dive into the novel rewrites that this guy is patiently waiting for.

I didn't blog much about CW while I was there, though I did tweet quite a bit. You should go check out these other blogs by my classmates Folly, Marlee, Mike, and Michael.

Also: while I was searching to verify those blog links, I found K.C. Ball's "Missing Mike." Which, you know, fuck cancer. But it also made me wonder about who in my CW class I would lose track of over the next few years.

Something similar happened after I attended Viable Paradise (VP) in 2008: a few people had early successes, some hit it big later on, some don't do much writing any more (for various reasons), and some I've never heard from again. I gather that's pretty normal for most writing workshops, especially those who make an effort to emphasize diversity. That's not just gender or racial diversity; age and personal background are also huge factors. People arrive at CW and VP with varying levels of experience, both professional and personal. And the group dynamic is always changing, and depends on individual people to steer it toward something positive.

I had a great time at both VP and CW, though I understand it's not always great for everyone. Some people work better in less stressful environments, and sometimes social groups coalesce better than at other times. I feel like the folks running VP and CW do the best they can, and it's up to the students to meet each other in the middle.

Look, I know I'm not the right guy to be talking about this. As I discussed with one of my CW instructors in our one-on-one meeting, I am aware that I personally occupy a weird position of partial privilege: I am a tall, normal-looking male, and though I'm obviously non-white, I belong to a "model minority" group to which many people automatically assign certain positive traits. And hell, I signed an agent while I was at CW; I am the poster child for "results not typical."

All I can say is that I had an amazing CW experience. It was exactly what I expected, and also a whole lot more. Good things happened, interesting things happened, and now we'll see what happens next.

As Seen on Facebook

Presented without comment:

Ladies and gentlemen, the Pacific Northwest.

SnoutCast #199: Breakout Things

In which we recount our excellent "room escape" experience at Puzzle Break Seattle, and respond to some more listener mail.

[ Download mp3 - 28 MB ]

00:59 - "escapist"
01:20 - Team Goats Under Snout escaped the room in 40 minutes!
18:09 - Listener Mail re: should we continue this podcast?
28:39 - The End

What Else?

• Interested in presenting at Game Control Summit 2014? E-mail Linda!
• The Room 2 released for iPad this Thursday (and the original is still just $2)
• We'll always have Puzzle Hunt Calendar

Tell us we're wrong on the Internet! E-mail podcast@snout.org or post a comment at www.snout.org/podcast.

Music: instrumentals from "Code Monkey" and "Skullcrusher Mountain" by Jonathan Coulton

[ Subscribe to SnoutCast / iTunes link ]

 

SnoutCast #182: Madly Recite, Calmer Deity, Teamed Lyric!

This week, we talk to Jason Wodicka, who has run many puzzle events in Seattle, including ten Puzzled Pints for the public and two Amazon Puzzle Hunts for interns and employees!

(And in case you're wondering, the three phrases in the title are all anagrams of "Emerald City.")

[ Download mp3 - 25 MB ]

00:59 - "northwestern"
01:51 - the idiosyncratic SNAP numbering system
03:57 - genesis of the Amazon Puzzle Hunt
05:36 - what's fun about running a puzzle event? (hint: answers may vary)
07:07 - so... how's Puzzled Pint Seattle going?
11:45 - hints, complaints, and stylistic differences
14:35 - "What is the Amazon Puzzle Hunt?"
17:45 - a literal badge of honor!
20:04 - how one GC gives hints
26:41 - The End

Tell us we're wrong on the Internet! E-mail podcast@snout.org or post a comment at www.snout.org/podcast.

Music: instrumentals from "Code Monkey" and "My Monkey" by Jonathan Coulton

[ Subscribe to SnoutCast / iTunes link ]

  

SnoutCast #143: The Three P's

Which are, of course: Puzzles, Pints, and Portland!

[ Download mp3 - 24 MB ]

00:59 - "local"
01:45 - e.g., Puzzled Pint
05:00 - just-in-time puzzle creation
09:10 - THE ANECDOTE
11:37 - dafuq?
16:27 - analogy trouble
20:58 - do-it-yourself Puzzled Pint, anyone?
25:35 - The End

Tell us we're wrong on the Internet! E-mail podcast@snout.org or post a comment at www.snout.org/podcast.

Music: instrumentals from "Code Monkey" and "The Future Soon" by Jonathan Coulton

[ Subscribe to SnoutCast / iTunes link ]

 

SnoutCast #139: Horseshoes and Hand Grenades

Inspired in part by @OdinsHunt, a protracted, spoiler-riddled discussion of a time-honored puzzle tradition: backsolving!

[ Download mp3 - 36 MB ]

00:59 - "approximate"
02:08 - hey, remember that Hunt for Odin's Horse thing?
04:44 - on the posting of past puzzles online (e.g., Puzzled Pint)
06:15 - see also: JoCo Cruise Crazy 2: Dead Man's Quest?
12:55 - who are the people on your puzzle-hunting team?
24:48 - "Is this your card?"
32:50 - again with the WarTron
36:13 - (for the record: also DAIN, DAUN, or DAWN)
38:57 - The End

Tell us we're wrong on the Internet! E-mail podcast@snout.org or post a comment at www.snout.org/podcast.

Music: instrumentals from "Code Monkey" and "Skullcrusher Mountain" by Jonathan Coulton

[ Subscribe to SnoutCast / iTunes link ]

 

A Piece for Crows

Had a great time today playing the Hunt for Odin's Horse as part of team "Los Puzzle Snouts," comprising Jeff and Donna from Los Jefes, Matt from The Puzzle Underground (and Puzzled Pint Game Control), and DeeAnn and myself from Team Snout. Thanks to Mike Selinker and company for a fun event!

We also had a good time yesterday doing the warm-up puzzles online, and in between, I had this conversation with a couple of birds:

Good night everybody!

SnoutCast #95: Gamer Profiles - JESSICA & JEFF WALLACE, SharkBait/Briny Deep

Joining us this week from Seattle, Washington: Jessica and Jeff Wallace talk about how they've built their family around Gaming. Literally!


[ Download mp3 - 23 MB ]

00:59 - "kindred"
01:39 - Jessica says, "I am a Puzzle Geek."
03:31 - when Jeff met Jessica (at Microsoft)
06:12 - have puzzlehunts ever conflicted with your family life?
08:20 - Briny Deep vs. Sharkbait
09:47 - day jobs vs. GC
15:13 - the offspring
19:54 - (DeeAnn always has to tell her Halo story)
22:45 - PuzzleHuntCalendar.com and the secret puzzle cabal
24:25 - The End

Got a comment or question? E-mail podcast@snout.org or post at snout.org/podcast!

Music: instrumentals from "Code Monkey" and "You Ruined Everything" by Jonathan Coulton

[ Subscribe to SnoutCast / iTunes link ]

   

SnoutCast #93: SEAHOP Player Debrief

In which Ana, Katie, Matt, Rob, and Vic tell us about playing in the 2011 Seattle Epic and Awesome Hunt O' Puzzles (SEAHOP)! (Apologies for the inferior sound quality; our dining room is not an ideal recording environment.)


[ Download mp3 - 24 MB ]

00:59 - "epic and amazing"
01:50 - the legend of SEAHOP
03:17 - comparison to other puzzle hunt events?
07:07 - memorable puzzles
13:52 - boo .NET
18:20 - the Sunday afternoon wrap-up
22:09 - did SEAHOP inspire you to (wait for it) Run More Games?
24:05 - plug-o-rama: DASH 4, Puzzled Pint (want to simulcast? E-mail gamecontrol@puzzledpint.com)
26:13 - The End

Got a comment or question? E-mail podcast@snout.org or post at snout.org/podcast!

Music: instrumentals from "Code Monkey" and "Mandelbrot Set" by Jonathan Coulton

[ Subscribe to SnoutCast / iTunes link ]

      

SnoutCast #89: SNAP 8 Debrief

In which we break the half-hour barrier with Jeff Phillips and Jay McCleery of SNAP 8 GC in Seattle. (Tune in next week for our BANG 28 debriefing!)


[ Download mp3 - 28 MB ]

00:58 - "snappy"
01:40 - What is a SNAP?
03:26 - re-casting BANG 28 (vs. simulcasting SNAP VI)
13:57 - an impolitic question about device re-use
15:25 - location, location, location
17:52 - on re-running an event you haven't already played
21:00 - on the coming together of plans and such
24:56 - the one horrendous clue building experience
26:35 - budgeting
27:11 - what's next? (implied: Run More Games!)
30:33 - The End

Got a comment or question? E-mail podcast@snout.org or post at snout.org/podcast!

Music: instrumentals from "Code Monkey" and "First of May" by Jonathan Coulton

[ Subscribe to SnoutCast / iTunes link ]

   

SnoutCast #70: "Henching the Night Away"

Our spoiler-free WHO Game (Seattle) recap! In which we talk about some general topics, generally, as they relate to WHO, in general.


[ Download mp3 - 28 MB ]

00:00 - "horrible"
03:05 - locations, briefly
04:19 - actors
08:29 - inter-team cooperation
13:33 - data collection
21:50 - Midnight Madness, playtesting, etc.
30:16 - The End

Got a comment or question? E-mail podcast@snout.org or post at snout.org/podcast!

Music: instrumentals from "Code Monkey" and "Skullcrusher Mountain" by Jonathan Coulton

[ Subscribe to SnoutCast / iTunes link ]

 

SnoutCast #69: "Preparation Contemplation"

Remember, kids: don't drink and podcast.


[ Download mp3 - 30 MB ]

00:00 - Teaser: teamwork and cats
01:56 - "logistical"
03:05 - Listener Mail in response to "Supplies!"
05:19 - preparing for The WHO Game
10:11 - van rental reminders
15:07 - more about food safety
19:49 - DeeAnn's complicated relationship with Monopoly
21:03 - the value of pre-Game activities, even if not supply-related
27:00 - "every era is a 'resourcefulness era'"
31:34 - The End

Got a comment or question? E-mail podcast@snout.org or post at snout.org/podcast!

Music: instrumentals from "Code Monkey" and "Shop Vac" by Jonathan Coulton

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SnoutCast #66: "WHO Knows"

This week, we talk to Jett Jones, one of the evil masterminds behind the World Henchmen Organization (WHO) Game!

Also: we neglected to mention it in this show, but you can always find upcoming event info at PuzzleHuntCalendar.com. See what's happening in your area!


[ Download mp3 - 25 MB ]

00:59 - "thuggish"
02:01 - WHO: inspired by Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog
03:12 - the secret origins of WHO's GC
04:12 - Jett's personal puzzle hunt history
05:58 - naming conventions
08:03 - application expectations
10:43 - designing the WHO application requirements and puzzles
15:56 - objective vs. subjective scoring
18:39 - what can players expect from the WHO Game?
22:45 - a further note on application videos
26:21 - The End

Got a comment or question? E-mail podcast@snout.org or post at snout.org/podcast!

Music: instrumentals from "Code Monkey" and "I Crush Everything" by Jonathan Coulton

[ Subscribe to SnoutCast / iTunes link ]