Creatures, Crimes, and Creativity X

 The tenth Creatures, Crimes, and Creativity conference took place last weekend in Columbia, MD. I’ve been to nine (missed the first for reasons I do not remember) and, while I can’t say this was the “best,” there have been none better.

 

Austin and Denise Camacho never fail to create a welcoming, familial atmosphere that not only inspires repeat visits, but embraces newcomers. A friend attending her first C3 told me she hadn’t been sure what to expect, but was made to feel at home as soon as she entered the registration area. She was not alone in that sentiment.

 

C3 always gets high-level keynotes. This year Jeffrey Deaver reprised his role as the original crime speaker, with Nancy Holder covering the sci-fi/fantasy side of things. Both were excellent speakers, outstanding panelists, and were more than accessible to the other 140 writers and readers who wanted bits of their time.

 

I’ve been going to conferences since 2008, so there isn’t as much new to me as there once was. I used to break out comments by individual sessions, but now my notes are thinner. Do not infer I didn’t learn anything. My personal highlights are below.

 

·       Taglines have vexed me since my first book came out. The panel that focused on them had several takeaways I can use as I begin a new project we’ll discuss more in next week’s blog:

o   John DeDakis: the tag should only be a sentence or two to hook a potential reader. Tags should be short enough to be read comfortably in one breath.

o   Susan Tullio: a tag is similar to a newspaper headline and should set the genre.

o   Sharon Buchbinder: tags should give a sense of the book so readers aren’t misled.

·       Jeffrey Deaver: The part of the brain that forms attachments with real humans is the same part that forms attachments with fictional characters.

·       About writing fight scenes:

o   Bryan England: the stakes in a fight can change as the fight progresses. A cop must write a use of force report every time he draws his gun, sprays a chemical, uses a Taser, or throws a punch; cops are writing the report in their head as they fight.

o   Teel James Glenn: Bruce Lee said people will fight the way they think; Those who are afraid will fight most desperately. The mindset of the individual may be key, as he or she must decide how dirty they are willing to get; running may be the solution.

o   Mark Bergin: the fight description should not be too detailed. Clarity and brevity are the keys.

o   P.A. Duncan: No one escapes a fight without consequences.

§  All: If you’re going to show the fight, you must show the consequences, including both mental and psychological.

o   There are differences of opinion about who to take out first when outnumbered.

·       On discussing the importance of realism:

o   Bryan England: Taser victims are only incapacitated while the current is running; it does not knock them out. Everything a cop does must go into a report before they can go back on the street, even if all they did was give someone a ride to the station.

o   Glenn Parris (an MD) sees too much “magical healing” and not enough medical complications. Tasers will not trigger cardiac arrest, even in those with pacemakers or defibrillators.

o   Mark Bergin never sees enough of how much cops rely on the radio or how calls can get garbled when passing them to jurisdictions with different 10 codes.

I can’t take notes on my own panels, for obvious reasons. Both “Rejections” and “Noir” had worthy takeaways. The one that sticks in my head is Terrence McCauley’s comment that Glengarry, Glen Ross, is a woefully underrated noir with nary a corpse shown nor punch thrown, to which I immediately thought, “Of course it is!” though it had never occurred to me before.

 

That’s the joy of a conference such as this: you learn things and have an opportunity to follow up on them. You also get to see old friends and invariably make new ones.

 

I would be remiss if I did not thank the panelists I worked with last weekend: Arlene Kay, Jeff Markowitz, Rick Pullen, and Ilene Schneider (Rejections); Christopher Chambers, Lanny Larcinese, Terrence McCauley (Noir).

 

Last, but by no means least, a shout out to those who read at Friday’s Noir at the Bar event. C3’s N@Bs are different from others, as horror, sci-fi, fantasy, and even steampunk may be included. This year’s readers were exceptional from start to finish, even though several had never read at such an event before. Some of the credit goes to the atmosphere Austin, Denise, and everyone involved in putting on the conference creates, but I cannot compliment highly enough the effort put forth by the readers: LC Allingham, Rob Creekmore, Ef Deal, William J. Donohue, Jeff Markowitz, Joanne McLaughlin, Josh Pachter, and Tom Sterling. You all conducted yourselves above and beyond what were high expectations. Well done.

 

Next Year’s event is September 13 – 15, again in Columbia. Early registrations get a discount, so head on over to https://creaturescrimesandcreativity.com/2024-registration/ to beat the rush.

 

See you in Columbia.