Boot-i-Con 2009

November 2009 has the Bootcampers attending a very different Boot-i-Con to last year. This year we're trialling online workshops, and running them every weekend for four weeks. At the end of November, we'll all graduate from the University for Online Boot-i-Con.

First cab off the rank of our speakers was the fabulous Annie, who workshopped the essentials of characterisation. We looked at all aspects of character development throughout the manuscript and learnt plenty of tips to make our characters leap off the page.

Next up, I talked Poisons and gave the Bootcampers ideas for doing away with those pesky villians.... in their works-in-progress of course. And I threw in a few common household accidents involving drugs and poisons to be on the lookout for. I don't think the Bootcampers will look at eucalyptus oil or redback spiders the same way every again.

A fast-paced and fabulous night's learning was had by all and the only thing missing was the post-lesson debrief - sharing the couch and nattering over drinks and DVDs late into the night.

RWA Hot August Nights Roundup

In August the Romance Writers of Australia conference rolled into Brisbane for three days of fun and laughter. It was my first hometown conference so I put my hand up to help with raffle and lucky door prizes, and to present a workshop.

“Dealing Drugs and Peddling Poisons” gave workshop participants the opportunity to brainstorm a fictional poisoning and the notes provided useful resources for their work in process. The delegates had obviously done their homework and had me on my toes answering curly questions.

One of the benefits of volunteering was getting to work closely with fellow Bootcamper Roseanne to source raffle prizes. We talked and laughed as we pounded the pavements in the city, trying to source donations.

Then there are all my friends (new and old) from the day we prepared the conference satchels, and from helping out with the raffles during the conference. There was never a dull moment and I enjoyed every second of “Hot August Nights”. Here's a photo of the Bootcampers enjoying the Friday Night Cocktail Party.

Peddling Poisons and Dealing Drugs

The RWA conference in August is fast approaching and I'll be taking the writers attending my session "Peddling Poisons and Dealing Drugs" on a tour around the pharmacopoeia, focusing on some of the more interesting situations I've encountered in my career.

We'll be talking about common mistakes adults make that result in poisoning (or why you shouldn't store the cough medicine next to the eucalyptus oil), exploring a fictional house to see what good poisons are lying around, and discovering how difficult it can be to successfully poison someone in a book and have your villain get away with it.

Then its on to drugs - ones that make you sleepwalk, ones that help your love life, and ones the drug companies discovered almost by accident. We'll look briefly at the history of drugs and the future of drugs and how to include drugs in your work of fiction.

Then there's the touch table - I'm putting together a few old books, bottles and other bits and pieces to fire the imaginations of everyone in the room.

Two weeks to go. I can hardly wait.

Fi