Kelly's Marscon Schedule, March 5–7

Saturday

Villainy for Dummies

Krushenko’s Lounge (13th Floor) — Saturday 11:00 am

So one day you look around and realize that YOU are the bad guy and that twerp whose father you murdered a decade ago might turn out to be the hero. Now what? Tips on surviving beyond the last page of the book (or the credits of the movie)...at least through a couple of sequels.

With: Naomi Kritzer, mod.; Kelly McCullough, Lyda Morehouse

Unraveling the Mystery: Big Bang Theory

Krushenko’s Lounge (13th Floor) — Saturday 02:00 pm

Come talk about what you like and/or don’t like about the physicist sitcom Big Bang Theory.

With: Tony Artym, mod.; Eric M. Heideman, Kelly McCullough, Lyda Morehouse, Brian K. Perry

Writing Dark Lords and Femmes Fatales, Character

Re(a)d Mars/Taylor (2nd Floor) — Saturday 06:00 pm

A great book needs a great enemy. How do you create good antagonists? Remembering that no one is the villain of their own story is a good start. What works? What doesn’t?

With: Kelly McCullough, mod.; Roy C. Booth, Doug Hulick

What Is a Villain?

Re(a)d Mars/Taylor (2nd Floor) — Saturday 07:00 pm

Who is this villain guy, anyway? Look at things from the villain’s point of view: the hero is always thwarting their plans. What a pain! Are the villains objectively villains, or do they seem that way because the victors write history?

With: Rick Gellman, mod.; Kelly McCullough, Baron David E Romm

Sunday

Writing Dark Lords and Femmes Fatales, The Antihero

Re(a)d Mars/Taylor (2nd Floor) — Sunday 11:00 am

Sometimes your heroine isn’t. Sometimes your hero’s just the lesser of two evils. From the Black Company, through the Punisher, to the Evil Overlord games, some of the best and most fun protagonists are Dark Lords and Femmes Fatales. How do you make that work as a writer.

With: Kelly McCullough, mod.; Roy C. Booth, Doug Hulick

The Dark Side of the Fey

Re(a)d Mars/Taylor (2nd Floor) — Sunday 01:00 pm

Traditionally capricious and dangerous, the fey are now often portrayed very differently. Why have we moved toward a purely cuddly and kindly fey? What authors draw on the more traditional characteristics and do it well? Why does this work? What purpose to tales of the dark fey serve? Why should we “stay on the path”?

With: Kelly McCullough, mod.; Rob Callahan, Beth Hansen-Buth, Catherine Lundoff

Writing Dark Lords and Femmes Fatales: World

Re(a)d Mars/Taylor (2nd Floor) — Sunday 03:00 pm

Sometimes the enemy is as much the situation or system as it is an individual villain or villainess. Sometimes the world creates the villain. A discussion of the interaction between world and antagonist and of circumstance as antagonist.

With: Kelly McCullough, mod.; Roy C. Booth, Doug Hulick