I have lots of writer friends, but most of them are crime or romance writers, and one is a comedy writer too. Only a few of them have ever read a science fiction book. They're good for giving general feedback on writing, commenting on plots and character motivation, but they have no feel for the SF genre. Sometimes that means they question silly things, and it means I can't use them as a check for whether a scientific idea sounds plausible.
This has been a perennial problem for me, as the lone SF writer surrounded by all sorts of other writers. I've been part of Havant and District Writers' Circle off and on for thirty years, and I'm now its Chairwoman. I can remember back twenty years when I used to read SF pieces and get the reaction "that's nice dear", or "that's interesting" - translation: I haven't a clue what you're talking about and can't critique it. This lack of people around me with genre knowledge has become incredibly frustrating at times.
So I'm off to Geekfest to mix with people who read the same books that I do, that understand the concept of a jumpdrive. Some of them will be scientists, and will understand much more than me. In the events I'll get to discuss SF tropes, political systems of the future, sexuality, and speculate on the scientific breakthroughs of the future.
The convention has a broad programme, and I'm sure it will spark off many ideas for me through listening to the discussions. And there are industry editors and agents there, talking about publishing in the genre. Their insight will be absolute gold dust. So I'm looking forward to a packed weekend, and to learning lots of things that can take my writing career onwards to a higher level.
Wendy Metcalfe is the author of Panthera : Death Spiral and Panthera : Death Song, and the short story collection Otherlives. Find out more at www.wendymetcalfe.com
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