Rachel Gutin Profile picture
Jul 18, 2019 14 tweets 3 min read Read on X
The eighth panel I attended at #Readercon was "Hospitable Worlds," with @N_S_Dolkart, @elaineisaak, and @TracyATownsend, moderated by Eric Amundsen. This panel was on Saturday afternoon, which means it was on Shabbat, and that affected my note-taking.
I'm a Jew who keeps Shabbat in a way that precludes writing. This means I had to hold all of the key points in my mind until after Shabbat, when I could write that down. For more info on how I do that, check out this thread:
The short, short version: I attach the notes to an image in my mind. This means I remember key points, but not the order they were said in, definitely not direct quotes, and usually not who said what either. With that in mind, here are my take-aways from this panel:
Start the story with a low cognitive load. (A lesson from game design via Eric Amundsen, if I recall correctly.)
Introducing, say, a hoverdog, without explanation can be off-putting, but it can also be explained via context. For example, "They all jumped on the hoverdog," vs. "Each one jumped on their own hoverdog."
(There was a great quote about hoverdogs and the beginnings of stories. I think it came from @N_S_Dolkart, and I wish I could recall what it was.)
Hospitality can mean inviting specific people in, or it can mean opening the door to welcome everyone. Who are we being hospitable to in our stories?
Don't make the reader feel stupid.
Part of not making the reader feel stupid is leaving a trail of breadcrumbs for them to follow, and also meeting them halfway.
Have a protagonist the reader wants to follow. That protagonist can lead the reader through the world.
You're putting out a buffet and inviting everyone to eat, even if the food is unfamiliar.
Content warnings can be useful/important.
Good cover art can help readers know what to expect.

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More from @Rachel_Gutin

Dec 25, 2020
For those of us who aren’t celebrating Christmas, I would like to share a story:
In a small Jewish community on an outlying planet sits a museum. At its center, a narrow plinth. Upon the plinth, a boxy container, folded from heavy white paper, its edges charred. A wire handle across its top.

The label reads: In Commemoration of the Great Christmas Alliance
There is no further explanation posted, but ask any museum staff member, and they will tell you the tale of the time when Chinese food saved the Jews from boredom and despair, on the occasion of yet another Christmas.
Read 26 tweets
Sep 22, 2020
This Rosh Hashanah, my thoughts kept returning to a single story. It’s the story of a soul, newly arrived at the gates of Heaven And while I’m not sure I believe in a literal heaven, with an actual gate where angels stand guard, a story doesn’t have to be factual to be true.
So a woman arrives at the gates of Heaven. She is small of stature, but she stands tall before the imposing gates. A simple black robe hangs from her shoulders, and a lacy white collar adorns her neck. In her eyes, there is a gleam of steely determination.
In most stories, this is when the angels would stop her. They would ask her to prove she deserves a place in Heaven. But in this story, the angels step aside.
Read 15 tweets
Aug 23, 2020
After nearly five months at my parents’ house, I am finally back in my own apartment.

The first thing I unpacked: stuff that needed refrigeration.

Next: my laptop.

After that, books.

Here are all the books that spent time at my parents’ house. 39 books in three stacks, s...
And here are the books that I read while I was at my parents’ house: 26 books in two stacks, spi...
I also purchased a total of 18 books, 17 of which were shipped to my parents' house, and one of which I picked up while traveling.
Read 4 tweets
Aug 21, 2020
The eighth panel I attended at #ConZealand this year wasn’t technically a panel. It was a dialogue between @doctorow and @Ada_Palmer entitled “Corey Doctorow and Ada Palmer Discuss Censorship and Information Control”

I learned a lot from their conversation.
This thread will include some of the things the two of them said. I’m copying this over from my handwritten notes, so assume I’ve paraphrased unless I put something in quotes.
From @Ada_Palmer: Every time there’s new media technology, people worry about the new one and forget to censor older ones. Censorship focuses on the newest saturate media - and on where people get political information from.
Read 31 tweets
Aug 14, 2020
The seventh panel I attended at #ConZealand this year was “Justice in Science Fiction and Fantasy”, with @BrentCLambert, @AdriJjy, @MMSnodgrass, and Fred Lerner, moderated by @jennlyonsauthor.

This panel gave me a lot to think about.
This thread will include some of the things the panelists said. I’m copying this over from my handwritten notes, so assume I’ve paraphrased unless I put something in quotes.
The panelists began by listing pet peeves about how justice is handled in science fiction and fantasy:

@AdriJjy: I want more about societal institutions and systemic things rather than an individual. And I hate the bad guy getting redeemed by dying.
Read 32 tweets
Aug 13, 2020
The sixth panel I attended at #ConZealand this year was “Infinite Entangled Futures - Indigenous Voices in Conversation,” with @ShiningComic, @RoanhorseBex, @understatesmen and @toniwaiaroha, moderated by @sloanesloane.

This was a fascinating and enjoyable panel.
This thread will include some of the things the panelists said. I’m copying this over from my handwritten notes, so assume I’ve paraphrased unless I put something in quotes.
First, the panelists introduced themselves. Among other things, each shared which indigenous tribe they are a part of. Because most of these tribal names were unfamiliar to me, I didn’t know how to spell them, so I looked them up afterward on author websites and twitter.
Read 49 tweets

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