On Moderating and Panel Questions

 Shock of shocks, I'm updating the blog again! WorldCon was lovely, though I do wish I could have been in Glasgow to meet friends old and new. Next year's WorldCon is in Seattle, however, and I do plan to be there. I might even put on the musician hat while there and perform!

However, this blog post is titled "On Moderating," so I'm going to dive right into that. Since debuting last year, I've been on multiple panels and have moderated several of them. I've gone from "never moderated before" to "will improvise moderating in a pinch." Moderating, as it turns out, is kind of fun for me in that I am responsible for moving the conversation in certain directions, as well as be on the lookout for potential issues so I can head them off at the pass.

In other words, I get to be a conductor. There's really nothing I really love more than being in control of a situation, whether up front or behind the scenes. Pianists have to handle many factors when playing, which is why they often make the jump to conducting. Facility with multiple styles, reading in multiple staves, and being the substitute of the musical world also helps. What do I mean by that? In a combo, for example, the piano fills in any missing roles. Missing a drum? The piano is half the rhythm section now. Missing bass? The piano is now the bass and anchors the harmony. No lead? The piano is the lead. And so on and so on.

I didn't mean to let this get away from me, so I'm going to put on my moderator pin and bring the post back to the subject at hand: moderating. I thought, since I've had several amazing panels over the last year, I would post the questions I sent to my participants so you could get a window into my brain, as it were.

I'm an overpreparer, and I readily acknowledge that. Any time I'm in the moderator's chair or am operating as the conversation partner or interviewer, I spend a fair amount of time reading, researching, and thinking up questions for my panelists. I contact everyone before the event, preferably at least a week before, and ask my participants what they'd like to be asked and how they'd like the panel to be run. It lightens the load on the participants to know going in what sort of moderator I am. In the green room, I chat with everyone; I like to crack jokes, and laughter really goes a long way to easing nerves. I don't tell jokes, necessarily, but I do make observations and riff on whatever people are talking about, and it ends up making people laugh.

But the questions I like to ask probably make people cry (I'm kidding). I think my number one pet peeve when it comes to panels is doing Subject 101, especially if I'm sitting on a diversity panel (which I don't want to be tasked with, for any future conrunners reading this, thank you, unless it's interesting, and then I'll consider it). I love deep dives and getting real chewy. And I think panelists also want to go beyond Subject 101. The audience too.

Here are the questions sent for two of the panels I've moderated. Nota bene: We didn't cover all the questions, and that's by design. If the panelists are having a good time discussing the subject, I let them talk, and I often write more questions than we have time for in case we zip through and need more material.

Flights of Foundry 2023
Authority is Brittle: SFF Authors Analyze Andor

1. Andor, like other Star Wars movies and shows, highlights the native populations of planets across the galaxy. In Andor particularly, we see the children of Kenari, of which Cassian is one, the people of Aldhani, and the Narkinians. How do the portrayals of native peoples differ in Andor compared to the rest of Star Wars, and how central are these depictions to the story of Andor?
2. Relatedly, how have the showrunners shown colonialism in Andor that makes it markedly different from other Star Wars media? What are some examples that particularly stood out to you?
3. Let’s talk about the importance of family and community in the show and how that forces characters to change or take action, especially for Cassian and Mon Mothma, and what Andor’s message is regarding community in the face of fascism and authoritarianism.
4. One especially heartbreaking moment for me, on rewatch, is when Cassian says, “We were fighting ourselves.” (Episode 4) Tell me, first, how you reacted to that, if you reacted at all, and second, the series of conclusions you may have made in order to understand the magnitude of Cassian’s statement and how that is a recurring theme in his life.
5. Characters! We love the gray morality of so many of these characters. Whose journey did you find fascinating, and at what moment did you realize this was going to be a top character for you?
6. What storytelling or characterization techniques do you see in Andor that might translate well into your own fiction?
7. We’re all writers here, and Rebecca and Emma specifically have written Star Wars IP. After seeing what Tony Gilroy has done, how do you think that might change or not change your approach to IP, especially IP that has war and authoritarianism as its main premises?
8. The devil is in the details. What were your favorite small but impactful moments in the show?
9. And now, the negatives. What didn’t you like, and why?
10. Lightning round with softball questions.

WorldCon Online 2024
Fight the Power: Systems as Villains in SFF

1. The panel description is extremely reductive, especially since in real life, systems and the people who operate them and who are affected by them are complex and varied. What does "bad guy" mean in the context of your books? Are all systems problematic? What sorts of systems are in your writing?
2. What is the purpose of the systems you have, or if you want to broaden, the systems you're interested in? If we're to fight the system, what are the metrics by which we judge the goodness or badness of the system? Is it when the results of the system are deemed "good enough"? What would tip people from "reform the system" to "bring it down"?
3. How do we resist system inertia and system weight? Meaning, if resistance is the goal, what are ways to overcome the slow-moving juggernaut that is an entrenched system, with beneficiaries who are used to said system?
4. When it comes to resisting systems in fiction, how do you go about portraying that in your writing? What is possible to portray in the scope of a novel or a set of novels? Real life is complicated, nonlinear, and messy. Do you think you can, with the lens focused on a handful of POVs, reflect real-life solutions, or is it only possible to create an idealized solution? Essentially, what can one little person do?
5. What does a postcolonial system look like to you? For example, if a postcolonial system was created without things like resource extraction, conversion and evangelism, and subjugation as the guiding stars, what would that look like to you, and what sorts of issues might arise--or be avoided?

I've put myself forward as a moderator for more panels in the future. I'm hoping I get the gigs. If so, I'll post more questions!