​​​Panels

 

• Appropriation or Creative License?

Most people would agree that the word "appropriation" has a negative connotation beyond it's straightforward definition of "taking something for one's own use, typically without the owner's permission." So are pastiche authors and fanfic writers guilty of appropriation in the worst sense of the word or using creative license to format new stories and ideas that both honor the source material and explore it above and beyond where it came from?

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• Ask an Artist

Come meet our guest artists and ask them anything that you've been dying to know! How did they get into the fandom? Where did they learn to draw? What do they love to draw the most? Where do they get their inspiration from? Whom do they admire the most? As the saying goes, anything goes!

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• The Best and the Brightest

In May, Sherlock Seattle did a contest on tumblr, asking their followers to vote for their favorite Watson out of 12 different versions offered. Come learn who won and debate the question all over again - which actor makes the best Watson, and why?

 

• Beyond 1895

Holmes and Watson were born out of the Victorian area, but have since been modernized many times over. What happens when you take these two characters out of their time? Come explore Holmes and Watson from the Victorian to the modern and futuristic and discuss how they maintain the essence of themselves regardless of the era.

 

• Big Brother Mycroft is Watching You

In this roundtable discussion we'll openly share with one another answers to the following question. "What's the weirdest/strangest/most disgusting/bizzare/sexy/random thing you've searched for while researching your fic?"

 

• Complete vs. Work in Progress

Some writers like to complete their entire story and then release it all at once or in chapters. Others prefer to write and release it over time, chapter by chapter. What are the benefits, rewards, and downsides of each of these choices. What are the unique pressures of each option and how can you keep up your motivation to finish?

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• Cosplay: The Sign of Three

An indepth look at cosplay, and how to cosplay anything from plainclothes Holmes and Watson to Victorian Holmes and Watson. Discussing the difference between Disneybounding and convention cosplay (or is there even a difference?), tips and tricks of sewing, how to cosplay if you can't sew, and the cardinal Rule of Three of costuming, and how to do it all without losing your mind.

 

• Creative Collaborations

While most artists and writers tend to work solo, some choose to work together. Artists will trade off between who draws, inks, and colors their works. Artists and writers will collaborate together to create both stories and illustrations. Writers will collaborate on stories together. What are the rewards (and difficulties) of such endeavors and what brings people together in the first place?

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• Detecting Meaning with Sherlock Holmes
When we read Sherlock Holmes, the words combine to build a model in our heads.  How does this happen? In this panel we will consider meaning from the smallest levels of words and morphemes, up through sentences to the stories as a whole. We will look at how words convey meanings and how they can be combined to express richer meaning. Using the stories of Sherlock Holmes, we will show that meaning does not only come from the words themselves, but also from our own understanding of them, and that words can convey much more than just their surface meanings. Finally, we will show how Sherlock Holmes stories have entered popular culture, both through translation into other languages and into other media, such as films and TV, and how this has become part of our cultural heritage.

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• Fandom Identity

As fans, how do we navigate our lives while being fans? From being "out and proud" to "closeted", we'll talk about the choices that we make. Why does someone decide to wear their fandom on their sleeve versus keeping it a secret? What does it mean to be a writer, an artist, or an academic with a close connection to fandom? It is safe to fly your fan flag high, or is better to keep it hidden?

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• Gender Changes in Holmes Adaptations

Swapping character genders has become more common recently in fan made versions - web series, plays, fan fiction - but it also has a history in film and television. However, the way these gender changes have influenced characterization is an interesting phenomena to examine. Holmes and Watson have been everything from women to dogs to vegetables. Going beyond discussions of why these changes might be the case there's also room to discuss the possibilities that have been opened for consideration. How is it possible to work in the original Victorian setting? Would their work as detectives have been possible?

 

• The Habits of Writers: Good, Bad, and Just Plain Weird

How do you make the time to write, prioritising writing, and assert the right to words like "author" instead of "aspiring author"? How can writing fanfic be the first steps from hobby to job and how to celebrate it as a form of creative expression in and of itself? We'll discuss all of this as well as self-publishing, "scrubbing" fanfic to shop as original work, and share ideas about fighting writer's block, discovering where our stories live and where to find writers' communities.

 

• Historical AU Appreciation Hour

From one history geek to you, let's get excited about fanfiction set in the past. We will discuss finding inspiration in various time periods -- not just Victorian era! -- and also different settings than classic London for our favorite blogger and his detective. A lot of people are intimidated by the research involved in writing a historical Sherlock fic. Let us give you some suggestions on how to make this process painless and... dare we say it? FUN.

 

• How Do You Draw That?

In this hands-on demonstration panel you the attendees come with your artistic questions and our artists will do their best to help you figure out how to draw the things that you want to draw!

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• How to Draw Holmes & Watson

In this hands-on demonstration panel each of our artists will demonstrate how they draw their favorite Watson and Holmes in a step by step process for those who are struggling with how to capture their favorite characters, who are not artists and would like to try their hand at drawing, and those interested in learning from different artists' styles and techniques.

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• Inspiration from Another
Fandom is a magical place where the creative endeavors of people don't live in a vacuum, but instead spread and inspire creativity in others. Pieces of art can become entire subcultures that inspire others to create art and stories in turn. Fiction becomes art, becomes fiction, becomes art again. Artists and writers will share stories about how they've been inspired, or have inspired others as well as exploring the idea of using the works of others to inspire yourself.

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• Mind the Gap: Bridging Traditional and Modern Sherlockian Fandom

The first Sherlockian society was The Baker Street Irregulars, founded back in 1934. Since then many other groups and chapters have sprung up. What is the difference between these clubs and how can you start your own? sometimes the generation gap between members of established groups and the newer fans poses its own special challenges. How can we embrace these new ideas and energy that is being brought to the able? How can we create a welcoming and inclusive space offline as well as on?

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• Neurodiversity in Sherlock

In the various adaptations of Holmes and Watson over the years, there have been indications and reasons to suspect neurodiversity in both characters. Let's discuss how disability (ADHD, autism), mental illness (bipolar, addiction, depression, PTSD), and neurological variance plays into these characters in various versions over the years.

 

• Novel-length Stories

What are the processes necessary for writing a novel-length fic or even an actual novel? We'll discuss plotting/outlining, and serial publishing vs. all-at-once publishing as well as research, structure, and what makes a novel versus what makes a short story collection or series.

 

• Plot Structures

What are plot structures and how can you use them as a writer? From the "Three Disasters and a Resolution" for romance writing and "The Hero's Journey" for case-fic we will explore the various tried and true plot archetypes. We will also cover basic plot structures (metamorphosis, the riddle, forbidden love, etc), as well as choosing which best suits your story.

 

• Podcasting for Beginners

This panel is the perfect introduction to Sherlockian podcasts and how to create your own. Learn the basics from our experts and bring your questions!

 

• Reconciling the Problematic in Sherlock Holmes

How do you love the imperfect? Sherlock Holmes is a wonderful and rich fandom with over a hundred years of stories, films, and media. However, some of the original Conan Doyle stories, films and television both classic and recent are also problematic in their depiction of race, culture, class, and gender. How do we reconcile our love for the world of Holmes and still allow ourselves to be critical of the problems... and why is it important that we do so? This panel is all about how to love the world of Sherlock Holmes while still looking at the texts critically and responsibly.

 

• Research Beyond Wikipedia

While Wikipedia is often the bastion of knowledge for most writers, it often is less complete or accurate as we would like. In this panel you'll learn tips and tricks for finding what you need from lesser-known resources, how to avoid falling into research holes, how to wrangle all your research into usable formats.

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• A Society for Our Dear Doctor

While there are a plethora of societies celebrating Sherlock Holmes, there is only one society that specifically celebrates our favorite doctor - the John H Watson Society! Come meet some of it's members and learn about how this society was recently founded, their current activities (such as publications, treasure hunts, and online discussions), and our enthusiasm for Dr John H. Watson!

 

• Transposing Sherlock to Different Cultures

Are the characters of Holmes and Watson purely British to their very core, or is it possible to place them into different cultures? Both pastiches and fic offer stories where they're visitors to other cultures as well as AUs where they belong to cultures other than being white Englishmen. Some well known examples include Elementary and the Watson & Holmes comic. With the Sherlock Holmes stories being the 3rd most read stories in the world, is it a surprise that they have a universal appeal? Come discuss with us the reasons why they are so adaptable as archetypes.

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• The Unreliable Watson

Many of the canonical inconsistencies in ACD's stories have led readers to view Watson as an unreliable narrator. This was recently referenced in The Abominable Bride, when Watson says, "I convinced the reading public that an unprincipled drug addict is some kind of gentleman hero."  Indeed, would we have found the character of Sherlock Holmes as appealing if his exploits had been recorded by a different narrator? How much of what we have read and seen are simple mistakes made by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, how much is deliberate, and how much is outright misinformation on the part of Dr. Watson?

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 • Watson Beyond Holmes
In most adaptations Watson is the sidekick, the mirror to reflect Holmes' brilliance, but who is Watson beyond Sherlock Holmes? What are the connections and relationships outside of the partnership with the world's only consulting detective? What makes this character an exciting, vibrant, fascinating persona in their own right?​
 

• Watson: Doctor, Soldier, BAMF

There are so many different versions of Watson to be found - everything from a fumbling buffoon with a peculiar fascination with jam to a tough ex-soldier and skilled physician. With so many different characters drawn from the same source material the question remains - what makes a Watson?

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• Watson is Not Necessarily Nice

Even though Watson is almost synonymous with loyalty and steadfastness, from ACD to Elementary, Watson has also been shown a grumpy, angry, angsty, and even dark side as well as a moral flexibility. There are times where they are fine with letting criminals go (or shooting them dead) as the situation warrants. Let's investigate the darker side of our conductor of light.

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• Worldbuilding Workshop

Not just a typical AU panel! This workshop will focus on the minutiae of building your own setting for Sherlock characters to play in -- from the ground up. How do you conceptualize your own original setting? Let us walk you through a variety of practical methods to make your own world from scratch, like using techniques from popular tabletop role-playing games. Fill out a worksheet to get the ideas flowing, and then begin to place the Sherlock characters in your world -- what might they do? At the end of the workshop you will have a world concept and basic character outlines including historical AUs, fantastic/magical settings, and contemporary AUs, such as dystopian, apocalypse, and alternate timelines.

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• Writing Erotica Workshop (18+)

Feeling intimidated to write sex scenes in fic? Come join us for a creative journey into sex-positive writing. From vanilla to kink, we've got you covered. We'll break into groups and practice writing joyful erotica... drop your shame at the door, we've got porn to write!