Futurescapes: In-Person vs Virtual

Views from around Snowbird Resort. The bottom right is the deck where we had most of our meetings. Photos by Kate Ota 2022

I've teased this post for a while and it's finally here! I recently attended Futurescapes at the Snowbird Resort in Utah, and in the past I virtually attended Futurescapes in 2021. Futurescapes is a multi-day workshop focused on first pages (about 25), queries, and synopses, in which you and a small group (up to seven) of other writers work with a professional (author, agent, or editor) to improve your work. In my experience, the group has cycled between mentors for each critique item (pages, query, synopsis). I commented on my virtual experience previously, but now I figured I would write about how the in-person experience differed. That way, if someone is deciding between applying to the virtual workshop or waiting for an in-person version, they can see how both experiences worked out. Let's do some pros and cons.

Virtual Experience
Pros 

• Cheaper tuition
• No travel costs/hassle
• Took less time off work
• Comfort of my own home
• The most COVID safe
• Accessible (attended by people around the world and with limited physical mobility)
• Offered other classes on top of workshop experience (for a hefty price)

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Cons

• Very difficult to socialize with fellow writers because of virtual format
• Difficult to network with professionals you aren't paired with 
• Sense of anonymity allowed people to offer worse or no critique 
• Logistical issues on the planning side (mine was the first virtual workshop, so this is likely to have improved)
• Technical issues on the attendees' end could prevent full participation (power loss, internet trouble, etc.)

In Person Experience
Pros

• Networking/social opportunities with fellow writers outside of and between the structured meeting times
• Opportunities to chat with professionals outside of the structured meeting times
• Experience the gorgeous Snowbird Resort (location subject to future change)
• Immersion in your writing by getting away from your other life obligations
• Better communication during critiques (body language helps so much)
• Cost included hotel, breakfasts and lunches, as well as the workshop
• COVID precautions were adhered to well (ex. meeting outside whenever possible)
• Food needs in terms of allergy or vegan/vegetarian were (mostly) met
• Very small group (we had about 28) and my group with Fran Wilde had only 5 mentees, allowing for more personal attention.

Cons

• More expensive
• Cost of travel (flights and transport from airport to the resort)
• Took time off work (not a huge deal for me BUT this created a clear dynamic in who was ABLE to take time off work to come.)
• Less accessible for those from far away, and in terms of mobility, wheelchair use would have been very difficult, but cane/crutches use was possible. (This will depend on the venue.)
• Food at the resort was EXPENSIVE and affordable food options tended to close at 5pm. Dinner was not covered, so this was a big added cost.
• Altitude sickness for those not used to altitude (Snowbird is about 10,000ft)
• Some COVID risk (especially in travel and restaurants)

As you can see the in-person experience had more pros and more cons than the virtual. Honestly, the virtual felt like a slightly more in-depth version of my usual critique groups but with a professional thrown in the mix. The in-person really felt like a workshop and a special treat because of the immersion. However, I recognize that I am privileged to be able to take time off work, have the money to attend, travel, and eat at the workshop, and have the physical mobility to travel to and within the resort. I also didn't experience altitude sickness, though many others did (I was born at altitude so it's my home turf). So, I fully recognize that virtual may be the better option for others. I will not make that call for you. 

Overall, I am so grateful for both of my Futurescapes experiences. I won't be sharing much of what I learned at the in-person workshop, because a lot of it was either really tailored to me and won't be useful for others or is the type of advice that the professionals get paid to give and I don't want to steal their intellectual property. Agents and authors gotta eat too. 

Futurescapes is for you if one or more of the following applies:

• you write science fiction or fantasy (this is a must, any sub-genre is fine)
• you have a complete or mostly complete novel
• you've been querying but not getting any bites and need help with your query package
• you're about to query but are new to the query and synopsis
• you are looking to network with more of the writing community with whom you want to be comfortable trading pages/beta reads in the future
• you have specific questions for the attending professionals that you'd rather ask in person
• you have the means, time, health, and ability to travel or you have the means and time for the virtual option
• you are not sure if you want to join a critique group and you'd like to try out the format first
• you want an immersive writing workshop experience with a solid track record to prove it's not a scam

Futurescapes is NOT for you if any of the following applies:

• you just want praise, no critique
• you plan to workshop an already published (self or trad) novel
• you don't have the time or desire to read anyone else's submitted work
• you don't have the means for the workshop (don't go into debt for this!)
• you expect the agents to immediately offer you rep once they read your workshop materials
• you don't write science fiction or fantasy
• you currently have an agent

That's my experience with Futurescapes! Will I attend again in the future? Well, I hope I'm offered rep by an agent before then, and therefore won't qualify. If you're debating attending but have questions for me, feel free to leave a comment below.