In our September meeting, you are invited to participate in a discussion about and writing workshop on creating speculative fiction poetry. From sonnets and couplets to free verse and song lyrics and even science fiction haiku (scifaiku), we will examine these different styles of poetry, but with a science fiction, fantasy, or horror twist. Prompts will be provided and, if desired, you may read your poems and receive feedback from those in attendance.

Presenter:Alan Vincent Michaels
Location: Barnes & Noble, Pittsford
Meeting Time: September 5, 2016 from 7:00 - 9:00 p.m.

Presented by Alicia Henn and Hugh Sullivan

In the middle 1400s, Johannes Gutenberg couldn’t envision how his moveable type printing press would evolve into one of the most transformative inventions in human history. The same can be said of the additive manufacturing process commonly called 3D printing. Over the last thirty years, this technology has transformed numerous processes and applications, enabling the computer-controlled creation of three-dimensional objects as diverse as peoples’ imaginations. Today, we have merely scratched the surface of this technology.

We’re now able to produce low-cost prototypes of almost any type of item, and final, usable versions of clothing and shoes, automobile and aircraft parts, electronic components, firearms, food, medical implants, human tissues, and even the demon horns used in a recent Face Off episode on the SYFY channel – just to name a few. What will 3D printing evolve into? We can only speculate and that’s what we’ll do during our August meeting.

Alicia Henn and Hugh Sullivan will lead a discussion about what 3D printing is, how printing human tissues is being advanced, and some examples of what can be created using a 3D printer. We’ll then see how 3D printing can be included in your speculative fiction stories. For a moment, consider sending artificial intelligence-controlled, 3D printer-factories to new worlds to print the probes and rovers needed to explore those worlds. Would this be a more efficient process than launching fully designed probes from Earth into space? What could possibly go wrong with a 3D printer let loose on an alien world?

Alicia Henn is the Chief Scientific Officer at BioSpherix, Ltd. and the R-SPEC Treasurer. Hugh Sullivan is an author, musician, podcaster, and the R-SPEC Vice President.

Presenters:Alicia Henn and Hugh Sullivan
Location: Barnes & Noble, Pittsford
Meeting Time: August 1, 2017 from 7-9 p.m.

Attendees are invited to read from their current or in-progress works or to share their writing roadblocks. (An older or sold story or poem is also welcome, especially if you'd like feedback on it.) Please bring a short piece or a portion of a longer work -- fewer than 1,000 words, if you can, but no more than 2,000 words, if you can't break the scene -- so everyone has sufficient reading time and attendees have time to provide their feedback.

Please try to arrive before 7 p.m. to put your name on the reading list.

After the readings conclude and time permits, we'll go around and share with the group what we're currently reading.

Moderator:Alan Vincent Michaels
Location: Barnes & Noble, Pittsford
Meeting Time: July 11, 2017 from 7-9 p.m.

Presented by Lois H. Gresh

Writing is a business as well as an art form. At our June meeting, New York Times bestselling author Lois H. Gresh will lead an informal discussion about the realities and myths of full-time writing, including insights into the general rules of the writing game, pitching and writing commercial fiction, hitting deadlines, writing query letters and synopses, dealing with agents and editors, appearing on panels, and everything in between.

Lois H. Gresh is the New York Times bestselling author (six times) and USA Today Bestselling Author (thrillers) of 28 books and more than 65 short stories, as well as the editor of the anthologies Innsmouth Nightmares and Dark Fusions. Her work has been published in 22 languages. Sherlock Holmes vs. Cthulhu: The Adventure Of The Deadly Dimensions (Titan Books, July 11, 2017) is the first in her new trilogy of Holmes thrillers from Titan, with Random House distribution in the USA. For five years, Lois was a staff book reviewer at scifi.com(now SYFY.com, the Science Fiction Cable Channel), and her work has been on national / international award ballots eight times. She is a frequent Guest of Honor Author at large genre conventions and has appeared on television series, such as The History Channel's Ancient Aliens and Batman Tech. You can find her at www.facebook.com/lois.gresh and www.loisgresh.com.

Presenter and author:Lois H. Gresh
Location: Barnes & Noble, Pittsford
Meeting Time: June 6, 2017 from 7-9 p.m.

Presented by Lois H. Gresh

If you want to write commercial fiction, consider creating detailed outlines, also known as beat sheets, before you start writing Chapter 1.

At our May meeting, New York Times bestselling author Lois H. Gresh will cover all this and more in an informal discussion including overarching themes and plots, weaving in sub-plots, hitting the high points, and tying it all together at the end.

Lois H. Gresh is the New York Times bestselling author (six times) and USA Today Bestselling Author (thrillers) of 28 books and more than 65 short stories, as well as the editor of the anthologies Innsmouth Nightmares and Dark Fusions. Her work has been published in 22 languages. Sherlock Holmes vs. Cthulhu: The Adventure of the Deadly Dimensions (Titan Books, July 11, 2017) is the first in her new trilogy of Holmes thrillers from Titan, with Random House distribution in the USA. For five years, Lois was a staff book reviewer at scifi.com(now SYFY.com, the Science Fiction Cable Channel), and her work has been on national/international award ballots eight times. She is a frequent Guest of Honor Author at large genre conventions and has appeared on television series, such as The History Channel's Ancient Aliens and Batman Tech. You can find her at www.facebook.com/lois.greshand www.loisgresh.com.

Presenter and author:Lois H. Gresh
Location: Barnes & Noble, Pittsford
Meeting Time: May 2, 2017 from 7-9 p.m.

Attendees are invited to read from their current or in-progress works or to share their writing roadblocks. (An older or sold story or poem is also welcome, especially if you'd like feedback on it.) Please bring a short piece or a portion of a longer work -- fewer than 1,000 words, if you can, but no more than 2,000 words, if you can't break the scene -- so everyone has sufficient reading time and attendees have time to provide their feedback.

Please try to arrive before 7 to put your name on the list for reading.

After the readings conclude and time permits, we'll go around and share with the group what we're currently reading.

Moderator: Alan Michaels
Location: Barnes & Noble, Pittsford
Meeting Time: April 4, 2017 from 7-9 p.m.

Our March meeting will focus on creating believable and memorable alien characters. Yes, you're creating beings that don't exist in the real universe, but your alien characters need to seem real enough that a connection is made. We'll work through character-building exercises to help you flesh out your characters, and better tell and sell your story.

Moderator: Alan Vincent Michaels

Meeting Time: March 7, 2017 from 7-9 p.m.

In our November 1 meeting, attendees are invited to read from their current or in-progress works or to share their writing roadblocks. (An older or sold story or poem is also welcome, especially if you'd like feedback on it.) Please bring a short piece or a portion of a longer work -- fewer than 1,000 words, if you can, but no more than 2,000 words, if you can't break the scene -- so everyone has sufficient reading time and attendees have time to provide their feedback.

Please try to arrive before 7 p.m. to put your name on the reading list.

After the readings conclude and time permits, we'll go around and share with the group what we're currently reading.

Moderator: Alan Vincent Michaels
Location: Barnes & Noble, Pittsford
Meeting Time: November 1, 2016 from 7-9 p.m.

 In our October 4 meeting, attendees are invited to participate in an open discussion about what makes speculative fiction attractive to so many people. There are many things we enjoy about this genre, but what specific benefits do we really receive from reading and watching spec fic stories, plays, and movies? And there certainly must be things we don't like about spec fic and that it gets wrong, or are those just stories we're telling ourselves?

Then, we'll shift gears and discuss how the R-SPEC group can help to get the word out about spec fic and what we can do to help the Rochester spec fic community in the years ahead.

Bring your spec fic ideas and mindset to the October meeting. We're eager to see where they take us.

Moderator: Alan Vincent Michaels

Location: Barnes & Noble, Pittsford 

Meeting Time: October 4, 2016 from 7:00 - 9:00 p.m.

In our September 6 meeting, attendees are invited to participate in a writing workshop that focuses on creating concise, condensed, but complete speculative fiction or fantasy stories with a beginning, middle, and end, and a length of 500 or fewer words. Twists and unexpected uses of dialogue, prose, poetry, and maybe even a tweet or two are encouraged. Prompts will be provided and, if desired, participants may read their drafts and receive feedback from those in attendance.

Moderator:Alan Vincent Michaels
Location: Barnes & Noble, Pittsford
Meeting Time: September 6, 2016 from 7:00 - 9:00 p.m.