Please note that our October meeting will be virtual only, on Zoom.
On October 4, we talk with Dr. Katherine Schaefer, an RNA biochemist, immunologist, cancer researcher, who currently teaches writing at the University of Rochester, about how to write a pandemic well to provide motivation, tension, and depth to a story.
How the writer answers these questions leads to choices about what needs to be explained, what can be glossed over, and what is absolutely necessary to get right:
- What purpose does the pandemic serve in a story?
- Is it a post-apocalyptic story, one that explores real-time societal responses to a pandemic, or a medical thriller?
Drawing on classic speculative fiction stories, she will explore three types of pandemic considerations:
- biology and epidemiology
- political, public health, and societal responses
- how to convey medical/scientific investigation works in real time and provide verisimilitude without too much detail
In Dr. Schaefer’s writing courses, she focuses on public health and biology, building upon her work in basic science and medical settings. When asked why, she replied, “I’m fascinated by the reasons for vaccine resistance and both the biology and sociology of the Black Death, and I’ve always been drawn to post-apocalyptic fiction. Unsurprisingly, one of my favorite speculative fiction stories is about the Black Death – Connie Willis’ The Doomsday Book.”
- Location: Our October meeting will be on Zoom. (Please join Zoom at least 10 minutes before the regular 7:00 p.m. start time to ensure a good connection.)
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Meeting Time: Tuesday, October 4, 2022 from 6:30-9:00 p.m.
- Open chat 6:30-7:00 p.m.
- Presentation 7:00-9:00 p.m.
Note:R-SPEC presentations on topics of interest may be recorded, and a link to the recording posted on our website.
