News

Love it or hate it, creating believable, interesting dialogue is one of the most important skills to learn as a writer —and it can be one of the most challenging. Meredith Carroll and Ted Wenskus will lead a lively presentation focused on helping writers give voice to their characters and hone their dialogue-writing skills whether for fiction, plays, or audio dramas. We’ll share important tips on the uses of dialogue, examine its construction, and touch on some of the unique challenges that face writers of speculative fiction. We’ll also share examples of good and bad dialogue (feel free to bring your own examples, too) and run a brief workshop to see these tips in action.

Moderator: Ted Wenskus + Meredith Carroll
Location: Barnes & Noble, Pittsford
Meeting Time: October 7, 2014 from 7:00 - 9:00 p.m.

What is flash fiction and microfiction? How do I start? What about character and plot development? What do I leave in? And what must I leave out? This is a fun opportunity to write a really short story from scratch using speculative fiction prompts we will provide. Then, if you desire, you'll read your flash story aloud to receive feedback. Bring your favorite (but quiet) writing system – quill & ink, pen & paper or electronic tablet. (Please, no typewriters.) After describing the exercise process and selecting prompts, the Writing Phase begins.

Moderator: Alan Vincent Michaels
Location: Barnes & Noble, Pittsford
Meeting Time: September 2, 2014 from 7:00 - 9:00 p.m.

In our August 5 meeting, Frank Glover will return to follow up on his earlier talk about the manned space program.  This time, he'll focus on interplanetary exploration. Frank always brings great visuals and a profound interest in this subject matter. 

If there's time after the presentation, we'll go around and share with the group what we're currently reading.

Moderator: Frank Glover
Location: Barnes & Noble, Pittsford
Meeting Time: August 5, 2014 from 7:00 - 9:00 p.m.

In our July 1 meeting, attendees are invited to read from their current or in-progress works. (Older or sold stories and poems are also welcome, especially if you'd like some kind of feedback on it.) Please try to arrive before 7 to put your name on the list for reading. Bring a short piece or a portion of a longer work -- fewer than 1,000 words if you can, but up to 2,000 words if you can't break the scene -- so everyone has sufficient reading time and attendees have time to provide their feedback. We'll read works in order from shortest to longest, to ensure the greatest number of people get to read.

Moderator: Alan Michaels
Location: Barnes & Noble, Pittsford
Meeting Time: July 1, 2014 from 7:00 - 9:00 p.m.

Science fiction has brought us visions such as flying to the moon, visiting alien planets, or traveling through time. We’ve traveled in FTL starships, used teleporters, fought with both phasers and light sabers, played mind games with sentient machines, and raced along in self-driving automobiles. In our June 3 meeting, join us for a free-ranging discussion about past, present, and future SF tech and how it alters what we write and read—and about what is actively shaping humanity’s present and future. Bring favorite SF tech ideas, movie props, and printed images to share.

Moderator: Alan Vincent Michaels
Location: Barnes & Noble, Pittsford
Meeting Time: June 3, 2014 from 7:00 - 9:00 p.m.

Join us at the movies! We get together a couple of times a month to see a newly-release F/SF film. Check back here for details. And check out our currently-planned schedule of R-SPEC movie outings by clicking to read the rest of the story.... 

Location: Usually Tinseltown in Gates [map]
Meeting Time: Saturday afternoons, showtime TBD (check back here!)

Join us for the official public launch of our second anthology, Rochester Rewritten, on Monday, May 5th, 7:00-9:00 pm @ Fairport Brewing Company Tap Room! Many of the regional authors will be on hand—along with books a-plenty and food for all—so come on out, celebrate with us, and enjoy a pint or two of local beer (non-alcoholic beverages are also available). More…

Don't forget to come and read your own work (or give feedback on someone else's) at our May 6 R-SPEC meeting. 

In our May 6 meeting, attendees are invited to read from their current or in-progress works. (Older or sold stories and poems are also welcome, especially if you'd like some kind of feedback on it.) Please bring a short piece or a portion of a longer work -- less than 1,000 words if you can, but up to 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: May 6, 2013 from 7:00 - 9:00 p.m.

Since the days of Mary Shelly’s Dr. Frankenstein, writers have speculated about replaceable body parts. Now, the ability to swap organs that are injured or afflicted with disease with new functional organs has moved from science fiction to reality. Several key technological leaps have enabled these exciting developments, including advances in stem cell biology and biomaterials. While we all dream of how this can change our individual lives and our future as a community, it is important to be able to separate fact from hype. Join Alicia Henn, Chief Scientific Officer of BioSpherix, for a discussion of the science as it stands at this point in time and a discussion about how this could impact our culture.

Moderator: Alicia Henn, Chief Scientific Officer of BioSpherix
Location: Barnes & Noble, Pittsford
Meeting Time: April 1, 2014 from 7:00 - 9:00 p.m.

Due to circumstances beyond her control, Alicia Henn will be unable to present at our March meeting. Instead we'll take the opportunity to introduce our new officers and discuss activities we're considering for the coming year. After that we hope to spend some time looking forward to the April Camp NaNoWriMo session by discussing what we're working on.

Moderator: Alan Michaels
Location: Barnes & Noble, Pittsford
Meeting Time: March 4, 2014 from 7:00 - 9:00 p.m.