Fresno Scifi & Fantasy Writers is a group for local writers to meet face-to-face and discuss their work. We meet the 1st, 3rd, (5th) Tuesdays of each month. Check our calendar for times & places.

For more info, please email toff@arcticcoconut.com.

FAQ

What's the cost? ... FREE. No dues, no fees, no charges.

How do I join? ... Just contact us on the forum or by email. Our calendar shows time & place for our next meeting.

Can I just 'show up'? ... Sure. Why not? But check the calendar for last-minute change of place or time!

What happens at my first meeting? ... We discuss the pieces we've shared in advance (at the previous meeting or by email). If you want your work in the next discussion, you'll need to send us something in time for us to read it before the meeting. Contact us here or by email to arrange it. We'll also try to share with you the pieces already in the queue for discussion at the next meeting.

FSFW Charter

Our Purpose is to bring together Fresno writers of science fiction and fantasy for face-to-face discussions of each other's work in the hopes that each writer will improve from the feedback.

Our Method is to read each other's works in advance and discuss them during our meetings. The 'queue' (order of precedence) recognizes first for review the works from those writers whose previous work we reviewed least recently (or not yet at all); also, the general deadline to submit for a Tuesday meeting is the previous Tuesday midnight, one week in advance to allow for reading time.

Our Needs from each member are:

Attend: If you're not at the meetings, you can't hear anyone else's ideas, and no one else can hear yours, Also, you'll fall behind in ongoing matters.

Write: FSFW's greatest value to you is feedback on your own writing. To get feedback, you have to submit. Include a summary of previous material, if the piece for review is not the beginning of the story. Furthermore, submit works in progress: feedback on a finished piece might help you improve as a writer generally, but feedback on a piece you're still working on will also benefit that specific piece.

Read: Your contributions to the discussion will be greatest if you have read the material. If you haven't read it, you're limited to general and reactionary comments only.

Notate: When you read for review, mark your copy. Don't rely on memory!

Return mark-ups: If you know that a piece we're reviewing is still in revision, return your marked-up copy to the writer.

'Best & worst': In your comments about each piece, specify the part you like the most, and the part you like the least.

Gag: A writer who work is under discussion is encouraged to gag himself: i.e., to refrain from extraneous comments and explanations about his writing during the discussion. It has been demonstrated in discussion that writers are sorely tempted to explain things to the group, sometimes at great length, thereby depriving himself of feedback. The writer gag is voluntary and even then not absolute; however, each writer is hereby warned that discussion time is limited, and that he can't say anything to the group that he didn't already know. Questions and guidance are fine; but explanations are often no more than revelations of content that's missing from the text.

Give & take civilly: Give only comments that you mean to be helpful to your fellow writers. Criticism must be constructive. Take all comments from others in the same vein.

Our Charter: Any member may propose charter amendments at a regular meeting. A simple majority vote of those present at the meeting will pass the amendment. This is our sole method to amend the charter.

Our Projects: Whichever member initially proposes a project is the defacto leader and final arbiter for all matters within that project. Participation in any project, as in FSFW itself, is solely voluntary. The project leader may decline the efforts of any participant. The project leader may relinquish leadership to any other member, in part or in full. If the project leader abadons leadership, any member may claim that leadership at a regular meeting, subject to majority vote.

Submissions For Review

Please limit your submissions to 6,000 words. (This limit and other options are currently under continuing debate.)

Please use MS Word .DOC format. (Note: a free online version of MS Word is available at office.live.com.)

Please name your documents as Writer - Title - [Part] - v[VersionNumber].doc; e.g., töff - Q Flux - v3.doc. This helps us avoid a confusing lot of files all named Chapter 6.doc or My Story.doc.

Please number your paragraphs so that we can refer quickly to specific parts of your text. Most word processors have an autmatic function for numbering paragraphs. NB: Page or line numbers are not convenient, because some members prefer to reformat text to print on fewer sheets, with a larger font, or with more or less line spacing or margins for writing comments.

If your submission is not the beginning of the story, please supply a backward synopsis of everything that came before; e.g., if you are submitting My Big Novel: Chapter 6, please also provide My Big Novel: Synopsis Ch.1-5. Even if everyone in the group has read the previous chapters, the refresher is helpful. Optionally, provide a forward synopsis of any material that follows your submission: e.g., My Big Novel: Synopsis Ch.7-12 + Epilog. Some (not all) members consider forward synopses useful for identifying plot holes, character knowledge issues, etc.

Optionally, include a list of known issues: i.e., problems in your text that you know of but haven't yet solved in the submitted version.

UPDATED 2010-11-18 18:58.