Singularity and Co. The place you might not have known existed but can't live without. Astronaut helmets? They got'em. Four foot long Battlestar Galactica cruiser? They got that too. A classic Star Trek tricorder? Of course they've got one of those as well. And don't get me started on the books. This was the perfect place for a speculative fiction reading.
       BSFW and friends read six stories from the 2012 Broad Universe Sampler. Some were laugh out loud funny like Jean Marie Ward's  Lord Mai's Discovery, Soul Mates by Jaleta Creggs, and Marcy Arlin's Dilemmas. The Moth Collector's Daughter  by Ripley Patton was beautifully sad fairy tale, while Non Si Muove by Mei Lin Miranda, and Quiz by Nancy Jane Moore left us with just the right amount of wonder.  K.T. Laity's reading of an excerpt from her story the Willowmantic Frogs left me with a strange kind of nervousness somewhere in between staring down a dark alley and my childhood fear of the creatures under my bed.
      Actors Robert Baumgarderner and  Nanette Deasy Baumgarderner were kind enough to grace our stories with their voices and added a new layer of meaning that only comes with Broadway level talent.
      Thank you to everyone who came out to celebrate amazing new flash fiction as it entered the public consciousness.   


To read the rest of the stories yourself, go to 2012 Broad Universe Sampler. For more on the actors who performed these stories, please click here: Robert Baumgarderner and  Nanette Deasy Baumgarderner. And of course, if you're a writer looking for a professional speculative fiction community, you've come to the right place. 

Hello everyone,

At the BSFW book club's inaugural meeting, we discussed the Left Hand of Darkness, by Ursula Le Guin. Now, we're voting on the following titles for the next 6 meetings. 

Take a look at the list below. There are some real classics here, and serious works of art. You might see a book that... 
A) You've never read but wanted to.
B)  Already read, but want to discuss with real fans.
C) Heard other people talking about.
D) Wanted to deepen your knowledge and improve your writing.


After close reading, we discuss the stories as writers, not just fans.
Read better stories, write better stories.

-Cam
PS> Stay tuned for a recap and video from the BSFW Broad Universe reading at Singularity & Company!

The BSFW Book Club meeting is hosted by Arielle Guy

Hey All,

     BSFW has been having an extended conversation about outlining for about a year, particularly the novel group.  Arguments for and against have been made with compelling clarity. I for one am all for outlines, although for the longest time I was, to be honest, afraid of compacting my novel to its most 
                                                                       fundamental elements.

      One reason I feared outlining was the possibility, that once I did, I’d find my story just didn’t work, and that others would see it too.  Another difficulty was finding the right format; one that was helpful to me, the author, yet flexible and relatively easy for the critique members to follow with limited time constraints.

      This struggle has resulted in some interesting answers. Mark Salzwedel, a new BSFW member,  put up the synopsis of his novel Bauble based on my recommendations given in the letter announcing the dual meet-ups. It needed to include most of the following basic criteria:

1. Who your protagonist and antagonists are, & his/her/their main  
    conflicts

2. Themes

3. The key plot points & or events in your story

4.  (Optional) What kind of story is it? First Contact, space opera,   
     swords and sorcery,  urban fantasy,etc.

      Marks synopsis was clear, concise, fit on one page, and still managed to be exciting and sound like a book I wanted to pick-up and read. After reading his,  I finally redid my outline. It took just under an hour and I’m pretty happy with the results.  And that’s not all.

      Recently, Brad Parks re-posted a great article on reverse outlining on the BSFW Facebook group. The article, by Aaron Hamburger, gave me the idea of incorporate reverse outlining into an outline template that would then allow me to go back and easily check on my story organization by answering questions like: How many words am I expending on this section? What  part of the story it? What job is this section doing? 
That way, I just get to focus on writing a great story.


     I've attached the outline template here for you to download. Let me know if it works for you, and any thoughts to make it better. Consider this open source.

-Rob Cameron

Book launch for Marcy: February 7
Our own beloved Marcy has a story in the latest sampler from Broad Universe, and we’re going to help her kick it off in style. Broad Universe is the international non-profit organization that, encourages, honors, and celebrates women writers and editors in science fiction, fantasy, horror, and other speculative genres.

Stories will be read by the authors of the 2012 Broad Universe Sampler, Brad Parks, Robert Baumgardner, and Nannette Deasy.

When: February 7, 2013, 7:00 p.m.

Where: Singularity&Co Bookstore
18 Bridge Street, in the Dumbo neighborhood of Brooklyn, NY