Page Created: 12/19/15. Last Updated: 12/07/25.
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WRITERS' SPACE SALON
The Writers' Space Salon conducts online discussions of various aspects of the Craft of Writing Science Fiction. The event is held from 4:00 PM to 5:30 PM on the first Sunday of the month. Each session discusses multiple topics. Moderator David Willison distributes an topic agenda in advance to allow participants to prepare for the discussion.
The Salon was originally an in-person activity held before the SFABC General Meeting on the second Saturday of the month. It was suspended for two years because of the covid pandemic. The description which follows applies to the earlier incarnation of this event.
Detail of Original Group Format:
The Writers' Space Salon offers an additional venue for genre authors to network, socialize and hone their craft. The event is held from 6:15 PM to 8:00 PM on the second Saturday of most months before the General Meeting of the Science Fiction Association of Bergen County. The first Saloon was held on January 9, 2016.
Some gatherings are simple network / socialize events. Others may include mini-critique sessions, writer's prompts and exercises, live readings, discussions of particular topics and shut-up-and-write sessions.
Attendees are expected to attend the General Meeting which follows the WSS. Exiting the building as our guest is preparing to speak would be tacky.
..........Salon Event Detail
12/07/25..........Just What Is the Market? / What Makes You Want to Be a Writer?
11/04/25..........Lawsuits & AI / Plotting / FaceBook Publicity / Unlikeable Characters
10/05/25..........Writing Advice & Genre Exceptions / Marketing - What Works?
09/07/25..........Flabby Verbiage-Story Length-Pen Names / Reader Magnets
08/03/25..........Do You Self-Censor? / Comps
07/06/25..........Including Politics in SFF / Is Science Fiction Inherently Conservative?
06/01/25..........Main Character & Secondary Character Interactions / Character vs Plot-Driven
05/04/25..........HEA, HFN & Other Endings / Where Do You Get Your Ideas?
04/06/25..........Doutrope Demo & Tour / Submission Grinder Demo & Tour
03/02/25..........Brainstorming Plot Session for Heather's Vampire Novel / Class Systems in SFF
02/02/25..........Sticky aka Glue Words / Showing or Skipping Training Sequences
01/07/25..........Creating Story Bibles / Staying Healthy While Writing
12/01/24..........Mixing Slow & Fast Scenes
11/03/24..........Writer Platforms & Publicity / Tools & Programs Members Use
10/06/24..........Accents & Dialects / Schools & Academies
09/01/24..........Language-Translation-Communication / Depicting Aliens
08/04/24..........Inserting Humor / Unnecessary Filler Words
07/07/24..........Body Language & Non Verbal Comm / Writing Workshops
06/02/24..........Sensitivity Readers & Trigger Alerts / Terminology & Naming
05/05/24..........Evaluating Feedback / Effective Flashbacks
04/07/24..........Interesting Training Sequences & Trips / Creating Characters
03/03/24..........Wish Fulfillment Characters / Quotable Writing
02/04/24..........Balancing the Science with the Fiction / Developing & Deepening Characterization
01/07/24..........Writing to Genre / Chapter & Scene Considerations
12/03/23..........Not, "Show, Don't Tell," but "Experience, Don't Summarize" / Alien Ethics & Morality
11/05/23..........Communicating Alien Languages / Motivations for Evil & Villainy
10/01/23..........The Psychology of Writing / Explaining Your Science or Magic System
09/03/23..........Alien Point of View / Engaging the Senses
08/06/23..........Are Character Arcs Necessary? / How Do Current Events Effect the Writer?
07/02/23..........Catchy Titles / Serving or Subverting Reader Expectations
06/04/23..........Who Is Your Audience? / Writing Distinctive Dialogue
05/07/23..........Character Consistency / Plotting Beyond the Three Act Structure
04/02/23..........Overcoming Distractions & Writers Block / Maintaining a Consistent Tone
03/05/23...........Trigger Alerts & Content Warnings / Series Character & Plot Arcs
02/05/23...........How Much Research? / Story Titles / Reading Practice
01/01/23...........Low-Key Scenes / Reading Practice Reading
12/04/22..........Quitting the Day Job / Audio Books / Reading Practice
11/06/22..........Book Covers / Researching Markets / Readings & Podcasts
10/02/22..........Event Cancelled
09/04/22..........Formatting a Manuscript for Indie Publication / How Much Handwaveum Is Necessary?
08/07/22..........Preview of Self-Publishing Topics / Types of Editing / Imperfect Heroes / World Building
07/03/22..........Where to Start Your Story / SFWA Application Process / Presenting Information Outside the POV Character
06/05/22..........EcoSystem Marketing; Write What You Know / Is It Your Story to Tell?; When to Summarize / Skip Events
05/01/22..........Creating an Epic Setting; Short-Circuiting Self-Censorship; More at Event Detail.
04/04/22..........The Quidditch Conundrum; Stock Phrases & Cliches; More at Event Detail.
03/06/22..........Non-Western Structure; Description; POV & Internal Dialogue; More at Event Detail.
= = = = = Converted to Online Author Craft Discussion = = = = =
03/14/20..........Minding the Gap: Shifts in Time & Space
02/18/20..........Holiday Food & Drink
01/11/20..........Holidays & Festivals
11/09/19..........Describing the Indescribable
12/12/19..........WorldBuilding with Professions
09/14/19..........Goldilocks & the Three WorldBuilders
08/10/19..........Breaking Genre Rules
07/13/19..........Canceled
06/08/19..........Dinner with Sarah Beth Durst
05/11/19..........Travelers & Tourist Point of View
04/13/19..........Writing Influences
03/09/19..........Numbers
02/09/19..........Favorite Genre Tropes
01/12/19..........WorldBuilding: The Hat Problem
11/10/18..........Domesticated Animals
10/13/18..........Opening Page & Scene: Does it Grab the Reader?
09/08/18..........Climate, Season, & Weather
08/11/18..........Writers of the Weird Dinner
07./14/18.........Dinner with Author / Artist Jared Axelrod
06/09/18..........Dinner with Author Ryk E Spoor
05/12/18..........Tiny Details in WorldBuilding
04/14/14..........Breaking Writer's Block
03/10/18..........Mixing Genres
02/10/18..........Updating Folkore & Faerie Tales
01/13/18..........The Villain's Journey
11/11/17..........Food
10/14/17..........Single Vs Multiple Point of View
09/09/17..........Getting the Research Right
08/12/17..........Networking & Discussion
07/08/17..........Dinner with Author Fran Wilde
06/10/17..........Networking & Discussion
05/13/17..........Voice
04/08/17..........Critique Session
03/11/17..........Dialogue & Dialect, Part 2
02/11/17..........Dialogue & Dialect, Part 1
01/14/17..........Critique: How the Sky Stole Our Children by Gregor Hartmann
11/12/16..........Characterization
10/08/16..........Cancelled
09/10/16..........Plotting & Outlining / Critique Inscribed in Dark Water, Part 1 by Gregor Hartmann
08/13/16..........Networking & Dinner
07/09/16..........Cancelled
06/11/16..........Networking & Dinner
05/14/16..........Read Aloud Practice
04/09/16..........Critique: The Last Dragon by William Struwe
03/12/16..........Critique: Buyback by Charles Garolfalo
02/13/26..........Critique: Rain That Never Falls to Earth by Gregor Hartmann
01/09/16..........Organizational Gathering