Central Florida Inklings
science fiction & fantasy writers interested in diversity & development
Next Virtual Workshop
May 28, 1–3pm ET
Gripping the First Chapter in SFF with guest speaker Sarah N. Fisk
upcoming & previous workshops
Our workshop instructors include authors, agents, and marketing and publishing professionals speaking on a wide range of writing and publishing topics to help develop your craft and career.
Who we are & community guidelines
Central Florida Inklings is a science fiction and fantasy writing group welcoming writers at every stage in their writing journey. We encourage diversity and development—in our writing, careers, and ourselves.
Gripping the First Chapter
in SFF
Chapter 1 is the all-important introduction to your character, world, and novel. Grabbing your reader with a compelling hook to lead them on your merry science fiction or fantasy journey can be tough. The impulse to explain is high. Their faith in a new author is low. The time and page count is ticking down to the moment when they decide to keep reading or close the book forever. So what keeps a reader reading? How do YOU craft that hook? Learn what makes a compelling hook and how to pace that information to grip your reader and keep them reading long past Chapter 1.Sarah N. Fisk is a literary agent at the Tobias Literary Agency, representing all genres in Middle Grade and Young Adult as well as adult science-fiction, fantasy, and romance. Sarah is a former mechanical engineer who made the switch to publishing in 2011. They have worked in the publishing industry as an editorial assistant, author’s assistant, publicist, and art director. Sarah is a former Pitch Wars mentor, board member, and Agent Liaison. They host the podcast Queries, Qualms, & Quirks and are one of the founding members of Disability in Publishing. Find out more at www.sarahnfisk.comMay 28, 1–3pm ET
Virtual Workshop
$15
Register at EventBrite
Upcoming & previous workshops
Upcoming Workshops
Gripping the First Chapter in SFF with Sarah N. Fisk
May 28, 1-3pm ETPrevious Workshops
How to Write Short Stories for Novelists with Karen Osborne
Reconnect with Your Writing Life with Alli Martin
Book Proposals for Genre Fiction with Allison Lane
Building Distinct Alien Cultures with Valerie Valdes
who we are &
community guidelines
Central Florida Inklings is a science fiction and fantasy writing group welcoming writers at every stage in their writing journey. We encourage diversity and development—in our writing, careers, and ourselves.While our writers all share an interest in science fiction and fantasy, we write everything from nonfiction to poetry to interactive narratives. We seek out and write about characters expressing experiences familiar and unfamiliar, celebrating diversity and sensitivity in representation of race, economic status, sexuality, gender, and disability throughout all genres.We bring our other talents to the group as well, including graphic art and design, collage, soap-making, knitwork, and sewing. (Also, it’s not a requirement, but most of us own cats for some reason.)Most of our writers have the goal of traditional publication (and some have achieved that in anthologies, literary magazines, and websites), but we are also interested in self-publishing. Whether our writers have degrees in creative writing or not, we are all interested in furthering and developing our writing craft and knowledge of the publishing industry. We host guest speakers and workshops, as well as share and discuss publishing news, articles, and opportunities..
Central Florida Inklings is currently closed to full-time members, but you’re welcome to join us for our public workshops! Staying in contact with the group means you’ll be the first to know when there’s an open seat.As an official Inkling, you’ll be invited to join our weekly writing sessions (in-person and online through Discord). These sessions provide a structured time dedicated to working on your projects and developing your writing life. While open chat is invited, we ask all writers to be respectful and considerate, acknowledging that our meeting times are Writing Time and excessive cross-chat can be distracting.Belligerent behavior, hate speech, confrontational debate, and other forms of disrespect are not tolerated in this group.