DENVER WRITERS FORUM: Jules Verne's Writing Process

How does an author write about the future with such precision that their fiction eventually becomes fact? We will be stepping back into the 19th century to dissect the incredible creative engine of Jules Verne. While often celebrated simply as a pioneer of science fiction, Verne was, above all, a master of a meticulous, highly disciplined writing process. Before he wrote a single line of classic adventures like Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas or Around the World in Eighty Days, Verne built an astonishing foundation of reality. He spent hours every day devouring scientific journals, reading newspapers, and organizing a massive personal archive of over 20,000 data index cards covering geography, engineering, astronomy, and history. What We’ll Explore The "Facts First" Method: How Verne anchored wild, speculative fiction in rigorous, contemporary science to achieve total verisimilitude (the appearance of truth). The Index Card Engine: Unpacking his system of data collection, and how we can adapt his archival approach to enrich our own world-building and research today. The Editor-Author Dynamic: A look at his complex working relationship with publisher Pierre-Jules Hetzel, who constantly pushed Verne to balance heavy technical exposition with narrative pacing and optimism. Whether you write hard sci-fi, historical fiction, or contemporary drama, there is an immense amount to learn from Verne's dedication to the scaffolding of a story. Come ready to discuss how we handle research in our own projects, and where we draw the line between factual accuracy and narrative freedom. A Craft Question to Consider: Verne famously calculated the actual mathematical dimensions and trajectories for his projectile in From the Earth to the Moon. In your own writing, how much "invisible research" do you do before you feel confident enough to write a scene? Our forum meets every fourth Thursday. In addition to the main meeting topic, it’s an open discussion of…