The Noble Pen for Oct 5, 2017

Next Noble Pen Meeting

October 5th, 2017 at 7 pm

Scott’s Family Restaurant

1906 Blairs Ferry Rd NE, Cedar Rapids

News

A court case explores the limits of copyright for characters and parodies.

Victories

Aime finished the beta read for Ciuin.

Stacie S. has 50k words on Garden, out of an estimated final of 60k.

Eric journalled.

Ciuin wrote a new scene for Chessmaster.

Stacy H. is blogging.

Education

Charlie Jane Anders discusses seven types of story opening.  While she focuses on short stories, those same types can apply to longer pieces.

Scene setting was once a popular beginning, but today’s audiences seem to expect a minimum of scene setting before things happen, conflict is established, or something grabs their curiosity.  An interesting blog contrasts ACTION openings with ACTIVE openings.  You can have something going on without it being a battle or chase.

A forum post by “Arathald” uses the terms differently but expresses a similar idea:

Note that “action” doesn’t mean a fight scene or a car chase, it just means that something is happening. Maybe your character’s mother is crying, or his boss tells him he’s fired, or her credit card is declined at the fashion mall.

When I start like this, it makes it really easy to get into a story, instead of trying to figure out how to set it all up. This is also a great way to draw your readers in. Why is his mother crying? Did he really deserve to get fired, or is his boss just a jerk? How is she going to respond to her card getting declined, and how is she going to pay for that dress that she needs for the party? As mundane as these situations sound, they have a strong element of conflict, and that’s what you need to have a compelling opening and story.

Upcoming Schedule

October 5
Nick
Uriah
Stacy H

October 12
Laura
Ciuin
Eric

October 19
Dakota
Aime
Ciuin

October 26
Stacie S.
Stacy H.
Eric

November 2
Open slots

Keep Writing,
Bill