Next Noble Pen Meeting

Nov 3rd, 2011  7 pm

Scott’s Family Restaurant

1906 Blairs Ferry Rd NE, Cedar Rapids

News

A significant collection of books as pdf files, including science fiction by major older authors, can be found at http://gpnp.net/backshelves.gpnp.net/index.html.   The website claims they are all legal files, which is a bit surprising.   Whether you have an electronic reader or just a computer, you may want to browse this collection.

If you don’t get emails of the week’s review submissions by, say, Tuesday of any week then check your spam/junk folder.  That turned out to be some people’s problem last week.  If it isn’t there, an email query to the author may be in order to find out if the material has been sent.

You can also contact the moderator at the address this newsletter is mailed from, or through the web page at http://noblepencr.org

Victories

Shannon participated in a ghost hunt using audio recorders and other spooky technology.  It may be research for the kind of things he writes, but he’s going to have trouble convincing the IRS it’s a tax deductible expense against writing profits.

Dylan has been invited to submit one of twenty four stories in a themed anthology.

Education

Tense Shift can confuse a reader about when something happened, is happening, or will happen.  Here’s a very short tutorial on the problem, with some examples.  One article claims there are as many as 30 tenses in English, but you mostly need to know about six.  I’d start by mastering past and present tenses, and then expand to the others in that six.  See this much fuller discussion of the six major tenses.  Another article also gives some good examples.

Time is what keeps everything from happening at once.~ Henri Bergson (1859–1941)

You can’t change the past, but you can ruin the present by worrying about the future. ~Isak Dinesen

The future ain’t what it used to be. ~Yogi Berra

Upcoming Schedule

November 3 rd

Nick
Dylan
Tyree

November 10 th

Kate
Shannon
Tyree

November 17 th

Kris
Nick
Chila

November 24 th

Thanksgiving

December 1st

Open slots

Keep Writing,

Bill

Next Noble Pen Meeting

Oct 27th, 2011  7 pm

Scott’s Family Restaurant

1906 Blairs Ferry Rd NE, Cedar Rapids

News

There seems to be some problem with email distribution.  Check your spam or junk folder to see if good stuff is going there.

If you don’t get a newsletter email by a reasonable time each week, look at the web site for the latest posting.  This week I’ll send a notice from multiple email addresses in hopes that at least one gets through to everybody.  That’s why some of you may get multiple notices.

ICON 36 (official site) is fast approaching.  This is a significant gathering for writers and fans of science fiction, fantasy, and associated genres.  They offer daily admission or memberships.

Victories

Shannon has a tentative acceptance for “Call of the Beast”, his story about fiendish telemarketers.  He also sent a query for Fangs to an anonymous covert agent through a web site invitation.  That sounds more like a modus operandi for espionage stories.

Dylan read his entire FOTS novel aloud and found that to be very helpful in identifying places that need editing.  And he still has a voice after all that.  He also wrote 30,000 words for his serial story.

Kris is working on refining Oblivion again, getting it ready for beta readers, after dealing with a major life upheaval.

Education

Tyree points out a good resource for settings.  The Time-Life books  on forests, mountains, plains, jungles, etc. (available at libraries and garage sales) offer very good pictures and text that can inspire an author to add needed descriptive detail to a story.

Here is some good advice on making your settings and descriptions seem real.

And more Setting and Description tips from another source.

Some tips for deciding which scenes are important to a story.  Too many scenes that don’t move the plot along will lose the reader’s interest.

Upcoming Schedule

October 27 th

Shannon
Bob
Chila

November 3 rd

Nick
Dylan
Tyree

November 10 th

Kate
Shannon
Tyree

November 17 th

Kris
Nick
Open slot

Keep Writing,

Bill

Next Noble Pen Meeting

Oct 20th, 2011  7 pm

Scott’s Family Restaurant

1906 Blairs Ferry Rd NE, Cedar Rapids

News

Early science fiction and adventure writer Edgar Rice Burroughs (1875-1950), is to be honored by a US postage stamp in 2012.   It will show a sketch of his profile beside an image of Tarzan hanging from a vine.  It should have shown him superimposed on a picture of Mars, otherwise known as Barsoom.

He got his start during a period of under-employment when he read some stories and said “I can write a better story than that.”  He went on to produce 70 novels and several legendary characters.

I write to escape; to escape poverty. ~Edgar Rice Burroughs

In one respect at least the Martians are a happy people, they have no lawyers. ~Edgar Rice Burroughs, A Princess of Mars

Victories

Nick found another beta reader for SSS, his romantic drama.

Dylan’s story he posted last week drew 40 feedback comments, which inspired him to turn the story into a series.

Education

For those who don’t know the history of Dr. Who, which is a program frequently discussed by some of our members, here is a video by the Fine brothers that sums up the entire 47 year history of the program in 6 minutes.

A brief discussion of when to show and when to tell says that pacing sometimes dictates that you tell, but mostly you should show.

A blog about bad trends in Young Adult Romance, tearing apart a particularly bad example that teaches bad attitudes.  Don’t read if you think discussion of bad treatment of women might upset you.

Upcoming Schedule

October 20 th

Tyree
Shannon
Nick

October 27 th

Shannon
Bob
Chila

November 3 rd

Nick
Dylan ?
Open slot

November 10 th

Kate
Shannon
Open slot

Keep Writing,

Bill

Next Noble Pen Meeting

Oct 13th, 2011  7 pm

Scott’s Family Restaurant

1906 Blairs Ferry Rd NE, Cedar Rapids

News

Welcome to Jen, who joined us this past week and brings a background in marketing and web design to her writing.

Welcome to Chila  (pronounced like Sheila) who is editor-in-chief of a local small publisher and interested in branching out to writing fiction.

Victories

Shanna got an A on a paper for Composition class.  Her next paper will be about life in England.

Bob figures he is 90% complete with a short story.  Of course we know that 90% of the work is done in 90% of the time, and the other 10 % takes another 90% of the time.

Dylan posted a short story and got lots of feedback.  It’s nice to know you aren’t sending things into a vacuum.

Education

Many sources say that you should not be too critical of your first attempts to get something on paper (or on hard disk), but then edit it mercilessly.

Every writer I know has trouble writing.  ~Joseph Heller

The best time for planning a book is while you’re doing the dishes.  ~Agatha Christie

Everything in life is writable about if you have the outgoing guts to do it, and the imagination to improvise.  The worst enemy to creativity is self-doubt.  ~Sylvia Plath

The wastebasket is a writer’s best friend.  ~Isaac Bashevis Singer

I’m not a very good writer, but I’m an excellent rewriter.  ~James Michener

Upcoming Schedule

October 13 th

Shannon
Aimee
Dylan

October 20 th

Tyree
Shannon
Nick

October 27 th

Shannon
Bob
Chila

November 3 rd

Open slots

Keep Writing,
Bill