Monthly Archives: July 2012

The Noble Pen for Aug 2, 2012

Newsletters

Next Noble Pen Meeting

August 2nd, 2012 at 7 pm

Scott’s Family Restaurant

1906 Blairs Ferry Rd NE, Cedar Rapids

News

Brazil has a novel program in its prisons: reduced time for reading books and writing book reports.  They say it makes better people of the convicts.  Why didn’t I get reduced time in English class?

Victories

Tyree sees his way to the finish of his book Breathless Stars.

Ciuin’s article was combined with those of other authors, some very prestigious, for use in an international publication.

Dylan submitted four stories.

Education

Tyree reminds us that we in the group are rarely each other’s target audience.  That thought should influence how you use the critiques you receive.

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Author Tana French gives some writing tips.  You only have to get it right once, no matter how many tries it takes.  No person does, and therefore no character should, think he’s wrong, misguided, bigoted, etc.,  even if he really is.  And other good points.

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The site Creative Writing Forums is a place for writers to discuss techniques, problems, etc. and do critiques of short segments of writing.  It seems fairly civilized.  Some participation and two weeks of membership are required before you can post anything to receive critique.

If you’re looking for more elbows to rub against, want to see how others do critique,  or want to discuss writing with a wide group, give it or other forums a try.  It is a good place to practice giving critiques anonymously and to compare your observations to others’.  Some of their rules are restrictive: you can’t post links except as citations to something you quoted or summarized, and you can’t recommend commercial tools.

Also, recognize that anything you post to a forum with unrestricted membership has been published (even if it is later deleted), so restrict your submissions to excerpts or practice pieces that you will never try to sell.

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Creativity is allowing yourself to make mistakes.  Art is knowing which ones to keep. ~Scott Adams

Upcoming Schedule

Aug 2nd
Nick (double)
Tyree

Aug 9th

Shannon
Ciuin
Jean

Aug 16th

Nick
Ciuin
Tyree

Aug 23rd

Shannon
Open slots

Keep Writing,
Bill

The Noble Pen for July 26, 2012

Newsletters

Next Noble Pen Meeting

July 26th, 2012 at 7 pm

Scott’s Family Restaurant

1906 Blairs Ferry Rd NE, Cedar Rapids

News

A new edition of Ernest Hemingway’s Farewell To Arms (1929) includes alternate sections and 39 endings that he kept in his files.  There may be a lesson there on revising until you are satisfied.  If we become famous will somebody want the versions we submitted for Noble Pen review?

Victories

Kris sent Shannon the cover artwork for his novel Fangs for Nothing.

Ciuin has been busy turning out articles for the Romany organizations.  She finished an article for one group, a review of a Romany music CD for another, and an opinion piece critical of the National Geographic channel’s series “American Gypsies.”  She also completed a Statement of Purpose for her UI program.

Tyree says Sam’s Dot sales on Kindle are doing well.

Education

Author and critic Alexei Panshin (wikipedia)  has on his web site an extensive biographical and critical essay on the early part of Robert Heinlein’s (wikipedia) writing career.  It is an excerpt from his book  The World Beyond the Hill, which traces the evolution of science fiction.

Educational point: he describes Heinlein’s expertise, early in his career, in immersing the reader in the world of the story without ever stopping to describe it.  Rather, he had the characters’ conversations, actions, and thoughts just assume it to be, in such a way the reader easily got the picture.  This was relatively uncommon at the time; compare authors such as Bradbury.  I also note that he often opened with dialog, but kept it crisp and informative.

Here’s the opening of his story Free Men that illustrates how much background you can imply without stopping the action:

“That makes three provisional presidents so far,” the Leader said. “I wonder how many more there are?” He handed the flimsy sheet back to the runner, who placed it in his mouth and chewed it up like gum.

The third man shrugged. “No telling. What worries me-“ A mockingbird interrupted. “Doity, doity, doity,” he sang. “Terloo, terloo, terloo, purty-purtypurty-purty.”

The clearing was suddenly empty

“As I was saying,” came the voice of the third man in a whisper in the Leader’s ear, “it ain’t how many worries me, but how you tell a de Gaulle from a Laval. See anything?”

“Convoy. Stopped below us.” The Leader peered through bushes and down the side of a bluff.

Notice that he does not tell you we are hiding in the woods with a resistance group in a country where a breakdown or conquest has splintered the loyalties of the population, because that can be inferred from the dialog and action.

And this opening from Logic of Empire:

“Don’t be a sentimental fool, Sam!”

“Sentimental, or not,” Jones persisted, “I know human slavery when I see it.  That’s what you’ve got on Venus.”

Humphrey Wingate snorted. “That’s utterly ridiculous.  The company’s labor clients are employees, working under legal contracts, freely entered into.”

Jones’ eyebrows raised slightly.  “So? What kind of a contract is it that throws a man into jail if he quits his job?”

He does not have to tell you that this will be a story of resistance to enslaving corporate power in a somewhat bureaucratic space-faring society.

The trick is to squeeze enough information into the action and dialog to keep the reader from getting lost.

Upcoming Schedule

July 26th
Dylan
Ciuin
Bill

Aug 2nd

Nick
Tyree
Ciuin

Aug 9th

Shannon
Ciuin
Jean

Aug 16th

Nick
Ciuin
Tyree (?)

Keep Writing,
Bill

The Noble Pen for July 19, 2012

Newsletters

 

Next Noble Pen Meeting

July 19th, 2012 at 7 pm

Scott’s Family Restaurant

1906 Blairs Ferry Rd NE, Cedar Rapids

News

We were happy to see Mark and Chila again at the July 12 meeting.

Sam’s Dot Publishing has a Drabble contest open to entries through August, using the theme “Nesting” in SF/fantasy/horror genres.  Writing a Drabble will teach you something about getting full value from each of the exactly 100 words you use.

Roger Ebert calls the movie Prometheus “a magnificent science-fiction film …  in the classic tradition of golden age sci-fi” and gives it three stars.  Others like the special effects but can’t stand the illogical (dare we say downright stupid?) characters.

Victories

Nick has in hand the new book for railfans that includes his paid writing.

Shannon survived CONvergence (see his blog) despite presenting on seven panels and doing a reading, and there being so much going on that he rarely slept.  He sold some books, too.

Education

Author Mary Robinette Kowal writes that outlines are great tools, and can be flexible.  You can revise them so they don’t lock you in if you think of something better.

Many sources recommend a “Character Interview” process to help establish the players before you write your story.  You ask the questions and write down what they “tell” you.  The interview isn’t part of the story itself in most cases, but often suggests a great deal of material to use in the story.  A search will find many lists of questions to use, such as this long one, or this one, or this one.

Revision is one of the vital parts of writing, but Kristin M. Camiolo warns you shouldn’t revise your writing to death.

Half my life is an act of revision ~John Irving
It’s never too late – in fiction or in life – to revise. ~Nancy Thayer

Upcoming Schedule

July 19th

Shannon
Tyree
Bill

July 26th

Dylan
Ciuin (double slot)

Aug 2nd

Nick
Tyree
Ciuin

Aug 9th

Shannon
Ciuin
Jean?

Keep Writing,
Bill

The Noble Pen for July 12, 2012

Newsletters

Next Noble Pen Meeting

July 12th, 2012 at 7 pm

Scott’s Family Restaurant

1906 Blairs Ferry Rd NE, Cedar Rapids

News

Do people judge a book by its cover?  A publisher is hoping so on the new editions of classic works.

Victories

Tyree’s first steampunk story has been accepted for publication.

Dylan received apologies from two people who had sent complaints on his serial, finding them resolved by the newest chapter.

Chila writes that a book her Port Yonder Press put out for author Ron Miller has won a prestigious Spur Award from the Western Writers of America.

Education

A variety of topics this week.

Rachelle Gardner has advice on picking a title for your book.

Matthew Salesses has some advice on writing and revising that is similar, yet different, from many other lists.

In a forum post “fersnerfer” said:  When people tell you that something bothers them [about your writing], they are almost always right. When they tell you how they think you should fix it, they are almost always wrong.

Here’s a list of places to promote your ebook.

Upcoming Schedule

July 12th

Bill
Ciuin
Jean

July 19th

Shannon
Tyree
Bill

July 26th

Dylan
Ciuin (double if no one desperately needs 3rd slot)

Aug 2nd

Nick
Open slots.

Keep Writing,
Bill