Next Noble Pen Meeting

February 28th, 2013 at 7 pm

Scott’s Family Restaurant

1906 Blairs Ferry Rd NE, Cedar Rapids

News

Due to cancellation last week, the schedule has been juggled somewhat.  See below and let me know if it doesn’t work.

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We just passed the 200th anniversary of the publication of Pride and Prejudice.  A blogger notes how it has influenced novels since its time.

Education

Setting is important.  Josh Pahigian gives some reasons for setting your story in a famous place.  You have to know your territory and time period well, however, and it can be limiting because your characters’ movements and public exposure are constrained by the real geography (unless you’re an author we won’t name who rearranged Rome for a key plot point).

You have much more freedom if you make up your setting, whether it is “Anywhere, USA” or Sirius 5, but then you are responsible for making it consistent with the expectations you raise in the reader.  Moira Allen has some advice on bringing the setting to life without stopping the story.

Every story would be another story, and unrecognizable if it took up its characters and plot and happened somewhere else… Fiction depends for its life on place. Place is the crossroads of circumstance. ~Eudora Welty

Upcoming Schedule

Feb 28th (otherwise known as March zero’th)

Shannon (material sent last week)
Tyree

Mar 7th

Janice
Aimee (item sent last week or update?)
Open slot

Mar 14th

Nick (double)
Tyree

Mar 21st

Nick (double-rumor has it this is the end of the Knight story)
Open slot

Mar 28th

Open slots

Keep Writing,
Bill

Next Noble Pen Meeting

February 21st, 2013 at 7 pm

Scott’s Family Restaurant

1906 Blairs Ferry Rd NE, Cedar Rapids

News

No news is good news.

Victories

Education

Shannon points out this formula for a mystery story (be it 6,000 or 60,000 words) from Lester Dent, who is best known for writing a zillion Doc Savage stories under the pen name Kenneth Robeson.  Some of his ideas apply to any fiction, particularly the one that says once you get your protagonist in a lot of trouble, you should next double their woes.

John Steinbeck said there isn’t a formula for good stories.

This blog argues that formula or not, it is very important to balance several aspects.

Another one says that even using a formula, the stories don’t necessarily come out all the same.

Upcoming Schedule

Feb 21st

Shannon (double slot)
Aimee

Feb 28th

Tyree
Janice
Open Slot

Mar 7th

Nick (double)
Tyree

Mar 14th

Nick (double)
Open slot

Mar 21st

Open slots

Keep Writing,
Bill

Next Noble Pen Meeting

February 14th, 2013 at 7 pm

Scott’s Family Restaurant

1906 Blairs Ferry Rd NE, Cedar Rapids

News

The Marion Public Library is having an “Author Fair” on Saturday Feb 16. The schedule includes two hour-long sessions (choice of two each hour) with panels of published authors, including such notables as Ed Gorman. A lunch can be reserved in advance. After lunch there are readings and opportunities to chat with the authors.

Victories

Nick has written through chapter 6 of his SciFi book.

Dylan sold a dinosaur horror story to an anthology.  Flight is still in the running for the Harper Voyager contest.  Two beta readers liked BAM.

Tyree researched tidal waves and found his story to be consistent with what might happen.

Janice likes the improvements she is able to make using some of the suggestions of the writing diagnostic tool.

Ciuin finished another book on her reading list and is editing again on Petty Theft.

Education

Some time back the newsletter mentioned Pro Writing Aid as a free and useful means of identifying things you might consider revising.  It will give you more suggestions than you want.  Janice recently used it and reports that she finds some of its output useful.  A free tool from Writer’s Diet may give another view.  And Edit Minion claims to be a “robotic copy editor.”

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Authors should have some knowledge of copyright law.  You should know that anything you write is immediately copyrighted.  Registration with the government office (with a fee) strengthens your ability to enforce your copyright.  Rights cover several different types of use.  Some uses can be made of your work without infringing on the copyright.

US copyright laws have changed from time to time, mostly to extend the coverage.  Cynics have noted that the length of time a copyright provides protection (with registration and renewals) has usually been a little longer than the age of Mickey Mouse.

A search will turn up many explanations of copyright, and I’ll link a few of them.  The  Writers Write site has a nice summary written by a lawyer in more or less layman’s language.  Here’s another.  The US government Copyright Office gives definitions related to the subject.  Wikipedia has a substantial article.

Of all the creative work produced by humans anywhere, a tiny fraction has continuing commercial value. For that tiny fraction, the copyright is a crucially important legal device. ~Lawrence Lessig

Upcoming Schedule

Feb 14th

Tyree
Janice
Nick

Feb 21st

Shannon (double slot)
Aimee

Feb 28th

Tyree (if no one else)
Janice
Open Slot

Mar 7th

Nick (double if no one else needs slot)
Open slot(s)

Mar 14th

Nick?
Open slots

Mar 21st

Nick ?
Open slots

Keep Writing,
Bill

Next Noble Pen Meeting

February 7th, 2013 at 7 pm

Scott’s Family Restaurant

1906 Blairs Ferry Rd NE, Cedar Rapids

News

The Marion Public Library is having an “Author Fair” on Saturday Feb 16.  The schedule includes two hour-long sessions (choice of two each hour) with panels of published authors, including such notables as Ed Gorman.  A lunch can be reserved in advance.  After lunch there are readings and opportunities to chat with the authors.

Victories

Tyree has written more in January than in the prior year.

Ciuin attended a UN remembrance service and served on a panel afterward, and found a prestigious beta reader for Petty Theft.

Dylan broke a 45-day block and is writing despite being otherwise busy as well.  He finished a commission.  He got feedback on BAM from a beta reader found via his blog.  An internet magazine has asked him to format ebooks for them.

Janice has her computer back up and going so she can write.

Shannon got a comment via Facebook that someone was reading Minion and it brightened their day.

Education

Writer’s Digest offers a good article on planning your novel.

Our goals can only be reached through a vehicle of a plan, in which we must fervently believe, and upon which we must vigorously act. There is no other route to success.
~Pablo Picasso

A good plan violently executed now is better than a perfect plan executed next week. ~George S. Patton

We can’t plan life. All we can do is be available for it.  ~Lauryn Hill

Upcoming Schedule

Feb 7th

Nick
Tyree
Janice

Feb 14th

Tyree
Janice
Open Slot

Feb 21st

Shannon (double slot)
Aimee

Feb 28th

Tyree (if no one else)
Janice ?
Open Slot

Keep Writing,
Bill