Next Noble Pen Meeting

December 5th, 2013 at 7 pm

Scott’s Family Restaurant

1906 Blairs Ferry Rd NE, Cedar Rapids

News

Since most employers are giving their people the 28th off to work on their writing, we will not be meeting.

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The Marion library is offering support for NaNoWriMo, and also held a kickoff for a new writers group.  Unfortunately, it looks like their meetings may conflict with Noble Pen.

Victories

Dylan received a critique at ICON from a popular author.

Tyree’s steampunk story has been nominated for a Tiptree award.

Education

Relating to our education series about comma usage at the meetings, here is a repeat of some past advice on commas that may be useful.

Commas are often a sore subject for writers.  There are grammatical rules to dictate some of their uses, but they may also be used for effect, such as pauses .  Fortunately, the rules are somewhat flexible and you have leeway.  Unfortunately, the rules are somewhat flexible and you never are sure what is right or wrong or will fit an editor’s styling preferences.

Wikipedia summarizes the uses of the comma.  They may be used for lists, separation of dependent clauses, setting off non-essential interrupting phrases, setting off initial adverbs (therefore, however, and so), between multiple adjectives, and several other ways.

An optional comma can be used to indicate where the writer wants the reader to pause in a sentence. This changes the emphasis of the parts of the sentence, and can help in parsing a complicated sentence or suggest which of multiple interpretations is intended.  It is not necessary to put a comma everywhere you pause, however.

A frequent problem is running two sentences (independent clauses) together into one using a comma instead of a conjunction.   Wikipedia and Tina Blue explain comma splice problems, but she also has some partly contrary examples showing how comma splices can be used artistically.  Wikipedia also

The Most Comma Mistakes shows us what we probably most need to watch out for.

Most writers paragraph for effect, punctuate on impulse, and let split infinitives and comma splices fall where they may.  Omnivorous reading substitutes for systematic study.  Syntactic nomenclature is a thing they learn only if, somehow trapped into teaching others the craft, they find themselves in need of terms to describe the errors of their students. ~Dwight Swain

I have spent most of the day putting in a comma and the rest of the day taking it out. ~Oscar Wilde

And finally, a slightly risque cartoon, the Comma Sutra.

Upcoming Schedule

Nov 28th
Thanksgiving – no meeting

Dec 5th
More about commas
Barbara
Tyree
Dylan

Dec 12th
Cassie
Nick
Riley

Dec 19th
Nick
Jed
Tyree (?)

Dec 26th
Does anyone think we should meet?

Jan 2nd
Open slots

Keep Writing,
Bill

Next Noble Pen Meeting

November 21st, 2013 at 7 pm

Scott’s Family Restaurant

1906 Blairs Ferry Rd NE, Cedar Rapids

News

A court ruled in favor of Google, saying that their book scanning project is a fair use.  The Writers Guild will appeal. (Longer version of story)

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The 2013 autumn (northern hemisphere) edition of the Science Fiction News is available.

Victories

Dylan submitted three short stories and finished a fourth.

Tyree’s steampunk story received a nomination for an award, its second such recognition.

Ciuin Convinced the U of Iowa library to quadruple the size of its Romany-related collection and they asked her to give them a list of recommendations.

Education

It’s about time. Not necessarily time travel. All stories happen over time, and the author must decide whether to present events in chronological order, start at an attention-grabbing point and fill in the background later (in medias res) but not necessarily the most action-packed moment – or any of several other arrangements.

Michael Rabiger explains timelines in terms of film, but novelists should gain insights as well.

The events in our lives happen in a sequence in time, but in their significance to ourselves they find their own order: the continuous thread of revelation. ~Eudora Welty

A story should have a beginning, a middle and an end, but not necessarily in that order. ~Jean-Luc Godard

And now the sequence of events in no particular order. ~Dan Rather

Upcoming Schedule

Nov 21st
Lesson about commas
Tyree
Nick
Laura

Nov 28th
Thanksgiving – no meeting

Dec 5th
Tyree
Barbara
Dylan

Dec 12th
Cassie
Nick
Riley

Dec 19th
Nick
Jed
Tyree (?)

Keep Writing,
Bill

Next Noble Pen Meeting

November 14th, 2013 at 7 pm

Scott’s Family Restaurant

1906 Blairs Ferry Rd NE, Cedar Rapids

News

Tyree presented some educational material at the last meeting.  We have been shirking that aspect of our charter lately.  However, it is difficult to squeeze that in with three reviews and still end the meeting at a normal time.  The moderator would appreciate feedback on how much time people want to devote to education.
-Do we want to postpone such sessions while we have stiff competition for review slots?
-Do we want to stay later to do it all?
-Do we want to cut to two reviews some nights to make more time for education?
-Would people be interested in additional educational meetings at some other time?

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The departure of an Amazon executive may hint that their success in the publishing world, as opposed to selling other publishers’ books, is less than expected.

Victories

Tyree finished the draft of two more scenes of Aoife’s Kiss.

Education

Nancy Kress, in her book Beginnings, Middles, and Ends, says in order to hook an editor or reader the first three paragraphs of a story (in a novel perhaps more) should accomplish several things: establish a character, at least hint of conflict, anchor the story in a setting, and demonstrate clear writing with good mechanics.  Others echo the general sentiments. While some may not agree these are hard requirements, few would call them bad attributes for an opening.

At the next meeting we will have a brief discussion of how these criteria are or are not met in a couple samples (not the ones  handed out at last meeting).

The beginning is the most important part of the work. ~Plato

In my beginning is my end. ~T. S. Eliot

A good beginning makes a good end. ~Louis L’Amour

Begin at the beginning and go on till you come to the end; then stop. ~Lewis Carroll

Upcoming Schedule

Nov 14th
Tyree’s 10-minute lesson
Cassie
Dylan
Jed

Nov 21st
Tyree
Nick
Laura

Nov 28th
Thanksgiving – no meeting

Dec 5th
Tyree
Barbara
Dylan

Dec 12th
Cassie
Nick
Riley

Keep Writing,
Bill

Next Noble Pen Meeting

November 7th, 2013 at 7 pm

Scott’s Family Restaurant

1906 Blairs Ferry Rd NE, Cedar Rapids

News

Iowa authors Max Allan Collins and Ed Gorman will be speaking at 7 pm on Wednesday Nov 6th at Mystery Cat Books, 112 32nd St Dr SE, Cedar Rapids.  Ed’s latest is called Flashpoint, in the Dev Conrad series of mysteries.  Max will discuss Ask Not, his most recent novel, third in a series wherein Detective Nathan Heller investigates a thwarted assassination attempt on John Kennedy.  This is historical fiction about a true event, shortly before JFK was killed Dallas.  This is timely, of course because we are approaching the 50th anniversary of Kennedy’s death.

Victories

Dylan got 2nd place in a writing contest and moves to the next round.

Jed wrote 6,000 words on Castalia II and finished reading Peer Gynt.

Aimee has nearly finished part 1 of her novel.

Education

Characters are more interesting if they change internally during the course of the story.  Many  consider this an essential attribute of a good story.  The change may be for the better or in some cases for the worse.   Jeff Gerke explains the development of a character.  Here’s more advice on writing unforgettable characters.

Lillie Ammann has an 8-part series on writing characters:  Part 1     Part 2     Part 3     Part 4 Part 5     Part 6     Part 7     Part 8.

Character development is what I value most as a reader of fiction. If an author can manage to create the sort of characters who feel fully real, who I find myself worrying about while I’m walking through the grocery store aisles a week later, that to me is as close to perfection as it gets. ~J. Courtney Sullivan

Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man’s character, give him power. ~Abraham Lincoln

There is something intensely interesting to me about characters getting swept into unexpected appetites, of not knowing they were going to do these things. ~Joan Silber

Upcoming Schedule

Nov 7th
Tyree’s 5-minute lesson
Riley
Tyree
Nick

Nov 14th
Cassie
Dylan
Jed

Nov 21st
Tyree
Nick
Laura

Nov 28th
Thanksgiving – no meeting

Dec 5th
Tyree
Barbara
Dylan

Keep Writing,
Bill