Next Noble Pen Meeting

August 14th, 2014 at 7 pm

Scott’s Family Restaurant

1906 Blairs Ferry Rd NE, Cedar Rapids

News

Alban Lake Publishing has a Drabble contest running until the end of August.  Submit a story of exactly 100 words plus title that follows the current theme.

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A court found the Arthur Conan Doyle estate had no basis for trying to require a license fee for an anthology of works about him, and re-confirmed that the Sherlock Holmes character is in the public domain.

However, Mickey Mouse is still protected by copyright for at least a few more years and by trademark for as long as Disney wants.

Victories

Dylan finished a commission piece and it was accepted and paid for.  He has a Goodreads raffle offering copies of Sand and Blood, trying to gain reviews for it, and at this writing 244 people have entered a request.

Ciuin implemented a plan for backups.

Cassie overhauled a chapter of Blue Moon Baby and finished it.

Education

How do you end your story?  It’s important to get it right.  As I’ve said in prior articles, Hemingway wrote 39 endings to Farewell to Arms before picking one.

This article has some suggestions for a satisfying ending.  The struggle that has provided tension should be resolved, although it doesn’t always have to be a happy ending.

The elements of the climax and ending should have been foreshadowed so the reader does not cry “Deus ex Machina!”, yet that information should not give away the ending.   Ideally the reader will not expect the ending but will find it to be completely natural when looking back at the events leading up to it.

There may need to be a post-climax dénouement, such as where the detective explains how she put the evidence together or the newlyweds drive off into the sunset, but that should generally be short and to the point, and possibly tying back to the opening scene.  After the tension is gone the reader will become impatient with a long explanation.

Nobody reads a (novel) to get to the middle.  They read it to get to the end.  ~ Mickey Spillane

It ain’t over until it’s over. ~Yogi Berra

Upcoming Schedule

August 14
Ciuin (double)
Tyree

August 21
Aimee
Ciuin
Cassie

August 28
Tyree
Ciuin
Open slot

Sept 4
Open slots

Keep Writing,
Bill