Next Noble Pen Meeting

January 8th, 2015 at 7 pm

Scott’s Family Restaurant

1906 Blairs Ferry Rd NE, Cedar Rapids

News

The calendar has conspired to put two holidays on our meeting days.  See you in January.

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New data gathered automatically from e-book devices suggests that a lot of books sold are not read to the end.  A British company reports that 44% of the people who purchased a Pulitzer winner as an e-book finished it, and one best-seller 28%.   Even the most-read genres averaged only a little over 60% .  Remember, Big Brother is watching you read.

Victories

Tyree wrote more on Bombay Sapphire II and on two short stories.

Ciuin got an A on the last essay of one class, but isn’t sure about the instructor’s checking methods.

Dylan made a book cover for the Journal stories.

Education

A fiction writer must get to know all their characters.  Some writers may plan out everything ahead of time, including character sheets (or here) that record every detail.  Others will start writing and let the characters develop.  At some point you need to be sure the characters are self-consistent and sufficiently filled out to be interesting.  Many guides and questionnaires out there can help.

The full biographies and backstories of your characters don’t need to be included in your narrative, but references to prior events in their lives can explain motivations and keep the characters interesting, and knowing their goals will help the story develop.

Upcoming Schedule

Dec 25
Christmas – no meeting

Jan 1
New Year’s Day – no meeting

Jan 8
Eugenia
Greg
Ciuin

Jan 15
Tyree
Nick
Greg

Jan 22
Cindy?
Aimee
Ciuin

Jan 29
Open slots

Keep Writing,
Bill

Next Noble Pen Meeting

December 18th, 2014 at 7 pm

Scott’s Family Restaurant

1906 Blairs Ferry Rd NE, Cedar Rapids

News

The annual Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award contest will open soon.  Here’s the 2014 FAQ.  Winning, or even making it into the later rounds, is a huge achievement for an author.

Victories

Tyree finished writing Wolf, and has only minor tweaks left to do.

Ciuin wrote all night on a 3,000 word paper and visual presentation, but the instructor can’t open her file.  She got an A- on a paper.

Aimee is getting a lot of writing done in idle moments.

Education

Every story requires some world building.  Even those stories that take place in our present day world, or its history, have to select where it is placed, who is involved, and which cultural aspects are significant to the story.

Writing SF/F or alternate history does free you to have different elements (wikipedia-worldbuilding), but David Hair lists thirteen  basic principles that will usually apply in any world of people.  Using most of those rules will make the story more believable to readers.  Breaking one or more can make your story interesting.

Fiction Factor lists a bunch of resources for world builders.

Upcoming Schedule

Dec 18
Cindy
Cassie
Dylan
Mark (hold-over from Dec 11)

Dec 25
Christmas – no meeting

Jan 1
New Year’s Day – no meeting

Jan 8
Eugenia
Greg
Ciuin

Jan 15
Tyree
Cindy
Greg

Jan 22
Nick
Aimee
Ciuin

Keep Writing,
Bill

Next Noble Pen Meeting

December 11th, 2014 at 7 pm

Scott’s Family Restaurant

1906 Blairs Ferry Rd NE, Cedar Rapids

News

This week is our annual conflict with a large party at Scott’s.  We expect to grab any available space on the opposite side of the restaurant, so look for us there and be prepared to squeeze in.

Victories

Tyree has finished the draft of Wolf.

Dylan wrote on stories in eight (8) genres last week.

Ciuin wrote a thousand words on a short story.

Education

Prologues are somewhat controversial, as shown by the number of discussions that occur on writing forums.  See this thread.  Another thread suggests some people skip them, which could make the rest of the story confusing for them.  Often a prologue could just as well be chapter 1.  Other times they should be deleted and their information woven into the story as needed or used as a flashback.

The best use for a prologue is when it takes place in a different time or place than the rest of the story, and perhaps does not involve the main character.   The challenge is to make it interesting, keep it from being an info dump, and transition easily into chapter 1.

Upcoming Schedule

Dec 11 (opposite side of restaurant)
Aimee
Mark
Tyree

Dec 18
Cindy
Cassie
Dylan

Dec 25
Christmas – no meeting

Jan 1
New Year’s Day – no meeting

Jan 8
Eugenia
Greg
Open Slot

Keep Writing,
Bill