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