The Noble Pen for June 18, 2015

Next Noble Pen Meeting

June 18th, 2015 at 7 pm

Scott’s Family Restaurant

1906 Blairs Ferry Rd NE, Cedar Rapids

News

The European Union is now looking into Amazon’s ebook business practices.

Victories

Mark submitted another commissioned article.

Cassie wrote 5,000 words last week.  She got an email from an editor at Avon asking about her work in progress and inviting her to submit it when finished.  They like her writer’s voice as seen in the contest submissions.

Jo pulled out old material and improved it. Her husband likes the humor.

Education

You want your characters to seem real, so they need motivations, a little description, and individual characteristics.  Anne Leigh Parrish discusses  making characters plausible.  Characters need both good characteristics and flaws to seem real. Perfect saints are boring and not believable.  A “tough” character has appeal because they are able to handle what comes at them, but as Angela Ackerman points out, don’t go too far in making them insensitive, cynical, or otherwise nasty.   Even the old “hard boiled” detective usually had a soft spot to make them more relatable.  In another article, she categorizes character flaws.

Syndney Katt offers advice on creating flawed heroes and villains with redeeming characteristics and Anne Tyler talks about writing strong yet flawed characters.

I myself am made entirely of flaws, stitched together with good intentions. ~Augusten Burroughs

Better a diamond with a flaw than a pebble without. ~Confucius

You see someone on the street, and essentially what you notice about them is the flaw. ~Diane Arbus

Upcoming Schedule

Jun 18
Eugenia
Jo

Jun 25
Tyree (?)
Aimee

Jul 2
Jo
Open slot

Jul 9
Open slots

Jul 16
Nick
Open slot

Keep Writing,
Bill