The Noble Pen for Oct 1, 2015

Next Noble Pen Meeting

October 1st, 2015 at 7 pm

Scott’s Family Restaurant

1906 Blairs Ferry Rd NE, Cedar Rapids

News

Lawrence “Yogi” Berra contributed many colorful sayings to our language.   “It ain’t over ’til it’s over” but unfortunately it is over for him at age 90.

We also lost Jackie Collins, known for steamy stories, at age 77.

Finally, some depressing news about award-winning books; they don’t make a lot of money.

Victories

Ciuin finished two articles about ghosts for City Revealed’s October issue.

Benjamin has settled in after moving and is working again at the writing business.  He found the Vault Coworking space and started a short story.

Aaron’s novel-in-a-month effort taught him a lesson on lack of conflict and tension.  Nevertheless, it gave him some good material to rework.

Education

One of the many confusing sets of verbs is the lay/lie group ( another source).  In present tense, lay expresses your action of placing something and requires that object to be named.  Lie is what you or the subject thing does while resting in place, and does not operate on an object.

I lay down the book because I am tired.  Yesterday I laid it on the table.  I have laid it there often.  I am laying it there as you enter.

A confustication occurs because lay occurs again in past tense, and we generally misuse laid instead – so consistently that I suspect it will formally change in some future decade.  The book lies where the others lie on the table.  It lay there all yesterday.  It has lain there a long time and is still lying there.

This of course, has nothing to do with telling a lie, but we have fewer problems with that meaning.

Upcoming Schedule

Oct 1
Laura
Cassie

Oct 8
Nick
Benjamin

Oct 15
Ciuin
Laura

Oct 22
Open slots

Oct 29
Open slots

Keep Writing,
Bill