Next Noble Pen Meeting

February 2nd, 2017 at 7 pm

Scott’s Family Restaurant

1906 Blairs Ferry Rd NE, Cedar Rapids

News

Famous and prolific authors always seem to have more stories found posthumously.  Now a Mark Twain tale he told his daughter finds the light of day.

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I have no idea how good the Book Launch Blueprint is, but apparently you can download free it if you are willing to sign up on a marketing list .  Let us know if you try it. (Maybe use a throw-away email?)

Victories

Dylan finished his monthly serial installment.

Cassie learned the book she planned to release in April will be delayed waiting for a cover, so she is meeting daily progress goals on another story to take its place at an April book fair.   She also will participate in a book signing in June in Deadwood, SD.

Bill got mostly favorable reviews from two beta readers, and one gave detailed markups.

Education

Homophones (sound-alikes) that are heterographs (spelled differently) are a recurring problem for many writers.  That’s what we get for using a language that has borrowed from many others and adapts readily to new usages.  There are also homonyms, which are (according to some definitions) spelled and pronounced the same but have different meanings – a possible problem for a reader although the writer hasn’t made an error.

This article explains the difference between homophones, homonyms, and homographs. and this one gives another take on the vague definitions.

Homophone: peace treaty / piece of pie
their car / car over there / they’re arriving

Homonym:  swimming duck / duck under an obstacle

Homograph: blowing wind / wind the clock

Unfortunately, theiyr’re is no general rule to help.  You have to learn each and every set of homophones.  Here’s  a guide to some common ones and a longer list.

Upcoming Schedule

February 2
Laura
Cassie
Nick

February 9
Uriah
Megan
Stacy

February 16
Open slots

February 23
Open slots

March 2
Open slots

Keep Writing,
Bill