Monthly Archives: May 2017

The Noble Pen for Jun 1, 2017

Next Noble Pen Meeting

Jun 1st, 2017 at 7 pm

Scott’s Family Restaurant

1906 Blairs Ferry Rd NE, Cedar Rapids

News

NPR welcomes your input to a reader poll about comics and graphic novels.

Victories

Randy had a very successful book release party and sold 56 books.  He has two Amazon reviews, both five-star.  He was invited to participate in an author panel in the fall.

Dylan met his writing quota for Patreon subscribers.  He is nearly finished serializing S&Bone.  He finished a commission with less overage of words than usual.

Education

We often see the beginning of this quote as symbolic of bad style.  For more discussion of the line, see the Wikipedia entry.  The author may not deserve the reputation, as he was prolific and popular in his day.

It was a dark and stormy night; the rain fell in torrents — except at occasional intervals, when it was checked by a violent gust of wind which swept up the streets (for it is in London that our scene lies), rattling along the housetops, and fiercely agitating the scanty flame of the lamps that struggled against the darkness.” — Edward George Bulwer-Lytton, Paul Clifford (1830)

An annual contest for bad writing examples has a June 30 deadline, and you too could enter.  Check out some of the prior contest winners.  Some seem more intentionally amusing than just bad.

The test of any good fiction is that you should care something for the characters; the good to succeed, the bad to fail. The trouble with most fiction is that you want them all to land in hell, together, as quickly as possible. ~Mark Twain

People do not deserve to have good writing, they are so pleased with bad.~Ralph Waldo Emerson

If you write one story, it may be bad; if you write a hundred, you have the odds in your favor. ~Edgar Rice Burroughs

He was such a bad writer, they revoked his poetic license. ~Milton Berle

Upcoming Schedule

Jun 1
Nick
Dylan
Aime

Jun 8
Uriah
Dakota
Open slot

Jun 15
Open slots

Jun 22
Open slots

Jun 29
Open slots

Keep Writing,
Bill

The Noble Pen for May 25, 2017

Next Noble Pen Meeting

May 25th, 2017 at 7 pm

Scott’s Family Restaurant

1906 Blairs Ferry Rd NE, Cedar Rapids

News

Don’t forget Randy’s book release party on Wednesday May 24.

Victories

No wins, no losses, some rainouts.

Education

Author Jeffrey A. Carver offers a set of articles that make a complete course in writing.  It’s science fiction oriented but most of the lessons apply to other genres.  He spends more words on the art of creating human characters than on creating aliens.

It’s none of their business that you have to learn to write. Let them think you were born that way. ~Ernest Hemingway

Upcoming Schedule

May 25
Randy
Laura
Dakota

Jun 1
Nick
Uriah
Aime

Jun 8
Open slots

Jun 15
Open slots

Jun 22
Open slots

Keep Writing,
Bill

The Noble Pen for May 18, 2017

Next Noble Pen Meeting

May 18th, 2017 at 7 pm

Scott’s Family Restaurant

1906 Blairs Ferry Rd NE, Cedar Rapids

News

Being a fiction writer is so glamorous that even ex-presidents want to get in on the act.

Victories

Nick wrote a five-page train report.

Randy put out publicity for his book and release party.

Dakota bought a reference/tutorial book for authors.

Education

This week we have a list of people’s lists.
-Zachary Petit lists 15 things a writer should never do in their approach to writing.
-“Chuck the Vulgar” Wendig has 25 things to stop doing.
-These guys list 40 to avoid (despite their title).

Okay, enough negatives.
-Karen Ball has 10 things you SHOULD do to help your body and mind.
-Chuck has 25 things you should do as a writer.
-Mike Sager has twenty-five tips to make you a better writer. Most of his list applies to fiction as well as non-fiction.

Upcoming Schedule

May 18
Aime
Dakota
Bill

May 25
Randy
Open slots

Jun 1
Nick
Open slots

Jun 8
Open slots

Jun 15
Open slots

Keep Writing,
Bill

The Noble Pen for May 11, 2017

Next Noble Pen Meeting

May 11th, 2017 at 7 pm

Scott’s Family Restaurant

1906 Blairs Ferry Rd NE, Cedar Rapids

News

An author may not like all of the reviews, but should never resort to threats of black magic against the reviewer.   In the Goodreads thread, the author provided a reviewer a free copy in exchange for a review.  It took a while for the review to get posted, which caused some friction, and then the review was quite negative.  The author responded that he had contacted someone to cast bad magic on the reviewer if he did not retract the review.

Victories

Ciuin got an A on a school paper.

Clay submitted for his first review.

Education

The ending of a story is the payoff, and the reader wants the payoff to be worth having read it all.  Larry Brooks talks about structuring the story for a killer ending.  Vicki Hinze discusses how to wrap it up.  Here’s Laura Miller’s take on what makes a great ending.  Here’s list of nine tips for an effective ending (hit escape to bypass the ad).

It’s important to get it right.  Hemingway wrote 39 endings to Farewell to Arms before deciding he had it right.

Nobody reads a (novel) to get to the middle.  They read it to get to the end.  If it’s a let down, they won’t buy anymore.  The first page sells that book.. The last page sells your next book. ~ Mickey Spillane

Upcoming Schedule

May 11
Dakota
Aime
Nick

May 18
Open slots

May 25
Open slots

Jun 1
Open slots

Jun 8
Open slots

Keep Writing,
Bill