The Noble Pen for Sept 7, 2017

Next Noble Pen Meeting

September 7th, 2017 at 7 pm

Scott’s Family Restaurant

1906 Blairs Ferry Rd NE, Cedar Rapids

News

Barnes and Noble’s Nook division is purging books they consider to be promoting deviant sexual practices , hate, or excessive violence under new guidelines.  Some reports indicate 50,000 titles were taken down. Some of the books had  sold for years on Nook. (More discussion)  Authors have had accounts terminated without warning, although some have been restored.  Paradoxically, print editions of these books and e-books of some well-known works that would seem to violate those standards (e.g., 50 Shades and Lolita) seem to still be available.  It isn’t clear at this point what/who prompted Nook’s actions.

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Someone attempted to game the best seller lists.  Makes you wonder how often anyone gets away with similar tactics.

Victories

Ciuin received the comments from a beta reader on Petty Theft.  She wrote on another fiction piece.

Dylan wrote 15k words on a serial.

Randy’s book was chosen for a Bellevue reading group and they ordered 15 copies.

Education

How do you write numbers, times, and money in your story?  A while back, Dylan found this excellent summary of rules.  There may be some variation in style guides, but it is a good starting point.

I’m writing a book. I’ve got the page numbers done. ~Stephen Wright

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On a slightly related note, if your story is not set in our real world or its imagined future, what do you use for time, money, volumes, and distances?  This brief article summarizes the options.

A year and a day are natural to any planet with a single sun, but will differ in length from our own.  It’s unlikely a tavern on the planet Glurg will serve refreshments in pints or liters, so you need to use mugs or steins.

Distances present more problems, as chains, meters, kilometers, and miles are all culturally defined.   Astronomical units, parsecs, and light years are based on the earth and our solar system.  Feet and cubits are natural measures but depend on the anatomy of the possibly alien characters.

This discussion thread and this one don’t reach consensus, but offer some food for thought.

Upcoming Schedule

September 7
Nick (long)
Deanna (long)
Passive voice exercise

September 14
Randy
Aime
Ciuin

September 21
Uriah
Open slots

September 28
Open slots

September 35
Open slots

Keep Writing,
Bill