Next Noble Pen Meeting

July 5th, 2018 at 7 pm

Scott’s Family Restaurant

1906 Blairs Ferry Rd NE, Cedar Rapids

News

If you aren’t politically correct, they will get you eventually.  Laura Ingalls Wilder’s name has been removed from a prestigious award because of complaints about her portrayal of Native Americans, despite those attitudes historically reflecting the society she grew up in.

Victories

Randy’s book was chosen to be read by a group and he sold 20 copies.  He has a signing at M&M Books on Saturday.

Stacie got a night by herself to write.

Education

How do you end your chapters?  Cliffhanger chapter endings give the reader an incentive to turn the page, but too many cliffhangers can make readers feel like Charlie Brown after Lucy pulls the football for the umpteenth time.

Beth Hill explains that a reader should feel that something was accomplished in the chapter so it can’t be the same conflict or danger every time.

Yet something should make them curious enough to keep reading.  Hints, partial resolutions, and new problems help.  Selecting the right sentence to end the chapter is important.  Anne R. Allen gives her take, with an example.  K.M. Weiland offers more ideas.

Upcoming Schedule

Jul 5
Nick
Stacie S.
Ciuin

Jul 12
Uriah
Logan
Aime

Jul 19
Ciuin
Open slots

Jul 26
Open slots

Aug 2
Open slots

Keep Writing,
Bill

Next Noble Pen Meeting

June 28th, 2018 at 7 pm

Scott’s Family Restaurant

1906 Blairs Ferry Rd NE, Cedar Rapids

News

We are becoming dependent on software for more and more functions vital to our way of life, from the functioning of our cars to the delivery of electric power to homes and businesses.  A journalist looks at our vulnerability.  There’s probably a novel or a few in that idea.

Victories

Ciuin wrote more on Chessmaster.  She found two readers and at least one is a big fan.

Stacie found reader for her story.

Education

Sometimes a sentence can get a general idea across, but doesn’t precisely express what was in the writer’s mind, or is awkward to read.  Finding the right word can make for better communication.  K. M. Weiland has some advice on this.

When you are looking for that exact word, a thesaurus can be helpful, either as a book from your shelf, in your word processor, or as on-line tools.

But as Richard Nordquist warns, you have to be careful to choose that word.  Just grabbing one (or worse, more) out of the list of synonyms can leave you far off the mark if you don’t understand the nuances.  “Ann endured a tedious wait to be seen by the councilor” should not become “Ann permitted an irksome dally to be perceived by the assemblyman.”  Yet those substitutions are all synonyms in some sense.

Don’t inflate your sentences with bigger words. “Her brother brought the picnic party food in his car” could turn into “Her male sibling conveyed the outdoor celebratory comestibles in his automobile.”

Upcoming Schedule

Jun 28
Aime
Uriah
Randy

Jul 5
Nick
Stacie S.
Ciuin

Jul 12
Logan
Open slots

Jul 19
Open slots

Jul 26
Open slots

Keep Writing,
Bill

Next Noble Pen Meeting

June 21st, 2018 at 7 pm

Scott’s Family Restaurant

1906 Blairs Ferry Rd NE, Cedar Rapids

News

In this on-line world, even dictionaries are getting into the action, sometimes with controversy.

Victories

Nathan wrote on a new story.

Logan read Ben Bova’s Science Fiction that Sells and learned a lot.

Education

If you are submitting to an agent or publisher, pay attention to their formatting requirements.

There are many older format styles around, some that may not have been updated since the Smith-Corona typewriter was invented.  Here’s a newer one suggested by a successful author for use when your target doesn’t have anything specific.  Here’s a checklist  summary and an even briefer list.

Upcoming Schedule

Jun 21
Logan
Ciuin
Stacie

Jun 28
Aime
Laura
Open slot

Jul 5
Nick
Open slots

Jul 12
Randy
Logan
Open slot

Jul 19
Open slots

Keep Writing,
Bill

Next Noble Pen Meeting

June 14th, 2018 at 7 pm

Scott’s Family Restaurant

1906 Blairs Ferry Rd NE, Cedar Rapids

News

A study examines what goes in in a child’s brain when they are exposed to stories of various kinds.

Victories

Randy finished the draft for “Sins of Omission.”

Dakota wrote 1,000 words in the last week.

Cuin convinced someone to start writing.

Nick did more editing and wrote a bit on his trilogy.

Education

Writers can benefit from looking at things differently now and then.   We often don’t see what we don’t expect to see.  Another article urges us to think more about our surroundings and observe, not just look. This one does, too.

Here’s a more extreme example: the guy at xkcd looking at how our world would be different if theearth’s poles were rearranged.

Upcoming Schedule

Jun 14
Ciuin
Aime
Uriah

Jun 21
Logan
Ciuin
Open slot

Jun 28
Aime
Laura
Open slot

Jul 5
Nick
Open slots

Jul 12
Randy
Open slots

Keep Writing,
Bill

Next Noble Pen Meeting

June 7th, 2018 at 7 pm

Scott’s Family Restaurant

1906 Blairs Ferry Rd NE, Cedar Rapids

News

A detective novel coming out this week is co-authored by former president Clinton.  This article discusses prior presidents and their involvement with crime fiction.

Victories

Randy completed the draft of Sins of Omission.

Stacie read Ciuin’s book Petty Theft and liked it.

Aime and Uriah each broke through a block with ideas for the next chapter.

Ciuin is rewriting the test scene with a different POV.

Education

There are several types of editing.  When a writer starts looking for an editor to prepare their work for submitting to an agent, traditional publisher, or for self-publishing, they need to consider which kinds of help they need.

If it is the traditional publishing route the company will do the final edits, but the writer may use an editor to get the manuscript in very good shape in order to improve the chances for acceptance.  If you self-publish, it’s all up to you.

A content, developmental, or substantive editor (also see wikipedia) looks at the big picture – does the story hang together, read easily, and hold interest?  Is the dialog ok, the POV consistent, the characters developed, the plot logical?  This is what we mostly concentrate on in Noble Pen reviews.

A line editor takes the middle ground – are the sentences well constructed and varied enough?  Is the vocabulary effective and not repetitive?  This is also a reasonable area for our comments if there is a pattern of problems, or markups if there is an occasional problem.

A copy editor looks at the details of punctuation, spelling, and grammar, and may offer suggestions to smooth out the last rough edges in sentence flow.  This is usually what Noble Pen readers should leave on the markup page and not spend time discussing unless there is a trend to a particular problem.

This site offers some advice on cost for professional editing services, and this one quotes firmer prices.  You might conclude that in our group we are providing very valuable services for each other.

There is also proofreading, after the layout is done, to check formatting and maybe catch a few more misspelled words.

So you got someone to edit your book, they made a lot of changes, and that fact doesn’t feel good.  Jessica Strawser talks about how to deal with those edits.   Kathie Spitz has similar advice.  The editor is probably right most of the time, but perhaps you will ignore a few changes.  Diane Jacob has advice, aimed more for freelance work where the editor has actual power and not just expert advice.

Some  of that advice applies to using critiques, although a single critique would carry less weight than a majority of critiquers’ opinions or an editor’s changes.

Upcoming Schedule

Jun 7
Laura
Nick
Randy

Jun 14
Ciuin
Aime
Uriah

Jun 21
Logan
Open slots

Jun 28
Open slots

Jul 5
Open slots

Keep Writing,
Bill