Next Noble Pen Meeting

Oct 4th, 2018 at 7 pm

Scott’s Family Restaurant

1906 Blairs Ferry Rd NE, Cedar Rapids

News

We will have people reading their Drabbles and discussing them this week.  We may have time for more than were signed up, so go ahead and try your hand at writing one.  See last week’s newsletter for more information about Drabbles.

Victories

Randy had a successful book release signing, as he sold 56 copies of the new book and 3 of the first one.  He also met several interesting people with connections to the true events he drew on for his story.

Ciuin wrote a little on Chessmaster.

Stacie and Bill wrote drabbles.

Aime woke at 3 a.m. and started writing a new version of a story she started long ago. She sold two ebooks on Amazon.

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.  Laura Miller explains what makes a great ending.  Here’s list of nine tips for an effective ending (hit escape to bypass the ad).  Jessica Soffer has her list of the 10 best book endings. with reasons why she chose them.

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

Oct 4
Nick
Jesse – discussion of pop culture and writing
Drabbles from Stacie, Jesse, Aime, and Rebecca, and maybe more?

Oct 11
Open slots

Oct 18
Aime
Open slots

Oct 25
Open slots

Nov 1
Open slots

Keep Writing,
Bill

Next Noble Pen Meeting

Sept 27th, 2018 at 7 pm

Scott’s Family Restaurant

1906 Blairs Ferry Rd NE, Cedar Rapids

News

Finalists for the Man Booker prize in literature have been announced.  This is an award for works written in English by authors from anywhere in the world and published in the British Isles.  An official said this year “All of our six finalists are miracles of stylistic invention.”  This prize may get more than usual attention because the Nobel Prize in literature is not being awarded this year.

Victories

Randy’s book release got a full page in the Bellevue newspaper with his book cover, his own photo, and the story of the real coffin.

Jesse edited and submitted his story, the first serious writing he has done in a while.

Dylan got a writing weekend and turned out 40K words.

Ciuin wrote on Chessmaster, edited for a Petty Theft revision, and started work on her master’s essay.

Education

A drabble is a story in exactly 100 words.  It is difficult to fit the elements of an interesting story into such a short piece, and is thus a good exercise for a writer to develop clear and concise expression in all their work.  As in any story, it should include elements of setting, character(s), conflict, and resolution.  Other short lengths have also been used, and the general category is called Flash Fiction.

We will be experimenting with 100-word drabbles on Oct 4th.  Here are some comments about writing a drabble,  some examples, and more here.  I particularly like this one.

Upcoming Schedule

Sept 27
Jesse-discussion of pop culture and writing
Aime
Stacie

Oct 4
Nick
Logan
Drabbles from Stacie, Jesse, Aime, and Rebecca

Oct 11
Ciuin
Open slots

Oct 18
Open slots

Oct 25
Open slots

Keep Writing,
Bill

Next Noble Pen Meeting

Sept 20th, 2018 at 7 pm

Scott’s Family Restaurant

1906 Blairs Ferry Rd NE, Cedar Rapids

News

Even dyslexic people can become successful authors, as this woman found.

–//–

The classic Little Women is at its 150th anniversary.

Victories

Randy got paid for several books sold at the Bellevue store.

Aime finished the first book in her quest to read all Vonnegut works.  She has made progress in the beta read she is doing.

Logan got a rejection for a story, but only after their third reading and the magazine wants him to keep submitting.

Education

Writers can find many sources of information about submitting to agents, magazines, and book publishers.  Some people use the subscription site Duotrope to find places to submit and the submission guidelines.  Randy Ingermanson compares the process for different size publishers.

If you are looking to get into a big publishing house, an editor tells why a writer needs an agent.  You may benefit from Writer’s Digest’s Guide to Literary Agents that comes out each fall (or on Amazon)  They also have guides for magazine writers,  screenwriters, poets, photographers, and other market segments.  AgentQuery offers some resources.

A resource often  mentioned is Query Tracker.  Check it out to see if you could benefit either from registering for its services or just from browsing its forum for information on agents, publishers, writing techniques, success stories, etc.  You could spend days on the site.

Although not quite up to date, this pdf list of 101 web sites with infomation that helps authors may still be relevant.

Upcoming Schedule

Sept 20
Randy-submission plus discussion of planning sheet
Aime-discussion on writing villains.
Jesse

Sept 27
Jesse-discussion of pop culture and writing
Aime
Open slot

Oct 4
Nick
Logan
Drabble writing?
Open slot

Oct 10
Open slots

Oct 17
Open slots

Keep Writing,
Bill

Next Noble Pen Meeting

Sept 13th, 2018 at 7 pm

Scott’s Family Restaurant

1906 Blairs Ferry Rd NE, Cedar Rapids

News

If you create a good enough character, that persona can live on after you are gone.  Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan is a good example, as other writers have continued the series and written a TV show.

Victories

Dylan got a fan letter (but can’t read much of the writing).

Nick wrote 20 pages.

Randy will have a table at the Iowa Library Association reception.  He has scheduled a party after his Bellevue signing with one of the characters from the book actually there performing music.

Stacy continues doing books on CD.

Education

Should you use adverbs?  Most well-reasoned advice says yes, but in moderation.   Adverbs aren’t only words ending in -ly, but include any modifier of an adjective or verb, including adverbial phrases Here’s a list of 3732 adverbs (just in case you didn’t think they were numerous).  If you aren’t clear, see this  Basic explanation of adjectives and adverbs.

Overuse can be a problem for writers.  They are overdone if they are being used in place of active verbs, strong dialog, and good adjectives.   For the choice  (“Hurry,” he said loudly.),  or (“Hurry,” he yelled.)  the strong verb is better than the adverb. “Very” is an adverb that rarely adds anything to a sentence.

So  use them carefully. There are times when an adverb is the best choice.  “An overly long phone call upset her schedule,” “He entered silently,” and “He ate quickly” make good use of adverbs.

Upcoming Schedule

Sept 13
Amie
Nick
Stacie

Sept 20
Laura
Aime-discussion on writing villains.
Open slot

Sept 27
Open slots

Oct 4
Nick
Open slots

Oct 10
Open slots

Keep Writing,
Bill