We will meet at someone’s home at 7 pm, and the address will be in the distribution email. Use the contact form if you need me to add you to the distribution.

Discord and Meetups for Noble Pen

The Discord app provides another way for us to discuss. If you want to check it out, ask for an invitation link that will let you join. Also look for Creative Writing on Meetups.com for Cedar Rapids and make us look active there.

Writing Victories

1. Dylan wrote 11,000 words this week.
2. Robyn has started the second book in her trivia series, this one about Halloween in the 1970s.
3. Xander’s newest ART Explains Science and History episode on “The Aphantasia Lie” has had 97,000 likes. That’s enough to remonetize his channel and continue making more episodes.

Reading Victories

1. Aime finished reading “Neuromancer” by William Gibson, the first book in his Sprawl Trilogy. Since she’s writing a memoir, she started a book by Sarah McBride. McBride was the first openly transgender person elected to the US House of Representatives.

Personal Victories

Literary News

Schedule

Sept. 10
Dylan-a double submission
Aime

Sept. 17
Ben L.
Aime
Robyn

Sept. 24
Robyn
open slots

Keep Writing!
Robyn

We will meet at someone’s home at 7 pm, and the address will be in the distribution email. Use the contact form if you need me to add you to the distribution.

Discord and Meetups for Noble Pen

The Discord app provides another way for us to discuss. If you want to check it out, ask for an invitation link that will let you join. Also look for Creative Writing on Meetups.com for Cedar Rapids and make us look active there.

Writing Victories

1. Dylan was offered another commission for a 1980s anime story.
2. Robyn has her first trivia book up for sale on Amazon in both paperback and ebook.
3. Shannon wrote a new short story for a workshop he’s participating in.

Reading Victories

Personal Victories

1. Bill recommended another movie, “Rain Man,” starring Dustin Hoffman. The first one he recommended, a couple of weeks ago, was “O Brother, Where Art Thou,” starring George Clooney , Charles Durning and John Goodman.
2. Xander’s newest ArtExplained YouTube posting has 3,000 likes and counting.
3. Shannon has completed the probationary period for his new role at work.

Literary News

1. Tim Curry, a British actor, passed away this week. In addition to acting on stage and in movies, he also read several audio books.
2. Dolly Parton, a country singer and lyrist also passed away this week.

Schedule

Sept. 3
Robyn
Aime
Shannon

Sept. 10
Dylan
Robyn
open slot

Sept. 17
Ben L.
open slots

Keep Writing!
Robyn

We will meet at someone’s home at 7 pm, and the address will be in the distribution email. Use the contact form if you need me to add you to the distribution.

Discord and Meetups for Noble Pen

The Discord app provides another way for us to discuss. If you want to check it out, ask for an invitation link that will let you join. Also look for Creative Writing on Meetups.com for Cedar Rapids and make us look active there.

Writing Victories

1. David is writing new material.
2. Robyn has her first trivia ebook up for sale on Amazon. It is the first in a series she is planning, and covers early tv shows of the 1950’s “I Love Lucy,” “Father Knows Best,” “Leave it to Beaver,” “The Donna Reed Show,” and “The Dick Van Dyke Show.” It will also be available as a paperback on Amazon soon, as well as sold on other platforms.
3. Aime has been paid for the graphic novel she wrote the manuscript for, and also received a royalty check from Barnes and Noble. It wasn’t huge: less than $4.00.

Reading Victories

1. Robyn is reading “The Making of a King” by Robert Hard, regarding King Charles III. It is the third book about British Royalty she’s read this year, and is planning on reading three more. Yes, she’s a little obsessed with them.

Personal Victories

1. No one has filed to run against Aime for her second term in the Iowa House of Representatives.
2. Dylan pushed out a new version of one of his personal computer programs and is very pleased with it. It’s one he uses often.
3. Dylan’s most recent vacation to Wisconsin was less than a success. As he and his family were driving up to their cabin, one of his tires blew out in the hills. It took nearly three days before the repair service realized it needed to be replaced and got the job done. Then the septic system at the cabin failed and caused further problems.

Literary News

Schedule

Aug. 27
Robyn
David
Dylan

Sept. 3
Robyn
Aime
open slot

Sept. 10
open slots

Sept. 17
Ben L.
open slots

Keep Writing!
Robyn

We will meet at someone’s home at 7 pm, and the address will be in the distribution email. Use the contact form if you need me to add you to the distribution.

Discord and Meetups for Noble Pen

The Discord app provides another way for us to discuss. If you want to check it out, ask for an invitation link that will let you join. Also look for Creative Writing on Meetups.com for Cedar Rapids and make us look active there.

Writing Victories

1. Ciuin and Jeff have a shared victory. Jeff critiqued Ciuin’s entire “Chess Master’s Pawn” manuscript and sent her his comments.

Reading Victories

1. Jeff finished “Brave New World” by Aldous Huxley and thought worth the read, though it did start slowly. It was an accurate portrayal of human nature, and he certainly sympathized with John, the savage character not fitting into either world he lived in. Because there were lots of references to Shakespeare, Jeff also listened to “MacBeth” and explored why Shakespeare is difficult for modern readers to grasp. He’s now completed his self-challenge of reading twelve classics this year, and plans to continue reading a few more.

Personal Victories

Literary News

Schedule

Aug. 20
Ben L
Dylan
Jeff

Aug. 27
Robyn
David
open slot

Sept. 3
Robyn
open slots

Keep Writing!
Robyn

We will meet at someone’s home at 7 pm, and the address will be in the distribution email. Use the contact form if you need me to add you to the distribution.

Discord and Meetups for Noble Pen

The Discord app provides another way for us to discuss. If you want to check it out, ask for an invitation link that will let you join. Also look for Creative Writing on Meetups.com for Cedar Rapids and make us look active there.

Writing Victories

1. David received serious kudos, from Ciuin, for his world-building skills.
2. David, on his submission this week, received the coveted smiley face from Bill.

Reading Victories

1. Jeff is reading “Brave New World” by Aldous Huxley.
2. David is listening to “Lord of the Rings” by J. R. R. Tolkien, and is impressed with the narration of Andy Serkis. Serkis was also the actor for the role of Sméagol / Gollum in the Peter Jackson films.

Personal Victories

1. Bill gave a favorable movie review for a film that is less than twenty years old. However, we were so shocked that no one remembers what movie it was….lol

Literary News

Schedule

Aug. 13
Robyn
Shannon
Aime

Aug. 20
Ben L
Dylan
Jeff

Aug. 27
Robyn
David
open slot

Keep Writing!
Robyn

We will meet at someone’s home at 7 pm, and the address will be in the distribution email. Use the contact form if you need me to add you to the distribution.

Discord and Meetups for Noble Pen

The Discord app provides another way for us to discuss. If you want to check it out, ask for an invitation link that will let you join. Also look for Creative Writing on Meetups.com for Cedar Rapids and make us look active there.

Writing Victories

1. Ciuin has decided to put much more history in her vampire novels.
2. Ciuin outlined a completely new book, in a new genre. She’ll be working on it after she completes “Bishop’s Decoy,” her current project.

Reading Victories

1. Jeff finished “Heart of Darkness” by Joseph Conrad and liked it a lot. It is the eleventh classic novel in his personal challenge to read twelve classics this year. He will most likely continue even after the next one.

Personal Victories

1. Aime is looking for a job and had an interview this past week.
2. David applied to the Hiawatha Library for a part-time position, but hasn’t heard back. He believes they filled it internally because it’s no longer posted.

Literary News

Schedule

Aug. 6
Jeff
David
Robyn

Aug. 13
Robyn
Shannon
Aime

Aug. 20
Ben L
Dylan
Jeff

Aug. 27
Robyn
open slots

Keep Writing!
Robyn

We will meet at someone’s home at 7 pm, and the address will be in the distribution email. Use the contact form if you need me to add you to the distribution.

Discord and Meetups for Noble Pen

The Discord app provides another way for us to discuss. If you want to check it out, ask for an invitation link that will let you join. Also look for Creative Writing on Meetups.com for Cedar Rapids and make us look active there.

Writing Victories

1. Shannon wrote more on “Underground Blends,” his sequel to “Medium Roast.”
2. Dylan rewrote a recent chapter of “Allegro.”
3. Ben L. submitted for the first time on July 16, coming back even after his critique, and submitting more!
4. Ciuin outlined a new scene for “Bishop’s Decoy.”

Reading Victories

Personal Victories

1. Bill and his wife, Karen, are at their annual dulcimer festival, this year in Michigan.

Literary News

1. Joey Castillo, the founder of Oddly Specific Objects, has released his five-year-project Open Book Touch, an innovative e-reader. It aims to provide a buttonless, open hardware alternative to traditional e-readers like the Kindle. Castillo is known for crafting open-source gadgets.

Schedule

July 23
Shannon
Jeff
Dylan

July 30
Robyn
Shannon
Aime

Aug. 6
Robyn
open slots

Aug. 13
open slots

Aug. 20
Ben L.
open slots
Robyn

Keep Writing!
Robyn

We will meet at someone’s home at 7 pm, and the address will be in the distribution email. Use the contact form if you need me to add you to the distribution.

Discord and Meetups for Noble Pen

The Discord app provides another way for us to discuss. If you want to check it out, ask for an invitation link that will let you join. Also look for Creative Writing on Meetups.com for Cedar Rapids and make us look active there.

Writing Victories

1. Shannon has written 45,000 on “Underground Blends,” his sequel to “Medium Roast.”
2. Dylan changed the background of his website to dark grey, which demanded all sorts of complicated steps, including writing a new program.

Reading Victories

1. Jeff finished “Jane Eyre,” by Charlotte Bronte. He found it much enjoyable than “Wuthering Heights” (by Charlotte’s sister Emily Bronte). He did find Mr. Rochester a bit suspect when he hid his wife, but promised to marry Jane. And perhaps Jane’s judgement questionable…still, Jeff found Charlotte’s novel preferable to Emily’s.

Personal Victories

1. Bill’s wife, Karen, has moved from treatments every week to every other week. Her health is definitely improving!

Literary News

Schedule

July 16
Ben L.
Aime
Robyn

July 23
Shannon
Jeff
Dylan

July 30
Robyn
open slots

Keep Writing!
Robyn

We will meet at someone’s home at 7 pm, and the address will be in the distribution email. Use the contact form if you need me to add you to the distribution.

Discord and Meetups for Noble Pen

The Discord app provides another way for us to discuss. If you want to check it out, ask for an invitation link that will let you join. Also look for Creative Writing on Meetups.com for Cedar Rapids and make us look active there.

Writing Victories

1. Aime recorded a podcast about her graphic novel, which is part of an anthology; is officially a Harvard alumni after completing a three-week course on leadership; and did some writing this week.
2. Shannon rewrote four chapters and revised his outline for the fourth time.
3. Ciuin deleted many old writing files in order to clean up her hard drive.

Reading Victories

1. Xander is reading “Storyworthy: Engage, Teach, Persuade, and Change Your Life through the Power of Storytelling”
by Matthew Dicks and Dan Kennedy.

Personal Victories

Literary News

Schedule

July 9
Jeff
Xander
Dylan

July 16
Ben Linn
Aime
Robyn

July 23
Shannon
open slots

Keep Writing!
Robyn

We will meet at someone’s home at 7 pm, and the address will be in the distribution email. Use the contact form if you need me to add you to the distribution.

Discord and Meetups for Noble Pen

The Discord app provides another way for us to discuss. If you want to check it out, ask for an invitation link that will let you join. Also look for Creative Writing on Meetups.com for Cedar Rapids and make us look active there.

Writing Victories

1. Shannon had an anti-victory. The anthology he submitted two pieces to will not be going to publication as they didn’t have enough material. The magazine has traditionally be associated with the local ICON sci-fi convention which has an aging demographic and less interest in recent years..

Reading Victories

Personal Victories

Literary News

1. Jane Yolen, author of 450 books, died on Thursday, June 11. She began her career in 1963 with “Pirates in Petticoats” and was best known for her award-winning Holocaust novella “The Devil’s Arithmetic.” Her final, 450th book, “Terror Birds,” will be released posthumously on July 14.
2. Marjane Satrapi, a French-Iranian author, illustrator, director and activist has died aged 56. She was best known for her graphic novel series and film “Persepolis.”

Schedule

July 2
Jered
David
Robyn

July 9
Jeff
Xander
Dylan

July 9
Ben Linn
open slots

Keep Writing!
Robyn