Noble Pen Meeting

January 27th, 2011
Scott’s Family Restaurant
1906 Blairs Ferry Rd NE, Cedar Rapids

A cut from the cloth of the Kennedy’s
Frank Sinatra having dinner with the Genovese
This is the genesis of a nemesis
Mother America’s not witnessing

-Jay-Z, “Pray”

Victories

Dylan never heard back from an anthology he submitted to, but he’s considering the lack of his name in the Table of Contents to be a clue.

Aoife’s Kiss is now 50,000 words. Tyree is still unemployed. If you call being the managing editor of a small press unemployed, which, lets be honest, most people probably do.

News

NPRs Ira Glass talks about storytelling. One thing I found interesting: instead of using the words “Scene” and “Summary,” he uses “Anecdote” and “Reflection.”

Ricky Gervais said something profound about comedy which relates to writing in general. “You do your own thing, and then you see if you survive…if you’re trying to change it to make people like you, you’re finished.”

Upcoming Schedule

January 27th
(4) Shannon
(4) Ciuin
Something Educational — I guess I got this one.

Feb 3rd
(5) Nick
(5) Mark
(5) Shannon

Feb 10th
(5) Kris
(5) Tony
(5) Kelly

Feb 17th
(6) Tyree
(6) Kris
(6) Bob

Feb 24th
(6) Dylan
(6) Bill
(6) Shannon

March 1st
(6) Ciuin
(6) Mark
(6) Nick

Keep Writing, Penites.

Shannon

Noble Pen Meeting

January 20th, 2011
Scott’s Family Restaurant
1906 Blairs Ferry Rd NE, Cedar Rapids

From the air, Vatican City looked like a marble Monopoly set. The Church owned all the property from Broadwalk to Illinois Avenue, had three hotels on every lot, and no matter how often it tossed the dice you just knew it would never land on Go to Jail, it would be forever passing Go and collecting $200.

-Tom Robbins, Another Roadside Attraction

Victories

Tyree quit his day job to do more writing. This will no doubt lead to human sacrifice, dogs and cats living together, and mass hysteria.

Ciuin has been invited to lecture in Rome. These are methods she might use to get there.

News

A long and bitter article about how many spaces go after a sentence. If you don’t want to read it, the answer is one.

Agent Mary Kole writes about the role of agents in the digital age.

This site can tell you the bestsellers from the week you were born (year you were born if before 1950). Take note that they use European date style day-month-year.

Upcoming Schedule

January 20th
(4) Tyree
(4) Mark
(4) Kris

January 27th
(4) Shannon
(4) Ciuin
Something Educational — Volunteer?

Feb 3rd
(5) Nick
(5) Mark
(5) Shannon

Feb 10th
(5) Kris
(5) Tony
(5) Kelly

Keep Writing, Penites.

Shannon

Noble Pen Meeting

January 13th, 2011
Scott’s Family Restaurant
1906 Blairs Ferry Rd NE, Cedar Rapids

Mmmmm, I’m really diggin your lips
but be careful where you walkin when you’re swing them hips.
I’m kinda concerned you’ll be causin a crash
with your traffic jam booty, heads pausin so fast

-Ludacris, “Pimping All Over The World”

Victories

Ciuin’s author friend has suggested she become a professional author harasser. They are considering an SBA loan which will be reinvested to make Ciuin 10% more distressing.

Kelly actually wrote the piece we’re going to review this week. I am considering having Ciuin give her a stern look.

News

From Nina D’Angelo, A Writer’s Perspective on Writers.

Geoffrey Pullum, head of Linguistics and English at the University of Edinburgh, writes about why The Elements of Style is dumb. Okay, this isn’t really news, because it was written in August of 2009. However, it’s a good read, and well worth your time.

Upcoming Schedule

January 13th

(3) Kelly
(3) Tyree
(4) Dave Shannon

January 20th
(4) Tyree
(4) Mark
(4) Kris

January 27th
(4) Shannon
(4) Ciuin
Something Educational — Volunteer?

Feb 3rd
(5) Nick
(5) Mark
(5) Shannon

Feb 10th
(5) Kris
(5) Tony
(5) Kelly

Keep Writing, Penites.

Shannon

Noble Pen Meeting

January 6th, 2011
Scott’s Family Restaurant
1906 Blairs Ferry Rd NE, Cedar Rapids

Richie Cunningham: A shark? That is the *stupidest* thing I have ever heard!

Fonzie: Stupid, yes. Also dumb. But it is something I’ve gotta do.

Richie Cunningham: Fonz, you’re not jumping over garbage cans on a bike. You’re jumping over a shark. On nothing! On a couple of little skis! One little slip and chomp! Chomp! Chomp!

Fonzie: Thanks a lot for your support. Look, I was challenged. I gotta jump.

—Happy Days, “Hollywood: Part 3”

Victories

Like ghosts of Christmas past, George and Ron stopped by.

Tyree kicked out 20,000 words this week on a new fantasy novel. This makes me feel quite inadequate, as I’ve just thrown away 10,000 words written over the last 2 weeks.

Tony is ready for his Chapter Five critique, which given the chaos of his life, counts as a major victory.

Ciuin continues to make the rest of us look like slackers. She made Honor Roll again. She is also taking creative writing in the spring. Hopefully, she can teach them something.

News

From Michael Chabon: How to salvage a wrecked novel.

An interesting perspective by Josh Olson.

Upcoming Schedule

January 6th

(3) Kris
(4) Nick
Educational Bit — Ciuin

January 13th
(3) Kelly
(3) Tyree
(4) Dave Shannon

January 20th
(4) Tyree
(4) Mark
(4) Kris

January 27th
(4) Shannon
(4) Ciuin
Something Educational — Volunteer?

Feb 3rd
(5) Nick
(5) Mark
(5) Shannon

Feb 10th
(5) Kris
(5) Tony
(5) Kelly

Keep Writing, Penites.

Shannon

And without further ado:

THE SHARK JUMP

Noble Pen Meeting

December 30th, 2010
Scott’s Family Restaurant
1906 Blairs Ferry Rd NE, Cedar Rapids

Christmas crept into Pine Cove like a creeping Christmas thing: dragging garland, ribbon, and sleigh bells, oozing eggnog, reeking of pine, and threatening festive doom like a cold sore under the mistletoe.
–Christopher Moore, The Stupidest Angel.

Victories

Keith joined us.

Ciuin has a gratis editor as long as she can spend a month hounding the poor woman.

Tony’s done his homework for next time, finishing Chapter Seven with a plum. Well, maybe with a plum. I don’t really know what he snacks on.

I’ve started a novel about drunk ghost hunters. I am researching heavily.

News

CONTEST: Convozine has a “Notes From Tomorrow” contest, taking submissions until Dec. 31st.

A peevish editor shares his 10 top peeves.

A nice list of blogs for writers.

Upcoming Schedule

December 30th
(3) Tony
(3) Shannon
(3) Bob

January 6th
(3) Kris
(4) Nick
Educational Bit — Volunteer?

January 13th
(3) Kelly
(3) Tyree
(4) Dave

January 20th
(4) Tyree
(4) Mark
(4) Kris

January 27th
(4) Shannon
(4) Ciuin
Something Educational — Volunteer?

Feb 3rd
(5) Nick
(5) Mark
(5) Shannon

Feb 10th
(5) Kris
(5) Tony
(5) Kelly

Keep Writing, Penites.

Shannon

Noble Pen Meeting

December 16th, 2010
Scott’s Family Restaurant
1906 Blairs Ferry Rd NE, Cedar Rapids

The seat received him in a loose and distant kind of way, like an aunt who disapproves of the last fifteen years of your life and will therefore furnish you with a basic sherry, but refuses to catch your eye.
–Douglas Adams, Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency.

Victories

Dylan got invited to an informal writer’s get-together in Paris. He didn’t mention whether it was Paris France or Paris Illinois.

I finished my rough re-write of Fangs, coming in at around 65,000 words. I am currently using it to blackmail Tony Blair.

Tyree re-opened a book he hand’t worked on in ten years. Hopefully he’s learned something in that time.

Tony finished an entire chapter in 2.5 days. The chapter is also being used to blackmail Tony Blair, but in an entirely different way.

News

Health.com says writing may be hazardous to your health. What it only causes tons of stress while encouraging you to sit in a chair for hours at a time.

Here is a video about how the New York Times Bestseller list works.

Oh no. It looks like Borders may be circling the drain.

Upcoming Schedule

December 16th
(3) Nick
(3) Ciuin
(3) Mark

December 23rd – Off.

December 30th
(3) Tony
(3) Shannon
(3) Bob

January 6th
(3) Kris
(4) Nick
Educational Bit — Volunteer?

January 13th
(3) Kelly
(3) Tyree
(4) Dave

January 20th
(4) Tyree
(4) Mark
(4) Kris

January 27th
(4) Shannon
(4) Ciuin
Something Educational — Volunteer?

Keep Writing, Penites.

Shannon

Noble Pen Meeting

December 9th, 2010
Scott’s Family Restaurant
1906 Blairs Ferry Rd NE, Cedar Rapids

Rimmer: Step up to Red Alert!

Kryten: Sir, are you absolutely sure? It does mean changing the bulb.

–Grant Naylor, Red Dwarf

Victories

Tyree and one of his editors have put together 10 pages of notes on a new story called “Till the Poles Shift,” about a religious sect who believe the dead will rise in 2012, but apparently, only the Polish ones.

Artsiest Initiative contacted Ciuin about putting together a Holocaust display for a museum in Great Britain (see map).

News

Savannah J. Foley wrote an interesting article about the gulf between beginning and published authors.

Natalie Whipple writes about the pain of the submission process. The article is so good, I started reading it and almost forgot to send out this post.

Upcoming Schedule

December 9th
(2) Tyree
(2) Dave
(2) Tony

December 16th
(3) Nick
(3) Ciuin
(3) Mark

December 23rd – Off.

December 30th
(3) Tony
(3) Shannon
(3) Bob

January 6th
(3) Kris
(4) Nick
Educational Bit — Volunteer?

January 13th
(3) Kelly
(3) Tyree
(4) Dave

January 20th
(4) Tyree
(4) Mark
(4) Kris

January 27th
(4) Shannon
(4) Ciuin

Keep Writing, Penites.

Shannon

Noble Pen Meeting

December 2nd, 2010
Scott’s Family Restaurant
1906 Blairs Ferry Rd NE, Cedar Rapids

Talk about getting lost! Wallace Jefferson and Louis Hayes, both negroes, have wandered all the way to the moon!

The hapless pair entered lunar orbit late yesterday afternoon and finally landed on the surface of the moon several hours later. They plan to return later this week.

The incident is not a total tragedy. “We may want to talk with these negroes,” said NASA mission commander Deke Slayton. “Their mishap may just help us in our goal to land a man on the moon by the end of the decade.”

—The Old Negro Space Program

Victories

CJ checked up out and may join the group when he has more time in the summer.

Tony’s Rouge Musician got rejected by Asimov’s, but what do they know? Actually, probably quite a bit.

Dylan got a critique for a short story for which he has been waiting for 10 months. Next time, he’s shooting for 12.

Ciuin is writing for the Artsiest Initiative against Romaphobia and anti-Tziganism. She will be helping with design and writing for their WWII holocaust website. In other news, I learned three new words today.

Six Noble Pen members submitted pieces to the Drabble contest.

News

J. N. Duncan has learned that people don’t always read the books they review on Amazon. Next, he’ll be telling me people don’t really like Bristol Palin’s dancing.

Blah, blah, blah, e-readers, blah, blah.

Upcoming Schedule

December 2nd
(2) Shannon
(2) Dylan
Educational- Nick

December 9th
(2) Tyree
(2) Dave
(2) Tony

December 16th
(3) Nick
(3) Ciuin
(3) Mark

December 23rd – Off.

December 30th
(3) Tony
(3) Shannon
(3) Bob

January 6th
(3) Kris
(3) Tyree
Educational Bit — Volunteer?

January 13th
(3) Kelly

Keep Writing, Penites.

Shannon

Noble Pen Meeting

November 18th, 2010
Scott’s Family Restaurant
1906 Blairs Ferry Rd NE, Cedar Rapids

The story began several years ago at the dawn of the twenty-first century. Artemis Fowl had devised a plan to restore his family’s fortune. A plan that could topple civilizations and plunge the planet into a cross-species war.

NaNoWriMo

Is anyone out there Nanoing? If you are, reply to this email with your word count and tell us about your piece.

Victories

Dylan and I attended the ICON Writers Workshop. This was such an honor that two of the people who made it into the workshop failed to show up.

Tyree will be receiving a story from Joe Haldeman for Aoifen’s Kiss. Hopefully it will be as good as Robot Jox.

Ciuine was rejected by an Agent, but will never be by us.

News

Dark Highlands is a new bi-annual journal based in the Quad Cities. They are looking for Horror, Dark Fantasy, and Supernatural. http://www.darkhighlands.com/

Authonomy, a website created by Harper Collins has a ton of writing tips: http://www.authonomy.com/writing-tips/

From a site called “Best College Online” (What?) comes a list of 12 Essential Ted Talks for writers.

From the Onion AV Club, 30 books with fictional authors.

Upcoming Schedule

November 18th
(2) Nick
(2) Bob
(2) Dylan

November 25th – Off for Thanksgiving.

December 2nd
(2) Shannon
(2) Dylan
Educational- Nick

December 9th
(2) Tyree
(2) Dave
(2) Tony

December 16th
(3) Nick
(3) Ciuin
(3) Mark

December 23rd <— Should we meet or bump down?
(3) Tyree
(3) Shannon
(3) Bob

December 30th
(3) Kris
(3) Tony
Educational Bit — Volunteer?

January 6th
(3) Kelly

Keep Writing, Penites.

Shannon

Noble Pen Meeting

November 11th, 2010
Scott’s Family Restaurant
1906 Blairs Ferry Rd NE, Cedar Rapids

Engineers are all basically high-functioning autistics who have no idea how normal people do stuff.

–Cory Doctorow, Little Brother

Victories

George showed up one more time-to get some money owed him.

Dylan finished a commission. I had no idea you could do that with rutabaga.

Ciuin wrote 2000 words in one day, while tap dancing.

Tyree’s lesbian werewolf story will be coming out soon. Pun intended. And he got another story accepted this week.

Housekeeping

I am going to schedule new critiques on November 4th, so if you can’t make the meeting, email me with your request.

News

Be careful what you write about your old coworkers.

I’m going to call that good for news because Cory Doctorow is in town and ICON 35 is going to start in a few hours.

Upcoming Schedule

November 11th
(1)Tyree
(2) Ciuin
(2) Kris

November 18th
(2) Nick
(2) Bob
(2) Dylan

November 25th – Off for Thanksgiving.

December 2nd
(2) Shannon
(2) Dylan
Educational- Nick

December 9th
(2) Tyree
(2) Dave
(2) Tony

December 16th
(3) Nick
(3) Ciuin
(3) Mark

December 23rd <— Should we meet or bump down?
(3) Tyree
(3) Shannon
(3) Bob

December 30th
(3) Kris
(3) Tony
Educational Bit — Volunteer?

January 6th
(3) Kelly

Keep Writing, Penites.

Shannon