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. Dyland wrote 7,000 words on his current commission project.
2. Adriana already has her two pages written for our use-three-words exercise for this week.
3. I did a significant amount of world building for my “Peter and the Dragon” middle grade series I plan to write.

Reading Victories

Jeff finished reading “Hail Mary” and has started “The Invisible Live of Addie LaRue.”

Literary News

Brandon Sanderson is writing the screenplay to his “Misborn” books for Apple TV+.

Feb 12
Everyone is invited to submit 1-2 pages using the following three, unrelated words: tooth, centennial, and disturbance. We are doing this as a fun exercise. The point is not to critique, but to explore the writing process we each have and stretch our creative brains a bit. The group did this last fall and had a lot of fun with it. The words were chosen by Adriana’s daughters off of a Christmas word wreath they had.

Feb 19
David
Ciuin
Robyn

Feb 26
Jeff
Enzo
Ted

Mar 5
Robyn
open slots

Mar 12
open slots

Mar 19
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.

Victories

1. Dylan started writing on the commissioned project he was awarded.
2. Jeff is currently reading “Hail Mary Project,” which is currently being filmed. He has set a goal of reading twelve books this year. However, he has to be careful what he choses because he’s found it affects his own writing.
3. Adriana is nine movies in to her goal of watching 100 of them in 2026.

Feb 5
Jeff
Dylan
Ciuin

Feb 12
Everyone may submit, using three words listed in the email

Feb 19
open slots

Feb 26
open slots

Mar 5
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.

Victories

Jan 29
Robyn
Dylan
open slot

Feb 5
Jeff
open slots

Feb 12
open slots

Feb 19
open slots

Feb 26
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.

Victories

There probably were some, but not listed.
Jan 22
Dylan
Jeff
Robyn

Jan 29
Robyn
Dylan
open slot

Feb 5
Jeff
open slots

Feb 12
open slots

Feb 19
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.

Victories

1. Aime wrote 6,000 words on a new project: a comic book. She’s submitting it to a contest and if she’s selected, she’ll work with an illustrator to complete the project and be paid.
2. Jeff completed reading “Anna Karenina,” “Les Miserable,” and “The Scarlet Letter” over the break.
3. David has resolved to finish his novel this year.

Jan 15
Aime
Xander
Robyn

Jan 29
Jeff
Ciuin
open spot

Feb 5
open slots

Feb 12
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.

Victories

We’re celebrating several victories this week!
1. Xander finally got rid of his outdated desktop computer, replaced it with a laptop, and now has a dedicated writing space. To celebrate his new found freedom, he did his critiques digitally this week.
2. Ted got his Christmas letters out.
3. Dylan bagged a commission for a fan fiction piece-anime from the 1980’s-for about 10,000 words. It will earn him roughly $1,000.
4. Robyn pulled out a middle grade book she finished about four years ago, refreshed it, and plans to have it up on Amazon by the end of February. It is designed to be a chapter series featuring a host of forest critters. The first book introduces an owl family.

We also have several pieces of literary news.
1. Amazon has been publishing more and more books written completely by AI and many authors are pushing back, unhappy with that trend.
2. Bill is finding that much AI-created content in newsfeeds and specifically YouTube are not accurate. His caution is to always check any facts AI presents the reader with.
3. Xander read that non-fiction sales are in a slump for the first time in a decade. Part of that is due to podcasts, which are free, as opposed to books, which cost. The other reason is that people, in general, are looking for escapism. Therefore, fiction markets are expanding. Good for us fiction writers! Romance, historically the biggest sellers, continues to gain traction.

HAPPY HOLIDAYS, EVERYONE!

Schedule

Jan 8
Aime
David
Jeff

Jan 15
Aime
Xander
Robyn

Jan 22
open slots

Jan 29
open slots

Feb 5
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.

Victories

We avoided potential catastrophe by not driving in the snow.

Schedule

Dec. 18
Ted
Dylan
Xander

Dec 25
Christmas-No meeting

Jan 1
New Year Day – No meeting

Jan 8
Aime
David
Jeff

Jan 15
Aime
Xander
open slot

Keep Writing,
Robyn

This meeting was canceled due to snow, and the schedule bumped down.

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.

Victories

Xander’s book on Kindle has received over a million page reads.
Ciuin received notes on Petty Theft from two readers.
Aime learned that a friend’s kids were asking their dad why he wasn’t published like Aime.

Schedule

Dec. 11
Ted
Dylan
Xander

Dec. 18
Aime
David
Jeff

Dec 25
Christmas-No meeting

Jan 1
New Year Day – No meeting

Jan 8
Aime
Xander
open slot

Keep Writing,
Bill

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.

Victories

The archeologist Bill sent his article to (regarding where Chief Blackhawk was buried) said she’d read it in a couple of weeks. However, he’s already heard back from her and she’s provided another source for him to explore.

Schedule

Dec. 4
Ben S.
Robyn
Aime

Dec. 11
Ted
Dylan
Xander

Dec. 18
Aime
David
Jeff

Dec 25
Christmas-No meeting

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.

Victories

Bill sent his research paper on the location of Chief Blackhawk’s burial spot to the archeologist who inspired him to write it. She agreed to read it and provide feedback.

Amie wrote several pieces of legislation, and an editorial that pissed people off.

Schedule

Nov 20
Jeff
Dylan
Enzo

Nov 27
Thanksgiving-no meeting

Dec. 4
Ben S.
Robyn
Aime

Dec. 11
Ted
Dylan
Xander

Dec 18
Aime
David
open slot

Keep writing!
Robyn