Next Noble Pen Meeting

July 19th, 2018 at 7 pm

Scott’s Family Restaurant

1906 Blairs Ferry Rd NE, Cedar Rapids

News

An article discusses how romance novels have tended to ignore ethnic diversity and people with disabilities, and recent developments that widen their view.

Victories

Randy has the cover for his book, now showing the whole coffin.  He got the results back from the editor in record time.

Ciuin wrote on Chessmaster and killed a vampire.  She sold a book at the bake shop.

Nick wrote a train report.

Aime was contacted by an outfit wanting her to buy advertising for her book.

Stacie is researching humor to find what might work in her so-serious book.

Education

Sometimes you may try to write and nothing happens.  Writer’s block.  Here are some tips for getting around it.  The key is to get around it, not through it.  Don’t just stare at the page or re-write the same sentence hoping it will get better.  Do something different, whether it is to change method, location, subject, or incentive.  Write another part of the story instead.

Don’t mistake distraction for writer’s block.  If you are constantly being interrupted by messages, turn off your phone or unplug your router (Last time I checked this was NOT a crime).   There are phone apps that will disable F*ceb**k and Messanger for a prescribed length of time.

Also, don’t demand that your output be perfect.  Just write something and know you can improve it later.  Charlie Jane Anders discusses several types of block and how to deal with them in an article that also has some cool pictures.

It’s hard to find words to describe writer’s block. ~unknown

Writer’s block – when your imaginary friends won’t talk to you. ~unknown

If I waited for perfection, I would never write a word. ~Margaret Atwood

Upcoming Schedule

Jul 12
Uriah
Logan
Aime

Jul 19
Ciuin
Stacie
Logan

Jul 26
Uriah
Aime
Ciuin

Aug 2
Nick
Open slots

Aug 9
Open slots

Aug 16
Open slots

Keep Writing,
Bill

Next Noble Pen Meeting

July 12th, 2018 at 7 pm

Scott’s Family Restaurant

1906 Blairs Ferry Rd NE, Cedar Rapids

News

Award-winning SF author Harlan Ellison (wikipedia) died recently at age 84.  He wrote over 1700 works, including short stories, novellas, episodes for Twilight Zone, Outer Limits, and Star Trek, and films scripts. He was sometimes called “America’s weird uncle” because of his outspoken and contentious personality and the unusual situations and portrayals in his stories.  Here’s a remembrance.

Victories

Randy did a local signing, which was a very limited success.

Education

If you self-publish, you are responsible for the “cover” art, which you hope will have entice people to buy, whether print or ebook.  There is lots of advice on line.  You can find cover-builders on line, suchas this one or this one that will let you upload images or sell you theirs.  This site shows covers that they think don’t do a good job of selling.  Some of the titles could be improved, too.  See what you think.  And here’s another collection of questionable book covers.

The “blurb” testimonials usually seen on the back covers of books are a common marketing device, intended to convince the reader that other people think it is a book worth reading.   The word blurb was coined in 1907.  A search for the terms blurb request will find many articles about getting people to help you by writing them.

Noelle Sterne has some thoughts about gathering testimonials.  Here’s another view, saying the blurbs are a small factor in readers choices but still worthwhile.  Best-selling authors get too many requests to comply unless you have some  connection to them.  More advice on requesting a blurb.

Upcoming Schedule

Jul 12
Uriah
Logan
Aime

Jul 19
Ciuin
Stacie
Logan

Jul 26
Open slots

Aug 2
Nick
Open slots

Aug 9
Open slots

Keep Writing,
Bill

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

Next Noble Pen Meeting

May 31st, 2018 at 7 pm

Scott’s Family Restaurant

1906 Blairs Ferry Rd NE, Cedar Rapids

News

Philip Roth (wikipedia) died recently at age 85.  He is remembered for Portnoy’s Complaint and Goodbye Columbus, among over 30 works.

Victories

Randy gathered experiential material about pickpockets for a future book.

Ciuin sold Petty Theft at an event and a lady who read some while waiting liked it.

Education

We’ve all been told to “show, not tell.” This is good advice for most people when they start writing, as the natural tendency is to summarize too much.  Wikipedia has a short article on it. Chuck Palahniuk is more extreme than most on this point and suggests that even “thought” and “remembered” are too much tell.

It is probably not sufficient scene-setting to tell that a room is elegant. You need to show enough details (thick maroon carpet, heavy drapes, flower arrangements, or leather armchairs?) to let the reader see the room.  Don’t tell us an interviewee is nervous; show them fidgeting in the chair, twisting the pen in their fingers, and stammering their answers.

If your character is making a rushed and bad important decision because she is tired and hasn’t eaten all day, so she wants to leave to get to the restaurant, then a few words about lack of sleep, exhaustion, rumbles, and the gnawing feeling in her stomach may be in order to show and emphasize her distraction. Ideally those words would be interspersed with dialog as she talks about the decision.

But you need to balance show and tell with some sense of how important those facts are.  Showing can get long and boring if you take too many words to demonstrate something that isn’t terribly important.  Here’s more on balance. If your character just needs to be in the restaurant in order to bump into another character, it may be sufficient to tell that she is tired and hungry, and not spend a paragraph describing her symptoms.

In showing important things, you should usually not interpret them for the reader (doing both show and tell),  Nor should you dwell too much about their importance, but try to make those facts a natural part of the scene. Here’s a good discussion of effective use of show versus tell

Upcoming Schedule

May 31
Jeremiah
Logan
Uriah

Jun 7
Laura
Nick
Randy

Jun 14
Ciuin
Aime
Open slot

Jun 21
Open slots

Jun 28
Open slots

Keep Writing,
Bill

Next Noble Pen Meeting

May 24th, 2018 at 7 pm

Scott’s Family Restaurant

1906 Blairs Ferry Rd NE, Cedar Rapids

News

Author Tom Wolfe died last week at age 88. He had a career in journalism, wrote nonfiction, and some fiction.  He published at least fifteen books, including The Right Stuff.  Here’s a republished interview.

Victories

Uriah got an A on a ten-page school paper.

Education

How do you pick the title of your novel?  If you go through a traditional publishing house, you probably don’t.  The marketing department will pick the title, replacing your working title.  If you use a smaller house you may have some say in it, and if you are independent it is all up to you.

Here’s some advice on ways to come up with a title.  This post suggests brainstorming methods.  Here is more advice.  You probably should have alternative titles and ask as many people as possible which ones are most likely to catch their interest.

Your title should be distinctive but not distracting and somehow connected to your story and genre.  You should search for similar titles and avoid any that will get confused with a classic or appear to be riding the the tails of a currently popular book, movie, or song.  It is not smart to name your book The Games of Hunger.  On the other hand, it is permissible to use a title that already exists, and this happens frequently.  Titles have little legal protection, and if the other book(s) is/are relatively unknown and not similar you are probably okay.

Upcoming Schedule

May 24
Ciuin
Uriah
Aime

May 31
Jeremiah
Laura
Uriah

Jun 7
Logan
Nick
Open slot

Jun 14
Open slots

Jun 21
Open slots

Keep Writing,
Bill

Next Noble Pen Meeting

May 17th, 2018 at 7 pm

Scott’s Family Restaurant

1906 Blairs Ferry Rd NE, Cedar Rapids

News

We have room on the upcoming schedule for more submissions.  Let me know if you have material ready.

–//–

Ciuin has arranged with a bake shop in northern CR to have them display and sell books by Noble Pen authors.  Ask her for details.

–//–

The committee for the Nobel Prize in Literature will not be awarding one in 2018 because a scandal has led too many members to resign.  Interestingly, they cannot be replaced until they die and thus an impasse occurs.

Victories

Aime has identified how the Democracy story will end.

Ciuin wrote the trial, result of trial, and ending of her battle scene in Chessmaster but has a lot to do on the battle itself.

Nick has beta readers for some of his stories.

Education

Some people advise all cliché phrases are to be “avoided like the plague.”  See Wikipedia discussion.  Writer’s Digest offers a short list of overused phrases.  Here’s a list of 681 clichéd phrases.

I’m not so sensitive to them as to ban their whole list, and feel an occasional one can serve a purpose.  I see nothing wrong with “benefit of the doubt,” for instance, and wouldn’t object to occasional use of “ace in the hole”, “all in a day’s work”, or “crash course.”  However, “drives me up the wall” tends to do so, I’ve seen pancakes that weren’t “flat as a pancake,” and I’ve never seen a real “loose cannon.”

–//–

Backups are vital.   Someday you will need one when you are least prepared. What is the state of your backups if you had a crash RIGHT NOW?

Some people consider it necessary to have at least three copies of any important work, such as on the working computer, on a flash drive, and on a cloud storage service like Dropbox (read about)(sign up with referral link instead for more free storage).  If you burn CDs or DVDs that can be another option.  You could substitute more flash drives for the cloud service.  A good scheme is to have two or more and rotate which one you update in case you overwrite a version you wanted.

I find it useful to make a copy of the project file now and then with the date inserted into the file name, as  MyBook2018_05_17.doc so that I can go back and look at prior versions (the cloud may only keep old versions for a limited time).

If you know how to use batch files or command lines, this line is handy, with appropriate drive letter and folder name in place of those shown:
xcopy c:\MyBook e:\MyBook\ /D /S /R /I /Y
It will copy any newer-dated or additional files and only those files, from that folder and its subfolders to the other drive.  If the folder has blanks in its name, you must enclose the name in double quotes.  Windows should have made it easy to do this kind of copy, but didn’t.

Upcoming Schedule

May 17
Logan
Aime
Uriah (revised submission)

May 24
Ciuin
Open slots

May 31
Jeremiah
Open slots

Jun 7
Logan
Nick
Open slot

Jun 14
Open slots

Keep Writing,
Bill