Guide to The Smoking Pen Bar and Grill

The Pen has moved to the Roleplaying forum.

The Pen can be confusing even for those of us who have been there since it was opened in 2008 by Kopiluwak. *standing ovation for Kopi* When I suggested a guide for next year, Starshine501 asked if we could have one this year. So here's a beginning. I don't expect to get everything in this first post! Just like the Pen, this will be a group endeavor. Y'all can ask questions and the veterans can answer, and by the end we'll have lots of ideas for what will need to be in next year's guide.

First, here are places you can read previous year's Smoking Pen creations. Each is about novel length.

2008: http://images.dixiegirlsplace.multiply.multiplycontent.com/attachment/0/STTWzwoKCtUAAE@0WKc1/smoking%20pen.pdf?key=dixiegirlsplace:journal:519&nmid=141029408

2009: http://images.dixiegirlsplace.multiply.multiplycontent.com/attachment/0/Tpy@UQooCy0AAHSyU4c1/smoking%20pen%202009.pdf?key=dixiegirlsplace:journal:1579&nmid=493015158

Maybe we'll get the 2010 version up. Eventually.

Next, the posts are a blend of reality and fiction. Each author decides for themselves how they want to participate. We try to get a story line going during October, some mystery or other, that gets solved before Nov 1. I think the delay in the website this year threw off our timing for that.

The characters and participants. This is where it gets confusing, I guess.

Serge was introduced as a barista in 2008 by pteradactyl7 (Steve). I think he'd become the bartender by the end of November that year. He always knows what you want to drink and how you like it prepared. This is because he's telepathic. In the Pen he keeps his mental shields up, blocking 'your' extraneous thoughts. (I think anyone truly telepathic would have to do this in order to stay sane.) Oh, yeah, his name is French (Spanish Sergio, Russian Sergei, French Serge), and his background before coming to the Pen is mostly mystery. We try to keep it that way because it's fun to have a mystery man about the place.

Also in 2008 Serge's identical twin Siggurd was brought in by Kopi. Sig was a con man who preyed on folks who trust Serge. Brucedeuce was his first victim. Sig made a brief reappearance in Dec 2009 and may have been killed off. (Sig didn't have the telepathic abilities and hated Serge.)

Manuel is a chef introduced by Treefrog (Nina) in 2009. He hasn't been around much since Keme came in, but might reappear.

Keme, the red haired Algonquin, was introduced last year (2010) by Kopi. He always knows what you want to eat. Tshah is his sister-in-law, if I remember right. She's the warrior of the family. He made a large batch of Time Tarts for her that were to be used in a special ceremony (never explained) but the tarts were stolen (perp never found).

Willis is one of Treefrog's characters that she brought in, I think in 2009. He's a cute kid and was quickly adopted by us all. He 'escaped' from her novel, preferring to work in the Pen as a barista. This year Serge is training him to work the bar as well.

Woape is new this year and her character hasn't been developed yet. So far we know she gets nervous around Serge and is very creative.

You can view story lines in the Pen as writing challenges. Generally there isn't any planning. Each writer does a small bit, leaving openings for others to follow. We'll pull each other in sometimes. A perfect example of that is this year when Serge started throwing pans in the kitchen. Look how Dixie set me up to deal with it. No, I had no idea that was coming! This sort of thing also played a role in developing the relationship between 'Kat' and Serge. (2009 is when a lot of that happened.) I quickly realized that the real me wasn't going to have a 'relationship' with a fictional character, even though he'd intrigued me from early on. So I developed a fictional 'Kat,' designed specifically to appeal to Serge, based on the idea that he takes care of everyone in the Pen and who's taking care of him???

Okay, that's all I got at the moment.

Questions?

Such a good idea, Kat. Thanks! I tried to draw people in with my lost plot idea, but I guess I didn't do it right. Oh, well. Next time, when I'm no longer a newbie. Here's my 2 cents: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4184192 Hopefully, the link works. It is an NPR interview called The Simple Art of Writing Novels from Nov. 24, 2004 with Chris Baty and the REAL cliff Brooks. Yes, Virginia, there is a Cliff Brooks.

Barb -

don't get discouraged.. There are a couple factors at work here. First, people keep popping in and out (I think most of us still work, so we pop in briefly in the morning, and then again in the evening).Next is the reality that - if someone posts WHILE you're reading, and you do a response, without refreshing (darn, I never remember to refresh), obviously your response will not take their post into consideration. Finally, there are so many of us, at the moment, that it's not possible to follow up on on the little hints, and straight lines. Hmmm... I have one more, so this is the real 'finally'... sometimes, something just hits someone the right way. For example, there was a passing reference to a ukelele string...for some reason that stuck in my head. So on one visit I stepped over it... and in a later visit, I returned it to Dragon. Truly a minor, forgettable point.
It's not a matter of doing it wrong or right, it's just a matter of the factors coming into play in the right way.

And Kat -- thank you for the character list. I'd caught references to Siggurd, but didn't quite get it.. and was a bit fuzzy on a couple things.

But -- you asked for Qs. How about something about Cliff Brooks, and I'll let you decide whether to give a brief word or two about muses, and plot bunnies... and the physical layout of the Pen.

(and thanks for taking on this challenge!)

The Pen has morphed a few times but the basic layout is probably like most real life places where people congregate. From previous years there is a heavily studded entry door that allows entry into a foyer where there is a entry to Kopi's balcony, doors to the restroom, and a hidden doorway to the celler (behind potted palms and plants). When you enter the bar proper, you see various tables in the center, booths line the walls, and the huge maple bar is made form a single tree with a traditional brass rail and has a high sheen. There are patio doors at one end that open to a patio with a pool and hot tubs and beyond this are tennis courts and rolling hills and mountains in the distance.

In theory you can add things but some of us get uncomfortable when the overall structure has changed and we always write it when that happens. LOL, we're creatures of habit I guess.

There are rooms upstairs (Serge lives there) and this year Kopi added more balconies for the writers but there are so many newbies no one caught that. . . yet.

The cellar is vast. There is where all the beverages are kept. Huge vats and dark corridors. Typical mysterious cellar. You can enter the cellar from the secret passage in the foyer or from the typical stairs off the kitchen. The door to the kitchen is in the wall behind the bar.

I forget who put the Cliff Brooks statue in place but it went in the first year. He's a fixture that gets referred to a lot but overall he's just there, and we know he's there. Mountain Bluebird, a first year patron, used his upraised finger as her perch.

We don't know exactly which finger he has raised. No one specifically says.

Cliff Brooks was a challenge that went out. Everyone was to kill him in their novel. Thus the memorial statue was erected for the eternal victim.

Barb, the link works (copied and pasted). I think I heard this when it was broadcast but it was great to hear it again. Especially with that question about Cliff Brooks. Based on what The Cliff Brooks said in that NPR show, someone laughed at a scene in his horror novel, so by the next day he'd introduced that person into his book and killed him off. In response, Cliff was killed off in that person's novel. The info ended up in the forums, and Cliff Brooks became the person to kill off in your novel. I don't remember when his statue was added to the Pen. There's a fan/filter system within the statue so smokers can sit in that area and the smoke won't bother anyone else. Added bonus is the smoke exhausts out of the pen on the roof...

I didn't pick up on the missing plot because I couldn't figure out where to take it. Sorry, Barb, I had a really rough week at work.

To help avoid the issue of the story line moving along while you type your post, I create the post in a word processing document, and refresh the Pen before I post. When it's busy sometimes I have to edit two or three times before I finally get it up.

There's a freight elevator, too, variously located. It's modern, efficient, but makes sounds like it's in an old tenement.

I'm glad the link works. It was fun to listen to. It's also nice to have the description of the Pen in one location, instead of spread out through out the story lines. Thanks, all.

I'm not discouraged or upset that my missing plot thing didn't work out. Maybe a little disappointed, but I took a chance and it didn't work out. I think I got impatient and nervous, so I felt that I needed to end it. Even if it didn't work out the way I had hoped as a little mystery for the Pen, I had fun with it, and that's what writing is to me. Like I said, maybe next year. Oh, noes! Is this the beginning stages of NaNoWriMo Returnitis?

I stopped into the The Pen in 2009 and 2010 but got lost very quickly as people seemed to know each other so well and I had no clue about what had gone on it the past. Both years it didn't take me long to sneak out the door in the dead of night when no one was around.

It continues to be a fascinating place. However, even though I read the new posts every day, I'll continue to lurk outside and peer through the windows from the shadows.

All the writers are awesome and so very entertaining!

I remember you coming in a few times and I think we had a few "drinks". You should just pop back around and sit a spell!

Doug Story asking for the check reminded me! In the Pen we don't pay with money, but with our best efforts to increase our word counts in November.

After reading over the original posts I realized we had the Pen description nailed down pretty quickly and it hasn't changed much. Kopi keeps setting up each year and she is cautious adding things. And we're pretty cautious taking them down! LOL.

Serge was reported to live upstairs and one year events even moved to the cellar and to the upstairs. There was quite a lot that happened in those cellars! So there was expansion but limited.

You mentioned in your first post that these could be viewed as writing challenges. I think that's pretty good. That's what I use them for. I like seeing how I can develop the scene I'm in. If I set one up, I like to see if the next person I put in the scene can develop the scene even further. Sometimes it flops. Sometimes it is extraordinary! One year Kat and I got on such a roll collaborating that we had to actually leave the Pen and set up the Inkwell to develop the story that seemed to explode for us to keep from annoying people! I think we both learned that writing in collaboration is very hard work but that it is also a lot of fun if you can keep your sanity and cooperate. Working together on the story became almost an obsession for us. But I'm sure we both had times when we got annoyed because the other person didn't go the way we wanted. We usually discussed our ideas ahead of time to work these out. But it can be frustrating when two people have different ideas. The Pen shows this clearly.

The best thing to do is follow the lead of the person who started the scene. Sometimes you won't want to enter a scene but may get pulled in. You can write yourself out of it. Or you can try and get a sense of what they are wanting to do. I'll usually pull out if I think a scene is not something I can follow or if it simply doesn't interest me. It isn't personal. I may just have other things going on or I may know nothing about what is happening or I may be simply bored. What I envision may not be what you envision for any scene. That's fine. The Patrons may comment on what they are seeing but generally won't enter a scene until they are sure of the direction it is going or they are invited by the original writer to appear in the scene. I'll usually stand back and watch and assess what I think I should do. Some people simply want to watch the action, commenting here and there but never to be dragged into to another reality. They like sitting in a bar and watching.

You always have to keep in mind that it's all fiction and it is very very different from other forums. It is not a personal diary and not autobiographies. Its a game that develops as you go. To get other writers to participate you've got to be on your toes and get a scene going that has potential for expansion. Sitting at the bar talking about the weather probably won't do that. But, seeing Agatha conspire with a suspicious character while you're sitting at the bar... well, that is something someone can run with. (see the original Smoking Pen to know who Agatha is.) Talking about your novel is all well and good but there isn't much anyone can do with it. So your scene will die in that post. But if your computer was infected with an unknown virus and a screen popped up that said, "Now you'll have more time to spend in the Pen!" That's something someone could get a handle on if they want to play.

I can't remember who but one writer made a statement that said something like this: take something ordinary and something extraordinary and put them together. That's very true of the Pen.

Biggest thing to remember is that this is for fun. Once it is over.... its over. The Pen is Kopi's creation that she shared with us all. Next year, if Kopi sets up the Pen.... it will be all new ideas and players. If she doesn't, we'll all go back to our boring realities. With really fond memories.

Honestly, its all about writing. By November 1, it will slow down a lot and by the 30 it will be over. So enjoy it while it last.

Hang on Kopi - she? Do I get everything wrong? So she hasn't really got a splendid moustache. (I do have an excuse since my laptop fell off my lap the screen is different. (Pass my apologieson to Kopi). (I broke my space bar as well, and i don't always tab back and put spaces where they should be)

Oh Tim... Kat and I saw that! LOL, we just thought you were drunk!

Well.... no harm done.... and a bit of a laugh.

Oh, and Kopi does have a splendid moustace in her avatar but this is the first photo she's ever had up of a person. Even I did a double take. I don't even know if it is Kopi or someone else.

We never told who Simon was and he's been prominent for a while, although he doesn't belong to the Pen exactly.

Simon is a long time friend of Serge. They both "worked" for the same people using their psychic abilities, which are rather extensive. Serge left this employment and Simon stayed. Hey, its good money for a night's work. They have been at odds for a long time but at the end of the day, they're still friends.

He is able to read minds but his best ability is that he is able to enter a person's dreams while they sleep and retrieve information and if needed insert information or misinformation. This ability can mentally disable or kill a person if done incorrectly. He pops into the Pen now and again. He's Dixie's man more or less... its an on again off again relationship.

He doesn't carry or use weapons. He won't kill unless it is necessary and he uses his abilities to do that.

Actually, The Smoking Pen was created towards the end of November 2006 and it originally had recliners with power outlets, wifi and dial-up, a fireplace with a cat named Calumph, the bar - and Serge was known as "Sergei". At some point, he lost the "i". Probably because of BruceDuece. We didn't have age group forums back then, so the Smoking Pen was in the Writing Groups forum as a thread that frequently got lost. It was never stickied that year. I'm surprised anyone found it.

One of the regulars was having issues with her cable guy. He claimed her cats were "vicious" and refused to install her cable. His name was Cliff Brooks, so we all offered to kill him in interesting ways in our NaNos, and shared them with her. She eventually got her cable installed, but not by Cliff Brooks.

There was no real mystery developed that year, it was mostly people playing around and testing the limits. There was a good deal of personal chatter, writing chatter, and lots of intrigue that didn't really go anywhere.

In 2007, the Smoking Pen returned, with Serge and a statue of Cliff Brooks. That year, we added the pool and the pool guy Manuel. The basement also was added, and Serge's quarters upstairs. At some point, the dial-up was dropped (although, there are still recliners off in the corner with dial-up capabilities should anyone using dial-up need them).. It wasn't stickied that year, either, and we still didn't have a specific age group forum for it to be in. That was the year Chris Baty realized we older writers were a vital and very active part of NaNo and he surveyed us to see what we wanted. I suggested the Smoking Pen be it's very own forum so we could have different threads.

In 2008, we got the Age Group 50+ forum, and the Smoking Pen was stickied for the first time. That's when it really kicked off. When you read the saved copy of the 2008 Smoking Pen, there are occasional references back to the earlier years.

I wonder what happened to Calumph?

I found some of the old archives, and the Smoking Pen was indeed created in 2006 and furthered in 2007, but it was a part of the Writers Groups and the Over 30 (because no one thought anyone older did NaNo back then) threads, and it will be a while teasing the Smoking Pen posts out of them.

December. I will do it after NaNo in December.

And work on making a nice, lovely cogent collection of the Smoking Pen from its inception to the current year NaNo, then make alink for people to read it, along with the Guide, here, which is very useful!

Thank you, Kopi! I never found the Pen before '08 so didn't know it had existed before that. A collection of all the years in one place would be wonderful, but a lot of work, too! We'll have to be patient...

I like your picture. Maybe I'll do a 'real' one for my 10th year, too.