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  Noticing Newbies  1. About this Newsletter 2. A Word from our Sponsor 3. Letter from the Editor 4. Editor's Picks 5. A Word from Writing.Com 6. Ask & Answer 7. Removal instructions  Welcome to the Noticing Newbies Newsletter! Our goal is to showcase some of our newest Writing.Com Authors and their items. From poetry and stories to creative polls and interactives, we'll bring you a wide variety of items to enjoy. We will also feature "how to" advice and items that will help to jump start the creation process on Writing.com We hope all members of the site will take the time to read, rate, review and welcome our new authors. By introducing ourselves, reviewing items and reaching out, we will not only make them feel at home within our community, we just might make new friends!  Passionate about writing? Take your passion to new heights - with an online Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing, available only from top ranked National University. Choose workshops based on your interests. Work with experienced and published faculty. Prepare for a variety of career opportunities. Use a state-of-the art online system: Study where and when you want. Click here to get more information!  This edition's topic is Reading, Rating, and Reviewing which are often abbreviated as RRR or RR. Why do we strongly encourage that members review and rate what we read on Writing.Com? It's more than just a covenant between readers and writers here. In breaking down the work of another author, in discovering what worked for them will teach you what works for you. It teaches you to critically examine a text dispassionately, whilst improving your own writing! In this issue I will discuss ways to approach reviewing poetry. In my next issue, I will discuss reviewing fiction and short stories. With regards, Pita  *** Here are five outstanding new and outstanding members to Writing.com  trwiley currently has only one item in their port, (see the fiction section,) but add this writer to your favorite author's list. The caliber of writing is impressive. Quasheba A poet of great range (also writes prose.) Spend some time in this port if you want to learn more about figurative language in poetics. arena is a travel writer that brings each place visited alive for his readers. A visit to this port is a visit to Paris, Bruges, and Freiberg. Brians Next Novel Almost Done! A poet with an eye to details and with a humorous spin on his topics. wildbob a talented writer with a port of fiction! *** The How-to Corner We are standing in two sets of shoes at the same time here at Writing.Com: we are usually both authors and authors-as-readers. This short essay is meant to help new members in critiquing and analyzing both fiction and poetry for rating and reviewing. I'll start with poetry. Poetry is not just simple verse: it is as complex and rich as its writer and often a reflection of the times in which the author lives. Poetry is both subjective and figurative in nature. The best way to read a poem is read it once through, and ask yourself what the poem is about. Read through again making notes in the margins, on a scratch piece of paper, in your Writing.com Notepad, or in the comment box. I frequently argue with a text whatever I am reading by writing in the margins. My books are filled with marginalia, my arguing with both text and meaning. The more marginalia in a book, the more I liked and enjoyed the piece of writing. Poetry is not that different from fiction in terms of the questions we ask of the text. A poem has a narrator, often a protagonist and antagonist, and there is a setting. These things may be understood, hinted at, or directly mentioned in the text of the poem. Read through the poem again and ask yourself these questions:  Who is the poem's narrator? Does it appear to be first person (someone describing events,) third person, or omnipresent? What is the subject of this poem and how does it relate to its title? If this poem uses rhyme and meter, how successful was the author? Did you feel it was sloppy, that content was sacrificed for rhyming? Did the writer adhere to the form they were following? What do the specific words of the poem tell you? How does the word choice enhance or diminish the subject of the poem? As you read through, what emotions or moods are raised as you read? Do you feel that these evoked feelings where the intent of the poet or a happy accident? Did you find you felt the opposite feelings the poet was trying to evoke? Why?In a review, you don’t have to mention all these points in a review, I seldom do; however, when I read I read for the above mentioned points and it definitely affects how I rate a poem. By examining what works for me as a reader, it improves my own writing. In reviews I tend to discuss over all impressions or specific images I found delightfully haunting. Hopefully after reading this you won't feel intimidated by reviewing poetry, especially if you are here to read fiction. *** Poetry This poem captires the sounds and complex dichotomies of Singapore.
A poem about the Chinese Hungry Ghost Festival.
A marvelous poem that is rich in emotion and figurative imagery!
An avant-garde poem with a rich cadence and imagery.
A well-written metaphor as poem.
*** Non-Fiction Essays Jimmy Hendrix remembered.
*** Lyrics
*** Fiction An excellent short story on the nature of being "other."
A tale with an amazing twist!
An almost lyrical short story.
*** Interactives A riot of a contest! Follow the bad poetry and story prompts!
Another contest, this one just for newbies!
Submit an item for consideration in this newsletter! http://www.Writing.Com/main/newsletters.php?action=nli_form  Have an opinion on what you've read here today? Then send the Editor feedback! Find an item that you think would be perfect for showcasing here? Submit it for consideration in the newsletter! http://www.Writing.Com/main/newsletters.php?action=nli_form Don't forget to support our sponsor! %%NL_AD_BOT%%  Cjam  asked:"how can a person keep up with all the email? I don’t have that much time. When I first joined, I was not aware that a person had his or her own email. The email piled up on here, because I didn’t know that I had any. After staff sent me an email to my regular outside box stating I had email, I looked, and sure enough, I did. I try to read all the mail, but since I got started late on it, I am having a time deciding which to read and which to just delete. I need help in deciding" I keep up on my email by logging in at least once a day -- though it’s usually more like multiple times each day -- and don't precede with anything until I first clear my email. Otherwise, it really adds up! *** magdalena_b noted: "I read with amusement, your comment "Write every day, even if only for five minutes. Just after waking up is a good time too. Your mind is fresh & clear in the first minutes of morning." I can only assume you are one of those annoyingly happy people in the mornings. When I wake up, it's almost like somebody else is in possession of my body *grumble scratch* rub eyes* sniffle* - until I have a shower when I become myself again. I am not a morning person, & the last thing I could do in the mornings is write. I can't do it last thing at night: either because I just can't stop writing once I start, or my mind is so over-active because of my story & then I can't sleep well. I do try to write at least 2-3 times a week & write a minimum of a 1,000 words at each sitting - fortunately I type fast! Writing every day would be a good habit to get into, but I think most people would find it difficult to find the time." I'm with you, Maggie, I am so not a morning person!  Pita  Your editors: bianca_b amawitch Beyond the Cloud9   Have a question or comment for the Editor? http://www.Writing.Com/main/newsletters.php?action=nli_form  To stop receiving this newsletter, go into your account and remove the check from the box beside the specific topic. Be sure to click "Complete Edit" or it will not save your changes. |
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