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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! Have a wonderful and safe Thanksgiving Holiday! ||| ## ||| ## ||| ## ||| ## ||| ## ||| ## ||| ## ||| ## ||| ## ||| ## ||| ## ||| ## ||| ## ||| ## ||| ## ||| ## ||| ## ||| ## ||| ## ||| ## ||| ## ||| ## ||| ## ||| ## ||| ||| ## ||| ## ||| ## ||| ## ||| ## ||| ||| ## ||| ##  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!  ||| ## ||| ## ||| ## ||| ## ||| ## ||| ## ||| ## ||| ## ||| ## ||| ## ||| ## ||| ## ||| ## ||| ## ||| ## ||| ## ||| ## ||| ## ||| ## ||| ## ||| ## ||| ## ||| ## ||| ## ||| ||| ## ||| ## ||| ## ||| ## ||| ## ||| ||| ## ||| ## ## ||| ## Helpful Hints ## ||| ## Here is a list of helpful hints that I feel might help many newbies out. Following these few simple suggestions should help you to receive higher ratings, become a fair reviewer, and improve your writing skills. I may have missed a thing or two, but I tried to dig deep into my mind for the things I have learned here and also what I notice while reviewing newbies that could possibly help them improve their work. There are a few non-newbies that might benefit from these suggestions, also!  ~~ Double-space between paragraphs! This makes it much easier to read and review. ~~ DON'T USE ALL CAPS THROUGHOUT YOUR WORK! Save the capital letters for yelling only. ~~ Use Spellcheck before submitting your item. This makes it easier for reviewers and readers to concentrate on the content of your piece. ~~ Check your punctuation. If you are unsure about something, look it up or ask someone. ~~ Read your item right after you submit it. If you find any typos, go back and edit them. ~~ Try not to over-use words, especially in the same sentence or paragraph. A thesauraus is a great tool to have. If you don't own one, go to https://www.thesaurus.com for easy access to one. ~~ Watch out for those pronouns, such as he, she, etc. Vary them with names and/or phrases such as the girl, the boy, the baby, Brad, Heather, etc. ~~ Try not to begin consecutive paragraphs/sentences with the same word. Example: I saw a dog. I was scared. I looked around for an escape. ~~ Italicize thoughts, especially in fiction. Save your quotations for dialogue. ~~ Unless it is absolutely fitting to your piece, avoid replacing you with u, and I with i. ~~ If you choose to use colored text, make sure it is not eye-straining to read. ~~ Always reply to a review with at least a Thank you. Many reviewers spend much of their time offering helpful suggestions, and your appreciation means a lot. If you don't feel confident about returning a review at this point, sending a few GPs (Gift Points) also shows appreciation, but this is optional. ~~ If you disagree with a review you receive, don't let it upset you. Use what works for you. None of us are perfect, and how wonderful it is that we don't all think alike.  ~~ When giving a review, be not only honest, but encouraging. It's much easier to swallow indepth suggestions if they are presented tastefully. ~~ Respect the author's right to his or her opinion. Never rate low because you disagree! If you find this hard to do, don't rate that item. If you want to express your own opinion to the author, send a polite email instead. ~~ If you rate a piece at 4.5 or below, let the author know why. If you had rated it a 5.0, that means it was perfect; no changes were needed. Anything rated less than perfect should include something helpful. It's very aggravating to receive a less than perfect rating along with an only comment such as Great job!. Most of us are here because we want to improve our work. ~~ Fill out your BIO block! Let us know who and what you are about. ~~ Last of all, ask questions. Most of us here at Writing.com are very friendly and helpful.   Here are a few sites that should help answer many of your questions...
||| ## ||| ## ||| ## ||| ## ||| ## ||| ## ||| ## ||| ## ||| ## ||| ## ||| ## ||| ## ||| ## ||| ## ||| ## ||| ## ||| ## ||| ## ||| ## ||| ## ||| ## ||| ## ||| ## ||| ## ||| ||| ## ||| ## ||| ## ||| ## ||| ## ||| ||| ## ||| ## ~~~A Cornucopia of Newbie Items...~~~ 
||| ## ||| ## ||| ## ||| ## ||| ## ||| ## ||| ## ||| ## ||| ## ||| ## ||| ## ||| ## ||| ## ||| ## ||| ## ||| ## ||| ## ||| ## ||| ## ||| ## ||| ## ||| ## ||| ## ||| ## ||| ||| ## ||| ## ||| ## ||| ## ||| ## ||| ||| ## ||| ## Great Places for Newbies to Check Out!
||| ## ||| ## ||| ## ||| ## ||| ## ||| ## ||| ## ||| ## ||| ## ||| ## ||| ## ||| ## ||| ## ||| ## ||| ## ||| ## ||| ## ||| ## ||| ## ||| ## ||| ## ||| ## ||| ## ||| ## ||| ||| ## ||| ## ||| ## ||| ## ||| ## ||| ||| ## ||| ## 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%%  ~ Yeah, Feedback! ~ Laart1-Season of the Heart   Cubby: Great newsletter with lots of good reading. In answer to your question; My way is to have no real way. If I do an outline it is only for a story that will be longer than usual. I really like to do shorter stories and let my mind take me where it will. Of course that means I will spend some time with a review from you, fixing things up. But it is worth it. Well done, Cubby. Lin{ps: your advice about WritingML served me well. I now get many compliments about my review forms.} Thanks, Lin! I usually do the same as you with a short story... Let my mind take me where it will. I'd really like to try and get more into outlining, as I tend to loose interest in a chapter story, not sure where to go once the ideas begin to fizzle out, lol! By the way, you do a great job with improving your items after reading my reviews. It makes my detailed reviewing worth it, and it shows you are working hard to better your writing. gailey A beautifully formatted, enthusiastic, timely and helpful newsletter. For a newbie or anyone else, this is a very inviting edition, Cubkins.gailey Thank you, gailey! Compliments don't get much nicer than that! brassminnie I'm a newbie, but not to writing. Every story is an adventure. I begin with a situation and characters, and I'm often surprised where my heroes take me. They make me laugh and cry.Sometimes the laughter is because I have to go back to rewrite the beginning, because they decided to do it 'this way.' A friend works from a detailed outline. She's never surprised, but she has as much fun writing as I do. The only 'right' way is doing what works for you. That's very interesting. I've heard other author's, too, talk about how the characters basically take over a story. I think this is great. It shows that your characters are strong and can make their own decisions. That's almost a bit scary!  It's amazing how various writers use different techniques. You are absolutely right about "...what works for you". invisibleink Cubby,Thank you for such a COLORFUL, animated, and most importantly, educational newsletter. Always Learning, invisibleink Thanks, Invisibleink! I'm glad you liked it. I do get a bit carried away with the color at times, lol, but I suppose that's part of my personality, though I'm not always feeling bright and cheerful, lol! megsie2584 The answer to all of your questions is, "Yes!" I give myself prompts for every story, and it's different each time. Sometimes I start with only the characters, sometimes it's a message, or the ending, or the beginning... it just depends on what the challenge of the moment is. I haven't figured out what my preferred method is yet and it's fun to experiment. That's great, Megsie! I've often wondered about starting with only a character. It would be fun to try. Sounds like you cover all avenues. I bet your mind is buzzing with ideas! Puditat Cubby, I can't believe that I had never thought of something so simple and helpful. I mean, printing out the ML help just has to be one of the most simplest ways to easily refer to them. Quite often I forget which word to use (especially for less common emoticons - ones I don't use often) and sometimes loading the help page takes more time than I have. Thanks for the great idea! You are very welcome! My printed out WritingML Tags are right next to me on a TV-tray, stained with coffee rings and decorated with phone numbers and email addresses, lol! Hmmm... I think there's a smudge or two of chocolate there, too. esprit Cubby! Good job on this letter! Printing out info is a good idea. Your question on outlines. My work is all short scenes. I haven't tried to write a actual short story yet, but I consider my scenes as outlines. One day I might even finish one. What an exceptional concept... writing scenes as outlines. That would be a great prompt idea in a forum-- creating a story from a written scene. Thanks for sharing this interesting perception, Esprit! I find it amazing how everyone goes about with their writing. ||| ## ||| ## ||| ## ||| ## ||| ## ||| ## ||| ## ||| ## ||| ## ||| ## ||| ## ||| ## ||| ## ||| ## ||| ## ||| ## ||| ## ||| ## ||| ## ||| ## ||| ## ||| ## ||| ## ||| ## ||| ||| ## ||| ## ||| ## ||| ## ||| ## ||| ||| ## ||| ## Quote: "Books are the quietest and most constant of friends: they are the most accessible and wisest of counselors, and the most patient of teachers." ~Charles W. Eliot ||| ## ||| ## ||| ## ||| ## ||| ## ||| ## ||| ## ||| ## ||| ## ||| ## ||| ## ||| ## ||| ## ||| ## ||| ## ||| ## ||| ## ||| ## ||| ## ||| ## ||| ## ||| ## ||| ## ||| ## ||| ||| ## ||| ## ||| ## ||| ## ||| ## ||| ||| ## ||| ## Cubby's Question of the MonthHow do you come up with names for fictional characters? Do you flip through phone books? Baby name books? Perhaps the name of your character isn't that important to you. I struggle with naming my characters sometimes. Does anyone else? I'd love to hear your feedback on this. ||| ## ||| ## ||| ## ||| ## ||| ## ||| ## ||| ## ||| ## ||| ## ||| ## ||| ## ||| ## ||| ## ||| ## ||| ## ||| ## ||| ## ||| ## ||| ## ||| ## ||| ## ||| ## ||| ## ||| ## ||| ||| ## ||| ## ||| ## ||| ## ||| ## ||| ||| ## ||| ##  Next week's editor...esprit ||| ## ||| ## ||| ## ||| ## ||| ## ||| ## ||| ## ||| ## ||| ## ||| ## ||| ## ||| ## ||| ## ||| ## ||| ## ||| ## ||| ## ||| ## ||| ## ||| ## ||| ## ||| ## ||| ## ||| ## ||| ||| ## ||| ## ||| ## ||| ## ||| ## ||| ||| ## ||| ## 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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