This week: Twenty-One Edited by: Jeff  
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"You never know what you can do until you try,
and very few try unless they have to."
-- C.S. Lewis
About The Editor: Greetings! My name is Jeff and I'm one of your regular editors for the Noticing Newbies Official Newsletter! I've been a member of Writing.com since 2003, and have edited more than 350 newsletters across the site during that time. If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact me via email or the handy feedback field at the bottom of this newsletter! 
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TWENTY-ONE
In just a few short days, Writing.com will be twenty one years old. I joined the site back in February 2003, at which point WDC was already two and a half years old. Every year, when the site celebrates its birthday, I take a little time to reminisce on how far we've all come since those early days.
For previous years, I've highlighted how the interface has changed, or all the new features that have been added. This year, I find myself thinking about how far I've come as a writer and moderator. When I first joined the site, I was in college. Up until that point, I had written a handful of short stories and a couple screenplays, none of which were any good. I didn't have a clear sense of how to build characters, or construct plot. I was decent at sentence construction, but didn't have a lot of practice actually crafting stories.
I spent a lot of time lurking around here. Contributing a little something here and there to the social activity on the site, but not really venturing too far with my own writing. A few years later, I decided to put myself out there and started entering contests and activities. Then creating contests and activities of my own. I grew by leaps and bounds as a writer because this place allowed me to flourish. I wrote stories. I received reviews which made suggestions for improvement that I could implement the next time I entered a contest. I wouldn't be the prose writer I am today (although I'm sure many would argue I'm still not all that great a prose writer  ) without the practice and support of the community I've had here at Writing.com.
Over the past twenty one years, I've grown a lot. From a college kid, to a young professional, to a mid-career professional. From a twenty-something to a parent. From a hobbyist writer of short stories to a professional screenwriter and aspiring novelist. Whether you're talking about a career, a practiced skill, or a website, the evolution that can occur over two decades really is amazing.
There's a saying that people overestimate what they can accomplish in a year, and underestimate what they can accomplish in five. And this site has been here four times that long. It's changed dramatically, as has the membership. Some people lament the change, but I've always been someone who's excited by the idea of evolution and change. I like the potential of what's possibly to come.
If Writing.com has taught me anything (about the site and about myself), it's that committing energy and effort to something over a long period of time really pays dividends. Whether you've been a member of this community for a few months, or a few years, or since the very beginning, consider what you might be able to accomplish in the next year, or five, or twenty-one. I can almost guarantee you'll surprise yourself if you commit to something and keep at it.
Until next time,
Jeff
If you're interested in checking out my work:
"Blogocentric Formulations"
"New & Noteworthy Things"
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This month's official Writing.com writing contest is:
I also encourage you to check out the following items:
EXCERPT: Now then, where to begin? This is certainly one rabbit hole more than a few have been lost in. I suppose it's best to start at the 'start'. Where does morality start? Morality is a construct purely existing in the mind. There is no natural expression of morals that exists in the world. Morals did not exist, until we human beings created them. Certainly then there is no such thing as morals in reality. Just the concept of morals designed to assist the interactions between human beings.
EXCERPT: It was only the beginning of the day and I was already feeling ******. I’ve already learned to expect nothing from my husband so waking up to an empty bed, one we rarely share alone, was no surprise, but I forgot that my daughter was now off at college creating her own life.
She’d usually wake me up forcing me to get some cardio by hiking or something but all i hear is silence.
Now this big house was just simply empty.
EXCERPT: Sergeant Tony Gemelli raced through the darkening streets, ghost of his murdered partner whispering in his ear.
The alley, ahead, on the left. No strain in the shade’s voice, just the eternal patience of the grave.
EXCERPT: Sarah, you must wake up. There's a reason you are here. You are important, you are unique, but you must wake up!
EXCERPT: I overheard a conversation in the waiting room of our local doctor's office. The clinic has existed in our community for as long as I can remember. According to my grandkids, I'm a classic. Anyway, a delightful elderly lady sat across from me and was talking to her friend. I wasn't trying to eavesdrop, but sometimes they spoke loud enough I couldn't help to hear.
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Noticing Newbies: August 25, 2021 Issue [#10958]
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