  Noticing Newbies
This week: Who Are You Telling? Edited by: JACE  
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Hi, I'm JACE .
Welcome to this issue of the Noticing Newbies newsletter. I hope to take you into some nooks and crannies of Writing.Com that you may not have found time to check out yet.
Don't forget to toss me a note about what you liked or didn't like in my column, or about a topic you'd like to see discussed. This newsletter is about and for you. And for you seasoned members, I hope you'll find something you can take from my ramblings.  |
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Who Are You Telling?
Last Saturday night I attended an awards ceremony for a writing competition I entered with a regional arts group. I'd submitted a short story called "Little Ships" that I'd written for our very own "Short Shots: Official WDC Contest" . I received an Honorable Mention from about sixteen entries. I must say I believe our judges within WDC are a bit more discerning--I won first place in the Short Shots contest.  But that's beside the point.
My wife and I went out to dinner to celebrate my success (any occasion to go out is a good thing, right?), and then went to the ceremony. About sixty folks attended where awards were given in three categories: Poetry, Non-Fiction short stories, and Fiction short stories. As I perused the program I'd received, I discovered each winner, including Honorable Mention, was expected to read his or her offering to the assembled multitude. This was most unexpected. I don't get up in public to read ANYTHING; I leave that to my wife who is an accomplished actress and performer.
I whispered to my wife that I was safe--I hadn't brought a copy of my story with me. To my horror, the second person awarded told the emcee he hadn't brought a copy to read. The powers that be were much better organized than I thought. They produced his poem ... and my tension mounted. As the fates would have it, I was the last to read, allowing those dang butterflies to buzz my stomach in formation. I'd considered asking my wife to read for me. Then I realized here was a perfect opportunity--the others were taking time to introduce their pieces. I decided to mention my involvement with Writing.Com and how much everyone there helped me over the past three and a half years.
My turn came. While I waited for the emcee to find my story in his folder, I asked the audience if anyone had heard of Writing.Com. Only one gentleman raised his hand. I marveled that only one in a room full of writers knew of us here. No, that wasn't quite right--he'd heard about our site, but wasn't familiar with it at all.
I took a moment to plug Writing.Com, even giving out a few of the WDC business cards I'd received some time back. I also had the chance to talk with a couple folks after during the refreshments social. I may have received only an Honorable Mention for my story, but I felt so much better having WDC in my corner, especially after having the opportunity to extol its virtues to this writing community.
How many of you have told your family and friends that you even write? Perhaps you're a closet writer choosing to embrace our online community because of its anonymity. Maybe you're just trying to improve your writing before you tell them. I used to write as part of another online organization before they folded, and was fortunate to find WDC as a replacement. Though I enjoyed writing, I didn't feel competent enough to tell those around me until shortly after I became a member here. Amazingly, once I "exposed" my passion, I think my writing improved noticeably. Of course, I worked hard on my grammar, spelling and punctuation, which was favorably reflected in the reviews I began receiving from folks here. After all, I couldn't have family and friends thinking me misguided because of poor writing.
My interaction here gives me the confidence to tell others about Writing.Com. Now I seldom miss any opportunity to mention WDC. As you gain confidence in both your writing and your ability to communicate, you'll find it easy to tell anyone you meet about this wonderful writing community. So, who will you tell?
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An Upgrade Moment
I'm introducing a new segment in this newsletter called "An Upgrade Moment." Each issue I write will highlight a feature available only to paid members at various levels.
With so many nooks, crannies, and features available to members, one can hardly comprehend everything. Even older members can't track all the changes WDC has undergone over the past two years, .  Most are explained in "Writing.Com 101" , and are marked with a symbol indicating to which membership level the feature applies. You may see something you didn't know existed, or something you just haven't tried before.
This month, I'd like to discuss the RCS: Revision Control System.
The Revision Control System is a unique tool offered by Writing.Com that currently enables Premium and higher members to track changes made to the main body of text within static items. This system allows an author to view a copy of the item from any time in its edit history. Within the header information of your static item, you should see the following management tools line:
Your Item: Edit FS Q | Delete | Spell | Count | HTML | RCS| Reviews | Stats
Clicking on the RCS will open a window in which all previous edits of that item will be displayed by the date edited with the most recent edit first. Additional information about each edit includes any notes made and who performed the edit. This latter item is especially helpful when several members of a group have Edit access for the item.
The RCS provides a Notes section within the item edit area for members to describe changes made to the document's text. RCS Notes is contained in all three edit modes: Edit, FS (for Full Screen) and Q (for Quick Edit). While comments are not required, they make finding a specific previous version much easier. Shortly after taking over the "Paradise Cove Writing Challenge-On Hold" , I wanted to create a static item honoring previous winners. The RCS provided the means to go back and identify those winners as well as the prompts for specific months. You can also go back and retrieve an older version of a story lost through subsequent changes saved. Notes will help you pinpoint the particular spot you want to retrieve. This feature has saved my bacon countless times.
I've been fortunate to maintain a Premium membership for some time, and research on my part shows the RCS is available not only for Static Items, but also for Message Forums, Groups, and Book Items. Currently, the RCS is not available for individual entries in Book Items.
You might ask how can the system store so much data with all the edits that occur on all the items in which the RCS exists. Only the actual changes are stored. That is, if you change just one word or a few characters, only a few characters are saved in the system. When a previous version is restored, the system applies each change back to the selected version to the current version. Be careful: If you save that older version, it becomes your current version. Of course, you can always go back again using the RCS.
You can compare all the features available to a given membership level at "Compare Free and Paid Membership Benefits" .
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ASK AND ANSWER:
It's 11 p.m. Does your family know where you are?
And from the mailbox about my last Noticing Newbies newsletter, "Noticing Newbies Newsletter (October 19, 2011)" .
From jgb  : I really like the analogy to hitting a golf ball. I can relate. I guess juggling would be another good analogy. Anyway, I appreciate this newsletter. Even though I've come across the three main points many times, when reading books on writing, they are points you can never hear too many times. I also like your suggestion to read your own work aloud. I've heard that one before, too, but I've never done it. I'm going to make that one of my routines from now on.
Thanks, my friend. Sometimes I think with all the thoughts running rampant through my head, my 'routines' are the only thing keeping my writing sane.
From BIG BAD WOLF Feeling Thankful  : Sometimes we have to laugh.
Submitted item: "Werewolf Invasion"
Indeed we do, though mostly at ourselves, and not at others.
From Jeff  : Great NL this week, Jace! 
Thanks, SoCal!
From afamwriter-PEN=MAGIC WAND : Very informative. Thank you for this insightful tutorial.
Submitted item: "Gangsta Space Aliens (WIP)"
Always my pleasure to help.
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Noticing Newbies: November 15, 2011 Issue [#4721]
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