  Noticing Newbies
This week: Which Do I Choose? Edited by: ember_rain
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As a Newbie, I struggled to find my place here. It took a couple of tries. Then I found a group and a friend that put a smile on my face and made me want to be here. I want to be that friend for all of you. So grab a cup of tea and have a nice read as I help you find your ways through the ends and outs of Writing.com.
The best thing about this place... Even Dyslexics like me, that like to tilt at windmills, have a chance for greatness. If you find a grammar or spelling mistake accept my apology now. Spell and Grammar check just doesn't get them all. I will, on occasion, use this space to explain things I have learned to both help solidify them in my mind and to help others that might struggle with it as well. Homeschooling my kids taught me that I learn best when teaching. |
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To all of you who are no longer newbies, and to all the newbies who have already figured this out, I salute you. I am writing this for the new members who might be a bit slow on the uptake. I am writing this for those new members who like me didn't find it easy to figure out and once they did had sudden feeling that if the puppet Peanut was waiting to run his hand over his head while looking at me making that noise like a car driving by quickly. This is my "Yes, I know I could have stared in Clueless," moment.
We will go back to our regularly scheduled program next time. I got the idea that we might need to discuss this when I saw how many new members haven't added an item to their port. Sure, some may be here just as readers. Some may just be struggling on what to put in their port first. But, I am willing to bet that I am not the only one who struggled with what the heck a static item is. I mean static is what makes your socks stick to your towels and its that noise the tv use to make before digital came along when stations went off the air at midnight. *Yes stations use to sign off. The world use to be infomercial free, once upon a time, long time ago.* Here on WDC static means something else. So lets break this down shall we? For the purpose of this newsletter we are only going to look at items available to our free members.
Static Items
So this is where that short story goes. It's where you put your poetry, articles, chapters if you don't have a paid membership or anything else you can think of that you write by yourself that eventually you won't have to edit anymore, That's why its static. Eventually it won't change. For the most part these items are only accessed for editing by you. There are group options that can change that but those really don't matter until you settle into a group and find your home away from home right here on WDC.
Campfire Creative
This allows you to invite people to write a story with you. You invite people to join you and as a group taking turns in a round each of you add something to the campfire.
Product Reviews
Now this is something that really helps keep so much of the website free. This is where you review an item on Amazon.com. You pick the item then enter the ASIN code into the input box on the page. That then will link the item to the page and you can write your review. Writing.com gets paid a little bit every time someone buys something through your review.
In and Out
Now these are fun. These things are designed for people to put in info such as items they would like to have reviewed, contest items, a list of things they and you love or hate. You set the number of items you want the list to show and when your In and Out gets full it drops the oldest one from the list to make room for the new one.
Madlibs
This speaks for itself. Its exactly what you think it is. It is a story where you leave out nouns, verbs, adjectives and adverbs and give the reader a chance to fill out the blanks and make the story their own.
Member Poll
Need to know if people prefer Cola's to Lemon Lime drinks? Want to know which knife seems the best for your bad guy? Just want to know the percentage of WDC members have published through ebooks and how many held out for traditional publishing? This is what you would create to ask.
Word Search
Another one that needs no explanation. I recommend them if your trying to improve your vocabulary.
Crosswords
Yeah, you know what this is too. See Word Search above for why to make one.
Last but not least...
The Quiz
This is like a survey only its designed to test people on their knowledge. Then again, if you are familiar with Facebook, then you know the power of a quiz.
As you can see, there are many ways you can go with your first item. Though you can't fail with static item, don't be afraid to think outside of the box and do one of the others.
Next up is footnotes {footnote:"1"} after you have typed in your first footnote you use Now according to instructions if we use "1" to start it. The count will start with numbers starting at one to get the rest you start the rest of each footnote with {footnote:"#"} and end it It will also work with "a" going to z then continue with aa to zz. "A" does the same only capitalized.
(These last three lines are what is behind my examples that you don't get to see. Notice it puts a number and creates a footnote heading and lists what was in the text part at the end of the article)
Example: Jack and Jill went up the hill. this is numbered one.
To fetch a pail of water. This is numbered three.
Jack fell down and broke his crown. This is Numbered three. These work great for our research links. You can even have fun listing clues with it and so on.
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| | Pass the Write-Baton (18+)
Write what you wish, do your best, and pass the baton. 1000 gps prize per addition. Enjoy!
#1530602 by Joy   |
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This item number is not valid.
#1077110 by Not Available. |
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This item number is not valid.
#2000956 by Not Available. |
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This item number is not valid.
#1998958 by Not Available. |
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This item number is not valid.
#1998257 by Not Available. |
| | Tap the Muse (18+)
Link an item to advertise or for r/r and write a short piece with the given word.
#1569967 by Joy |
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This item number is not valid.
#2002126 by Not Available. |
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This item number is not valid.
#2001360 by Not Available. |
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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!
https://www.Writing.Com/go/nl_form
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Which type of item was the first to go in your port?
What others said about last months newsletter
inky14dinky - I think it's great to have all this information in one spot. The newsletters I receive help me learn new things. Being a newbie I enjoy your newsletter a lot. It is full of very good stuff to learn.
An apple a day....  -Thanks for sharing Rixfarmgirl  's item. I miss her knowledge and uplifting spirit!
We all do Connie. WDC will never quite be the same without her knowledge and kindness.
Quick-Quill  - I'm still working on this problem.... It could be as simple as adding an -ing word somewhere in the line to make it active not passive.
bane1 - I really enjoyed your newsletter. I was afraid it was going to be the same old advice that everybody just seems to repeat without actually thinking about. "Show, dont't tell." This can be confusing to new writers. They get this idea that everything needs to be in full color detail. I reviewed a piece once and the writer used all this colorful descriptive wording to say they went through a door. I commented that we don't need to show the mundane, we can say, the walked through the door. Its ok to tell some things. I was glad that you hit at the center of the advice. It comes down to active and passive voice more so than showing and telling. We should always strive for active voice. Great article. Thanks.
R. Walter Smith  - Hello,
I just wanted to let you know that you have misunderstood what "passive voice" means. It does not simply mean any sentence with a "be" verb (linking verb, known more generally in linguistics as a "copula"). It refers to a grammatical construction making use of the copula and a past participle, optionally accompanied by a "by" phrase.
This is an example of passive voice: The man was hit by the ball (the active counterpart is "the ball hit the man").
This is NOT passive voice: The car is blue (it is a description of the car)
If you would like supporting information, you can find information about the passive voice on Wikipedia, or, if you prefer, any grammar and style guide. Alternatively, you can look at one of the links in this newsletter, "Passive voice" by TimM (in fact, he points out near the beginning that some people do mistakenly believe that passive voice simply refers to a sentence with a "be" verb. This strikes me as strange, but apparently it is a widely held misconception).
I do not mean to come off as aggressive or rude, so apologize if some of this was strongly worded. However, I think that providing inaccurate information through this newsletter is harmful to those who are confused about what passive voice is.
My article wasn't meant to be a comprehensive look at passive voice. It was meant to give people a direction to go in when a reviewer tells them to Show! Don't tell. For the sake of getting my facts straight I have included this readers comment. If you find yourself confused about passive voice then please use the links I provided in "Noticing Newbies Newsletter (July 2, 2014)" to research more. Like I say in the part of this newsletter about myself, I learn by teaching but that doesn't mean I will always get it exactly right to everyone's satisfaction. Though, I do strive to get as close as I possibly can.
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Noticing Newbies: July 30, 2014 Issue [#6456]
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