  Noticing Newbies
This week: Edited by: Cubby  
More Newsletters By This Editor 
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!
Your host this week: Cubby
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Product Type: Toys & Games
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 ~ ~ Let There Be Lights! ~ ~
Sometimes I wish I could plug my brain into an electrical socket and BAM, writing possibilities would just light up all over the place! Imagine a Christmas tree wrapped in twinkling bulbs of red, blue, green, white, and yellow, and each color representing a new idea for a story, poem, or article. Wouldn't that be great? And when a light burned out, you could easily run to the store and replace it with another bulb. Unfortunately this doesn't happen, whether you are a newbie or not. It does not matter how long you have been writing, every one of us experiences a loss of ideas now and then.
Here are some links you may find interesting that other members have created about ideas and prompting, and also a few polls thrown in for fun: 
Happy Writing!
Love,
Cubby ") |
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~ ~ Got questions? You might find answers here... ~ ~
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~~~And Now... For Our Featured Newbie Presentation!~~~
Excerpt: I threaded my way through the narrow alleys until I reached an old abandoned warehouse. I rapped sharply on the back door twice...and then once....and then twice again.
Timidly the door was opened and I entered.
Excerpt:
The children awake from their slumber,
And rise from their beds.
They rub the sleep from their eyes,
And shake the sugar-plums from their heads.
Excerpt:
Dizzy goes the merry-go-round,
the teeter-totter up and down.
Alas, he hears the far-off sound.
Paulie's mother's a-calling.
Excerpt: He was fighting to keep his emotions in check. "I know! Do you know how much it hurts me to tell you this? Believe me, I want to see you more than anything. Sometimes I think you’d be better off if you weren’t dating me. I mean, you deserve far better than this, Cammie. You deserve somebody who can be with you more than I can."
Excerpt:
This is Nogs.
Nogs likes bugs.
Creepy, crawly,
slimy bugs.
Bugs with two eyes,
bugs with four,
bugs that crawl
across the floor.
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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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PastVoices 
By Cubby, you have done it again! A wonderful newsletter with a thought provoking question, you will have my answer later.
Thanks,
PastVoices welcomes the Season
Thank you, PastVoices. You are always so positive!
MaryLou
Dear Cubby, thank you so much for including my thank you c-notes in your last newsletter. With the many c-notes to choose from, I am honored you selected mine to showcase.
Mary
You are very welcome! 
TBird_critterkeeper
My advice: let the stories stew for a while. Long enough so that when you come back to them, they seem almost new to you. In the mean time, read a variety of stories. Then, when you come back to a story, you may come up with ideas that you didn't have them. Also, write out an outline, or a list of things you want to see happen in the story. It might help you get past the road block.
Very good advice. I tend to just write, no plan or clue to where I am going or will end up. I think an outline is an excellent idea!
Kingfan
First off-anyone who doesn't say thanks for a review or gift doesn't deserve either. Secondly, if you are having writer's block work on something else for a time and then come back or try to start a different story from 1 of the original characters. Keep up the great NLers
Another great idea! Yes, beginning another story with one of the original characters might very well stimulate new storylines. I like that suggestion a lot. Thanks!
Tehanu
A very appropriate letter! I feel some members, shocking as it is, really have never learnt manners. It's good to point out to new and old members alike that responding to a review is important. It keeps WDC flowing. Thanks for writing about it!
You are very welcome.  I'm glad you found the newsletter appropriate. Sometimes people's lives get busy and they don't always have time to read their emails and respond right away, and I should have mentioned that in my last newsletter, as I am guilty of that once in awhile (see feedback below), but good manners should definitely be used as much as possible.
Gen
How can you comment on something and criticise it when you are one of the biggest offenders yourself?
You were sent several messages concerning this and never bothered to respond at all. Did this "tribute" offend you that much?
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[Note: Gen and I have since corresponded and with my deepest apologies. If I open an email, I do respond. I've explained to him that my mailbox is just about full, mostly of unopened emails. A lot has happened in the past six months or so and I haven't been able to spend as much time as I'd like to here. I'm really hoping things will be slowing down for me soon. The Real World has a way of complicating things sometimes, as I'm sure many of you know. This just happens to be my time, I guess. When I read Gen's feedback, it upset me because I obviously hurt his feelings, unintentionally. I had not read the story he was referring to up to that point, but now I have, and of course I responded directly! We are all human beings, none of us perfect, including myself. But responding to reviews, or requests of reviews, really is a good habit to get into. If you can't take the time to return a review, or read a request, at least a brief note would be nice. Right, Gen?  ]
Tammy~Catchin Up~
I have NO advise, for I am one of those writers!! Yikes.
So, I'm really glad you asked this question...maybe someone will have an answer for me!
GREAT newsletter as usual!
Always, Tammy
Thanks, Tammy! It's always good to hear from you. I hope some of the suggestions here will help you out!
schipperke
Thank you Cubby for your editorial on being polite. Another word for it is civilized and not acting like an internet troll!
As far as starting stories and not completing them..I find if I post my chapters in a writing group here on site and then I stop, my co-writers will hassle me to death with the question, "What happens next?" So then I have to keep on writing the story!
Internet troll???  I like that! And yes, a writing group would be a great place to post unfinished stories. Good suggestion, Schipp!
monikue3
I too resent not being told Thank You. It takes very little breath and less time. Telling someone they did a good job, whether here or in Real Life, deserves some kind of response. Simple Thank Yous (and maybe a little blush) do the trick.
Yep, most people really appreciate being thanked, that's for sure!
silran
Your question: What advice would you give to our writers who begin stories can but never complete them?
My problem-solver for this was always shorten it. I would have a great scene, but can't fill in the gaps. Further i.e. read Irish Heart. The full story is still in my head.
You may have something there! Perhaps a longer story is too overwhelming for some of us, and a shorter version would help us focus more on the basics through till the end. Then later one could always go back and add what they wanted. Thanks!
Marguerite
I'm a very shy person. How can I get my items noticed more and more involved?
Hi, and welcome! Many of us here are a bit on the timid side. Before you know it, you'll be making friends left and right. Some ways you could get your items noticed would be under Item Jumps. It's located under Site Navigation to the left of the screen. If you click on it, you will find 'The Plug Page', 'Request Reviews', 'Contest Listings', and 'Review Forums'. Any of these places should get your items noticed more. As far as getting more involved, you could start out by joining a writing critique, or create a campfire and invite members you feel comfortable with or admire their writing. Contests are a great way to have fun. Just browse around and you will soon discover all sorts of places you can be a part of. If you have any more questions or concerns, don't be embarrassed to ask. Have fun!
dlehner
Thanks for including me in the newsletter. It has really helped with exposure.
dlehner
You are welcome! I enjoyed your story very much!
Breezy-E ~ In College
"What advice would you give to our writers who begin stories can but never complete them?"
Keep on writing! I've been working on a book (which now has about four other books in the planned series now) for a few years.
The very first book I worked on, though, I got so impatient because it was taking a few months. It was the kind that could have happened. After I got impatient, I finished it slap-dash with elves and such. I then threw it in the trash.
My point is, we all get annoyed or upset, or just can't seem to find time for writing. If we start rushing things, though, then we were just playing around. If a story really means something to us, we'll get it written, no matter how long it takes. Just hang in there. You're not alone.
Breezy-E
You have a good point. It's easy to get impatient, especially when writer's block hits and you feel all dried up inside with no imagination in sight. Your response should give other readers reassurance that this happens to most of us! Thanks for sharing.
AutumnKisses
To answer Cubby's question of the month 11/03/2005
Never ever give up on anything you write. The poems that I have posted here are from 2002 and 2004. I have a novel in my head that is SLOWLY trying to get out. If anyone cannot finish or has left a project - at least you can say you tried. Everyone starts from somewhere!
You are absolutely right. And I think it's easy at some point to become discouraged. Never ever give up is good advice!
ncblondie
Great newsletter! We often forget the little things others do to make this a great site.
You asked: What advice would you give to our writers who begin stories can but never complete them? Keep a notepad with you at all times to write down ideas. When you get stuck in a story and don't know where to go, check your notepad. You may be able to weave one of your ideas into your story.
Another great suggestion! Wow, what great feedback I've received on this question! I need to start carrying a notepad around with me again. Sometimes I get ideas and assume I will remember them later... and I don't.  Same thing happens with my dreams.
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Quote: It is good to have an end to journey towards; but it is the journey that matters in the end.
~Ursula K. LeGuin
Cubby's Question of the Month
About at what age did you first begin writing fiction/articles/poetry?
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See you again on December 28th!
Happy Holidays!
Love, Cubby ")
 Next week's editor will be... Puditat |
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Noticing Newbies: November 30, 2005 Issue [#742]
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