  Noticing Newbies
This week: Using WritingML Edited by: JACE  
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Hi, I'm JACE .
Welcome to this issue of the Noticing Newbies newsletter. Join me as I 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. 
Your Noticing Newbies Newsletter full-time Editors:
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Writing.Com is a great site for writers. Features abound that will enhance your own writing journey. A number of those features require a paid membership to access. Some, however, including my topic today, require only a free membership.
[As an aside, check out "Compare Free and Paid Membership Benefits" for a listing of features and the membership levels needed to access them. You may find something you can’t live without.]
WritingML is Writing.Com’s markup language that allows you control over your writing by using tags for basic text formatting as well as using more complex tags to link members and items. You might ask--what is a markup language? It's a set of rules for creating tags that can be embedded in your text facilitating the processing of it, including editing and formatting for display or printing. At first glance, WritingML may seem daunting to use. Within a few weeks after joining WDC, I’d mastered the basic aspects of tagging items and adding various attributes to enhance my writing visually. Frankly, much of your writing will be viewed on screen, and there’ll be times when you’d like to use a different font, make your text larger, or add color for some special effect.
You can find instructions for using WritingML under the Writing.Com Tools in the navigation menu in the left column of every page. But here are a few tricks to remember when using WritingML:
1. Always use the braces { }, also know as curly brackets, to enclose your attribute commands and tags. Regular brackets [ ], and parentheses ( ) will not work.
2. Using the braces to tag any item (static item, book entry, forum, group, etc.) makes that item clickable. That is, any person with proper access will be able to click on that item and open it.
3. Be sure there are no spaces within the braces when you’ve finished creating a tag or attribute, or it will not work. Double-clicking an item number to copy it into your tag adds a space at the end of the number.
4. Many attribute tags are employed in pairs—one opens, or activates the tag, and another closes, or deactivates it. For example, typing: {b}This is bold text.{/b} appears like this: This is bold text. Without the closing tag, all following text would be in bold.
5. Always close multiple paired attribute tags in the reverse order they are implemented to avoid potential conflict with your desired formatting. For example, typing: Normal text can be made into {b}bold, {i}bold italics, {u}underlined bold italics{/u}{/i}{/b} and back to normal again. appears like this: Normal text can be made into bold, bolded italics, underlined bold italics and back to normal again.
6. You have two choices when using the WritingML Formatting Button Bar located above some text windows. Highlight the string of text you wish formatted with a particular attribute, and then select that attribute’s icon. Or, you can select the attribute first which places the open-close brackets where your cursor is currently. Then move the cursor between the open and closing brackets to insert your desired text Then move the cursor outside the closing brackets to resume normal typing.
7. Finally, understand that even seasoned members make formatting errors when using multiple and complex tags. Finding and correcting those errors is just like editing for grammar and punctuation. Slow and steady ensures success.
Other pointers and tricks are found in "Enhance Your Item With WritingML" .
The best way to learn WritingML is to use it. If you have space, create a Static Item in which you can practice using the various tags and attributes. Try correct and incorrect techniques to see how they look when saved. Add a space within the braces. What happened?
With a little practice you'll be using Writing.Com's markup language like a pro in no time. Best of luck with enhancing your writing.
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Check out these Newbies (I've selected folks who have filled out their Biography or something in their Bio-Block). Take a moment to review something in their Port ... or just say hi.
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#2076587 by Not Available. |
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#2076319 by Not Available. |
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#2076452 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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And from the mailbox about my last Noticing Newbies newsletter, "Getting to Know Writing.Com" .
From : You have a mistake in the paragraph titled "Learn the fundamentals of WDC. There is a sentence that states "I've always found trail and error to be my best way to learn." When I first read this I thought about the differences in words. What you were trying to say was "I've always found trial and error to be my best way to learn" Instead you wrote about a trail - as if you are blazing through a forest or down a path. This is a good and informative newsletter. Thank you for all your hard work.
You're right--it was a typo, and it's been corrected. And thank you for your continued support.
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Noticing Newbies: March 02, 2016 Issue [#7508]
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