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Noticing Newbies: January 18, 2017 Issue [#8085]

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Noticing Newbies


 This week: Silence Your Inner Critic
  Edited by: Tornado Dodger Author IconMail Icon
                             More Newsletters By This Editor  Open in new Window.

Table of Contents

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

About This Newsletter


The Noticing Newbies Newsletter's goal is to make the newer members feel welcome and encourage them with useful information and/or links to make navigating Writing.com easier. Writing.com members of all ages and even veteran members can find useful information here. If you have specific questions, try visiting "Writing.Com 101Open in new Window. and/or "Noticing NewbiesOpen in new Window..


Meet The Noticing Newbies Full-Time Newsletter Editors






Word from our sponsor



Letter from the editor



"Freewriting is a prewriting technique in which a person writes continuously for a set period of time without regard to spelling, grammar, or topic. It produces raw, often unusable material, but helps writers overcome blocks of apathy and self-criticism. It is used mainly by prose writers and writing teachers." - Wikipedia


Silence Your Inner Critic


Many writing teachers advocate for and teach freewriting as a creative and inspirational writing technique. For those of you who struggle with writer's block or creeping perfectionism , this can be a very useful exercise.

Why, you ask?

Freewriting is basically stream-of-consciousness writing. You just write about whatever pops into your mind without regard to proper punctuation or grammar rules. This a wonderful way of training yourself to receive and transmit fresh ideas and can help you identify subjects that interest you.

Deep down, your mind knows how to stream thoughts and inspiration without thinking about it. But if you're not used to writing this way, you may have to try a few times to remind yourself and retrain your thoughts. The goal of freewriting is not to make conscious, deliberate decisions while you're writing but to just write what automatically pops into your mind, leaving you with just subconscious thoughts as your writing.

*Check* Step one is to clear your mind as much as possible. Relax your body and your mind. This may include deep breathing exercises or other things you do to relax.

*Check* Step two is to forget all of the rules. That means the ones concerning grammar and punctuation. The most important part of this writing exercise is not to control your thoughts, just let them go.

*Check* Before you start, set a time limit for how long you want to write. If this is your first-time, you should try to limit yourself to about a ten-minute span. After you have had a few tries and feel you're making progress, you can move up to fifteen or even twenty minutes or more. 1

*Check* Set a timer for the amount of time you've chosen. You can use your phone if you have a timer on it or anything handy, like a kitchen timer. After you start the timer, Then just WRITE. Don’t let anything stop you. Remember, there should be no editing. Not if you spell words wrong, or even if it doesn't seem to make sense. This is crucial to the exercise.

*Check* After your time is up and you immediately stop writing, you can go over your work and look over what you've written. You should look for anything that could be linked to a current writing project but overall, you are looking for any useful topics or ideas that were spurred by the time you spent. You can't fail. Even if you can't think of anything to write and your mind is blank, write that. Write it over and over if you need to; just keep writing. It may not be easy at first but you will get better with time. What you're doing is allowing your mind to free itself from any restraints. If any session of your freewriting comes out too unfocused to use, just take a break and try again later,

What you are doing is freeing your mind, which can be beneficial to all writers, but it is geared primarily toward non-linear writers. Allowing the mind to release ideas that wouldn’t ordinarily be accessible under the basic, linear framework of writing.

Why not give it a try and let your mind explore to see what happens? What do you have to lose? *Smile*

Write and Review on! ~ Brooke

*Down* "Dear Inner Critic, meet your inner heroes!" *Down*
ASIN: 1440329451
Amazon's Price: $ 11.02




Editor's Picks




 Invalid Item Open in new Window. []

by A Guest Visitor

Excerpt:
I know that this past year has been kind of hard. You've had rough spots and slick patches and sometimes it felt like the whole road was just leading to nowhere. But now you've finally reached a new road! 2017! And we both want this year to be better. We both want to be content, because after a year filled with anxiety and second-guessing, you could use a little happiness. I made a list of things that you should be sure to do for the new year that I think will help you find the you that you want to be. You can thank me later.

~*Star*~

 Dear me Open in new Window. [E]
While I cannot enter the actual contest itself (which is all good) it inspired me
by Sammie Ham Author Icon

Excerpt:
Well, dear girl, another year has gone and a new one has come. You made it through 2016 in one piece- good for you! I know it was a rough one. It was full of trials, tribulations and pain. You survived being shot at, you pushed yourself forward in a positive manner at work- when no one thought you could do it. But one of the things that made you strong to me, you let go. You recognized that you were going nowhere, and no one would ever see you for how far you have come. And you walked away from that dead-end job with your head held high- just as you should have!

~*Star*~

 Dear Me - 2017 Open in new Window. [E]
My Contest Entry for Dear Me 2017 Contest
by Rhoswen - Relentless Victory Author Icon

Excerpt:
Wow! 2016 was really a tough year, but you made it! Congratulate yourself for that! Many others would have given up, but not you – you are not a quitter. You never have been.

I am amazed at the strength of your faith – something that many people do not have. You have seen the worst in people, and yet believe that there are still good people in this world. Many people would have given up on God after going through what you have been through, however you have persevered.

~*Star*~

 Invalid Item Open in new Window. []

by A Guest Visitor

Excerpt:
One moment your lips are upon my own,
our love tied together, by a kiss it is sewn.

One moment our fingers are intertwined
stronger than any certificate is this bind.

One moment our bodies are pressed as one,
my thoughts, feelings, and emotions all undone.

~*Star*~

 Your Eyes Don't Look Right Open in new Window. [13+]
"Her hand is cold and thin. Nothing has felt stranger than holding her hand that night.."
by Shawn Author Icon

Excerpt:
Her hand is cold and thin. Nothing has felt stranger than holding her hand that night, under the stars. Her skin looked like porcelain, all lit up from beneath with a sickly moon glow.
I turn towards her and watch her white lips curl into a smile. "It's a full moon," She says, turning her own moon face up to the sky.
I look upwards, too, and feel something strange stir in my chest, like an animal is slowly awakening there, claws picking at my ribs. It's uncomfortable. I look away when my eyes start to burn. That's never happened to me before - the moonlight was always gentle, not like the sun. But tonight, everything burns. Everything burns cold.

~*Star*~

 Everything I Know I Learned in Jail Open in new Window. [18+]
A personal essay and reflection on my time working as a Corrections Officer.
by Lee Vance Author Icon

Excerpt:
"You are about to have Oleoresin Capsicum (OC) spray applied to your face. Once that has happened, you will engage the inmate with a baton while giving verbal commands. Do not stop for rest. Continue the fight until time is called. Do you understand?"

I nodded. My heart was pounding, body slick with sweat. My legs were rubber from the last two fights I had just gone through, so nodding was all I could do.

"Step forward and demonstrate on the target how you want to be sprayed." I grabbed the canister and tried my best to spray the cut out face of Saddam Hussein as lightly as possible. The instructors caught me. They weren't strangers to this little sham.

"Nice try, cadet. Do it again."

~*Star*~

 Stupid Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) Open in new Window. [E]
Hospitality rant - light hearted dig at complaining customers
by MaryMiller Author Icon

Excerpt:
After heading out for breakfast, lunch or dinner people have the opportunity to review their experience. There are comment cards to fill out, we can speak to the staff or management directly or even out there in the world-wide web our feelings and opinions, good or bad, can be shared. How many of us though, working in the industry, wish there was some way of repaying the favour to our opinionated guests?

~*Star*~

 A Voice for Rebekah Open in new Window. [13+]
A young Polish refugee disappears from an orphanage after giving birth to a daughter.
by Elizabeth J Dennis Author Icon

Excerpt:
Mary settled herself into the matching armchair opposite.

She was not what Anna had been expecting. What had she been expecting? Emails simply reveal a tiny part of us, she thought. People can lie about who they are too. Frequently do. There is no body language to give clues about a person; no facial expressions, perfume or after-shave preferences; or body odour and rotten teeth for that matter, all indications of what a person is about.

This lady was tall and slim, simply dressed in a royal blue sweater and black slacks. Her white hair was neatly cropped, enhancing her fine features. Her jewellery was simple too: single-strand pearls and matching stud earrings.

‘Anna?’

Anna started, immediately brought back to the present, accepting the cup of tea Mary was offering.

~*Star*~

 Invalid Item Open in new Window. []

by A Guest Visitor

Excerpt:
It seems so easy,
so easy to give in,
but I can't let my enemy
so easily win.

I will go on
till my heart does.
Not for my enemy
but for my angels' sake.


~*Star*~

 One to Australia Open in new Window. [13+]
I'm actually pretty proud to be the author of this piece.
by TheWalkerInMe Author Icon

Excerpt:
"On a scale of one to Australia, how dangerous are we talking?"

"This mission is pretty dangerous. No one else wants it. I've come to a conclusion. You'll be the one to take it." Boss was demanding this evening, and I couldn't help but wonder what had him all worked up.

"What if we don't want it?" I asked, glancing at my partner, Ruben, then looking back at the boss.

"What if you don't want it?" He asked, snapping his fingers. One of his goons came up behind him, handed him a gun. Boss looked at the man like he'd just slapped him in the face. "I want a drink, you moron. I don't want a damn gun. Get three beers from the fridge. Two for our guests, one for me."

The goon nodded his head and hurriedly went to get those drinks.

~*Star*~



 
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Ask & Answer


I received some wonderful feedback to my last newsletter [#8037] "Say This Not ThatOpen in new Window. and I'm proud to share it with you.

From hbk16
Thanks a lot for your useful grammar advises it is a wise way to notice such mistakes.Your writing is very original.




From justsonali
It will be really good if you can accept my writing. It is my first poem - "Life - My Enemy".



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Footnotes
1  Most writers say sessions of more than twenty minutes are ineffective. What usually results are splintered ideas that are no longer helpful but there are a choice few who can channel their thoughts productively enough to write for well over an hour this way. It all depends on the writer's experience level.

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