Scribble-Scrawl-Scratch-N-Doodle

I've contemplated several times creating a blog on WDC. In fact, quite awhile before it really started soaring. One of the things I pondered was what to write in it. I've read numerous blogs here. Some a mix of personal reflections, others a mix of their WDC endeavors. I always told myself that if I were to blog, it wouldn't be merely a self serving avenue for promoting any groups I run, but a few things have been on my mind that I want to share. Before I get into more, I should give anyone who may be reading this a little bit of background.

When I first started WDC, I felt relatively unknown. Then, one day, SHERRI GIBSON knocked on my mailbox and informed me that one of my items, a horrible piece in retrospect, was chosen to be part of that week's "Simply Positive Newbie Reviewers" . I was over the moon, not because I thought she thought my work was fantastic or anything, but because someone had actually noticed me in a sea of tiny specks. What ensued was a full week of bombardment of my email box. Some people liked my work, others didn't, but they were all welcoming and so very kind. I felt completely honored, and it was just the sort of welcoming that really got me involved in the site's community. WDC was no longer just a place to slap up my work. It was fast becoming my home, my internet-family.

I quickly learned the ropes of reviewing. I tried my hand at a few. They weren't very good. Some people, including beloved 🌕 HuntersMoon , privately graced my email to let me know some easy tips on improvement. I changed. I became a better reader. I learned, through looking at someone else's work, how to improve on my own.

I soon joined several review groups, firstly "Simply Positive Review Forum " , "Simply Positive Newbie Reviewers" , and "The WDC Angel Army" , but also a multitude of others that have since come and gone. I was pumping them out like crazy just a couple of months in. I wouldn't say now that I was an amazing reviewer, but I think without that crucial step I wouldn't be where I am today. I got feedback on my reviews from those I had sent them to, I learned, I grew.

I still review these days, but not at the same level I did before. Some of those are outside factors like having a baby (I love you Rosalie!) and stuff like that. My reviewing self of today is more focused on quality over quantity. That should be a given to any sensible reviewer, but it's easy to see that it's not. It's not a controversial subject I have time or energy to combat, but it's important to what I have to say next.

As if reviewing a newcomer isn't hard enough, WDC has taken a large hit on its 'newbie' reviewing groups. When I first began in 2009, I rode the short-lived end wave of the 'golden' zone for newbie review groups. Please don't misunderstand, I'm not knocking any newbie review group out there right now, or even then. I'm just pointing out that there's this evident lack of will to extend newbie compassion and welcoming like there used to be a few years ago. People, groups, and ideas have all come and gone, but what's remarkable is a few determined individuals who have captured that special mission and balled them up into a few wonderful groups, including mine.

I know I'm not the only one to think that the harder the mission is pushed to really welcome newbies, the less receptive our audience seems to be. I know from personal experience how easy it is to get wrapped up in the politics of the site, the groups, the this, the that. Then on top of all of that, there's that little thing we came here for in the first place, writing and getting feedback. So we're in this weird octopus ball of wanting to give, give, give, but also trying to promote ourselves, with every right, and still find time to actually write.

We group together in unintended cliques for ease because there's strength in numbers. We say to ourselves that this group looks nice, or that group has active people, or hey, look at that group's reviews, and we join. But more often than not we just become another name on another registry that causes some unsuspecting group leader to have nightmares trying to figure out who's really on board and who's not. Our group leaders band together with those few who are really willing to give their all to their cause. They jump through hoops and turn tricks all hours of the day to try and spark activity. I know it, I've been there, I've done that. I've been part of teams and watched other leaders experience the same thing. So I know, believe me I know, that there are a multitude of dynamics on this site to consider, but we absolutely, without a doubt, cannot ignore the needs of newbies to WDC.

It. Is. So. Important.

This site will not function without new members, not in the long haul. Like groups, people come and go. Some are in it for the long haul, perhaps forever, but others have yet to even embark on their journey to this site. When they get there, we need to be ready. More importantly, we should want to be ready, for every new person that comes across 'Read a Newbie' page may be an integral member of the community at some point in the future.

Furthermore, I've always felt that many newbies have needed more of our help than those who are already well established in the community. The quote at the top of this entry captures that feeling I have well. We spend so much time focusing on rewarding and recognizing those that are already here, but we (albeit politely) gloss over those that could really use the help.

Are we just afraid of reviewing them? I think so, in a way. Let's be honest, it can be messy. Newbies don't always post their best work right away. There's a lot of test static items. There's a lot of spam. There's a lot of rough edges. It's a lot of repetition, a lot of reiterating the same droned phrases in different ways to each newbie: rate your item, set the genres, create a tagline, make a title, don't shove 50,000 words into a static item, use a book, use a blog, set it as a short story, no set it as a poem, not my cup of tea, what's with the weird fetishes and fart stories, is this an advertisement, eat your peas and carrots, don't pet the lions--on, and on, and on!

I'm not trying to say that we shouldn't award and recognize those who are accomplished, not by any means, but I think that it shouldn't be at the cost of forgetting the basics. In a group, for example, the leaders and members are limited by their collective funds. If you're lucky, you may be able to buy some yourself, but more often than not we rely on charity raffles and auctions. We plug our cause and rely on generosity to give us the means to ambitiously fulfill our mission. It's admirable, it really is. It's a lot of hard work and networking.

The real question you have to ask is what that mission really is and how the leaders are really fulfilling it. It might look pretty, and sound all nice, but does it actually serve a real purpose? I thought my group did, and how completely wrong I was!

I set up my group with well thought out and admirable goals but you know what happened? In the end it was a cycle of rewarding members for hashing our quantity over quality. Our members worked hard, but had the wrong focus. Instead of taking our funds and actually using them on newbies, we were grasping at straws for activity so hard that we overcompensated by rewarding our veteran members just for participation. But, but, we had to have activity to keep up the funding, right? We can't have the group if there are no members! However, it became a vicious cycle of conflict in whether to spend our precious Gift Points on keeping our group alive and active or putting it toward what we collected it for in the first place. We lost ourselves in the race, but then, it was never a race to begin with.

All of this is why last week I made some changes to my group. Now, we still reward our veterans, but we are back on track and focused with what sparked our group in the first place. I invite you all to check it out and participate as you can!

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Other Newbie Resources:
"Newbie Welcome Wagon" 
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"Let's help each other grow- Closed" 
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"The Angel Outreach Program" 
"Noticing Newbies" 


Although there are only a couple of days left for May's Inspiration Challenge, "Invalid Item"  will still be holding a monthly activity in "Invalid Item" . I really hope to see you there!


Sincerely,
A once (or twice) newbie herself,
Riot

I'm not really sure what to blog about, but I figured I'd go ahead and jump on the bandwagon and join in the blogging efforts throughout WDC. If anyone wants to jump in and add my blog to their watch list, I'd be happy to reciprocate. I suspect a lot of babbling may ensue!

My daughter Rosalie Octavia   is turning seven months old tomorrow, so I figured this would be a good time to talk a little bit about her.