Noticing Newbies Newsletter 53 9/20/08

N0TICING NEWBIES NEWSLETTER

Noticing Newbies Newsletter is geared to help members get acquainted with Writing.com. There are many things to do and learn. Our goal is to help you make your time here more fun and manageable.

Each week we select and showcase new items (poetry, lyrics, short stories, essays, campfires, polls, etc.). Exposure for an item (your writing) helps to bring you more rates and reviews by fellow members and the general public...of course depending on how much exposure you want your item to have. Some writers like to keep their work private. When your work does receive exposure, it helps bring more member interaction, which will give you the opportunity to build new friendships. Remember, it is a two-way street...try to make an effort to reciprocate reviews.


"There's someone that you haven't already met, go introduce yourself to him or her. Walls and labels can't keep you from the people who are so similar to you in spirit. There's a friendly face behind every door if you pick the right moment to knock. Once you start your wave of creative outreach, it turns into a contagious force. People are waking up and smiling at each other, sharing their dreams without hesitation. This community is worth something."

-- Author Unknown


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EDITOR'S NOTE:

Hello New Members!

Hope everyone is adjusting to the schedule change of kids back in school or maybe you are back in school yourself. I don't know about you all, but it doesn't seem like we had much of a summer, autumn is fast approaching, although I can't say I don't love autumn and all its beauty. If winter is anything like what we had in New England last season, I can do without it.

Okay, now, as writers know, not only do you write something that your audience is going to find interesting to read, it is very important to write with creativity, especially when it involves fiction. So, to help you express what may be complex sensory perceptions, it may be useful to become familiar with some special literary techniques:

1. ALLITERATION: is the repetition of initial sounds in neighboring words; words beginning with the same vowel (as in "above," "align," "atom") or consonant (as in "cat," "comatose," "cubicle"); in cliches: sweet smell of success, a dime a dozen, bigger and better, jump for joy.

Wordsworth: And sings a solitary song That whistles in the wind.

Modern poets also avail themselves of alliteration, especially as a substitute for rhyme. Edwin Markham's "Lincoln, the Man of the People" is in unrhymed blank verse, but there are many lines as alliterative as:

She left the Heaven of Heroes and came down To make a man to meet the mortal need A man to match the mountains and the sea The friendly welcome of the wayside well.


2. ASSONANCE: is the repetition of vowel sounds but not consonant sounds as in consonance; words that may not begin with the same vowel but that share an exact-sounding vowel later (as in "bowtie," "earlobe," "crescendo").

Mary Kinzie, poet and head of the creative writing program at Northwestern, gives this example of assonance from her book, A Poet's Guide to Poetry. Pay attention to the repetition of the u and oo sounds:

. . . the broad circumference
Hung on his shoulders like the Moon, whose Orb
Through Optic Glass the Tuscan Artist views
At ev'ning from the top of Fesole . . .


3. CONSONANCE: is the repetition of consonant sounds, but not vowels, as in assonance; e—words that may not begin with the same consonant but that share an exact-sounding consonant later (as in "have," "divvy," "malevolent")

Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening
by Robert Frost (1874-1963):


Whose woods these are I think I know.
His house is in the village though;
He will not see me stopping here
To watch his woods fill up with snow.


4. Onomatopoeia: is a word which imitates the sound it represents, words that sound like their definitions:

'splash' sounds similar to the noise of something falling into water.

'thud' sounds like a falling object hitting the ground.

'buzz' is the sound an insect makes when flying.

"ding dong the bells are going to chime" the "Sound words" make it an onomatopoeia.

I hope you will be inspired to create ways to put a twist on your words whether it is in a poem or even in a sentence of a story, it adds to an interesting read.

Until next time...

"What we love to do we find time to do."

-- John L. Spalding

References:

http://www.tnellen.com/cybereng/lit_terms/alliteration.html
http://fictionwriting.about.com/od/writingexercises/qt/exassonance.htm


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 NEWBIE SHOW ITEMS SUBMITTED FOR NEWSLETTER: 

ID: 1471465   (Rated: 13+) Patriots and Terrorists  The Army of the World is a lie! Read this and stand up for change! Revolution! by Oliver D. Anderson

ID: 1459431   (Rated: E) Why I don’t finish a novel  ver#2: Why I am a poet or why I don’t finish a novel by NOVAcatmando

ID: 1459213 Invalid Item  This item number is not valid. by Not Available.

ID: 1470638   (Rated: 13+) Sweet Sacrifice  Great loss does not always give great gains. by Innis

ID: 1467137 Invalid Item  This item number is not valid. by Not Available.

ID: 1465964 Invalid Item  This item number is not valid. by Not Available.

ID: 1461949   (Rated: E) The Season Has Arrived  A descriptive piece meant to kindle the energy surrounding high school football. by ricknichols

ID: 1467339 Invalid Item  This item number is not valid. by Not Available.

ID: 1458710   (Rated: 13+) it begins  hearing you have cancer by NOVAcatmando

ID: 1472533   (Rated: E) As I sit and begin to write  To win one's heart you must show heart by DClay

 NEW MEMBER LINKS: 

ID: 1405865 Invalid Item  This item number is not valid. by Not Available.

ID: 794817   (Rated: ASR) Newbie Writing  HAVEN FOR NEW MEMBERS! - Stop by and make yourself comfortable. by Laurencia

ID: 1254286 Invalid Item  This item number is not valid. by Not Available.

ID: 989394   (Rated: E) Weekly NEWBIE Challenge  LEARN - Bitem Format, Emoticons, etc., and receive Reviews by ~*~Damiana Renewed~*~

ID: 1016867   (Rated: 13+) Tips for New Members *Under Revision*  Tips for new members -- things to know to improve your Writing.com experience. by Jace--New prompt at 1380461

ID: 530577   (Rated: 13+) THE DROP-OFF BOX   Monthly newbie contest. by Tammy~Catchin Up~

ID: 982972   (Rated: E) Black Case Experience Cafè  A fun place created especially for All Black Cases by BlackAngel

ID: 552576   (Rated: E) Writing.Com: Getting Your Work Seen  UPDATED Jun 6, 2008! Helping Newbies get their items read, rated and reviewed!! by Demon Squirrel of Doom!

ID: 126963   (Rated: ASR) Noticing Newbies  A warm welcome to our newbies; come meet new and not-so-new members of Writing.Com! by The StoryMistress

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ASK & ANSWER:

Thank you for this newsletter. Even though I am towards the end of my newbie days, I enjoy this newsletter and the information included in it. It has always been one of my favorites. Thanks.
Airielee

bookworm243

Thank you for your continued support; I'm happy that you still enjoy the newsletter.


Very clear and informative, Laurencia. Great advice for anyone sending in their manuscript.
Cubby
~Cubby ")

Thank you Cubby for your encouraging comments.



Thank you all for reading Noticing Newbie, please do not hesitate to post your comments.

See you October 15th!

Laurencia

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