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N0TICING NEWBIES NEWSLETTER Noticing Newbies Newsletter is geared to help new members get acquainted with Writing.com -- there is so much do and all the features can be overwhelming! Our goal is to help new members make their time here more fun and manageable. Each week we will showcase new authors items (poetry, short story, polls, etc.). Exposure for each member's writing will help bring more rates and reviews for their work, and by bringing more member interaction to the member, that will give them the opportunity to build friendships with other members, as long as they reciprocate reviews and conversation -- remember, it is a two way street. "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 ------------------------------------------------- EDITIORS NOTE: Hi, I'm back! Hope you all are having a happy holiday season so far. I had a quiet Thanksgiving at home with my husband, two girls and my mother. It's nice not to have to travel anymore, which we had to every year when we lived in Vermont four years ago. Now, we are back home in Maine where I grew up, and we are here to stay! Christmas is my favorite holiday, and not just for present shopping and swapping. Christmas is special, because as a child, believing in Santa and his reindeer at the north pole, and the elves making presents and finding them under the tree in the morning, was the best thing in the world! Of course, now I know the difference of make-believe (at least I think I do  ), and the true meaning of Christmas. But, that magic I felt as a child, has never left my heart.Christmas is so exciting with all the lights on the houses and lawns. Carolers singing on your front lawn, which you don't see much anymore. Drinking hot cocoa or hot-buttered cider with rum, by a toasty fire, listening to Christmas music. Trimming your Christmas tree. Baking Christmas cookies and decorating them. Christmas wreaths, poinsettias, balsam fir incense...the list can go on and on! One of my favorites things to do on Christmas Eve, is reading The Night Before Christmas to my girls before they go to bed...it brings back more of that wonderful magic. Merry Christmas All! This is one of my favorite writing quotes: "Flawed and false storytelling is forced to substitute spectacle for substance, trickery for truth. Weak stories, desperate to hold audience attention, degenerate into multimillion-dollar razzle-dazzle demo reels. In Hollywood imagery becomes more and more extravagant, in Europe more and more decorative. The behavior of actors becomes more and more histrionic, more and more lewd, more and more violent. Music and sound effects become increasingly tumultuous. The total effect transudes into the grotesque. A culture cannot evolve without honest, powerful storytelling. When society repeatedly experiences glossy, hollowed-out, pseudo-stories, it degenerates. We need true satires and tragedies, dramas and comedies that shine a clean light into the dingy corners of the human psyche and society. If not, as Yeats warned, "... the centre can not hold." -- Robert Mckee, Story It's great to do some research and write a story, but it's even better to write what you know, and put your heart into it. Until next time...   -------------------------------------------------  Monthly featured newbies I have personally chosen for your enjoyment:
------------------------------------------------- ASK & ANSWER: Cubby  Laurencia, I truly enjoyed your Letter from the Editor. It came from the heart. The StoryMrs. gave you good advice when she said, "...write whatever you would like." When we find our own voice, it is so much easier to express ourselves. To me, it gets a little easier every month to find something to write about in this newsletter. There's so much information to latch on to, and putting it into our own words can be a challenge, but exciting also. It's actually getting to be fun! But I still get a little nervous when I know the deadline is coming up soon, lol! You're doing great... Love, Cubby ") You are so sweet Cubby. On more than one occasion, you have been supportive and also have great things to say. I'm happy that you enjoy writing the newsletter...it is definitely more fun when it's your voice.  Rob  Hi Laurencia, Thanks you so much for featuring my piece in your NL. I'm almost embarrassed to ask for more (notice I say almost, because I'm going to regardless), but I have just started up a non-fiction NL with girlbythesea and wonder if you could plug us in the next issue (or more...) Thanks, johnnylazer says see new NL You're welcome! Good luck with the newsletter. Ann Ticipation  I was very nervous of writing on such a public 'platform' as an internet site. I found this site by accident when searching for poetry and writing sites. I found another first but then your site was advertised on that site. It was a while before I trusted the feedback was genuine. It took a deep breath, and an unused to glass of wine, before I felt able to risk being ridiculed, or worse still being told I wrote rubbish. Thank God for that drink which pushed me over the brink of no return when on 19/09/04 I posted my first poem on this site and opened my writing up to public scrutiny. Yes of course there has been criticisms and suggestions that I have not always agreed with; but so often a helpful, encouraging and supportive comment/review has helped me to develop and grow as a writer. Thank you. One glass of wine never hurts! lol! I'm so happy that you found W.C. There are many wonderful people here and the reviews can be helpful. Yes, occasionally you will receive a tough critic, we all have...take it with a grain of salt. Thank you for writing in! esprit  Laurencia, A great newsletter! Your advice to practice is right on! It's one of the best tools we have, and it's the only way to find our unique voice and style. Thank you!! nekokaburi  Hi. I just started on this site a few days ago. I've been a little disappointed by the feedback I've been getting-- two comments so far, both in the "this is nice" category. Nothing really in-depth, positive or negative. I was hoping that you could take a look at some of my stuff. If you don't have time, that's fine. Thank you. I'm sorry you are feeling disappointed. Not all members will put the time into a thorough review. I suggest that you check out a review forum, which you will find a few in "NEWBIE WRITING LINKS"  . Also, the more you review other members work, the more you will receive back.Good luck! Thank you to the wonderful people who took the time to respond to my newsletter and their feedback...I appreciate it. Please e-mail any questions or comments directly to the newsletter, attention to myself or any of the editors: Puditat Cubby esprit Laurencia Next week's editor is: Puditat I'll see you on January 2005!! Happy Holiday! Laurencia
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