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Noticing Newbies: April 17, 2013 Issue [#5626]

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Noticing Newbies


 This week: Never Stop Learning
  Edited by: Brooklyn
                             More Newsletters By This Editor  

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 101 and/or "Noticing Newbies.

Meet The Noticing Newbies Full-Time Newsletter Editors

Jace ~ Brooklyn ~ Stephanie Grace ~ Sara♥Jean


Word from our sponsor

ASIN: B07RKLNKH7
Amazon's Price: $ 0.99


Letter from the editor


"Every little qualifier whittles away some fraction of trust on the part of the reader. Readers want a writer who believes in himself and in what he is saying. Don't diminish that belief. Don't be kind of bold. Be bold." - William Zinsser from "On Writing Well"


Never Stop Learning

It's easy for me (or anyone) to offer advice, to explain the correct usage between less and fewer or to share when to use good and well instead of bad or badly but those tips alone won't make you instantly a better writer. I can quote William Zinsser all day long and tell you, "Good writing is lean and confident." while I'm warning you against overuse of weak adverbs but it's just one piece in the puzzle. Taking the time to read, learn and practice will make you a better writer.

If I had a dime for everytime I heard a new writer say, "I would like to improve my writing and I think this site/group/contest/exercise will help me", I'd be rich. Encouragement is great but you have to put in the work. Do you want to become a more effective writer? Do you want to learn and improve your writing skills? Would you love to take a class or join a workshop but don't have the money to attend the ones you can find? One of my favorite things to do here is help writers improve so I would like to share with all of you one solution to that very question. FREE university level courses online from Coursera.Org  

I've been taking courses at Coursera since last year and I can tell you first-hand, it's an amazing experience. I know at least one other moderator here that is taking a course entitled "English Composition I: Achieving Expertise" at Coursera also. It's hard to believe they're all offered for free! While I've taken several classes relating to business, they've just recently begun offering classes relating to writing. Naturally, I think this is a valuable tool and I wanted to share it with my Writing.com family.

Basic Writing   begins May 13th 2013. This course is described as:

Learn to become an effective builder of sentences using the basic tools of grammar, punctuation, and writing.


This would be an excellent class for those of you trying to ensure your writing is clear and grammatically correct. There are no textbooks required for this course either which makes it even more appealing. For those of you that may not be fully comfortable interacting with other students all over the world (literally thousands of students sign up for each course) you are allowed to sign up for courses and 'audit' the class which means all the material will be available to you without physically turning in the assignments to the professor for acknowledgement. Of course, I do recommend you participate fully, but I do understand it can be a little nerve-wracking also.

In fact, perhaps you'd like to sign up and work with other authors right here on Writing.com? If anyone is interested, I'd be willing to start a group and create a place for all participants to discuss the assignments and correspond if they would like to. Anything that will help my fellow members grow and learn, I'm all for! *Smile*

There is even a class offered for those interested in furthering their poetry knowledge.

Modern & Contemporary American Poetry   This course is described as:

ModPo is a fast-paced introduction to modern and contemporary U.S. poetry, from Dickinson and Whitman to the present. Participants (who need no prior experience with poetry) will learn how to read poems that are supposedly "difficult."


Let me know if you decide to sign up by leaving me a note in the comment box below.

Write and Review on! ~ Brooke

*Down*I think this book looks kinda interesting. What do you think?
ASIN: 1440525889
Amazon's Price: $ 11.69


[Related Links] *Thumbsup*
This month's links are to some learning tools available on the site.

*Pencil* "Invalid Item"   by A Guest Visitor
Poetry, grammar, punctuation, play writing, reviewing, novel writing and more

*Pencil* "Invalid Item"   by A Guest Visitor
The place to find & share articles & links to help with all aspects of writing

*Pencil* "Guidelines for Reviewing"   by Pat ~ Rejoice always!
A Beginner's Guide to Writing Reviews

*Pencil* "In Creating Characters Empathy is Key"   by Joy
The writer's empathy for his character will ensure readers' attention.

*Pencil* "How To Make Your Writing Stand Out"   by A E Willcox
The use of voice, diction and figures of speech in fiction writing.



Editor's Picks

Here are some new member items that caught my eye. Remember to always properly rate your items. I cannot highlight your work with a "---" rating no matter how much I like it.

 A Day in the Life  [13+]
Jada must meet her quota before she can leave the city. [clouds, teeth, milk] 295 words.
by EmilyRobersonWallace

Excerpt:
A plethora of dark clouds invaded the sky at sunset, the air chilled after the sun's descent. Jada reached beneath her leather jacket, counting the blades hidden within. Counting six, she began the walk from High Street to Sundown Avenue, a known haunt of the things she sought. She had half an hour before the street would be swarming with the vermin she hunted, and she wasn't prepared to deal with more than a half dozen at a time.

~*Star*~

 Invalid Item  []

by A Guest Visitor

Excerpt:
What is writing to me? It is a way that I can express my own unique ideas and emotions on a multitude of topics, whether they are subjects of debate such as politics, rarely, education, often or simply the imaginations conjured from my store of fancies.

~*Star*~

 Boys and Girls Can't Be Friends  [E]
Things I wanted to say to you.
by Kia

Excerpt:
I was short, fat, with braces, glasses and a face full of zits. I was a 1 and a half, as you once told him. Heh. I'm not mad, I suppose that's right. But I liked you. No, I loved you, as naïve as that may sound. I think it may have been as strong as love. I loved you since the first day. That day when I saw you wearing that ridiculous child tux, moping and pulling on your mother's skirt. I think he must have been standing somewhere next to you. He told me your mum brought him to the ceremony.

~*Star*~

 A Warm Death  [13+]
A story of an inevitable looming even in the safest of places.
by Annie Dobson

Excerpt:
My panicked explanations of why I arrived on your doorstop at an hour known well only by insomniacs and night-workers were cut short by your hushing’s and musing’s. My usually articulate tongue became a prisoner of this sickly sweet, beige warmth your house was clouded in. You brought me hot chocolate and rum for the shock and to help me into a needed slumber. Like the mother you could have so well been, you tucked me into the heavy sheets and copious blankets, assuring me everything would be fine in the cool light of morning.

~*Star*~

Character Study: Sascha Armenaud  [18+]
A young woman holds a brief conversation with the archangel Gabriel.
by Naraxes

Excerpt:
What Sascha Armenaud lacked in stature, she more than made up for in charm.

It arose from a combination of elements; at five-nothing and a hundred nothing, her clear blue eyes and dimples bespoke innocence and lent her smile a staggering impact. Her smile was common in company- no one who knew her personally could recall her ever looking anything but quietly upbeat.

~*Star*~

 Cynthia Mary Rose Darlin  [E]
This is a poem about a very naughty child called Cynthia Mary Rose Darlin
by Sanita

Excerpt:
Cynthia Mary Rose Darlin

could be described as anything but charmin.

She would run through the trees

and scrape her knees.

She tore her dress,

and her hair was a mess.

~*Star*~

 Invalid Item  []

by A Guest Visitor

Excerpt:
Enduring the most painful of sensations
can result in the inspired creation
of simple wonder, pure beauty.

~*Star*~

 The Deadman Series  [18+]
This is a rough draft of a short story series I am working on.
by Jmcroberts

Excerpt:
I woke up lying on a cold floor of a dark room. I slowly got to one knee while shaking my head , trying to gather my wits about me. I noticed that the floor was concrete under my feet. Somehow my shoes and socks where missing. The lights came on and I covered my face from the blinding brightness of the lights. I slowly looked around and saw that I was in a small room with no furniture.

~*Star*~

 Invalid Item  []

by A Guest Visitor

Excerpt:
It was an eventful Sunday evening. Benny’s son was turning eight and he invited me to the birthday party. He had to watch over the kids so I offered to give him company. I don’t go out often and I’m definitely not welcomed by many people. It had been years since I went to a proper social gathering. I hardly have friends and I get phone calls once in a blue moon from a relative pretending to be concerned. I am pretty sure they only call me for my mother’s sake. She’s always so worried about me.

~*Star*~

 Invalid Item  []

by A Guest Visitor

Excerpt:
As Maria stood at the funeral party with the rest of the mourners, listening to them talk about how they would miss the deceased - about how the dead woman had had “so much" before "becoming dead”- she was suddenly enlightened by a different thought. Unless you died at an early age, you eventually got left behind, by everything and everyone.


~*Star*~



 
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Word from Writing.Com

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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ASIN: 197380364X
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Ask & Answer


I received some wonderful feedback to my last newsletter [#5580] "The Three P's and I'm proud to share it with you.

From blunderbuss
Thanks for the newsletter, Brooke. It spurred me to make an enquiry at Duotrope!

That's awesome! Congratulations for taking the plunge! *Bigsmile*

From Grace♥Leo health issues
I enjoyed the newsletter this week. The nuggets you shared are reminders for writers to keep writing. It's really a simple thing to just write it down, it's rest we get tangled up with. Like over thinking one sentence! I like the words the three P's. I will have a sticky note on my screen Patience Persistence Professionalism. Thank you Brooke.*BigSmile*

I'm really happy you enjoyed the newsletter and I really appreciate you sharing your thoughts. *Thumbsup* Thanks!


From Jeff
Loved your newsletter about the Three P's. Now if only I could swap out my Procrastination with Persistence, I'd be set! *Laugh*

You and I are WAY too much alike my friend. *Laugh*


From lisalisa48
Thank you for your very enlightening newsletter about the three "P"s. In today's world, it would seem that they could apply to everything we do - not just writing. Have a wonderful day!


I couldn't agree more. *Wink* Thanks for sharing your thoughts with me.


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