Noticing Newbies: February 06, 2019 Issue [#9373]
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 This week: A Writer's Needs
  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.


Word from our sponsor



Letter from the editor


“Creativity comes from a conflict of ideas” – Donatella Versace


Hello fellow writers!

In the past few editorials, I've been exploring what makes inspires you. We started with what prompts tickle your fancy in "Writing Prompt Poll, evolved to "What Prizes Are You Wishing For in 2019? and last month we explored your "Favorite Type of Writing. I found your votes and commentary very interesting and I thank each and every person that voted and/or wrote in to participate.

This month I'd like to say the juxtaposition of these views is what makes this site so amazing. What inspires one writer may stifle another. Using myself as an example, let me explain. I started participating in a very popular writing challenge here that challenges you to write something every week for the entire year. For someone who has written perhaps a handful of items in the past year, this was a daunting task to undertake. In beginning the challenge though, something continued to stifle my creativity. That was the clause that each item must be submitted to a contest here on the site. Now, in chatting with a fellow writer on our Wdc channel on Discord, I discovered that is precisely what excites her about this same challenge. This is exactly what I'm talking about. While the contest aspect stifled my creativity, (I was still writing but couldn't find an appropriate venue to enter my work), my friend was excited by the chance to enter her work in multiple challenges across the site.

What about entering contests stifled my creativity you ask?

Rules. In a nutshell, there was always something that made what I wanted to write ineligible or not fit the mold.

I think this falls into the same categories we've been discussing for the past few newsletters. I'm generally not a prompt-inspired writer. Oddly enough, I'm not inspired by prizes usually either and I know I'm in the minority on that. *Laugh* So, how do we find a happy medium? I think this is one of the things that makes this site so wonderful. There is a myriad of different contests to inspire those that have brains that work that way. Plus, in the off chance you don't find one that inspires you, you can create your own challenge. If you feel this way, chances are there are others that feel the same. This is precisely what I plan to do. I will create my own.

Have you ever had that problem?

Write and Review on! ~ Brooke

*Down*"A STIMULANT FOR CREATIVITY FOR ALL AUTHORS AND EVERYONE ELSE." - Amazon reviewer


[Related Links] *Thumbsup*
This month's links are creative items that challenge us from our community.

*StarR* "I Write in 2019"   by Annette: Free & Wild in GoT
Write and review once a week for all of 2019

*StarP* "The Soundtrack of Your Life"   by Jeff
Once a year, we invite you to chronicle the music that has influenced your life.

*StarV* "Question of the Day!"   by Lilli ☕ still Quilling
Come answer a question, share a laugh, encourage one another, and bring me a coffee!

*StarO* "The Writer's Cramp"   by Sophy
Write the best story OR poem in 24 hours or less and win the 10K GP daily prize!

*Starg* "Daily Flash Fiction Challenge"   by Arakun the Twisted Raccoon
Enter your story of 300 words or less.



Editor's Picks


This month's highlighted author's are members who responded to the prior editorial either via the comment section below or via email or review.

 
The Gilded Wood prologue   [13+]
A beginning look into a world in which the woods are not to be trusted.
by Lilly Tupa

Excerpt:
Unbeknownst to him, this particular sign was not an informational placard, but a form of warning. Decomposing and tagged over, the sign held words that the locals told their children to scare them at bedtime: “Many fear to enter/ the fabled gilded wood/ for few seem to exit/ where one truly should,” Though to be fair, even if Elie had made the effort to read the words under the ink he wouldn’t think much of it. He was never one to believe in fables, folklore, or fairy tales. How ironic that he was to become one himself. Fascinating, really.

~*Star*~

 Ruby has a Reuben   [E]
Unexpected snow day brings more unexpected gifts
by Lance Chambers

Excerpt:
The early morning serenity fluttered away, disturbed by rapid knocks on the bedroom door. The hanging picture of two cartoon pink flamingos dancing the flamenco fell onto the lamp stand, knocking over the Chuck E. Cheese plastic cup next to the sleeping Ruby, spraying water on her. Still asleep, she rolled away from the source of irritation, pulling her "Stay calm and keep on dreaming" pillow over her head.

"Mom!" The continued pounding on the door grew more urgent.

Ruby slept.

~*Star*~

 A Night Walk  [ASR]
A walk in the dark brings fear and unexpected friendships.
by Jenstrying

Excerpt:
I took my normal path from the house to the back of the property. My fear had turned into a need to be scared. My restlessness increased. I shone the light around as I got to the edge of the trees. They seemed to loom up and block my entrance. I smile to myself. Such an imagination! Onward I plunged. I looked around with my flashlight and found a deer trail. I decided to follow it. Pulling up my collar against the chill I shivered. The only sound I heard was my feet crunching on fallen leaves and pine needles

~*Star*~

 Invalid Item  []

by A Guest Visitor

Excerpt:
The Morose, a small, unremarkable vessel, set about what should have been an uneventful launch across Delta Quadrant.
In the vastness of charted space, Delta was the only one not inhabited by humans or other known intelligent species. The planets were too frigid, too arid or too toxic.
In other words, ideal for smugglers.

~*Star*~

 
The Lonely Traveller  [13+]
A poem about the traveller who wanders around.
by Mary Ann MCPhedran

Excerpt:
The lonesome traveller
walks many a town.
In all kinds of weather
He travels around

~*Star*~

 Extreme Temperatures  [ASR]
A short story about moving from one temperature extreme to another. Writer's Cramp entry.
by Jeff

Excerpt:
Gil was actually excited about his employer transferring him to another city. He often heard coworkers complain about it, but most of them had families and houses and things like that to stress out about. As a single renter who had never ventured out of Minnesota, the idea of experiencing a life in a different part of the country was exciting. Especially a place like the famously good-weathered great state of California. As much as Gil loved his hometown of Minneapolis, he was actually looking forward to trading in the cold winters and heavy precipitation for sunny beaches and ocean breezes.

~*Star*~

 Why Harvest Is Good For The Economy  [ASR]
Reap the riches of the land--Harvest Time is here. There's the scent of Autumn in the air.
by Rosie Best

Excerpt:
It is the ripe season of Harvest Time now here in Mid-Michigan. The farmers reap the riches of the land. We all will enjoy the cooler air after a long, hot growing season. Spending money on the produce boosts the economy. Canning the produce to last one year's time stretches your dollar.

~*Star*~

 Monster Cowboys Interactive  [18+]
What do you get when you cross a cowboy with a monster? A Monster Cowboy. 2,940+ views
by BIG BAD WOLF is hopping

Excerpt:
Based off of my Monster Cowboys series, "Monster Cowboys The Book" , you take the reins of someone in this Western/fantasy-style interactive, in which humans, monsters, technology and magic live side by side in the Old West. You could be anyone you want, from a cowboy driving cattle to market, and battling rustlers, to a townsperson in a western town, to an outlaw who preys on the hard working and honest folk, to a Native American watching as Anglo-American Monsters and humans encroach on your tribe's traditional hunting lands.

~*Star*~

Five Cold Natured Stories  [E]
Here's a collection of cold natured stories
by Bubblegum Jones


~*Star*~



 
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Word from Writing.Com

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Ask & Answer


I received some wonderful feedback to my last newsletter [#9322] "What Type of Writing Do You Choose? commenting on the topic and also a question from a fellow member asking "I would like to see the editor's view on how Interactive Stories help or hurt a writer's developing skills."

From Mary Ann MCPhedran
When I decide to enter a contest I do read the rules but don't seem to take them, and I fall down at the first hurdle. This newsletter has given me the idea to change tactics and try to re consider my actions before entering and read the rules several before the contest

Those dastardly rules get you every time! *Laugh* Thanks for sharing your thoughts with us. :)

From Jeff
You're going to be great at this year's writing challenge! I can't wait to start reading your work again! *Delight*

You're always so supportive. I can't tell you how much it means to me. *HeartT*

From Jenstrying
I marked "other" because for me it depends on how much time I have. If I only have short bursts of time to read I tend to read more short stories and articles but if I have some longer breaks to read in I will tend to read novels. I will also read a novel if I just need to escape. It will usually be one that I have read before if it is a bad time. Kind of like having a comfort blanket.

I can totally understand that. I am that way with the TV series Moonlighting actually.

From Lance Chambers
I trust this is the intended means to respond to your request for feedback concerning interactive stories; if not, please tell me what I should have done instead.

Pressing forward, I recall creative exercises in school where we would start writing a story and then at random times the teacher would have us pass our stories to the person in front of us. Oh, the excitement I'd feel as I'd read someone else's twist on the story in front of me. I'd voraciously read everything and then would inject some seasoning of my own. I'd spice things up with my interpretation of how would I change the mood of the story? Timing? Twist?

Maybe one could think of it as something like a jam session: we know the given key, the timing and the starting note. Now mix in the perspectives of the players and we get something amazing.

I might also liken it to improvisation. I remember when my daughter was young enough to want bedtime stories. I'd ask what she would like to hear and everyone once in awhile during the telling of the story, she'd sit up and throw in a suggestion (demand? ;0) for a character to do or say something. We'd have some wild stories

So, in my opinion, such interactive stories keep the story teller alert to new ideas from others and provide ample opportunities to explore--and exercise--different means to their writing craft.

Gosh, this was fun. Thanks for the chance to say something.

I think that makes total sense and I agree completely! Thank you for writing in and sharing your thoughts. *Smile*

From deltablue via email answering the question regarding their favorite type of writing:
Anything. When I started, my interest straddled the line between science fiction and fantasy, but nothing in that world ever materialized. After many fits and starts, I wrote a contemporary novel, "Delta Blue," about a police officer and novice prosecutor preparing a murder case for trial falling in love - forbidden love. I've also begun a few works in progress. One is a comical time travel adventure that mixes real U.S. and Mississippi history with historical fiction/classic literature and general foolishness. The other involve space travel, treachery and one man's effort to get his life back after being declared dead.

Varied interest is important in a writer. Read, read, and read some more I say! *ThumbsUpL*

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