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  Noticing Newbies  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   Welcome to the Noticing Newbies Newsletter! Our goal is to showcase some of our newest Writing.Com Authors and their items. From poetry and stories to creative polls and interactives, we'll bring you a wide variety of items to enjoy. We will also feature "how to" advice and items that will help to jump start the creation process on Writing.com We hope all members of the site will take the time to read, rate, review and welcome our new authors. By introducing ourselves, reviewing items and reaching out, we will not only make them feel at home within our community, we just might make new friends! Your host this week is esprit   Passionate about writing? Take your passion to new heights - with an online Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing, available only from top ranked National University. Choose workshops based on your interests. Work with experienced and published faculty. Prepare for a variety of career opportunities. Use a state-of-the art online system: Study where and when you want. Click here to get more information!  FIRST DRAFT'S ARE UGLY Do you understand what a first draft is? Some new writers are proud of how quickly they wrote their story or poem. Somehow, they have gotten the impression that fast is good. Then, that same fact is used as an excuse when they receive feedback. Do they want it both ways? No, I don’t think so; I think they are new writers with a lot to learn about writing. That’s why they joined the site.  First drafts First drafts are the roughest, ugliest pieces of writing you will write. All writers begin their story with a rough draft. This is how they end up with good second and third drafts. The last draft is polished and shined to a point where it is unrecognizable from the first rough draft. The last draft will be submitted for publication. It may be the fifteenth! Don't stress over it. It takes time, but you will get there! Some writers expect themselves to produce perfect, publishable first drafts. They are loading a heap of stress upon their shoulders unnecessarily, and their self-confidence will take a huge hit when the feedback comes in. Don’t let it happen to you. The first draft is the place to write down everything. Don’t worry about grammar rules or spelling. Get all your ideas down on paper while you can. Then leave them there. Don't post it publicly and don’t touch it for a day or two. Write something else or go for a walk. Your muse will thank you. If you post first writings immediately you're setting yourself up for disappointment. Posted work will be reviewed, and this is not the time for a review. Second draft. After a day or two go back and start crossing out those terrible ideas, extra words and sentences you don’t need. They won’t look as good by then. You know the spelling, punctuation and grammar rules you threw out the other day? Go back and pick them up now. Edit the work, correct the spelling, join sentence fragments. If you use a Word Perfect program, it has a good Grammar check under Tools, use it. Don’t change things too quickly just because it suggests something though. It offers suggestions, but it’s up to you to know when it needs changing. Do all the editing you can before posting it into your portfolio. Now it’s ready for feedback. It’s important to read your feedback. Did more than one reviewer have the same suggestion? Then it would be wise to look that particular area over again. Third draft.Using your feedback as a guide, you can now work on your third draft. You will begin to see it’s much better than that terrible first draft. It will be tighter and will begin to shine. Don’t stop yet though, look it over with a fine tooth comb, cut out all unnecessary words, polish it some more. When it’s ready, place it on the review forums again. Repeat this as many times as it takes. A quote from author Anne Lamott, ”The first draft is the child’s draft, where you let it all pour out and then let it romp all over the place, knowing that no one is going to see it and that you can shape it later.” Let your ideas flow the first time you sit down to write that article or story! It’s only when you write those terrible first drafts will you be able to produce really, really great stories! Then you can get them published! Until next month, keep writing! ** Image ID #715135 Unavailable **     ** Image ID #830174 Unavailable ** Authors Showcase
Helpful Links
I suggest you place this link in your favorites since it covers so much. Don't know how? Just click on the forum fist, the system will do the rest.
QUOTE You don't have to be a poet to evaluate poetry. I don't cook, but I still like to taste! with permission of; Eliot Submit an item for consideration in this newsletter! http://www.Writing.Com/main/newsletters.php?action=nli_form  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! http://www.Writing.Com/main/newsletters.php?action=nli_form Don't forget to support our sponsor! %%NL_AD_BOT%%  We all love feedback, thank you and keep it coming. These replies were for last months question, How important are brief descriptions? Submitted By: PIB--mourns her puppy  Submitted Item: "Desert Springtime" Submitted Comment: Hello esprit, How important are brief descriptions? Personally, they don't affect me too much. But, if a piece of writing has a really interesting brief description, then I will want to read it right away. I've seen too many "just another poem i wrote, plz r/r/r, thanx" lately, which is just a bit of a turn off. Nice editorial this week! Appropriate classification of genres, brief descriptions, and ratings are all something I've been mentioning a lot in my reviews (for newbies) recently. Keep up the great work! --Jamie (I attached a beautiful poem I found in a newbie's port for you to consider featuring in a future newsletter ) Thanks Jamie. I agree and I was glad to include it. Thanks for submitting it. Submitted By: Beyond the Cloud9  Submitted Comment: Hi Esprit...Brief descriptions are very important for me when choosing something to read. If the description can spark my interest, I'm there! If it says, "I don't know what to put here," or "just read it," that tells me nothing about what I'm about to read. Short descriptions are what pulls the readers in and should not be neglected. Yes!! Submitted By: kimberlyb1968 Submitted Comment: This month's question: Brief Descriptions? I think they are important though I admit I have trouble with mine. Reading the Dec issue helped. I think I will pay a little more attention to mine now. Thanks, Kimberly. Back issues of the newsletter are available as soon as possible for everyone to read. They all have tips and hints that remain relevant. I keep copies of mine in my port for anyone to read. Thanks for visiting and finding that one! Question for next month: Submission Block. Fear of submitting to publishers. Fear of rejection. If you published once, do you fear you can't do it again? Fear of showing your work publicly? What is your writing fear?  Don't forget to submit items to the newsletter for consideration. The editors are; Cubby  Beyond the Cloud9 esprit bianca_b is next week's editorHave a question or comment for the Editor? http://www.Writing.Com/main/newsletters.php?action=nli_form  To stop receiving this newsletter, go into your account and remove the check from the box beside the specific topic. Be sure to click "Complete Edit" or it will not save your changes. |
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