 Noticing Newbies: June 30, 2021 Issue [#10861] |
This week: Portfolio Organization Edited by: Jeff  
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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
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"You never know what you can do until you try,
and very few try unless they have to."
-- C.S. Lewis
About The Editor: Greetings! My name is Jeff and I'm one of your regular editors for the Noticing Newbies Official Newsletter! I've been a member of Writing.com since 2003, and have edited more than 350 newsletters across the site during that time. If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact me via email or the handy feedback field at the bottom of this newsletter! 
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PORTFOLIO ORGANIZATION
When you're just starting out on Writing.com and you have just a couple of items that you've created, they probably all reside in your main portfolio organized by date of creation. But what happens when you've created fifty items instead of just five? What happens when you've made the leap to write in different genres, or have different kinds of things in your port (writing, WDC activities you want to run, etc.)? Do you still have your portfolio organized by date of creation?
If you're not familiar with Folders, those are items you can create in your port to store other items. While each Folder item does count as an item (e.g., if you have ten stories organized into two folders in your port, you technically have 12 items in your port), they can be an immense help in keeping your materials organized and helping port surfers to find their way to your material that they most want to interact with.
At their most basic, you can label your folders to clearly outline what each one contains. The most popular types of these folders would be along the lines of:
 Nonfiction
Short Stories
Poetry
WDC Activities
Contest Entries
[Group] Items
You can also create subfolders inside of other Folder items. For someone like me who writes in a lot of different genres, I don't just have a "Short Fiction" folder, I also have subfolders for (among other things):
Comedy
Science Fiction & Fantasy
Horror & Thrillers
Romance & Erotica
While you don't have to go overboard with an overly-specific folder structure, some form of organization along these lines can be immensely helpful to readers who have found your port and are looking for something to review that piques their specific interest.
If you're feeling really creative, you might even want to consider a theme for your port rather than boring folder titles like "Short Stories" and "Poetry." It can be a lot of fun and a way of expressing your creativity to find a theme that makes your portfolio stand out. If you're a fan of hiking/mountain climbing, maybe you name all of your folders after peaks of different heights:
Poetry  The Sierra Nevadas
Short Stories The Swiss Alps
Novels Everest
One caveat if you're going to go with a thematic presentation for your portfolio: make sure you clearly explain what each folder represents (either in the name itself, or in the description), so that people who are unfamiliar with your creative folder titles understand what they equate to.
If you have a giant-sized portfolio with hundreds of items, you might also want to consider helping readers navigate all of the items in your port. I personally keep a "New & Noteworthy Things" item with a list of those newer items, which can be handy when you're interested in feedback on your newer stuff rather than a short story you wrote way back in 2008. I've also seen WDC members who will include similar items in their port specific to items they're looking for feedback on, current works in progress, etc. Some members even have an "Archive" folder or similar where they'll put defunct activities and old items that they don't want to necessarily delete, but want to separate out from the things they're actively working on.
There are any number of ways that you can organize your port to make it easier to find things. The key word, though, is organize. If you have more than a couple dozen items of the same type, or a number of items of different types, genres, etc., you will probably find it beneficial to spend some time organizing your portfolio and making it a little more reader-friendly than the default "everything in chronological order" setting that WDC does by default.
For those of you that do organize your port in some way, shape, or form... what are some of your tips and tricks for keeping your work organized? What really grabs your attention when surfing someone else's port? You can use the comment box below to submit your feedback!
Until next time,
Jeff
If you're interested in checking out my work:
"Blogocentric Formulations"
"New & Noteworthy Things"
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This month's official Writing.com writing contest is:
I also encourage you to check out the following items:
EXCERPT: A girl with everything perfect in her life stands on the rooftop under the dark blue sky where are so many brightening stars upon her head. she is thinking about her loving parents, a good friend, a beautiful house with full love and joy her life is perfect and there is nothing in her life which she wants and she has no wish to make it on her birthday her name is Jeon Hae. Suddenly Jeon sees a shooting star, immediately she joins her hands and tries to make a wish.
EXCERPT: We think we have seen and heard about many interesting creatures but, Mother Nature never ceases to surprise us.
Buckle up! We are going to take you on an adventure and show you 5 animals that you didn't know, exist on our beautiful planet.
EXCERPT: There are a lot of things that I have done in my life as a youth that were quite literally hard to accomplish had it NOT been for luck, and NOT knowing all the facts before attempting doing something. This would be one of those stories based mostly on luck and youthful stupidity.
EXCERPT: The last faint sliver of light for the day crawled out through the back patio door in symphony with the setting sun. The pupils of Noah’s eyes enlarged again; the darkness returned. He sat up from the sofa, his feet perfectly parallel with the carpet’s edges, walked over to the refrigerator, and opened it. Lise sat in the back of her chair, watching him.
Her stern gaze scanned over Noah. She had to admire the paradoxical grace by which her son robotically lifted the pitcher of Milk and poured it into a glass. The type of grace by which a mechanical arm in a factory sets an automobile part perfectly in place.
Lise’s expression didn’t change, her brows didn’t cease to be furrowed with concern and wonder and tension. Yet, there was a film of sadness forming over her eyes.
EXCERPT: She stood in front of the mirror; long golden locks sculpted her pretty face. Green eyes brimmed with tears; her brows furrowed in self-contemplation. If only she saw what the mirror saw, a beautiful girl, with an inquisitive mind and insatiable appetite for social justice. But she did not, she saw the shattered reflection of a lost lonely soul, ugly, and invisible. She saw the viciousness of what her brothers had incessantly called her. The ongoing abuse tearing the fabric of her innocence and self-belief. How could two images be so juxtaposed? How could someone so young be so wounded and broken? Who could hurt this girl, so deeply and so completely? And why? She did not know it at the time, nor would it have made any sense, but the vicious words and actions were just spiteful lies, her brothers' projections of their own self-hatred, shame, and guilt. They too were carrying their own burdens. But that was not her fault.
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Feedback from "Noticing Newbies Newsletter (June 2, 2021)" about writing collections:
From hbk16:
It is always good to remind us (all authors and not only newbies) of this. My portfolio needs organization indeed. I may think about this.
Collections are a great way to organize your work!
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