  Noticing Newbies
This week: Edited by: CHRISTMAS cub-BELLS R RINGING!  
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1. About this Newsletter
2. A Word from our Sponsor
3. Letter from the Editor
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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!
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Product Type: Toys & Games
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Amazon's Price: Price N/A
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** Image ID #1179928 Unavailable **
 ~ Anonymous ~
If you haven't yet ran into Anonymous, chances are you will. And hopefully, for your sake, it will be a positive experience, unlike mine. The first time I received a negative anonymous response, I was devastated. Now let me tell you, not all Anons are rude, but whenever I see an Anon in my email box, my heart races a little, just because of the negative responses certain Anons have sent in the past. But this is not about just rude anonymous members; it's also about the good ones.
First of all, dealing with Anonymous is tricky. If you receive a low rating and a nasty review, there's no way of contacting this person back. I call these Anons cowards. For many of us, these members have ruined our day, lowered our self-esteem, and made us mad as a hornet. It's so very frustrating. But you need to get tough and ignore their unkind remarks and low ratings. Take a deep breath, and perhaps ten more, but get over it and consider yourself above that sort of personality trait.
And then there are those big-hearted Anons. They are the ones you must remember don't make all anonymous members evil. They are the ones who might send you a month's upgrade when you need it most. Or a c-Note in your email to cheer you up when you are feeling down or ill (and they may have read that in your Blog, by the way). There are actually Message Forums where you can send a Thank You to these anons, too. Whether most anons read them or not, I don't know. I've never sent anything anonymous myself, but I have sent a thank you, just in case.
So next time you see an anonymous email in your box, remember it might not be from a coward, but from an angel. And if it isn't? Delete it and arise with wings.
Here are a few sites I found regarding Anonymous. 
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And one for any sort of negative comment, anonymous or not:
As always,
Have fun...
and
Happy Writing!
Love, Cubby ") |
~  ~ Got questions? Look for answers here... ~ ~
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~~~And Now... For Our Featured Newbie Presentation!~~~
Excerpt: The DI’s herded us into a nearby building for the sheep shearing; electric clippers quickly cut our hair down to the bone. After exchanging our civilian clothes for green Marine Corps “utilities”, I looked around the room of eighty recruits but could no longer identify anyone I knew from the bus ride. Everyone was now wearing the same dark green utilities, the same blank but obedient expression and the same bald head.
Excerpt: The heavy overcast sky looked gloomy, promising a cold rainy day. But Kit wasn’t worried about that; he was used to such weather in his native city of Ubansk. The sea was usually dark and stormy during the winter months there. Kit liked it, liked the intensity of the skies that begged to be freed of its burden. As a kid, the boy loved to wander about in the rain, even during winter. His mom always scolded him that he would catch a cold in “such terrible weather.” He never did. Rain and Kit were friends; they got along pretty well.
Excerpt: In my life, I’ve actually had three of them which expressed an interest in being more than friends...that I knew about. I’d like to think there were thousands that were intimidated by my raw masculinity. Obviously, two of these wonderful women didn’t work out. The first was my mistake, because I was too needy…like Fez from That 70’s Show. Girl #2 was also my mistake, because I realized I liked the idea of having a girlfriend more than I actually liked my girlfriend. Although we’re friends to this day, I’m convinced that somewhere in the recesses of her mind, she’s still bitter about it. She would probably deny it, but the fact is she should be bitter. I was a jerk.
Excerpt: She’d slipped her dress gracefully over her head, and left without looking at him. Her stomach rolled over inside, burning itself, filling her erect but she knew it was so heavy and so low and so dirty and her face was like stone and her eyes didn’t move. But her body revolted, trying to thrust her back through the door to explain everything and fall into his arms again, but instead she left herself behind with him and drove away.
Excerpt:
I will never forget the first time we locked eyes,
No breathing, no conscience, just butterflies.
Excerpt:
Born first from night
Swaddled in this toxic air
You rise now
Above haze dimmed peaks
Excerpt:
Into a land
The Nunchooks abide
Their cat is a spy
The river runs on
Excerpt: He allowed the dust to settle before he stepped out on the surface of the planet. He began to cover the ground. He had to find Byrd. He could see nothing around him at all, just thick remnants of dirt that constantly found its way on the visor. Finally, in the distance, an object began to come into focus. Dr. Z started to pick up the pace as he realized this could be a sign of Byrd. As he approached the object, there was still no way of telling what exactly it was. The cloudiness of the planet made it almost impossible; he could just make out that something odd was there.
~~~Items Submitted by Newbies!!~~~
Excerpt: Bebe arrived home and looked around her condo with satisfaction. One positive way she had used the burst of energy during the manic episode was a massive cleaning spree. The kitchen pantry was now organized and all those old spices, the ones that hadn't been aromatic since way back when Jimmy Carter was president, were gone. Her underwear drawer only contained underwear that was clean, comfortable to wear and brightly colored enough to keep her cheerful. She had never been hospitalized, but it was reassuring to think that she would be there in fashionable underwear if it did happen down the road.
Excerpt: Frank Williams left his home at exactly 2100 hours. Not 9:00 p.m. 2100 hours. He missed the military. He especially missed the strict regulations and punctuality it provided for him. So he lived his civilian life as much like the military as he could. Although he was a rising star in the ranks of the Army Rangers, he was honorably discharged about two months ago. His back still ached from the crash landing of an Army Blackhawk helicopter. The doctors said he wouldn’t be able to participate in any more combat sorties as a result of his back injuries. Denied of combat, he felt useless, so he requested an early retirement.
Excerpt: They made their way down the bustling, colorful streets of downtown Milledgeville, commenting on the costumes the whole way. One costume in particular caught Christina’s attention, although Lindsay didn’t seem to care at all. It was a man in a simple blue robe. This wasn’t interesting in and of itself—“You two could coordinate!” Lindsay would remark with a sneer—it was his eyes. He had managed to find contacts that made both his iris and his pupil appear to be a light silver color.
Excerpt: That I was putting myself through college came to me as a vague recollection. Yes, that was it. I was a sophomore in college. I was studying English literature. It was all coming back now. I poured a cup of coffee—hot and black—and walked to the kitchen table, sat down, and took an experimental swallow. Ahhhh, relief. My head cleared, my headache eased, and I woke up enough to survey the damage to my humble abode.
 Attention all Newbies!!! Please consider entering the next round of this contest! It's a great way to earn Gift Points and possibly a First Place Ribbon! Deadline is December 31st at midnight.
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Last month's question: Please share at least one writing exercise that has worked for you!
 Wren 
Good newsletter, Cubby. I love your suggestions for luring your Muse back to work. Thanks.
You are very welcome. 
esprit
Cubby, what a great idea to take a chair to the flea market! That's way more interesting than the mall, isn't it? Flea markets are wonderful and full of real life! Great newsletter!
Thanks, Esprit!  Yeah, flea markets are great. And usually loaded with a varitety of characters!
nikipen
This newsletter was terrific! Writing exercises are definitely a great impetus to get the creative juices going, and these suggestions were ones I've never seen before. Thank you!
You're welcome. It's always nice to pick up a new idea or two, isn't it?
scribbler
my personal favourite writing exersise is looking up baby names, picking one and using just the name create a whole back story to the character. Evenetually these usually become my characters =) happy writing.
Ahhhh! I've done that myself! A baby name book is definitely a must for fiction writers. Thanks for sharing this, because if I would have thought of it, I definitely would have added this to my list. 
Naomi Verhan 
One of my favorite writing exercises is to write the very first sentence you think of. Even if it's something about needing to feed a pet or a reminder, pen it. A few minutes later, come back to it. See if you can change a word or two words to make it a true beginning to a piece, a poem, a story...anything! Play around with punctuation or just add quotation marks. You'll see. :)
What an excellent idea!!! Thanks SO much for sharing it. I will try it, for sure!
alexnuma
One more you may want to add to the list of writing exercises, and has to do with energy:
11. Keep yourself open to falling in love at all times.
Thank you for the newsletter.
Alec Numa
Oh, how interesting! I like that very much. Thank you for sharing this.
clockworklife
Halyn sent the following question:
"I have a problem. I have only four items in my portfolio, but I am not allowed to create any new items. What can I do to fix this?
~~Halyn"
And you responded:
"In order to create new items that exceed five, you will need to pay for a Basic Membership, which allows you up to 25 items. That comes to about twenty bucks a year. Or if you wanted to go for an Upgraded Membership, you can add 250 items for about fifty dollars per year. You also have the option of paying quarterly or twice a year, for a few dollars more. And of course there are more memberships that go beyond these. Check them out at the Writing.Com Store. If you look toward the top of your screen, you will see several columns/lists. Click on Our Store to read more about memberships."
I'm disappointed in you for not reading this more closely. Halyn said she has FOUR items. She should be able to add one more, but can't. Please address THAT questions for her.
~Clock
I'm sorry if I disappointed you.  I tried to contact Halyn, but it seems this person is no longer a member here. She should have been able to keep five items in her port. Since she no longer is here, I am not able to check into it further. My computer was out-of-commission for almost three weeks at the time she sent in the feedback. (BTW, I always read my feedback closely before responding.) I felt there was no need to explain something I was not able to research further. Perhaps I should have made that clear in my response to her feedback. Well, now... there you have it! An unsolved mystery, of sorts.
kate f
To answer Cubby's question of the month.
The book that got me back into writing after a break of about 10 years was "The Right to Write" by Julia Cameron. It has lots of ideas to keep you inspired and motivated. She recommends writing 3 pages every morning before you do anything else, before your logical, critical brain has kicked in. With three young children in the house I've never managed this, instead I write for half an hour in my lunch break. Six years on, these journals keep me sane and keep my creative juices flowing!
Kate
Thanks for sharing the title with us! I'm always happy to buy an inspirational/motivational book on writing for my library! And I'm sure the members who are reading this, will at least have something to consider purchasing or borrowing in the near future. Not everyone feels the same about these books, and some think they are a waste of time, but for me personally, I get quite a charge out of reading them. My biggest problem is that it's hard to borrow instead of buy, because I like to highlight, underline, and scribble in notes and ideas as I'm reading. 
Rachwrites82
Thanks so much for the helpful tips on creating an idea for a story. I have the hardest time coming up with subjects. Once I get the subject down, it becomes easier and the story just comes out of me. These tips will help me a lot!
You are very welcome! I'm glad my tips were helpful.
Devon
Hi I was just wanting to let you know about me...
Im new to writing.com and was just hoping to start out right. My short stories have death in them so they will not cut the children's criteria but if you ever want to link me or my writings email me!. Thanks alot. Devon
Thanks for the introduction, Devon. Perhaps some of our readers here will take a gander in your port. We have access to several free newsletters at this site, and you may want to send your items in to one of them, according to genre. Editors are usually interested in considering item submissions to add to their next newsletter. As an example, "Remembrance: A vision of a blaze" could be sent in to the 'Spiritual' newsletter. To subscribe to a newsletter and/or send in a submission, all you have to do is go to 'Site Tools', which is located to the left of your screen under 'Site Navigation'. There you will find 'Newsletters' part way down the list. Just click on that, and there you have it! The rest is pretty self-explanitory. Welcome to this wonderful writing community!
 Quote: I love being a writer. What I can't stand is the paperwork.
~Peter De Vries
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Noticing Newbies: November 29, 2006 Issue [#1397]
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