Member Ship
By Amanda Beam
Membership Chair
National Society of Newspaper Columnists
Amanda Beam
Writers execute their craft alone mostly.
It’s the nature of the beast. Our minds find it hard to work with the drumming and droning of others’ lives continuing around us. Thoughts squirrel about, running rabid until a yelling child or yelping dog forces them into the bushes. A good beating around them usually obtained through hours on Facebook may be the only remedy for chasing them out again.
Yet, we are still of two worlds. In our columns, blogs and essays, the past seeps forth from memories and notes and the occasional recorded interview. All the while we remain in the here in now, documenting lessons from our earlier days with hope that they’ll prove useful in times to come.
As a fellow time traveller, Marty McFly has nothing on us.
But being in our own heads, not to mention jammies, for too long can lead to troubles. What happens when we get stuck on a sentence, or can’t decide on a topic? Executives in big companies bounce ideas off of each other. Where can we go to find assistance in our creative quests?
Roughly a year ago, the National Society of Newspaper Columnists’ tech guru and director of media Ben Pollock devised an answer. He created Columnist Clubhouse, a group on Facebook that allows columnists, bloggers and essayist to get things off their chest in a community of like-minded individuals.
If you have questions about writing including marketing techniques, freelancing or the craft itself, drop by and ask away. In addition, you can post links to your own writing and share your work with others. Feedback from fellow scribes, as well as additional website clicks, are added bonuses.
Anyone in the column, blog and essay writing field can join Columnist Clubhouse at www.facebook.com/groups/ColumnistClubhouse. So stop by, say hello, and connect with our community. There’s no reason to write alone anymore.
[NSNC’s Facebook page for public news and announcements can be found at www.facebook.com/columnists — Editor]• • •
It’s not too late to become a member of the National Society of Newspaper Columnists. Follow the website membership page and join today!
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This piece first was published in the January 2016 issue of The Columnist, the monthly membership newsletter of the National Society of Newspaper Columnists.
