Selected articles from the NSNC newsletter; only members get the entire contents of the monthly newsletter
It’s the National Columnists Day issue and President Ben Pollock tells how to get the most out of the conference and comments on plagiarism. A conference schedule shows what you’ll miss if you don’t sign up. Dave Lieber has another story about Ernie Pyle. Will Rogers Humanitarian Award winner is announced. Plus lots of “Columnews”…
Writers’ Academy Article previously published in Freelance Focus at PR Newswire, 3/21/2012 By Suzette Martinez Standring Maybe you write an informational or how-to column or blog based on a passionate interest. A popular column is an unbeatable platform for self-expression. Whether it’s about woodworking, social media, or pets, prepare your pitch to an…
By Suzette Martinez Standring Whether you write op-ed, humor, lifestyle or other columns, heartfelt expression is a goal. Relaxation unlocks creativity, and I use guided imagery exercises in my writing workshops to mine memories for sensory details and emotions. Self-hypnosis, meditation, guided imagery, and trance are all the same things, and the process is common…
By Ben S. Pollock NSNC President With certainty, the renowned physicist Garrison Keillor noted in his radio spot The Writer’s Almanac: “On this date [Feb. 23] in 1927, physicist Werner Heisenberg first described his Uncertainty Principle in a letter. In a nutshell, the Uncertainty Principle states that the more precisely we can determine a particle’s…
you, the columnist By Dave Lieber Fort Worth Star-Telegram Are you familiar with Klout.com? The website says it rates your “online influence” on a scale of 1 to 100 “based on your ability to drive action in social networks. We process this data on a daily basis to give you an updated Klout score…
Headline items: “Heisenberg? Not Bad, Heisen You? by Ben S. Pollock, NSNC President “A Writer’s Meditation” by Suzette Martinez Standring “Humor, Politics Mix at Macon” by Ed Grisamore, 2012 Conference Chair Plus “What Are You Writing?”, “Columnews” and “Remembering Jeff Zaslow”
Suzette Martinez Standring, past president of NSNC, recently announced the release of a new CD for writers. “For a long time, I’ve used guided imagery exercises in my writing workshops because relaxation unlocks the imagination. Due to demand, I’ve produced a unique CD with two guided imagery exercises.” she says. Relax With Suzette is a…
Ben S. Pollock President National Society of Newspaper Columnists Spring — OK, this is winter but I’m an optimist — is busy-time for the National Society of Newspaper Columnists. • We’re halfway through gathering entries for the annual Column Contest. Have you sent yours in? Bloggers: You can’t win if you don’t enter. Like…
a rundown on NSNC activities by President Ben Pollock, a provocative challenge for “you, the columnist” from Dave Lieber, an exciting update on the 2012 conference by Ed Grisamore, plus news and information about contests, books and other happenings about your fellow columnists, including a surprise about NSNC’s newest member. Be sure to open your…
By Ben Pollock NSNC President . Who among us still owns a typewriter? My Smith-Corona manual portable that saw me through high school and college is in the attic, but it works. On a desk for addressing envelopes is a bulky Royal office manual. I bought it when the Arkansas newspaper for which I interned…
By Suzette Martinez Standring, NSNC past president Do you ever feel like you’re writing the same old, same old? I did, and I needed a new way to look at my work. So naturally, I went to jail. No, I wasn’t convicted of anything. Last fall I volunteered to teach a meditation and journaling program…
Start off the New Year on a good note by opening your NSNC newsletter, which is emailed to you the first of every month, beginning with January 2012. In this issue, you’ll find: President Ben Pollock says from typewriters to personal computers is not such a big leap after all. Suzette Standring needed a new…
By Dave Lieber Fort Worth Star-Telegram www.YankeeCowboy.com One of my pet peeves is when people come up to me and say, “It’s a shame that the Internet is killing newspapers.” I heartily disagree. Newspapers survived for 15 years with the Internet offering our stuff for free. What’s killing newspapers, first and foremost, is…
By Ben S. Pollock President, National Society of Newspaper Columnists A correction has been made. It is noted below the column. The momentary loss of Jim Romenesko writing a well-regarded blog on news media news is the latest example of corporate journalism losing its way. Or it’s another inconsequential demonstration of panic in the halls…
The last issue of The e-Columnist for 2011 contains some articles of interest to everyone. President Ben Pollock writes about Jim Romenesko and his departure from www.poynter.org. Dave Lieber draws a connection between the late Lewis Grizzard, an outstanding southern humor writer, and the decline of newspaper readership. A large number of NSNC members are included in…
By Suzette Martinez Standring NSNC Past President The best storytellers are like keen-nosed truffle dogs, looking for riches below the surface. It’s what columnists do most days under deadline, usually in 750 words or less. Other writers have a lot more space. Recently, I went to see The New York Times best-selling…
Where’s the Sin in Synchronicity? By Ben S. Pollock NSNC President “How can there be any sin in sincere? “Where is the good in goodbye?” — “Sincere” by Meredith Willson in The Music Man It may be yet another way of stalling the labor of writing, but I’m inspired when I chance upon quotes from…
