Start journaling your heart out today. Have your very own Journaling Kit™ shipped to your doorstep...FREE! |
Home ![]() Articles ![]() Columns ![]() E-books ![]() |
![]() |
![]() ![]() ![]() |
|
Book![]() |
Product![]() |
Market![]() |
HELP FOR WRITERS
![]() Write Any Book in 28 Days... Or Less! New course reveals fresh secrets. Click here to learn more. ![]() The Secret Behind Creativity REVEALED! It's all in the brainwaves. Find out here! ![]() ![]()
![]() Click here to advertise with us for 2 whole months for only $35!
|
Home ![]()
How to Keep a Column Flowing
You're so excited. A newspaper editor has accepted your column proposal. You submitted four sample columns to get you started. You're bubbling over with ideas and think you'll never run out of material.
Then after two or three months, the newness wears off, you have to come up with a new column weekly, bi-monthly, or monthly. The work sets in and the ideas slow down.
Now you wonder how you'll find material to keep your ideas flowing and the columns written. This is turning out to be more work than you bargained for.
Don't lose hope.
I've written a cooking column for more than 30 years for various publications, a quilting column for 10 years, a consumer column for 20 years, a gardening column for 10 weeks, a regional history column off and on for 20 years. I've had to use various techniques to keep the ideas flowing.
Try some of these:
However, the editor, for whom I'd written many articles, asked me to consider it.
"Have you ever done gardening? Do you and your family have a garden?" she asked.
Yes, I grew up on a farm where we had a large garden each year. My husband and I had raised a garden many of the years of our marriage even though our present abode didn't lend itself to gardening. I had many gardening books in my library.
"You can do it for the summer," the editor remarked. "It's only 10 columns."
Since that column was a short term one, I decided I could do it because I had experience in gardening and had the research at my fingertips. (This was before the days of Internet research.)
By putting down a list of topics for the columns, I wasn't at a loss for something to write about. I found I enjoyed the experience and occasionally still write articles about gardening.
Column writing can be a very enjoyable venture. However, it does take more work than some writers are aware when they send a proposal to a newspaper, magazine, or web site. Use some of the above ideas to keep your columns flowing.
Mary Emma Allen is a journalist, columnist, children's writer and book author. Her many publications are listed on her Web site -- http://homepage.fcgnetworks.net/jetent/mea.
![]()
|
FOR JOURNALERS
The Journaling Life: 21 Types of Journals You Can Create to Express Yourself and Record Pieces of Your Life ![]() ![]() SEARCH
COURSES FOR WRITERS
JOYFUL WRITES
Celebrate Your Life through Writing INNER JOURNEY Creative Nurturing of the Writer Within LIFEWRITES 6 Approaches to Journaling CREATIVITY ALLEY 21 Ways to Jumpstart Your Muse WORDS, SWALLOW ME Imagery in Writing WRITING CHANNELS
BOOKS FOR WRITERS
|
|
|
© Copyright 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005 Shery Ma Belle Arrieta-Russ & The e-Writer's Place. Materials appearing in this Web site are owned and copyrighted by their respective authors and/or writers. Please read our Privacy Policy and TOS. No part of this website may be reproduced without consent from its owner. Original site design by Shery Russ. Hosting & maintenance by Hosting4Writers.com. |