Writers are enjoying community in far west Netwest region

One thing writers usually know or realize is that we all need a community of writers. 

Whether online or in person, we crave the company of and conversation with others who write. For most of my life, I wrote alone with no other writers with whom I could share my work. I didn't know any other writer when I lived in south Georgia. For years I wrote personal essays, some poetry and short stories which no one ever saw. I had no one except family to read my work. I believe family is of no help with deciding if my writing is good or not. My poetry was criticized because it did not rhyme. No one in my family group enjoyed free verse poetry. My true stories were criticized because I didn't include my siblings in the narration. 

Nancy Simpson, Program Coordinator and co-founder of NCWN-West

But, when I moved to North Carolina in 1995, and joined the NC Writers' Network- West, I automatically became a part of a fantastic writing community. Nancy Simpson, poet and teacher, founder and Program Coordinator of NCWN-West, encouraged me, advised me, and supported me in writing and in taking leadership roles. The others in the poetry groups and prose group did the same. I took classes at the John C. Campbell Folk School with excellent writers who were instructors. I began publishing my poetry the year after I arrived in the mountains of North Carolina.

Some have said that writers don't need NCWN-West now because we have the Internet, but they are wrong. Here in the mountains of Appalachia, we need the community of writers who live near us. We have always been a very generous group that wants to help each other improve and get published. 

We have a monthly poetry group that meets in Young Harris, Georgia. We also have a monthly poetry group that meets in Hayesville, NC. 

Coffee with the Poets and Writers meets monthly at the library in Hayesville, NC. All groups are open to the public. 

When the pandemic hit, we had to stop meeting in person for two years. We moved to Zoom to hold meetings online. Our monthly Writers' Night Out has become a Zoom event with writers from distant states joining us. 

Mountain Wordsmiths meets monthly, on Zoom, at 10:30 AM and has become popular with our members from all nine NC counties and north Georgia counties. 

I am happy we were able to keep our community going through Zoom meetings even though some of our members have not been that comfortable going online. It was of utmost importance to keep our members safe during the worst of COVID-19. Now that we can get vaccinated and practice social distancing and wearing masks, it is safer to meet in person. 

I think our writing community has survived the pandemic and it will continue to be a stable program for writers in the remote mountain areas of North Carolina and north Georgia. 

Estelle Rice and I read from our forthcoming book at CWPW.

Estelle Rice and I read from our forthcoming book, Paws, Claws, Hooves, Feathers and Fins, today at Coffee with the Poets and Writers. I was delighted to see the large audience and to see that they enjoyed the stories and poems. I read "How to Bridle an Uncooperative Horse" which has been published elsewhere.

ESTELLE RICE

Our writing organization, North Carolina Writers' Network - West, is a program of the state organization. We hold free events for the public to attend and to give our members opportunity to share their writing. Each month one of our NCWN-West members is featured. This month it was two featured.

Five of those attending today read at Open Mic, a time on the program when the guests are invited to read original stories or poems. Bob Grove read a humorous story about his mother. Richard Carey read a poem about cicadas.

Why do we need a writing community?

Being a member of a writing community is important for many reasons. Members can meet other writers, they attend critique groups and classes with other writers. A member can befriend someone who will read his stories or poems and give him feedback. In our community of writers, we don't compete with each other. We encourage each other and are happy when someone we know is published or wins an award.

I was taught when I joined NCWN-West twenty years ago, to do what I could to help other writers and they would do the same for me. I still do that today, and I hope new writers who join us now will do the same.

A Blog, A Newsletter, Both?

With all the talk about how a writer can build a platform or build a brand, I am pleased to see this   helpful post  

The author believes a writer should have a blog and a newsletter. I definitely believe a writer must have a blog. Read this article to see why Jim Devitt feels a blog is necessary.

Some of the comments show the writers don't see the "big picture." When the person comments that he doesn't  need a blog because he doesn't have enough books published yet, he is woefully neglecting his platform. The blog can be helpful in his getting those books published, in getting his name recognized before the book is published so that marketing of the book is easier. With a blog, a writer builds a community of readers and friends who will tell their friends about this writer. This is like moving into a neighborhood and taking time to get to know the folks who live there. When you know them and they know you, you have built an identity in your community. You are no longer a stranger, but someone to be trusted, and you have friends you can call on if needed. This doesn't happen overnight and neither does creating a writing community. It takes time and effort.

A blog increases a writer's online visibility because the search engines pick up his blog posts. I would rather visit an author's blog than simply see a website where his books are listed. And then, of course, he can share his blog posts on all the social media which will likely bring him new readers.