Tag: Editor

On Writing Beginnings

window-flower-plant-notebook-diary-notepad-pen-reflection-light-dayAs a writer, a new year can mean finally writing that idea that has been swirling around in your head for a while or taking a closer look at the conventions you put into your pieces. Since January is the first month of the year, why not start working at the beginning on beginnings?

The beginning of a story or a poem needs to hook the reader- but not like the hooks taught in elementary school English class. How you start a piece conveys everything about where the piece will or can go. In my work, I strive to make my openings memorable, and looking at what other writers have started with can be the most helpful thing. In Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen the prologue opens with the image of three people standing under a greasy awning. This image sets the tone for the lifestyle and events that are to come for the main character. It is probably one of the most common ways I and other writers start but it’s a strikingly simple mix of images. But some stories call for a more drastic opening. Albert Camus opens his novel the Stranger with the simple sentence “Maman died today.” This immediately grabs the readers’ attention. Who doesn’t want to suck a reader in with only three words? Sometimes the beginning of a piece of writing makes you stop and process a new outlook. My favorite poet, Jack Gilbert, starts his poem Falling and Flying with the line “Everyone forgets that Icarus also flew.” It makes you look at the age old story of Icarus in a new light and before shipping you off into his insightful poem.

With 2015 just beginning, why not stop and think about the beginning and maybe even put a more interesting spin to it.

-Chrissy Thelemann, Submissions Editor 

Ushering in 2015

While we have been taking a break from Blogging over the Holiday season, the Elan staff would like to share a few of our New Year’s Resolutions with everyone. A new year brings with it new opportunities, new goals, and new writing to create and explore. What are some resolutions that you’ve made?

My New Year’s Resolution this year is to win the Batten Award Scholarship and not pay a single cent for college!                                                                                                                            -Mariah Abshire, Editor-in-Chief

I don’t know if this is weird, but this is my very first New Year’s Resolution, which is fitting because 2015 will be a start of something completely new for me: college. In the year 2015, I want to 1) figure out my future, 2) hold off Senioritis for as long as I can, and 3) be ready for anything!                                                                                                                                             -Shamiya Anderson, Creative Non-fiction Editor

I want to maintain relationships with people from school after I graduate and continue to write poetry.                                                                                                                                             -Taylor Austell, Layout and Design Editor

I want to continue to write after I graduate, and I want to devote more time to studying (math especially)!                                                                                                                                    -Sarah Buckman, Editor-in-Chief 

I have never been the person that made New Year’s Resolutions but I have decided to try something new this year. In this upcoming year I have decided to be happy, find my Zen. I want to keep a positive outlook on life despite anything bad that may happen in this upcoming year.                                                                                                                                         -Anna Dominguez, Junior Poetry Editor

My New Year’s Resolution this year is to write some bomb fiction next semester and meet Blake Griffin!                                                                                                                                            -Madison George, Social Media Editor 

This coming year, I hope to expand my writing into more personal endeavors. I’ve been slacking, in terms of writing outside of school, and I think it’s starting to take a toll on my overall enthusiasm for writing. I’m going to work on taking it back next year, and start to immerse myself in some writing that is really close to what I want to see coming from myself.                                                                                                                                                        -Ruvi Gonzalez, Junior Fiction Editor

I’ve never really stuck to my New Year’s Resolution but since this is my last year at home, why not stick to it? This year I’m going to get a job.                                                                        -Grace Green, Poetry Editor

It shouldn’t take a set date to make changes for the better. A New Year is a new opportunity, but so is a new day; acting on a decision to change should happen at any moment, not just at the turn of the year. Ironically, my resolution is to keep that in mind.  -Jordan Jacob, Junior Editor-in-Chief

In the upcoming year of 2015 I hope to come to some sort of resolution in terms of what I want to do as a career in life. I will be a senior by next Autumn, and I really want to have a good grasp as to what I want to do later in life.                                                                                -Briana Lopez, Junior Social Media Editor 

I don’t normally do New Year’s Resolutions because they typically get forgotten. Plus, why wait until a New Year to make a new you? But I think I’ll play along this time. Next year, I’ll be funnier and more responsible. There it is. I think it’s ambiguous enough to follow.    -Rey Mullennix, Fiction Editor 

Resolutions are embarrassing. My resolution when I was seven would probably have been to stop picking my nose. My resolution when I was nine would be to stop sleeping with a night light. My resolution this year is to stop eating so many Reese’s. I eat them for breakfast sometimes, I eat them when I get home from school… It’s a problem. Maybe I could start eating some cantaloupe or kiwi or something. Anything healthier would be an improvement.                                                                                                                                           -Kat Roland, Art Editor

I resolve to read more poetry books, care less about the Kardashians, and most importantly, to feel how I feel and do what I want instead of letting other people’s expectations be in charge of my actions and thoughts.                                                                   -Savannah Thanscheidt, Web Editor 

This year I want to have more spontaneous moments. Being a senior and having less than a year before I run off toward another adventure I want to not worry about stuff and have more genuine moments of fun.                                                                                                            -Chrissy Thelemann, Submissions Editor 

I do not have a resolution for 2015. I don’t think people should focus on changing because a new year is coming up and everyone is buying into the “New Year, New You” perspective, but people should instead focus on change because they are striving for personal growth. I think making plans are good for yourself on a yearly basis, but for myself personally, I’m still trying to make good on the ones I promised years ago.                                                          -Stephanie Thompson, Marketing Editor

A Tradition of Thanks

Blog Post Tradition PicThis past June I made my way across the Atlantic to visit one of the Seven Wonders of the World, The Coliseum. While waiting for my ticket to be purchased to get inside, I made my way to the many vendors set up with various tchotchkes, postcards, and more. A man with a cardboard box hung around his neck approached me and tried to get me to purchase one of his knock- off Rolexes. I told him over and over “No, thank you” but he just couldn’t take that for an answer. Since he hounded me with so many offers, I decided ask him where he was from. He told me that he and many of the other vendors were from Somalia. I then asked him why he was here in Italy, he nonchalantly replied with one word, “Money.”

“I need a passport and she needs school: to read.” he said. The man then proceeded to point to a little girl behind him who looked to be about three years old. This was all they had, just a worn out lawn chair, a box of fake Rolexes and what little hope they had left.

Thinking about the life I had left for two weeks back at home made me realize how good I had it. My father wasn’t trying to make ends meet by selling watches outside the Coliseum gates. And I knew how to read. I had never been thankful for being able to read. Now with the holidays around the corner, families coming into town, I cannot think of a better tradition to end the holiday season with; being thankful. My friends, my school that has allowed my love for writing to be nurtured, my home, a country where I can speak freely, my mother, my father, everything. Every opportunity that has been put at my feet even if it ended in failure. Everything.

And after that trip I began writing in a journal one good thing that happened to me each day- which I still do. Whether it is passing my math test, waking up on time, or learning something new, I know I have something to be thankful for every day. So as I close out this year and ring in the new one I hope that this tradition will continue to open my eyes and allow me to take in so much more of this world.

-Madison George, Social Media Editor