Tag: Poetry

On What’s to Come

1392390538DouglasAndersonThe first semester of my senior year has just finished. I will never have another first day of high school, I will never be scared of my school’s mascot -a hideous puffin- at orientation, or be forced to take another Douglas Anderson-style mid-term again. I will also never have another poetry class with Mrs. Melanson, never hear “So, my children…” with a flourish of her hand as she explains just how synesthesia reflects on life as a whole. It’s bittersweet.

I’ve just started Senior Fiction, it is day three and I’m already waiting to see my prose grow the way my poetry did in the semester prior. Writing story starts, reading flash fiction- it feels weird. So far, what I’ve realized is that the most interesting part to every beginning, is the ending it leaves behind.

I first realized just how true this was when I began “Casual Vacancy,” by J.K. Rowling. The story starts when a man dies, and the entire town learns about his death. They feel things about it, their lives are changed by it and new things happen to them through it. The end of a man’s life became the beginning for so many other things. After this realization, I started thinking about other stories I’d read, other myths and parables I’d been taught. Adam and Eve begin life on Earth after their lives as angels end; monarchies are squished to bring forth republics, if Hester Prynne is going to raise her child, her good reputation and even her infatuation with the baby’s father has to be over. Sometimes good endings lead to bad beginnings, and sometimes it takes a little tragedy to bring the dawn in.

I’ve often thought about being a history teacher after school, and with that idea in mind, it’s really hard for me to “leave the past in the past.” We, of course, shouldn’t hold onto the past, we should grow from where we’ve come. But at the same time, as we start a new year, a new semester or job or relationship or short story, I think it’s important to reflect on where we -or the character’s we’re writing about- have come from. It’s important to know how all of the things that are constantly ending, relate with what’s to come.

-Savannah Thanscheidt, Web 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