Tag: writing

Breaking down the Dam

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Writers block is such an odd sensation. It’s like knowing what you want to write but you don’t know how to formulate it coherently.

It is literally an all-encompassing feeling of frustration and confusion.
The most frustrating part about writer’s block is that there is nothing that will make it go away except time and it can last for what feels like an eternity.

Writers block can strike at anytime, but it feels as if it is most common when there is a deadline that is fast approaching.

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Breaking through the writers’ block and having the words just flow out is one of the most satisfying feelings.

It is like a dam that has been holding back a vast amount of water, and that dam finally breaking down and all the water pouring out. Once that dam has been broken down you feel almost unstoppable, like the water that just continues to flow.

Funny Girls

beetlejus

Before I began to write this, I googled “funny topics to write about”. 

I did this because I am uncreative person who relies on the ideas of others. 

What surprised me was that the number one “funny” topic on the website was “Women can’t be funny”.  Seeing this invoked my inner Hillary Clinton or Susan B. Anthony or whichever feminist you wish to compare me to. 

Obviously I was outraged.  The idea that women can’t be funny is crazy; if I learned anything from my 10 years of watching Saturday Night Live, it would be that Kristen Wiig is hilarious and Justin Timberlake needs to stop writing songs about his…you know.

 In days past, it used to be only ugly girls were funny, now it seems to be only good-looking female comediennes who can crack a laugh.

It used to be that when performing you wanted to look “comical”, much like Lucille Ball in I Love Lucy, but now, if you don’t have good looks and, of course, above a C-cup, it’s hard to even score spot at an open mic night. 

While the comedy world isn’t 100% free of sexism, it’s pretty close. 

That person who wrote that “women can’t be funny” topic isn’t really an outstanding model for the entire comedy world. 

I mean that guy probably thinks “that’s what she said” jokes are hilarious and has based his entire sense of humor off South Park. 

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credit to Vanity Fair

Writer’s Block

raining17Leave a comment

As a first-year journalism student, I have the tedious task of producing two blogs a week. They aren’t hard pieces of writing – they have a 150 word minimum and can be about absolutely anything. However, every time I sit down to write one, I find myself with intense writer’s block.

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It’s not that my life is so boring that there’s nothing to write about, honestly. It’s just that I can never translate it into writing! I never know if I should talk about what’s happening in my day-to-day life or if I should speak more about worldly current events.

The most difficult part of writing blogs is the mandatory aspect. If I sat down whenever I had inspiration and simply wrote, my blogs would be great! However, I’m forcing myself to scrounge up “interesting” material and scrape out 150 words, which just takes the magic out of writing.

I’m not saying that everything I write is dull and completely forced, I’m only introducing the idea that if I were to write of my own accord, my writing would be full of life.

Sneak Peek

lanative1Leave a comment

Hi, people.  I’m writing a book right now.  I’ve gotten about 16 pages done — aren’t you proud?  Here’s a chapter.  Hopefully you can read all of them next year, maybe even in a published book.

 

8-

I am running.

Footfall after footfall, the black street disappears behind me as a I fly through the night.

Out of breath, I whip my head around. They are still following me, almost about to catch me.

The game soon becomes a chase, similar to how a cheetah chases a gazelle.

I hop over logs, stumbling but righting my balance. I launch forward onto my hands and swing my legs up and over my body. This sets them off a few paces.

I continue running.

This is true freedom.

Fighting for my survival, fighting to win, to be safe. The wind passes through my hair and keeps it upright behind me.

I do not slow down.

They are laughing, stumbling, trying to catch up. We are all full of pancakes, bacon, eggs. It is slowing them down.

I keep going, ignoring the sharp pain in the bottom of my stomach.

I turn a corner, taking it like a race car, slanting so far down that I am almost parallel to the grass on the side of the street.

I am aware of everything around me – the gas station on the corner, the yogurt store across from it, the three boys behind me, my white converse hitting the ground.

I am exhilarated.

Good Blogs

enternity1030Leave a comment

Recently I found some really good blogs online.
Some are formal, some are more about daily life.
One of my favorite is called “Jaron Report.”

“Jaron Report” is a journalism blog that is run by Jaron Gilinsky, a video journalist, documentary filmmaker and web entrepreneur from Canada. The blog is mostly the reporter’s personal journalistic experience and his opinions on the trends of modern journalism and the challenges the journalists are facing. He analyzes critically about some issues such as the credibility of Wikipedia. He also gives some advice of how to become a good journalist.

The layout of the page is simple and easy to see the titles of each articles. Most of the articles are long and some of them have pictures. On the left side, there are links to other journalism blogs, the news on current TV, some feature documentaries, CNN world report and the blog archive which leads readers to his earlier posts.

The blog focuses on Jaron’s writing works and it’s really helpful to read his own experience and learn something from them.

Blogs are ways for people to express their ideas and record their life through words and pictures. Different types of blogs have different focuses therefore people can search for their preference. It’s just amazing how blogs have become more and more popular these days and how they connect people together as a whole world.

A Week to Remember

backinphillyLeave a comment

Well, this week has been just incredible. I have faced a TON of success this week.

The big day was Thursday, where I not only received a strong SAT score but also won 1st place in the sports writing category of the Tri-County Journalism Competition that me and my class went to.

Last year, the first place winner was also named John and due to a dramatic pause last year, my heart sank in anticipation of hearing my last name called. However, last year was not my destiny.

Instead, the powers that be made me wait until this year, where I finally corrected my wrongs, and earned the top prize.

I’ll be honest. I was a little bitter this year after one of my classmates (who happens to be one of my closest friends) won a Ventura County Star award for her sports journalism and I received nothing. However, I should be thanking her. I gained a new sense of determination going into the competition this past week after not getting the Star award. By the way, I’m really not that bitter being as she really put out an incredible article to win her award. I was very proud of her. Way to go Daphne!!!!

Anyway, the SAT score isn’t as big of a deal to me despite its affect on my college resume. The journalism accomplishment makes me feel that sense of superiority. I came into the competition expecting that I would win something. I was hopeful for first place. But I knew that after last year, this was my time.

Way to go, OVS journalism! We really made things happen!

A lack of justice

frog3Leave a comment

grg
Writing, an intellectual endeavor.

Like all great things it takes time.

The clock spins however.

Sun rise, moon falls.

The writer writes, perhaps in vain.

As it is the writer did not do

what needed to be done.

Goofing off and a poor work ethic serves no use.

Senior editor and chief sorry I am late.

Through the Wall

backinphilly1 Comment

I recently wrote a poem for OVS‘s love poetry competition. While I didn’t win, I was pretty proud of what I wrote. I realize that this is more of a short story than a poem but I spoke from the heart. Whenever people read something, they always question who or what it’s about. This is simply a story about forbidden love. Read and interpret for yourselves.

She was the one he could never quite reach.

There was always some barrier keeping them apart.

He didn’t understand why.

The wall was solid.

He knew she was on the other side.

It was all that was ever on his mind.

How everyday, he’d try.

Just to be next to her.

And he’d try

And try.

And try.

You would think that constant failure would render him helpless.

But his love for her wouldn’t let him stop.

Then one day, one lone hole emerged in the wall.

He could see the light.

She was beautiful.

He had never seen anything like her.

He needed to be with her.

He was in love.

And there was no way out.

As one wall was falling

a new wall was forming

He realized that as his desire for her burned inside,

he was trapped.

He was never getting away from his love.

Her radiance shown as if she truly was an angel.

Infatuation, obsession, affection,

He felt helpless without her.

As he fell harder and harder, the wall began to crumble away.

The wall sheltering him from escape was now impassable.

He could see her face.

And she looked on him with bright eyes

The two never looking away

She smiled at him

And he smiled back

He saw his chance, and tried to reduce the rest of the wall to rubble.

Taking any opportunity to make her realize

He loved her

Piece by piece

Brick by brick

He pushed through

And he held her

And she him

They were finally together

After so much determination

His efforts to make her realize

How he really felt

And she was beautiful

He was not blinded by his addiction

She was flawless in nature

Her entire being was bright

Her eyes, stars that envied the night sky

Her smile, the only thing that made him happy

Her voice, sweeter and softer than the sounds of the most glorious choirs

Her heart, only for him

Her touch, made him hope that she’d never take her hand away

She refused to accept it at first

But somehow

He knew that she did

And somehow

She knew that she loved him.

The wall between them had fallen.

And a new wall surrounded them.

But they were together

And that’s all he ever wanted.

What You Need to Know

therightliberal9 Comments

Hello journalists!

Let me start off by reminding you of how lucky you are. You are in one of, if not the best, journalism classes in the country. And that is a lot more important than being in the best chemistry class or the best pre-calc class.

And here is why: journalism is much more than a class.

Now you are probably saying, “Evan, didn’t you learn not to use clichés in high school?”

Yes critical reader, I did. But I have evidence for that claim, lots of it.

Let us first start with what skills are required for journalism. A good journalist needs critical thinking skills, people to people skills and the ability to write well and concisely.

Translate that to the real world and you already have some of the most important skills available. You can solve problems, converse with people and then summarize with writing; pretty much the core skills for the work place.

Now let me tell you, Mr. Alvarez teaches this as well as anyone, actually a lot better. I will admit, I am biased. Mr. Alvarez (though he likes to keep this a secret) has very similar views on the world as I do, so of course I was drawn in. He also is funny, and so gosh darn handsome.

But his greatest attribute (and no, it’s not the flat top) is getting you to think. What is the key to this story? What people do I need to talk to? What really should go in the nut graf?

Listen, I have spent my first three weeks of college working my ass off for the paper here. You think Mr. Alvarez asks a lot? You are about as wrong as Mitt Romney. Just one story for the Panther takes hours to get sources for, research, interview, write, edit, edit, edit, and edit.

You can’t just go talk to Mrs. Colborn then swing into Coop’s office for a chat about the subject. You can’t interview your friends, your significant other or your cat. You have to stick your neck out there and talk to strangers. Not just talk to them, harass them for information.

And you think that Mr. Alvarez asks for a lot of long stories and grades them too critically? The bare minimum for this college newspaper is 500 published words each week, so at least one published story. You are missing a comma: there goes 10% of the story grade. You misspell a name (and they do check): zero points. You miss your deadline by a minute (I turned my story in yesterday with 16 seconds to spare): zero points.

I’m not trying to tell you that college writing is hard and you young whippersnappers have it so easy; I am telling you what you need to know.

So here it is: journalism is hard. I have wanted to throw my laptop into the wall after receiving edits (although in college you have other ways to relax yourself), I have wanted to  pawn the story off on someone else, I have wanted to just give up.

But the reward of taking a class and writing for a school newspaper is you get insight on the world that no other class can teach you. You are in a job, you have responsibilities that cannot just be ignored. You learn lessons that can be applied everywhere. And best of all, you meet awesome, cool and groovy people like your journalism teacher (I hope you have been watching these videos, there will be a test).

Even though the late Mr. Walker will turn over in his grave because of this cliché; keep working, it pays off in the end.

P.S. The real key to success as a staff writer is to have the attitude of the honey badger.

The Joys of Journalism

therightliberalLeave a comment

I joined the journalism class my junior year of high school, doing it more because I liked the teacher rather than the subject. I was good at writing, or so I believed, so I thought I might as well.

But what I have gained from the class has been immense.

Although I thought I was a good writer, I definitely had room for improvement. I have learned how to be more concise as well as deep in my writing.

I have learned to be less superficial in my writing, using fewer words and finding more meaning.

One of the most important things that I have gained is the ability to get people’s story in a quick and effective way. It is not just interviewing techniques but learning to talk to people in a way in which their story is told most effectively.

I have learned the importance of stories, not just as a form of entertainment or news, but the importance to those who tell them and who are involved with them. I have learned that people like to tell their stories to those who are willing to listen.

Journalism is an art and a science. It is a way to show the world the way you see the world, the way you interpret the things around you, but it can also require a formula of sorts, a strategy.

Journalism is not only a great class to take in high school, it is a great subject to be involved with at any point in life, whether it be reading, writing or participating in some other manner.

Journalism is a key way that we communicate and express ourselves, and I thank everyone that has taught me about it.