Magazine Writing

As the dust begins to slowly blow off of my writing skills, there are a couple of things I hope to achieve this semester in my Journalism 132 class, also known as “Magazine Writing.”
First and most important, I hope to search deep within myself and rediscover the passion that I once had for writing. This “passion” started way back in elementary school, in the form of (very) short stories and journal entries that went on and on….and on. Eventually it led to a creepy sense of fulfillment that I got out of English assignments.

However, once I began college at Sierra , this motivation quickly died. Sierra only has one Journalism class to offer, which is essentially a weak introduction into the enormous world of journalism. Three years of general education courses and a full-time job quickly put out my fire since I had no time to write anything but school papers. Throughout this class I hope that I can get this hunger for words back and I am optimistic about it’s revival.

The reason I enrolled in a magazine writing course goes far beyond fulfilling journalism requirements. Everywhere I go, everyone intriguing person I meet, and every crazy experience I have had inspires me. I am constantly thinking, “that would be a great story” or “someone should really write about that” and regularly fill my laptop up with articles written for no one in particular. I’m ready for that “someone to be”. The only thing holding my back is that I have no idea where to start and know that I have plenty of room for improvement (maybe you‘ve noticed?). Hence, the decision to enroll in Journalism 132.

Also, I enjoy the freedom that comes along with writing for magazines opposed to news writing and reporting. While I’m taking news classes because I have to, I often find myself counting the holes in the ceiling tiles and thinking about what the cute guy in my next class is wearing. OK, only kidding about the last part. But on a more serious note, I love the fact that I can write about anything my heart desires and know that there is some audience for it or some angle I can take from it. I can write about my sometimes out of control spending habits or vent about moving back in with my “adult roommates” and no one will tell me it’s not “news” and to go re-think my ideas.

When I envision myself in the future, I go back and forth between two professions: a magazine writer or a magazine editor. I have a strange obsession with analyzing every caption or picture in magazine layouts and love tearing apart my friend’s essays, but I also love to write. I think that I would be satisfied taking on either profession and so I am torn between the two. However, when asked if I can see myself as a professional writer, the most appropriate (if uneducated) answer that I can come up with is “duh.” So the journey begins….