Coming Up on the End of the Road With graduation approaching, what’s the next step?

When I received the e-mail from Rebecca back in August with my first assignment, I had no idea where I would be by now. I had no idea how my writing would be accepted, what I would take from the internship or where I would be looking to go come December.

I know this is only November, but I can’t help but look forward to December. In fact, I am encouraged to do so.

I graduate. I need to look ahead.

When I first started this internship, I had no idea where it would lead me. Would it lead me to a job? Would it lead me to continue interning till I found a place that I finally I wanted to work? I honestly had no idea. I didn’t even know if I would like the magazine industry.

Up until the end of August, I had only worked with newspapers. Granted, it was my high school newspaper, followed by my college newspaper, but that was still all I knew. By the time I got to college, I had about three days to write a story and then the next day it was published. On top of that, I liked to take the stories that involved covering an event, so I usually had enough time to cover the event followed by an hour to write. After that, I would meet my editor and edit it for a good 20 minutes … except for my one story that was on the front page, which took two editors and a lot longer.

OK, that sounds impressive the way I put it, but it’s really not that great. I didn’t manage my time very well so I didn’t write very often. Now I am writing so much. I haven’t brought my computer to class in all my first three years of college, and this year it doesn’t leave my presence. I assure you that if class gets boring and we are talking about something unnecessary, I am either writing the Happenings section, preparing an interview or researching a story. I now have written so many pieces. And I don’t always take up my class time. My time management skills have improved so much. And in the process, not only have I built my resume, but I have also made my portfolio much more impressive.

Although I am extremely nervous about where my next step will be, I know this internship has prepared me in more ways than one. I have learned that I love writing for Indianapolis Woman and would love to continue in the magazine industry.

I am honestly a bit scared, but I look forward to seeing where my next step is. This semester has flown by, and December is going to come way too fast.

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by Morgan Brown

A Good Week Productive meeting and story idea approval make for successful week

Last Tuesday, as with every week, I went to Indy and attended the staff meeting. This one, however, was a little bit different. Instead of checking up on the weekly occurrences or unexpected changes we normally talk about, we got to do something much more, at least in my opinion, exciting.

Not only were there bagels, fruit and cider (thank goodness I didn’t get my weekly scone at Starbucks on my way to the office), but everyone was brainstorming new ideas for the magazine.

With the new year around the corner, the editors were trying to think of creative changes to create an even more appealing magazine. With one of the larger sections disappearing along with the year 2009, we had about six or eight pages to fill and thus new sections to create. It’s amazing how much brainstorming goes into those few pages. We didn’t even fill all the pages yet. We only got almost half way there. The brainstorming continues.

Today I got my next assignment. I’m pretty excited about this one. Instead of just taking an assignment, which still ends up being fun and I always learn so much, I actually played a part in creating it. And I haven’t even started writing yet! Rebecca listened to my story ideas. I was so worried she was going to think they were either ridiculous or not creative enough, but they were good. At least that’s what I gather since all the stories I’m working on –– except for the profile –– came from my list.

With Thanksgiving coming up, it’ll be interesting to see if working on the Weight Loss section actually keeps me from eating all that apple pie, pecan pie or homebaked cookies. Doubt it.

Wishful thinking … but at least I’ll know exactly how to fix it after the fact!

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by Morgan Brown

One Down, Many To Go Completion of project means diving right into the next

The Happenings are done. I couldn’t believe it. When Laura (Associate Editor) first gave me the never-ending Excel sheet and the list of tips, I never thought I would finish. And then, as I talked about last week, once I started, I thought I would never even make a dent.

Today was the first day I got onto my computer and didn’t pull up my document to do a couple of the Happenings. It felt awesome!

When Laura gave me the assignment, she told me to make sure to call for photos as I went along in order to prevent the last-minute scrounging around on deadline in order to get them all. I was going to try to do this, and it was constantly in the back of my mind. But what ended up happening? Of course, I ended up hustling at the last minute to get them all.

It’s not that I didn’t try. It’s just that I didn’t know whom to call until the middle of the last week. Since the events had to be organized in the order they occurred, I couldn’t tell who to call till I had them almost done and in order. Of course, I didn’t think of seeing who had events, writing down the date and saving the actual writeup for later so that I could put them in the proper order. Nope, didn’t think of that genius idea till the end.

Now I’m researching ideas for my next assignment, which is on weight loss. It’s not that I’m into weight loss or anything, but I do have a serious interest in this section. Most women who pick up a magazine find themselves flipping to those pages of the magazine. I’m having fun researching and looking for ideas. My roommates help generate some ideas as well since they have an interest too. Any magazine on their desk has articles on health. Weight loss is just a topic that everyone seems to keep their eye on whether they need to lose weight or not.

One would think this would be an easy topic to research, but as I was brainstorming, I had to think about so many different things. Since everyone is interested in it, everyone writes about it. I had to come up with original ideas or fresh spins on the ideas that everyone reads. This is a little harder than it sounds.

And then my family has always paid attention to health in the strangest ways. My mom’s most recent discovery is fermented foods. My roommates make fun of me for my sauerkraut and kefir that I have fermenting on my desk every once in a while. But these fermented foods helped me lose those last couple pounds I gained in Spain. I have to make sure my ideas reflect other people’s interests and aren’t too “out there” and weird.

And finally I struggled majorly in coming up with any ideas that have to do with surgical ways of losing weight. I have no experience or knowledge in this area whatsoever. Liposuction, tummy tucks and whatever else there is out there is just not an area I know much about. Freshest idea I have? Define them.

Let’s see what Rebecca, my managing editor, thinks of my ideas. I just hope I contribute.

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by Morgan Brown