Let me start off by saying, it’s easy to write. It’s if the writing is attention-grabbing, well thought out, easy to understand, and flows smoothly, that’s the hard part. But that’s not all.
The hardest, you ask? Being unique.
You don’t want to rip off an idea that’s been expertly done by a distinguished, established author (there’ve been many failed attempts).
The story you want won’t go to print unless you make it happen and write it yourself.
And I’ve been trying to make that happen. I never want to assume that my work is good enough.
It is so incredibly tough to get someone’s attention for long enough to read your work. And it’s not enough for me to have someone read the first few paragraphs, to check out my video or design work and dismiss it. I wanted to find a way to change people’s thoughts using my words and my creativity. I want to open up my audience’s minds.
It’s not just an article or written piece. I push myself to make it different. Every story I write has emotion in it. They all matter to me. I care about the people / subject involved in my story because I want to do them justice.
I love to listen, to read and to tell stories that matter. It’s the reason I’ve been thankful to get into writing feature news; writing in the church bulletin; writing in my diploma magazine; to teach creative writing; and the list goes on (below).
I always love learning new things, so because of this I opened myself to lots of opportunities. It’s not enough that I am in the job I’m in; I research. What I experienced helped my growth.
So, I want to engage people, kids especially, and help them grow. I truly feel reaching out to children at an earlier age through books is how people grow in our society. Empathy and worldly knowledge – not to mention building a proper vocabulary and grasp of grammar (seriously here) – are the factors that make a good human being.
It’s why I tried out various jobs in these industries.
It wasn’t easy exploring so many areas but I loved knowing more and more. If I asked myself, what three words best illustrate me, especially in this context?
I would go with IMAGINATIVE, PERCEPTIVE and ADAPTABLE
My experience speaks for itself. Writing is part of who I am, in any shape or form.
I’ve been working two part-time jobs after my Mass Communications diploma to pay off my university tuition. I knew I wanted to use my noggin and have flexibility. So, to continue my love of Literature and English from secondary school I started tutoring students from Primary, Secondary and IB.
And I’m an MOE-certified instructor for schools, mainly dabbling in drama and comms-related programmes 😁
(As one of the programme coordinators puts it, I’m the one they call for to teach about using greenscreens in videography)
My nav bar says it all, but below are photo snippets of what it’s been like pursuing my passion:
I worked hard to find an angle that was different, even in soft news. If the PR rep gives you an interviewee, it’s your job to find something that made your subject (and you) stand out.
And I stood out. In my 5 months, I wrote over 40 articles. NINE of them made it to the front page of the paper!
As a journalist you’re also competing with other papers to not only get your news out first but to have an angle someone somewhere hasn’t seen before.
It was overwhelming. When I was stuck in the same press conference as other journalists, I knew I had to be creative with my news angle. This article was one of my firsts as an intern journalist and it stuck with me. I went back to my editor in the early afternoon, stayed really late waiting for new quotes from the doc, and rewrote the entire piece in an hour as the night editors arrived.
I was glad I did because her stories moved me.
Writing In Print
- newspaper articles + front page
https://scriboergosum831.wordpress.com/tag/news/
- co-editor and writer for Divine Mercy bulletin/magazine (since 2000)
https://scriboergosum831.wordpress.com/tag/bulletin/
- course magazine
https://scriboergosum831.wordpress.com/tag/magazine/
- journalism and social media club
- Under a publisher, I interned as a copyeditor, proofreader
videographer, editor
& instructor for a pilot reading programme, marketed a local book to high schools
https://scriboergosum831.wordpress.com/tag/book-editing/
Drama Script Writing
- original script and play by Primary 1 students:
https://tinyurl.com/originalattackoftheswordfish
- ghost writing
https://scriboergosum831.wordpress.com/tag/ghost-writing/
Photoshop design
https://www.instagram.com/p/CAfyqaZnpWc/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
- name card for voice@play:
https://tinyurl.com/voiceatplaynamecard
- for my work as a Literature and English tutor (lesson plan ideas, activities, etc) – it’s also majorly shared on this site too!
https://thewriteelements.wordpress.com/
- school training: art, digital media, drama, skills,
https://scriboergosum831.wordpress.com/tag/training/
- testimonials
The Write Elements 