SHS student Stephani Chandler, 27’, had an original poem published thanks to one teacher who recognized her talent.
Her story, “The Power of Young Colors,” was published in The Young Writers’ most recent collection of student work last year after her English teacher encouraged her to sign up for the Young Writers USA contest. “
Congratulations to Stephanie Chandler (“The Power of Colors”) for earning the opportunity to become a Young Writers published author! We expect great things from you!”
— MCTI Facebook caption
.sno-pullquote-671b9a2c8871b { display: flex; float: left; margin: 30px 30px 30px 0; width: 50%; border-color: #871111; border-top-width: 5px; border-right-width: 5px; border-bottom-width: 5px; border-left-width: 5px; background-color: #dddddd; } .sno-pullquote-671b9a2c8871b p.pullquotetext, .sno-pullquote-671b9a2c8871b p.quotespeaker { color: #000000 !important; } .sno-pullquote-671b9a2c8871b .pullquotepic { width: 33%; margin-left: 25px; } .sno-story-body .sno-pullquote-671b9a2c8871b p.pullquotetext { font-size: 22px; line-height: 1.4em; } .sno-pullquote-671b9a2c8871b .quotebar { background: #dddddd; flex: 0 0 90px; margin-top: -15px; margin-left: -15px; padding-left: 15px; padding-top: 15px; margin-right: 15px; } .sno-pullquote-671b9a2c8871b .largequote { color: #bc110b; } .sno-pullquote-671b9a2c8871b .quotebody { width: unset; }Chandler’s poem is about how colors impact people and the world around us.
At the time of the publication, Chandler was a freshman going to MCTI full-time. The story was also published on the MCTI website.
“The funny thing is I never saw it as a big deal when I heard they wanted to publish it,” expressed Chandler, “ but everyone else was ecstatic. My mom and dad were congratulating me, teachers wishing me the best, and even Mrs. Thomas (supervisor of student services) was congratulating me for this.”
Getting any kind of story published isn’t an easy feat. According to Aspiring Author, the average age of someone getting a debut novel published is 36. Getting poems published now is just one step closer to having your name on a book cover.
“I wouldn’t say I am an aspiring author, but I did enjoy poetry, reading and writing ever since I was younger,” explained Chandler. She went on to say she plans to explore science fields in the future.
If you’re an aspiring author these tips from MasterClass might come in handy!
1) Write daily.
MasterClass suggests the ” first rule of being a professional writer is to start writing on a regular basis,” so though it can be hard to make time to write, it’s important you try. Practice makes for improvement, but it’s hard to improve when you don’t write constantly. Develop a style that works for you, explore new genres, or subjects you haven’t become.
2) Read often.
The best way to improve writing is to get your hands on any and every book you can. Read not only for enjoyment, but to learn. Many writers are inspired by their favorite authors, so that that inspiration and use it to grow. It’s suggested to always have a book on you and keep note of “your favorite passages and seek out new books to expand your base of knowledge.”
3) Create an outline.
Starting a story from nothing can be difficult, so give yourself something to go off of. Plan out what happens in every chapter, what development you want characters to go through, the overall vibe of the chapter, ect. This will give you something to go off of when you’re stuck. “
We don’t read and write poetry because it’s cute. We read and write poetry because we are members of the human race. And the human race is filled with passion.”
— Tom Schulman
.sno-pullquote-671b9a2c88d7a { display: flex; float: right; margin: 30px 0 30px 30px; width: 50%; border-color: #871111; border-top-width: 5px; border-right-width: 5px; border-bottom-width: 5px; border-left-width: 5px; background-color: #dddddd; } .sno-pullquote-671b9a2c88d7a p.pullquotetext, .sno-pullquote-671b9a2c88d7a p.quotespeaker { color: #000000 !important; } .sno-pullquote-671b9a2c88d7a .pullquotepic { width: 33%; margin-left: 25px; } .sno-story-body .sno-pullquote-671b9a2c88d7a p.pullquotetext { font-size: 22px; line-height: 1.4em; } .sno-pullquote-671b9a2c88d7a .quotebar { background: #dddddd; flex: 0 0 90px; margin-top: -15px; margin-left: -15px; padding-left: 15px; padding-top: 15px; margin-right: 15px; } .sno-pullquote-671b9a2c88d7a .largequote { color: #bc110b; } .sno-pullquote-671b9a2c88d7a .quotebody { width: unset; }4) Take classes to improve writing skills.
Everyone has to learn somehow, so why not take advantage of the classes provided that can help you improve? From creative writing to composition classes and journalism, SHS offers a variety of classes that can expand your horizons. There is also the Parallels Writing club which meets once a week.
5) Remember why you love writing.
It can be discouraging to write when you feel like you’re getting nowhere. It takes time to improve and get your work out there, but remember it isn’t a competition. Write because you have a story to share, talent that would be wasted otherwise, and push through.
If interested in entering writing competitions there are many free options.
Some examples are the Scholastic Art and Writing Awards which holds competitions and Poet’s & Writers which has relatively cheap entry fees. Many more can be found online.