A P P L I E D

I applied to Student Printz the paper at USM.
They asked some stuff. Here's what I said.
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After spending my past two years at Mississippi School of the Arts studying under the literary department, I have become interested in both the journalism world and the writing that accompanies it. My last summer was spent mostly at Delta State University during a program that allowed students to study arts as well as other classes, including journalism. I worked on the paper there (less of an actual paper and more of an opportunity for students of all ages to see what journalism would be like) and served as the editor-in-chief. I also spent a week last summer as a job shadow at the "News Commercial," the local paper in Collins (where I'm from). Near the end of my stay, I was surprisingly given a spot in the paper to feature one of the articles I had written just for fun. Other than the two occurrences aforementioned, I have had no experience writing journalism, though I would like to. In creative writing, however, I write mostly non-fiction personal essays that I believe would translate well into perhaps an interest column. I'm open to all positions and would love for a chance to work with The Student Printz.

Peer editing is a big part of the literary program at Mississippi School of the Arts, and during the two years spent there it becomes a craft in and of itself. Though it is a creative writing department, I worked with things other than prose and poetry such as: college essays, scholarship/contest essays, artists' statements, pamphlets, programs, and lastly The Phoenix our literary journal.
Our senior project in literary arts is to put on a "senior showcase" a reading and performance of our literary works. Students of my discipline get into groups and choose dates, venues, readers, music, set design, and create pamphlets or programs for the evening. Doing these shows not only forces us to decide which works are best for the audience, but also proves the ability of each individual to handle the pressures of planning and the issues that arise.
Other things I learned were how to arrange portfolios, write artist's statements, and meet deadlines. I feel as though these skills could make me prepared for the fast-paced world of journalism.

My junior year was a stressful time, I had to write a lot and I had to know what I wanted to write about. I had no problem writing a lot, but deciding what to write often troubled me. Going through this time I learned quickly how to feel out which things would be best for me to write, or how I should go about responding to a specific prompt, and quickly. I once took a lunch to edit my play before turning it in, decided I didn't like it, and completely rewrote the ten pages in thirty minutes. Pressure pushes me, and it's usually when my best work happens. When I have to stop trying to perfect something and thinking too hard, and actually just write, or do whatever I need to get done. At the same time, my senior show was the only one done a week in advance, so I also feel pressured to get things done in a timely manner, not necessarily at the last minute.

I tend to dwell on minor things that I feel need perfecting and overlook the entire picture. While it's not at all a bad thing to edit and rewrite time and time again, I sometimes lose hope and start over when there's only a sentence that needs unraveling. However, I feel that having a week to do a piece for the paper and having a month to write a short story are very difference and as I've mentioned in previous answers, I work best under pressure.

Since I've yet to read the paper much, I don't feel safe giving any real criticism. However, in my experience, published writing can only be better if there is more time to edit it--and I assume journalism has a bit of a deadline that doesn't allow for that sort of thing. I also would imagine that, with that knowledge, the paper would only employ editors with bionic editing abilities that supersede any spell check around.
Speaking from someone who's not been a part of the USM campus, I would suggest giving the readers what they need and want to hear. As long as the readers are happy and the paper is up to its full potential as far as writing goes, I would call that a success.