Brainstorm. Any word with “storm” in it must be fairly intense. When you brainstorm for story ideas, dozens of thoughts are going through your mind at once. You may be using your brain, but brainstorming can be a gut-wrenching process. However, there are ways to capitalize on the process to make it more useful. Brainstorming for story ideas is a year-round activity for the yearbook staffs at three high schools where the advisers have tried-and-true methods for helping their students through the process.
The writer, Abby, told me they were like a family — sisters, really. But for some reason, I could not imagine a home with the closet space to accommodate the 32 members of the drill team. And there was another thing — something hard to place, like a melody to a familiar song but with slightly new wording.
Had I heard this story before?
Is your school nearing its anniversary date? A time to reflect? How about your yearbook? Is it reaching a milestone?
When advisers pull their school’s older yearbooks off the dusty shelves, they are likely to find spreads of photos, many with no cutlines. Few of the pages will even provide a block of copy detailing a school event. Very few of the yearbooks produced 20 or 30 years ago included stories on substance abuse, teen pregnancy or homosexuality. These topics were generally taboo for discussion, let alone potential issues for yearbook coverage. It is not that sensitive issues did not exist, they were just not the subject of routine yearbook coverage.
“Do you think anyone will get bored with the repeating pictures?” Liz asked me as she was finishing the last division page. “Maybe we should have used different ones.”
The Wings yearbook staff at Arrowhead Christian Academy, Redlands, Calif., does not like to select a theme that capsulizes the school year because they believe that kind of a theme can only be done so many times before it becomes difficult to develop it meaningfully. Instead, they work to pick a theme that could reflect the school year, but one where its focus will allow the staff to give the book a personality.
A private space, comfortable couches, lots of food, idea lists, and open minds are required. It is not a time for the timid. By the end of the session, the individuals involved will have become a team. Love it or hate it, all will have committed to the common purpose of creating a book centered around the chosen theme.
Embark. Embark. Now there is a theme word for you. Every yearbook in eras past has featured threshold-crossing, challenge-facing, embarking students in some form or another.
“If your pictures aren’t good enough, you aren’t close enough.”
Robert Capa’s advice to photographers is just as true for those who create pictures with words instead of cameras. Rich Martin, managing editor of The Roanoke Times, Roanoke, Va., maintains if a story is not good enough, the writer is probably not close enough either. A photographer knows he has to move in close or use special lenses to get a photo that is good enough. But, how does a writer get ready for a close-up?
Sami A. Slaquer
8:30 a.m., somewhere on the West Coast – Sami is assigned the hottest story of the year – an investigative piece on the new speed bumps that are causing damage to cars in the school’s parking lot.