SO, we are nearing the end of my third-year journey. In a couple of weeks, I will be completely finished.
The magazine is totally done and distributed throughout Edinburgh. Make sure, next time you go to grab a coffee or a tattoo, take a copy.
You will be able to find the article I wrote on local filmmaker, Jack Fox, in the Arts and Culture section.
We all worked so hard on it and it looks amazing.
I started to panic a little on Saturday afternoon. I realised that I had three mammoth assessments due for this Friday and I hadn’t made any real headway with them. Oh dear.
I made a promise to myself: no going out until I had everything done.
Let me put it in perspective:
* Digital platforms – a six page website with multimedia, a blog and social media aspects;
* Creative writing – 2,500-word story on someone I know but make it read like fiction and a 500-word reflective piece about your own story; and
* Magazine production – 1,000-word learning log reflecting on the work you contributed and basically how you found the module; giving you a chance to say your piece about the experience in general, with appendices as proof of what you contributed.
Oh dear, indeed.
I divided my work load. The website was Monday’s job, I would try and get the bulk of it – if not, all of it – done that night and do the rest on Thursday when I got the rest of my assessments done and out the way.
My website is on Alternative Glasgow, if you remember: reviewing places all over Glasgow beyond mainstream eyes. I was pretty chuffed with myself, I was getting a load of ‘likes’ from Facebook, and a few followers on Twitter for the site, and after making a real attempt at advertising it on the web I was getting views in Canada, Russia and it is getting quite popular in Finland, for some reason. I have 17 posts and two other bloggers following me.
Tuesday’s job was the creative writing piece. Again, if you remember, I was doing that on my dad and his bike racing in the ’70s. I got really into it and was surprisingly able to batter out the 2,500 words in about three hours. I treated myself and went to the Kilderkin pub quiz… we came dead last.
Wednesday’s job was the 500-word reflective piece and sorting out the appendices for the 1,000-word learning log that had to be done.
I went to the library in uni to meet up with my friend, Sam, so we could tackle it together. The journo students received quite bad marks for the creative writing reflective piece last time so we thought we give each other a hand. After a solid three hours of procrastinating – by looking up memes about Disney films – we finally got the learning log and the reflective piece done.
However, it is still not all done.
I am currently writing this at five in the morning because I am tying up loose ends on my website and making sure the content is sound.
I have also been asked to review the Flaming Lips’ new album, ‘The Terror’, for faroutmagazine.com. They are most certainly a trippy band.
In other news, we have the magazine launch! A bar tab at 99 Hanover Street. What a way to celebrate the end of third year.
I also got some work experience with the Scottish Daily Mail over the summer, which is excellent. So I will be a happy bunny until the time comes to start thinking about dissertations…
Lisa-Nicole Mitchell is a third-year BA in Journalism student at Edinburgh Napier University.
