From the perspective of June Powell and Nora Zoltan
Many of you have seen the Hook Jr. articles with all the pictures and exciting stories, but how is this all put together? What goes on behind the scenes of Hook Jr.?
Brainstorming
Before you can even start writing, you have to brainstorm! Sometimes, you can have something called writer's block. Writer's block is when you can’t think of any ideas to write about. Some people call it an idea drought. This can be very challenging and cause the writer to be more creative. Eventually, an idea sprouts in your head. People get around writer’s block by thinking about some of their favorite things in school and trying to write about them.
Writing
After we decide what to write about, we flash draft. Flash drafting is when you try to finish as much of the article/story as possible in 10-15 minutes. Then, we start adding on and being more specific. Lastly, we review it and see if we like it or want to add anything else. Now it’s time for publishing!
Publishing
Now, here is where teamwork comes in. We work with 6th-grade mentors previously in Hook Jr. to revise. Then, they tell us whether to keep working on it or if it's good to go. We add more details if they tell us it needs a little work. If they tell us it's good to go, we submit it to the editor-in-chief, Mrs. Reuter. The final cut moves to our design editor, Sarah Jacobs. She designs the printed magazine. Part of the publishing process is selecting the right image to accompany the article. We have staff photographers, but Mrs. Reuter and Ms. Kozlik also take photos to pair with our articles.
As you can see, every article requires an idea, commitment, hard work, and, most importantly, staff collaboration.
