The monthly narwhal
We narwhals are quite advanced creatures; we meet up occasionally and discuss ideas. Indeed, if we were to become more advanced, you’d think that we’d start drinking coffee and (dis) proving philosophies of life. Our sea is filled with crazy moments, intriguing suggestions, and, most importantly; it is filled with infinitely many individual narwhal ideas that unfortunately seem to be appealing only to fellow narwhals. Now that that’s out of the way, let’s talk about The Monthly Narwhal.
I am a rather recent narwhal myself, I must admit, so it is perhaps not mine to speak with conviction, considering that it might be vague and untrue. However, having spent two editions with the fellow narwhals, this one being the third, I have found that it is quite possible to claim the following: our club offers phenomenal ideas.
As aforementioned, The Monthly Narwhal’s job is to come up with ideas and present them in a fashion that is appealing to the public. Unfortunately, at times our efforts to amuse the masses seem effortless: partially because most of the masses do not know that the school has a newspaper, but primarily because we tend to write for ourselves.
Yes, gather your hats and coats, ladies and gentlemen, such is the truth! However, that does not specifically mean that it’s a bad thing. Of course, I would not encourage us to transform the school newspaper into a diary, or following a more modern outlook, a personal blog; however, sometimes the public enjoys listening to others’ stories, even when it does not seem relatable.
Of course, as a well-structured newspaper often does, we, during our meetings, try to find a manner in which we would appeal to the public; many of those ideas culminate in interesting ways which later become one of the following: a rant, a story, or links to videos that allow the public to keep up with the newest silliness that circles the technological world.
Not surprisingly, such ideas have at times become subject to debate because they might not appeal to the audience – and that’s perfectly fine. After all, an author is not very successful without a way in which he attracts his / her audience to the writing at hand. So, such issues often surround our meetings in a circular motion, resurging time and time again after each edition. Admittedly, we have attempted to appeal to our readers, whether to the young freshmen that’s thirsty for an entertaining story or to the skilled senior that is seeking college advice. However, our ideas do, indeed, continue in an unbreakable, circular motion.
Why is that, you might ask? It’s rather simple really: because there is no one unified answer to the concrete question. Journalists and writers alike have often admitted that they are, in the very core of their careers at least, storytellers, and as many storytellers know, no one reader resembles another to the bone. Each reader wants to tweak some part of the story in an attempt to forge it to his / her liking. And, of course, we have attempted to satisfy that; however, as many experienced storytellers would say, there is no end to a reader’s insatiable hunger for his own ideas. No reader will ever be perfectly fine with the author’s idea for the same reason that I just stated: because it’s the author’s idea, not the reader’s.
So, to try and answer a question that has plagued the activities of my fellow narwhals for so long, the thing that satisfies the reader’s thirst for words is for the narwhals themselves to like their own works. The fondness that the author has for the written piece is conveyed to the written page, I assure you of that. And indeed, it is a much more entertaining solution (and dare I say it, a much better one) than attempting to include petty trinkets in one’s writing. The more one is fond of one’s writing, the more he / she makes it intriguing for the audience, and the more he / she is read.
Anyhow, that is one of the problems that have reached the narwhal table, and it is one that I have thought through thoroughly for presenting our newspaper’s activities. Of course, this is but a subject of discussion rather than an activity; yet, in an almost ironic way, our meetings and activities are simply problems that we attempt to solve for the audience’s pleasure; thus, I deem it best to finish with the following thought: for all readers of our newspaper, know that our stories might not reach you, and our words may not touch you, but we do something that indeed should be admirable; we try.
I am a rather recent narwhal myself, I must admit, so it is perhaps not mine to speak with conviction, considering that it might be vague and untrue. However, having spent two editions with the fellow narwhals, this one being the third, I have found that it is quite possible to claim the following: our club offers phenomenal ideas.
As aforementioned, The Monthly Narwhal’s job is to come up with ideas and present them in a fashion that is appealing to the public. Unfortunately, at times our efforts to amuse the masses seem effortless: partially because most of the masses do not know that the school has a newspaper, but primarily because we tend to write for ourselves.
Yes, gather your hats and coats, ladies and gentlemen, such is the truth! However, that does not specifically mean that it’s a bad thing. Of course, I would not encourage us to transform the school newspaper into a diary, or following a more modern outlook, a personal blog; however, sometimes the public enjoys listening to others’ stories, even when it does not seem relatable.
Of course, as a well-structured newspaper often does, we, during our meetings, try to find a manner in which we would appeal to the public; many of those ideas culminate in interesting ways which later become one of the following: a rant, a story, or links to videos that allow the public to keep up with the newest silliness that circles the technological world.
Not surprisingly, such ideas have at times become subject to debate because they might not appeal to the audience – and that’s perfectly fine. After all, an author is not very successful without a way in which he attracts his / her audience to the writing at hand. So, such issues often surround our meetings in a circular motion, resurging time and time again after each edition. Admittedly, we have attempted to appeal to our readers, whether to the young freshmen that’s thirsty for an entertaining story or to the skilled senior that is seeking college advice. However, our ideas do, indeed, continue in an unbreakable, circular motion.
Why is that, you might ask? It’s rather simple really: because there is no one unified answer to the concrete question. Journalists and writers alike have often admitted that they are, in the very core of their careers at least, storytellers, and as many storytellers know, no one reader resembles another to the bone. Each reader wants to tweak some part of the story in an attempt to forge it to his / her liking. And, of course, we have attempted to satisfy that; however, as many experienced storytellers would say, there is no end to a reader’s insatiable hunger for his own ideas. No reader will ever be perfectly fine with the author’s idea for the same reason that I just stated: because it’s the author’s idea, not the reader’s.
So, to try and answer a question that has plagued the activities of my fellow narwhals for so long, the thing that satisfies the reader’s thirst for words is for the narwhals themselves to like their own works. The fondness that the author has for the written piece is conveyed to the written page, I assure you of that. And indeed, it is a much more entertaining solution (and dare I say it, a much better one) than attempting to include petty trinkets in one’s writing. The more one is fond of one’s writing, the more he / she makes it intriguing for the audience, and the more he / she is read.
Anyhow, that is one of the problems that have reached the narwhal table, and it is one that I have thought through thoroughly for presenting our newspaper’s activities. Of course, this is but a subject of discussion rather than an activity; yet, in an almost ironic way, our meetings and activities are simply problems that we attempt to solve for the audience’s pleasure; thus, I deem it best to finish with the following thought: for all readers of our newspaper, know that our stories might not reach you, and our words may not touch you, but we do something that indeed should be admirable; we try.
Stefan Noshpal