CURRENTLY BEING EDITED/REVISED
Interested in submitting an article to The B&S? Hurrah!
Here are some helpful hints on how to write a funny parody or satire.
1.) Pick a topic (or something non-topical). Email fakepapr if you want a list of ideas we've tossed around at our latest meeting.
2.) Start writing (add punchlines or a funny premise for amusement value)
3.) Glance over our Stylebook page before you send it in. It'll help make sure your article is stylistically consistent with other B&S articles. So seriously, read it.
4.) Send it to us at fakepapr@grinnell.edu
Other helpful tips.
1.) Go pick up a real newspaper-- read a couple of real stories and try to figure out what formulae the authors are using. When you write, you should mimic or mock those same formulae. So begin with the who, what, when, where, why grabber and progress into your shenanigans later.
2.) Try not to suck.
3.) But if you do, that's okay.
4.) If you are going to write an editorial piece, think about the voice your article will be using. Here you can do more than simply mock the Des Moines Register; you can mock your friends and your profs too. Figure out what kind of person your narrator is and then write from that perspective.
5.) Write a lot. If you don't have a good idea for a paragraph, write a top ten list and mail it in. If you don't have an idea for three paragraphs, mail us the one paragraph you got. The more you do this, the better and easier it gets. Have faith in yourself. Even if the first article you write is shit, hey, at least you have an article under your belt. Now try writing another one. A lot of times we'll write articles that bomb but have a good punchline or two in them. Then we simply steal those good punchlines and write articles to them. And Voila: Tickle-me-Barbara-Streisand.
6.) Definitely try to attend our brainstorming meetings. You can try your funny ideas on a test audience, and
Topics for articles that are likely to get noticed (cuz we haven't done 'em yet):
Science Make fun of your professor's research, or El Nino, or Astrophysics-- I don't care. Most of us don't have the background to write funny in science and so your perspective would sell to us.
Sports: Just write a whole goddamn article in cliches and it'll score.
Topics specific to your major: If you can write a piece that everybody else in your major will like and you are not an independent major, then we are looking for you.
Well, quit reading this page, write your article, and SUBMIT HERE.