By: Danielle Curry
Looking to write for recreation but don’t know where to start? Eastern University has three primary writing opportunities on campus: “The Waltonian,” the “St. David’s Sentinel” and “Inklings.” Each of these publications has unique features that might make it a great space for your writing. In order of how entry-level friendly these publications are, here’s what I found.
“The Waltonian” is the school-affiliated newspaper, published biweekly in print and online. Sections: Features, News, Opinions, Sports, Arts and Entertainment and Centerspread. Basic Overview: “The Waltonian” is a great paper for beginners to dip into writing. I interviewed Christian Lengkeek, the Opinions editor at “The Waltonian,” about his involvement in the paper and what it’s like working there. His reflections on “The Waltonian” matched my experience; it’s a great place if you’re just starting out and want a place to publish your work.
Christian noted that if you’re looking to get experience within journalism, this is a great place to do so. If you’re interested in writing for “The Waltonian,” one way to get involved is to attend one of the meetings every other week on Monday in HHC 100. From my experience, it can be helpful to attend the meetings regularly, even if you don’t plan on writing anything that week. Sometimes, during the brainstorming sessions, someone else will have an idea that catches your fancy. Another way to get in touch is to email any of the section editors, or the Waltonian directly at waltonian@eastern.edu. Articles fit in one of the section categories, usually between 400-700 words. You can pick up article ideas from the meetings, or pitch one of your own.
The “St. David’s Sentinel” is an independent online publication run by Eastern students. They used to publish a full paper monthly, but now publish article by article to ensure quality. Sections: Features, News, Entertainment, Humor, Religion, Alumni/Faculty and Opinions. Basic Overview: I interviewed Matti Veldhuis about her involvement with the “St. David’s Sentinel.” The “St. Davids Sentinel’s” mission statement is as follows:
“The ‘St. David’s Sentinel’ exists to publish excellent writing on local news and history, culture, religion, and the arts while giving voice to traditional and conservative perspectives and holding special room in its paper heart for that elusive thing we call humor.”
Matti quickly assured me not to be scared off by the word conservative. The “St. David’s Sentinel” prides itself in how it melds giving voice to traditional ideas, while simultaneously allowing for the expression of free thought. Humor is another key component of that. “We’ve got a pretty big soft spot for irreverent – or more often inappropriately reverent – humor,” Matti said. The primary goal of the paper is to publish excellent writing. According to Matti, though the sections on the website give you some idea of how the paper is organized, the writing they enjoy receiving can be broken down into three primary categories: the intersection of philosophy and pop culture, local history/happenings and comedy.
If you’re interested in writing for the “St. David’s Sentinel:” Contact Matti Veldhuis or Ellie Loman, or reach out through email at st.davidssentinel@gmail.com. They also hold meetings on Tuesdays at 4 in HHC (classroom currently undetermined). If you’re just interested in getting your feet wet, you could email and ask if they have any shorter article ideas no one has claimed. These are roughly 200 words. You could also pitch an idea through email. In the future, this might look like contributing to the upcoming Zoom on a brief local history of St. David.
“Inklings” is Eastern’s oldest club, and the school’s literary magazine. Unlike the other two publications, “Inklings” is the only place to publish fiction or poetry, apart from the occasional Centerspread in “The Waltonian.” “Inklings” publishes once yearly, so it’s a chance for your best work to really shine. Sections: Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction, Art, and Photography. Basic Overview: “Inklings” is the space for creative free expression. Whether it’s a short story or a photograph of a mural, “Inklings” is the place to publish your first creative endeavors, whether you’re an experienced storyteller or just a beginner. I
f you’re interested in writing for “Inklings:” Contact Editor-In-Chief Danielle Curry or Vice Editor-In-Chief Aleah Zubrod, or email inklings@eastern.edu. In the spring, “Inklings” will open up submissions for the magazine, which can be accessed through the website “inklings.eastern.edu.” This is usually a Google Form that takes a few minutes to fill out. Because the writing projects can all look so different in length and subject, please view our submission guidelines on our website to get a better idea of what kind of work we publish.
Whether you’re a beginner looking to get some writing experience, or a practiced wordsmith, whatever you write, Eastern has a home for it.
Josh Steen 
Grace Nealy 
Ethan Goonewardene