by Lee Pamela
It's a bittersweet feeling.
Four months ago, we were not quite sure what's in store for us. "What? We are producing a print magazine? Us? Students? Oh no, what should our magazine be about...?"
Food shall be the theme of our magazine, it wasn't a tough decision made, in fact we decided and settled on it pretty quick, no second thoughts.
(Thinking of our magazine name was brain cracking though, because our choices were said to be too sexual and hence, we came up with Nosh, something elegant and not sexual at all)
The six of us do enjoy working on the magazine together, or rather I, am glad to be in this team. Not only do I get to explore good food (Nosh: your guide to good food), I have made friends and our friendship blossomed over these four months. I've never knew our editor, Scott personally until this project. The impression I had of him was negative: stuck up, judgemental, someone who thinks more than he speaks. Today, I see Scott as an approachable friend, a listener and calm person, not forgetting his favourite line, "Get your sh*t together!"
Thanks Scott, for being a great team player, responsible and efficient editor.
Working together is never easy. Different opinions, viewpoints, and different personalities. That's probably the essence of teamwork- We learn to compromise, have good sportsmanship and be open minded. Although I'm the sub-editor, I have my part in designing as well (just a small part hehe)
But hey I've learnt a lot from my friends!
To the designer, I'm really impressed and respect you. I wouldn't have been able to come this far if I were you, I might have already raised my white flag because of my inadequacy in inDesign skills.
Kudos to you.
This blog. I had a great time designing this space, although it's not even graded. It feels that Nosh is a legit, published magazine publication!!! Thanks to all my friends who keep this space alive with interesting posts.
Four months seem to be a long time but no, in fact we are short of time, because designing the layout is extremely tedious, and requires good team coordination which we seem to lack.
However the magazine is taking its shape already! With a little more refinement and improvement, we are good to print! *Fingers crossed*
Is it easy producing a magazine? No.
Interviewing is the biggest challenge to me. I admit I'm sheltered, socially awkward, shy, introvert, reluctant to approach strangers. Hey my articles are mostly interviewing strangers, through writing lab I'm trained to walk out of my comfort zone and talk to strangers and leave a good impression too- for the school, for DMC, for the lecturers, my friends, my family and myself.
The first stranger I interviewed was Mr. Fwah from Blanco Court prawn noodles. Thanks to Scott for accompanying me during the interview, I've mustered the courage to speak to Mr. Fwah in his twenties, who was unexpectedly amiable and helpful.
The longest time spent during an interview was at The Cheese Ark with Ms. Syu, that lasted for a total of four hours on two days. I am appreciative of Ms. Syu's time in the interview. And it was pretty tough because the interview had to pause whenever there were customers in her shop.
That, was definitely the greatest experience throughout the project. And thank you Wei Sze for accompanying me, thank you for the support!
Cutting articles. Oh no how do I cut articles as every article is every writer's hardwork? I am sure the words were written not to fill up the spaces or word count but it has significance in the article. If I paraphrase, how do I retain the writer's voice and personality?
I can't seem to find a solution yet.
One magazine, of six people's relentless effort and hardwork, in four months.
It's definitely memorable, although there're tough times too. Nonetheless we grew closer during those hard times- in the midst of understanding each other.
Through this food magazine and reading my friends' articles, I've learnt how to be a better writer myself, in terms of vivid descriptions to add colour to my articles.
Special thanks to Ms Koh and Mr Victor Seow, for consults amidst your busy schedule and constructive feedback and lending us a hand in proof reading and designing!
Nosh Magazine is certainly a remarkable project the mark the end of my academic year at SP.
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