SCRIBBLERS PUBLISHED SCRIBBLERS MEMBER WRITES NOVEL S enior Sisan McNeil was not your average criminal justice student. In the summer, she had a novel published called "We Rule the Night," fueled by her participation in the creative writing club, Scribblers. At meetings, club members shared their current projects and offered constructive advice to other participants. The feedback helped students to build better stories. McNeil's young adult fiction story was about high school students in Gilbert, Ark., and had paranormal elements. According to McNeil, Scribblers helped prepare her to write her first published novel, a process that took three years. "It really had pushed me," McNeil said. "When you had a bunch of people hearing your stuff and keeping you accountable, it kept you going." According to senior Maddi Nelson, Scribblers president, the club was not just for English majors or writing prodigies. It was for everyone. During the course of the fall semester, Scribblers members went to weekly meetings and workshops where they critiqued each other'swork and learned from one another. Many members participated in National Novel Writing Month in November, which required participants to write a 50,000-word novel and submit it for revision. "[Sisan] was the only one who finished," Nelson said."Most of us got to Thanksgiving break, and then family, homework and sleeping happened. I think the fact she was able to push through all that shows she was very strong." Associate Professor of English and Scribblers sponsor Dr. Terry Engel said that McNeil went the non-traditional route in publishing her manuscript. Normally, writers published SOUVENIRS manuscripts through publishing houses. McNeil chose to pay a company to bind her book and provide an International Standard Book Number, so that the book could be sold on websites like Amazon. According to Engel, McNeil's way of getting her novel published was becoming more common. "This is a new approach to publishing, brought on by improvements in technology and changes in the way books are being marketed and sold," Engel said. McNeil said Scribblers, along with other classes in the English Department, helped prepare her for the not-so-small task of publishing her first novel. After she completed National Novel Writing Month in 2012, McNeil continued to bring in excerpts of her work to Scribblers meetings for her peers to edit and make suggestions. McNeil participated in National Novel Writing Month again in the fall of 2013 and was optimistic she would be able to complete another piece. Though she was busy with her hardest semester when she participated the first time, she still finished her work. In the spring of 2013, McNeil produced a short film called "Forgotten," adding to her impressive resume. According to McNeil, she planned to attend the New York Film Academy after graduation in May 2014. Her passion was screenwriting, and she hoped to pursue it as a career. If not for Scribblers, McNeil would not have received criticism and support from her peers, and her novel may not have been published. McNeil had a bright future as a writer, and Scribblers had a hand in that. Alex Ezell Est. 1993: Row 1: M. Stephens, S. Pasley, S. Lambert, S. McNeil, S. Ferwalt, S. Slape, H. Larsen, M. Nelson. Row 2: Est. 2002: Row 1: H. Lance, R. Holmes, E. Reese, M. Hawley, A. Partridge, M. Bullard. Row 2: M. Hite, R. Riley, J. Reeves, W. Hammes. Row 3: J. Baker, E. Hildebrand, J. Lance. T. Engel (sponsor), C. Swaby, A. Stevens, B. McGlenn, R. Holmes, W. Snodgrass, A. Snodgrass, N. Henton (sponsor). 24
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