You asked:

I’m interested in writing for my school newspaper, but I don’t have any experience. Can I still contribute, or will I look like an idiot for even asking?

This is the policy for The Flat Hat, my school’s paper: “Any student at the college is eligible to join The Flat Hat at any time. Please contact the editor of the section you are interested in or email the editor in chief.” Different schools have different rules about who can contribute, but it’s doubtful many of them require you to be already published since college newspapers are meant to provide a training ground.

• Check your paper’s Web site for requirements. If you talk to the editor, mention you’ve never published but bring a writing sample (e.g., a class assignment, short story or blog post) so he or she can see your quality of work.
• Pitch ideas. Check out the sections of your paper, which usually include news, business, sports, variety and cartoons, among others. Pick a section that appeals to you and come up with a newsworthy story idea. Newsworthy topics are timely (such as student assembly elections coming up next week) and locally relevant (happening on or around campus), and they affect many people.
• Come up with creative angles. Instead of simply pitching a national debate on the topic of health care, for example, hone your pitch to cover something specific, such as what students on your campus are doing to support or protest it. Are you concerned about campus sustainability? Pitch an expose on what your campus is doing -- or not doing -- to help the environment. (The law school consumes how many tons of paper a year?)
• Start small. Most editors won’t expect you to walk through the door with a story that’s ready for page 1, but you might need to hone your writing style. Your average class paper opens with broader information and narrows until you make your thesis statement. News features don't work that way. Anything extraneous has to be removed to fit page space constraints and maximize reader interest. What’s happening and why the reader should care needs to be presented in the first few lines.
• Volunteer to follow campus teams. Are you a sports lover? Offer to travel with the lacrosse team -- or any team that’s having a match soon -- and cover the event.
• Be impartial, unless it’s an editorial piece. No matter how peeved you are that Professor A makes five times as much as Professor B, opinions have no place when writing news pieces.
• Take fiction and poetry elsewhere. They don’t belong in the school newspaper. Try the literary magazine or any number of student publications. Creativity has its place in the paper, but it's about finding an interesting angle and making the facts relevant to every passing reader. Know what you’re writing about and prove that you’re willing to seek out interesting information.

Name: Liz Cruger
School: College of William and Mary
Year: Senior
Major: Psychology and English lit
Her deal: This is Liz’s second year as an R.A. for freshmen. She is also involved in several campus activities, including pep band and the belly dance club.

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