We welcome contributions to Untold.
The Untold editing team is hoping to express the diversity within OneWheaton, and the LGBTQ and Ally community more broadly, by hearing a wide variety of tales. One of the major joys involved in our (volunteer) work is hearing all your stories.
To contribute:
Step 1: Email Katie at untold@onewheaton.com to let us know you are interested in writing for us. Tell us a bit about who you are, or what you hope to write about. If you’re unsure of what exactly you want to write about, we can work with you to find a great prompt or narrow down your focus.
Step 2: Write your first draft, record your first draft, video your first draft. Make sure it is detailed, is a story (generally: has both anecdote and reflection and is not just a rant), and is focused on your topic / what you want to get across. We aren’t looking for autobiography, but rather short vignettes (“snapshots”) that can serve as a vehicle for reflecting on broader themes of the human experience.
Step 3: Send it in to us. We’ll read it, comment on it, edit it a bit, and get it back to you as soon as we can.
Step 4: Edit, read it out loud, have your friends read the post, make sure it’s what you want and send it back to us. This time, send it with at least one land-scape oriented photo or image and hopefully 1-5 images to include in the post (obviously with a video or other form of storytelling these other images may not be as relevant).
Step 5: We’ll let you know the approximate date your post will go up. When it does, post it on Facebook, tweet about it, sing about it, dance a bit (just because–if you’ve graduated–now you can) and bask in our unwavering appreciation of your work and dedication!
* Unfortunately, we may not be able to publish every contribution on our blog. We especially seek blog posts that further our blog’s goal: to offer a platform to publicly share LGBTQ and Allied stories in an open, safe and affirming virtual space. Because of the diversity in OneWheaton, we do not make any collective statements about theology, policy debates, or what we feel Wheaton (or other institutions) should do–to do so would marginalize some of the varying ways we have come to acceptance and how we live our lives. That doesn’t mean your story can not have–or make explicit–your personal political, theological, or spiritual journey and thoughts. It does mean that they must be framed in te context of your unique journey and experiences.
On Storytelling:
We stole–er, liberally borrowed–from storytelling gurus Ira Glass (producer of This American Life) and Andrew Stanton (he wrote Toy Story, Finding Nemo and Wall-E) and tips from The Moth to create our Untold Guide for Storytelling. So check out these experts for yourself:
Andrew Stanton’s TEDTalk The Clues to a Great Story:
And Ira Glass’ video On Storytelling: