<p>this is interesting thread because I’ve been wondering as well how to showcase my writing talents…</p>
<p>The Davidson Fellowship looks a bit intimidating, but it can’t hurt to try. The guidelines are a bit ambiguous, though. What exactly can you write about (can it be quirky fantasy/scifi or does it have to be serious world issues?) How hard is it/how much time to complete the project? I made a thread about it but barely anyone has replied:(, so if anyone could it explain it further?</p>
<p>Part of being a standout applicant is having the creativity and initiative to figure out how to showcase your talents. Our giving you hints about how to get published in the NYT (which only a couple people on CC have probably done as HS students) is not the way to go about this. You need to sit down and think hard about your writing, where outside of school you could publish it, and plot a course. This will require research (for instance, looking for magazines that have annual essay competitions for high schoolers) and creativity (just because no one else has done it before doesn’t mean that you can’t be the one to do it, but you need to figure out how). You need to do your own research on writing competitions.</p>
<p>Finally, you need realistic expectations. It is REALLY, REALLY hard to get a book published. It is REALLY, REALLY hard to get an article in a major national/international publication. If you don’t understand how long the odds are, you’re going to be crushed. </p>
<p>Have you read any good books on getting a book published? You need to understand how the system works. If you are seriously trying to get published, you need to start sending query letters out and finding an agent now.</p>
<p>I’m sorry if this sounds harsh, I wish you the best of luck and am trying to be constructive.</p>
<p>If you’ve already published books, written for the New York Times and are working on a biography then you have no real purpose of even going to school. Don’t worry about achieving to those ranks. Do the best that you can do and work hard and don’t think that if you haven’t won the Pulitzer prize that you’ll never get in. That’s why you go to school in the first place. To learn.</p>
<p>Well for the Davidson Fellowship in Literature…</p>
<p>you submit a 60-75 page portfolio on whatever your portfolio is about, its just a showcase of your writing its has to contain 3 of the 4 following genre’s: non fiction; fiction; poetry; drama/screen play.</p>
<p>and yea, people usually write about something in different genre’s with the same theme and then they title it like, “Examining the role of music in Society” and like one could be a research paper, another a poem about music, another one could be like a short fiction story.</p>
<p>I publish my first book when I was 17, I live in M</p>
<p>wow ur an amazing person!</p>
<p>thats so cool</p>
<p>but you had something written to send?</p>
<p>im working on my writings.</p>
<p>Wow…I second fiker94
I am always amazed when I hear about teen authors 
I wish I could get published but I doubt that is ever going to happen.</p>
<p>darn it for the davidson fellowship…I haven’t ever done screenplay before and I know I SUCK at poetry. It looks awesome but I don’t know if I could actually do the project. Some parts look extremely difficult, like getting a profressional to mentor you.</p>
<p>Hey fiker,
yes I send a copy of my book and a translation of a short story, but I´ll tell you something, my SAT are horrible!!! like 1300. I have seen all those post of people that have like 2300 2500 hahahaah to much.
I just hope they look what else can a person can give, more than a score, or a grade.</p>
<p>Work with your writing, and send some pices, I´ll tell you if it worked for me in May =)</p>
<p>Thanks,</p>
<p>@chocobok,</p>
<p>The Davidson Fellowship does look intimidating but I think if you look at it now and then set out with that as your goal: an awesome portfolio. Then you could do pretty well I think</p>
<p>^ yeah I think I will try, I mean there’s like a long time until it’s due, and it can’t hurt to start the portfolio.</p>
<p>plus the 1 in a million chance of winning some very generous scholarship money is a big motivating factor ;).</p>
<p>For whoever asked this earlier, the Davidson Fellowship doesn’t limit your topic but you do have to write several essays about how your portfolio will benefit society and the significance of your work. You also have to write in three of the four genres they list: fiction, nonfiction, poetry, or screenplay.</p>
<p>Haha, I’m going to try too one of these years…
Chocobok…what year of HS are you in?
If you are in high school</p>
<p>^Sophomore. I have 3 yrs to try. I think I might start over summer break. No way I can do it during Junior year because I’ll be super busy. So either its this summer, or not at all. </p>
<p>@southeasttitan, do the writings have to belong to one overall theme, or just whatever you feel like?
Did you write in first or third person, or a mixture of both?
How difficult/time consuming would you say the whole process is?
Thanks for the info :)</p>
<p>I dont think South East asian did it but from what Ive read on the previous winner project page is that it is one central theme.</p>
<p>LOL, it’s southeastTITAN, not southeastasian. Haha. Everybody on CC seems to make that mistake.</p>
<p>I actually did enter & win a Davidson Fellowship, and yes, it should be on one central theme. There should be something binding your pieces together. It can be a pretty loose theme though. And remember, it has to “benefit society” in some way, or it should plausibly be able to. I def. suggest reading past descriptions. Personally I wrote in first and third person. </p>
<p>And yeah, it’s really time consuming! Haha, it should be, given the reward. There’s just a ton of writing to be done, your portfolio plus lots of essays, and you also have to make a 10 minute video describing your work and answering some questions. But it’s totally worth it!</p>
<p>Hey What topic did you do it in?</p>
<p>Im planning to do something like, “The American Muslim Experience” and kinda look at the different aspects of being Muslim in America</p>
<p>Wont that benefit society, by clearing misconceptions ? :D</p>
<p>Wow, congrats southeasttitan at winning:)</p>
<p>I don’t know how anything I write will “benefit” society (I mostly write for fun and to entertain whoever reads it, not really serious stuff). </p>
<p>Got to start brainstorming about what I should write about…hmmm. This is going to be a whole different experience altogether, especially having to write more thoughtfully. But I think I’m going to start it once I come up with an idea. Whether I will actually finish it is questionable…</p>
<p>That sounds like a really cool idea, fiker! I’d love to read some of it!</p>
<p>awesome :D</p>
<p>you can check this out:</p>
<p>americanmuslimdream.blogspot.com</p>
<p>make sure to comment</p>
<p>any other comments/thoughts?</p>