Young author is published
in national magazine

Eighth grader Andrea Bachmann learned a valuable writing lesson while getting her first article published nationally.

Her article, entitled "Halfback," is in the January-February, 2002, edition of Stone Soup. The national magazine publishes original writing and artwork by kids from across the country.

(To read the Andrea's "Halfback" article, click here.)

Fourteen-year-old Andrea said, "Earlier, I had submitted a fiction story to Stone Soup. It was rejected. However, they said, 'If you had a real life story, you should submit it.'"

That you should write about things you know is often the best advice ever given to writers, young and old.

So, Andrea went back to a personal experience she had while playing for her church soccer team. The game was two summers ago in Missouri's Show-Me State Games. The story tells about her coach's insistence that she play the unfamiliar halfback position.

"I'd only played halfback a couple times when our team was up by six goals. I'd never played that position in an important game," Andrea said. In the game described in her story, her team was tied.

Ordinarily, Andrea played fullback. That's usually a defensive position. But, halfbacks often take part in the offense.

Andrea is the heroine in this true story. She scores the winning goal to advance her team in the tournament.

She said, "Now, in outdoor soccer, I play halfback all the time."

After submitting the "Halfback" article, she waited about a month. Then, she heard it had been put in the "maybe" file. "Then, a couple months later, they told me they were going to use it," Andrea said.

She said she was "shocked" to hear that her article would be used. "I didn't think it would be that easy," she added.

Andrea said she worked on the article for less than a month. "I'd work on it whenever I had time," she said.

She said her original beginning and end of the piece stayed pretty much the same throughout. However, she said she reworded the middle of the story several times.

To illustrate the article, the Stone Soup editors called on 12-year-old Teddy Harvey of Williamsburg, Va. The editors have a list of about 75 young artists across the country they use to illustrate chosen articles.

The editors picked Harvey because they thought his style would be right for this particular article. Andrea said she has never met Harvey even though their pictures appear together in the magazine.

Andrea found out about Stone Soup on the internet. She was searching for publications that accepted kids articles for publication. (If you'd like to learn more about Stone Soup. log on to www.stonesoup.com)

One problem young writers often have is thinking of good story ideas. But, Andrea said she doesn't have that problem. "Ideas are everywhere," she said.

Andrea also feels she has a good imagination when it comes to writing.

She is now looking for other publications where she can submit articles. "I'm too old to be published in Stone Soup anymore. I was 13 when I wrote 'Halfback' but I'm 14 now," she said.

The Sperreng Middle School student has submitted a piece to Teen, Inc. magazine. "I submitted it over the internet but I haven't gotten a response yet," she said.

Despite her early success, Andrea said she isn't sure she wants a career in writing. "That's too far away," she said.

For now, she's satisfied with her school classes and her sports activities. She plays volleyball in addition to both indoor and outdoor soccer. She also takes piano lessons.

But, she is going to keep on writing. About whether she likes to write fact or fiction, Andrea said, "Fact is easier but fiction is more fun."

But, she's glad the Stone Soup editor suggested she write a fact article. That's the one that got her published for the first time.

And, she even got paid. The magazine paid her $35 for her "Halfback" article.