Wait a Second

I am here today to show my masthead! Not the final, digital version (I'm still working on that one), but the sketch.

I think it looks cute

So here's how I came up with this: I got a blank sheet of paper, my mechanical pencil, and my eraser; I stopped for a second to think what I wanted, but I couldn't really put my finger on it; I  started drawing numbers; I came up with this and I liked it. Pretty simple, right? I said it in a previous post that I wanted something versatile and simple, so I can play around with it, change the color, place it wherever I want it, and that's what I have created. (I'm already decided on its placement in the cover, which is a surprise, so don't even ask).

Now to the controversial comma.

I have shown this to some of my friends and Mrs. Stoklosa already, and they all have said that I should have a meaning for the comma. To be completely and absolutely honest, at first, I just drew it. I was done with the 7 and thought something was missing, so my mind automatically added a comma. I don't know how my mind comes to the conclusions it does sometimes, or has the ideas it has sometimes, but I always embrace it because I know my mind works quite well; if it wasn't for her -yes, my mind is a girl- I wouldn't do one third of the things I do, or come up with one fourth the things I write, draw, and create. I looked at it and why not? Looked cool. But listening to my friends and teacher saying it should have a meaning, I realized that it should have a meaning. Here it is:

Didn't know there were comma butterflies. That's actually cool.

We all know where commas are for; they create a pause, separate things. That's it. But if you think about it, after a comma you always know something is coming. Periods finish off sentences, indicate an end, but commas imply that there is more -yes, so do colons and semi-colons, but you know what, commas are cuter. So -and I'm gonna be all philosophical now-, the comma in my masthead represents the idea that there are many things awaiting the reader inside the magazine; it indicates the continuity, the desire for more than a cover page, the promise of something after that comma. Also, it is a literary magazine after all, and commas are part of the world of each and every writer -they should actually be part of the world of each and every person, but let's not judge.

The comma will also be a recurring symbol in my magazine. I have already designed my table of contents, and it includes the comma on many different places -in fact, I'll be posting that next; I thought this post would aid in explaining what's up with all the commas. The commas will also be on the title of every page -after the title I mean, for example "Thralldom,"- because, well, after the title comes the piece.  It all comes back to the idea of  "there's more after".

Yes, it started off as a simple creative choice, but I had to come up with a meaning so HERE IT IS. Many people thought I wouldn't do it, that there was no reason for a comma there, that it should be a period. Well, I guess there is, isn't it? And just because people doubted me, it's all over my magazine now. Go big or go home.