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USD Recognizes the Literary Talents of Ryan Hallagan

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The Lindsay J. Cropper Award is established in memory of USD alumna Lindsay J. Cropper, the Annual Cropper Creative Writing Contest recognizes outstanding fiction and poetry by USD students. A $125 prize is awarded in each genre.  Ryan Hallagan was the 2010 Lindsay J. Cropper Award Recipient. Below you will find his interview:

The Vista --

The Vista: How did you find out about USD's Lindsay J. Cropper Award for creative writing?

Ryan Hallagan: I was working with my independent studies professor, Professor Melekian, and he informed me of the contest. The deadline was in three days so I took a previous one page version of "Coming Around" and expanded it to six pages.

V: What inspired you to write the original version of "Coming Around?"

RH: I actually just finished a crappy three-page story and was feeling a little down. So I used a technique I learned in a high school screenwriting class which was to fit an entire story onto a single page. It made me really focus on what I wanted to say. I was sitting in one of my English classes and I couldn't stop thinking about the line, "She forgave me once before." I expounded on this line and created "Coming Around" which was originally the last page of the version I submitted for the award.

V: What was it like to write about post-college young adults, a demographic that you will soon becomea part of?

RH: It was a bit hard. I wanted to stray away from writing about just college students. I didn't want to be J.D. Salinger and primarily write about young people. It's important for me to develop my writing. (Full Story)

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