TransitionTimes: Fiona Hoare describes the first week at her college magazine's office.

Create your own magazine, the transition-year English teachers said. It would be a "challenge", a "learning curve", a "journey". Easier said than done, we told Mr Kieran and Ms Rocks.

And, anyway, what kind of magazine? All we could agree on was that we didn't want a science, history or sports mag. Nor were we keen on an instant, Internet-download publication. St Vincent's Secondary, our school in Dundalk, already has a perfectly good yearbook, so we didn't want to imitate that.

After much heated discussion (and a waste of valuable hours thinking up awful titles) we finally agreed on a vaguely arts-focused magazine made up of four sections (which may, and probably will, change completely during the next two months). So what if we're shallow? We like movies and magazines and books and reality television.

Our school has two transition-year groups and 45 students, so four sub-groups seemed like a bright idea. One decided to focus on Patrick Kavanagh, whose has just had his centenary. He grew up in our locality yet we knew very little about him, which motivated us to dig up some dark secrets about his private life.

A second group opted for drama and film - an excuse to go to plays, review movies, discuss soaps and interview Colin Farrell (they wish).

We united as a class (for once) in agreeing that the pen is mightier than the sword and that we needed a creative outlet in our magazine.

That was where the creative-writing group, which I joined, took shape. Original poems, stories, articles: you name it, we write it.

There were a few groans when someone proposed a section about Jane Austen, but most of the class wanted to find out more about this woman who sometimes wrote on used envelopes and who was in at the start of chick lit.

So transition-year English classes saw us dividing into our groups quickly and efficiently (yeah, right), some to read Pride And Prejudice, others to watch Coronation Street (doesn't seem fair, does it?).

And, gradually, our magazine began to take shape. Well, not quite. It seems someone actually has

to write articles and stories: they don't just materialise out of thin air. Oops.

Just when we were on the verge of giving up, the Irish Times SchoolMag supplement arrived and, hey presto, frightened us even more. Now we had to think of presentation, design, visuals, layout and more.

Not too humble to beg, we asked our teachers for help. Very kindly, they told us: "You're on your own on this journey." To be fair, they also suggested we try to create some form of order, so each group elected a leader, a secretary and a reporter.

The leader (quick march!) would keep order at meetings and assign tasks to all members of the group. The reporter would keep note of everybody's tasks, and her henchman (the secretary) would ensure the work was completed on time.

Every group held a secret ballot - if that's what you call scrunched-up pieces of paper in a pencil case - and, of course, the bossiest girls were elected. To our utter surprise, once we had created some organisation (which took considerable time) we began to get a little work done.

It was interesting to see how each group turned out. The Jane Austen fans were totally confused at the beginning. Some could barely contain their excitement at the thought of reading Pride And Prejudice (I kid not); others were seriously considering changing to the creative writers' group - or taking time off, "sick", until March.

But once they were told that Bridget Jones's Diary is based on Austen's theme of getting a man, things started to look up. Their mood also improved after watching the BBC's version of Pride And Prejudice. A dripping-wet Colin Firth made everything more bearable.

The drama queens and mice got the best deal of all, if you ask me. I mean, reviewing soaps: why can't I be in that group? I was slightly mollified, however, to learn that they were also reviewing plays, interviewing local drama personalities and attending Dundalk feis. They have also organised a film day with Armed Eye Productions, fronted by Ger Carey, for next week.

So that leaves us, the creative-writing group. Some of the girls have started writing modern fairy tales; others are doing secret profiles of teachers. As for the poetic ones, they're... in a world of their own. So far, as the leader of this group, I have gotten away with doing very little.

Maybe I will devote my precious time to thinking up a title for the mag. Anyway, as the Chinese proverb goes: "A thousand-mile journey starts with one small step." This is our first, small step.

The SchoolMag diary returns in a fortnight. For more information on the Irish Times SchoolMag competition, visit www.irishtimesschoolmag.ie