To help students grow their passion and skills in their respective writing styles, the new Young Authors Club allows members to express their ideas and talents during meetings.
After school, students participating in this club can take time to improve their skills and learn how to incorporate them into their own works.
According to Young Authors Club advisor Michele Haytko, members can have fun discussing “philosophical topics” that will aid in growing writers’ skills.
During each meeting, members will discuss responses to a writing prompt sent out twice a week.
Haytko has created prompts ranging from “describe color to a blind person” to “what would you do if there were no consequences?”
These discussions are the starting point for each meeting.
“It’s to make [members] think from a philosophical perspective,” said Haytko, “but then also how does that tie into character development and character creation.”
Every prompt that is brought up has its purpose in a certain writing skill, such a making a character behave realistically.
According to sophomore Maya Herrlinger, there are “vast” factors that change the way she answers a prompt, highlighting how in-depth one must think to create unique characters or aspects in a story.
Cole DiNardo believes the group gets “pretty crazy” during discussions.
The club connects brings young authors together in this manner.
Even though members write in many different styles, the club joins them together based on the idea that they all enjoy writing.
“This is an interesting forum because these kids write differently. Some of them are very fantasy-driven, some of them are more narrative-driven. We have a few kids who are [the] poet, lyricist type,” Haytko said. “Yet, when they all get together, they understand each other.”
Another activity that members of the club participate in is a continuous story that each member contributes five sentences to each meeting.
“It’s very cohesive, which is funny, because they’re doing really well at just having those moments of the initial reads discussing the characters and the situation and the world, and really making it work together,” Haytko said.
Members must decide when certain events happen in the story, such as how to push the story “downhill” towards the end of the year.
The activities and work put in by members are to reach the ultimate goal of pursuing publication.
According to Haytko, this club is not just to strictly “enjoy your art for the sake of the art,” but rather making it “a part of your life going forward.”
Both the members who decide to go into careers with a writing element and those who just have it in the background will gain experience and knowledge.
Haytko said it is important to focus on not only writing and development for a story, but what happens after that “if you want to share [your work] with the world.”