After school, the Creative Writing Club, run by its four officers, strives to help club members better their writing abilities by teaching members techniques they learned in the creative writing course.
The four officers include seniors Lauren McCouch, Erica Stover, Ellie Nguyen and Courtney Kehler. These four officers instruct the club members on ways to improve their creative mindset and strengthen their writing.
Before the officers came to the high school, there was originally a club for creative writers. McCouch had learned that the club had ended before her and the officers began freshman year. During her sophomore year, McCouch proposed the idea of a creative writing club to Stover.
“[McCouch thought] it would be nice to have a place where writers could get together to share their work and try to improve their craft,” Stover said.
Creative Writing Club advisor Elise Brand also enjoys “the language of the written word,” and helping students grow as writers.
“It is a teacher’s dream to give students what they need to independently move forward with their lives,” Brand said.
A normal club meeting is led by the four officers. They will give writing warm-ups or writing activities, which can go on for a short period of their meeting or the entire hour depending on what they are doing.
These warm-ups help the club members enhance their way of thinking.
For example, one lesson may help them better their storytelling, or help them develop better characters and worlds. For poets, they will be inspired by listening to other poems, sonnets and other pieces of work, anything that will give them a sense of inspiration.
“The students decide what the hour is going to entail. The students focus on what inspires them and set the tone and the goals for the course,” Brand said.
In the case that the warm-up does not take the entire session, the officers will hold writing workshops where they will give club members a chance to just write whatever they want. Later, they will share their piece and gain constructive criticism on ways to improve.
“We don’t limit anyone. It’s just, ‘Write whatever you want,’” Stover said.
Club members describe the club as having a welcoming, judgment-free atmosphere. Members know they can walk into the club and work on a story, poem or whatever they want to work on.
Once it is time to share what they have done, members have no fear of sharing their work with the rest of the club. They also do not fear constructive criticism. Members are aware that everyone will be supportive of what is shared and wants to see each other improve.
Even members that have just joined the club this year have this feeling.
“It’s just a safe place for people to really write down whatever they want and go wild with the ideas they have,” junior Ben Shadle said.
Shadle, who joined this club in October, has already gained that feeling of being welcomed and free to share one’s ideas and writings.
“The club is all about being imaginative and being creative,” Shadle said.
The same feeling was also expressed by senior Nason Allen.
“I don’t know a lot of people in it, but that almost makes it easier to be myself. I know whatever I write in there, if I decide to share it, isn’t going to be made fun of,” Allen said.