Today, so many young people are unable to fully express themselves through their writing. They try to experiment while delving into their thoughts and feelings, yet are unconditioned to appropriately convey their emotions in a reasonable, comprehensible manner. Thankfully, for those who wish to gain a deeper knowledge and experience with writing and literary criticism, a new creative writing workshop is available for students.
The workshop is led by English teacher Mr. Schaefer on Mondays after school from 2:45 PM – 3:00 PM and is a place where students can visit once a week to voluntarily share their short stories and poems to receive constructive feedback in return.
“[It’s a] place where students can just come in, sit down, and share their stories,” English teacher Jacob Schaefer said.
One focus of the workshop is to improve feedback skills. Inexperienced writers are only used to self-criticism, and often go without peer review. This is incredibly detrimental to young authors’ writing ability, as they are unable to view their literature in an alternative perspective, leading to poor quality. Constructive criticism can help a writer improve over and over, and by being with other students, participants can feel a sense of fellowship by sharing the same hardship. This fosters unity, and can even breed competition, which furthers participant’s literary ability.
“As a poor fictional literary analyzer, this workshop has been very useful for improving my skills,” junior Kobe de la Cruz said. “It has given me an environment to practice literary analysis skills in a low-stakes setting without grades.”
In addition to criticism, the workshop provides a variety of diverse perspectives which can help to broaden the horizons of students allowing them to discover interesting themes and ideas to incorporate into their works. With these perspectives, young authors can discover a variety of themes, concepts, and devices to use.
Supplementing this, the workshop can also bolster confidence in student writers. The positive feedback boosts confidence, encouraging students to explore their creative potential. The workshop’s structure of deadlines instills discipline and time management in student’s writing processes. This will allow students to become more independent and capable when it comes to reacting to a deadline when faced with an assignment.
Another perk of this workshop is being able to connect with peers and instructors leading to valuable networking opportunities within our local writing community. Although many will not become actual professionals in the field of writing, to forge bonds with other students may forge an incredible bond.
Lastly, one of the most crucial aspects of writing is the inspiration behind the action of writing. Exposure to others’ creativity can inspire new ideas and approaches, sparking innovation in students’ own writing.
Even if you are not sure you wish to join or are unable to come every Monday, do not worry. Just come whenever you can and participate, even if it’s just to watch. You can start developing your skills as a writer today!
