Geneseo’s Creative Writing Club!

Photo courtesy of Editor-in-Chief Nathaniel D’Amato

Joining a Creative Writing Club might sound intimidating when you first hear about it. Writing might imply a club that you have to complete work for, and sharing your work with other people can be a little scary. However, just attending a single meeting will show you that there is nothing intimidating about the club at all!

There are two main activities in Creative Writing Club. The most common are the Writing Workshops. These are opportunities for club members to submit a piece of writing they have created for the rest of the club to read. This is optional, but highly encouraged. The writing submitted can be just about anything, like a poem, an excerpt of prose, something finished, unfinished, or even fanfiction. You can choose to put a name with your piece, or you can submit it anonymously. If you choose to attach your name to a piece, then you have the chance to take an active role in the workshop, answering questions or explaining the intention in your piece.  

Within the workshop, people will give their thoughts about the piece of writing, which is usually given in a “compliment sandwich” format, meaning something you liked or what was done well in the writing, followed by something that could be improved upon, and finished with another positive element. This way, you are built up while simultaneously growing as a writer. 

While not required, submitting your writing for these workshops is a fantastic way to know exactly how to improve your writing skills.  Even just participating in them, listening to the “glows” and “grows” given to other writers can give you an idea of what you also do well. It advised that you take some of the advice or suggestions that you hear, even if they are not directed at you; as we all can use a tip from time to time. And at the end of a workshop, the club meeting will finish with two prompts, one silly and one more serious, offering everyone a chance to exercise some of those new writing tips that you may have picked up.

Occasionally, there will be a week where no one submitted anything for the workshop. If this happens, the club will organize a sort of writing game. This can take many forms. In the past, we have done things like blackout poetry, or something a bit more complicated. In one meeting, we played a game where we created our own prompts and randomly handed them out to another member. Our first meeting was a writing game where we wrote as much as we could within a short time limit, then passed what we wrote to a new person who had to continue the piece. This continued until just about everyone had added to every story.  

Writing games like these are a fantastic way to hone your writing skills, forcing you to think creatively and occasionally get outside of your comfort zone in order to create something. You might even get inspired with a new idea to write about in your time at club meetings. Activities like these are always a fantastic cure for writer’s block.   

Creative Writing Club is an incredibly low-stakes club while still being a highly rewarding experience. Sharing your work is encouraged, though optional, and you also are not condemned to silence or anything while you write. Instead, there is often music or playful chatter to liven things up. Even the workshops are filled with friendly conversations, lively discussions, and plenty of jokes and laughter.  It is a great place to have fun and make new friends, while simultaneously improving your skills in something you love. Meetings are every Tuesday at 6:00-7:00pm in Welles 128. We would love to have you there!