By Arcelia Salado-Alvarado
For the first half hour, there is only the tapping of keys and scratching of pens. Heads are bent and brows are furrowed. No one says a word. The prompt for the first fall 2017 meeting of Writer’s Guild is “All #1 dad mugs are now ranked accordingly,” but it is clear many members turn to projects they have already started. The small number of club members allows for a cozy environment, a quiet place overlooking the south side of campus.
Writer’s Guild is one of many Puget Sound clubs focused on creative writing — prose, poetry and all other forms of written and verbal language that are considered literary art. The club was created about a decade ago, but has only recently seen a rise in attendance, in part to the efforts of senior Rebekah Sherman, current president.
“Writer’s Guild is a place for people to work on some writing and also share with each other and get feedback from peers,” Sherman said in an interview.
Writer’s Guild meetings are held Tuesdays from 4 p.m. to 5 p.m. in Thomas 381, a conference room with couches as well as a large table. The meetings begin as most do, with brief introductions and a quick agenda for the day. Then, the idea is to dedicate the first 20 to 25 minutes to quiet writing, whether that writing is completely new or part of a continuing project. A book of journal-writing prompts is available for use. Today, the aforementioned mug prompt is written on the whiteboard, allowing writers to imagine a twisted interpretation of a Father’s Day staple.
Usually after the quiet writing time, everyone comes back together to share what they have written, as well as give and receive constructive comments on each other’s work. Sherman believes the mindset that goes along with sharing a creation with a group of people produces positive results for herself and others in the club.
The small community, which last year acquired an official budget from the Associated Students of Puget Sound (ASUPS), hopes to increase attendance through poster marketing as well as by word of mouth. Currently, most of the club attendees have been English majors, who, Sherman says, are already working on some sort of literary project. Sherman, an English and Psychology major herself, says that she is grateful that “the club forces [her] to write 45 minutes to an hour each week,” in an otherwise busy schedule.
Though Writer’s Guild is a creative writing club, it differs from the other writing groups on campus (i.e. The Wetlands and Crosscurrents). While it does similarly provide a productive space that encourages writing and constructive criticism, it does not yield a publication. As such, meetings have a much more informal tone with lower levels of commitment.
“People can come one week and not the next if they choose,” Sherman said. “[The club focuses] on community rather than a product.”
An artistic process such as creative writing is ever-improving. There is no such thing as a perfect piece of writing — the edits of a writer or a poet are never done. When there is a space that allows people to bring the same piece of material every week without the expectation that it must be rendered “publishable,” there is less pressure to share something that fellow writers understand will always be a work in progress.
Today, a few stragglers show up 30 minutes into the meeting. They are greeted with small nods and smiles. Shortly thereafter, everyone returns to their literary worlds. In the last 15 minutes, Sherman asks if anyone would like to share their work or if people would prefer to keep writing. A few mumble “keep writing,” and, in true democratic form, the scratching and typing persist.