On Nov. 1, writers all over the world stash away their Halloween costumes and pick up their pens, ready to participate in National Novel Writing Month, or NaNoWriMo.
Participants in NaNoWriMo write every day of November aiming to complete a first draft of a 50,000 word novel — about 1,667 words per day.
“The goal is just to get people writing and to get people writing a lot,” freshman Madeline Hedrick said.
Hedrick said she plans to use NaNoWriMo to finish a short crime story she began two years ago.
“It’s like playing in a sandbox,” Hedrick said. “You’re building the characters, and you’re building this little world. You’re the one who dictates what it is, but at the same time you’re not. You’re just uncovering it.”
Creative writing has more of a place at Hillsdale than just NaNoWriMo, however. The Creative Writing Club also provides a place for writers to flex their creative muscles.
“The purpose of the club is to foster an open writing community where Hillsdale students have an opportunity to regularly workshop their pieces, meet other writers, and engage in conversations about the writing process,” said junior Chandler Ryd, president of the Creative Writing Club.
Started in the fall of 2014, the club meets every Saturday from 1 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. in the Richard Raese Conference Room. This year, between 10 and 15 people attend regularly.
Ryd opens each meeting by reading a piece of contemporary literature out loud. This helps club members tune in to the discussions of today’s writers.
“You have to feel the pulse of the time period, the culture, what’s happening in the world,” he said. “Writers that are writing today are interacting with the culture and they are a part of a conversation. If we want to be great writers, we have to be part of that conversation too, or at least listen to it.”
The club hosts a Poetry Out Loud event, but most of the club centers around workshopping students’ work, which includes poetry, short stories, and excerpts from longer works. The club reads a member’s piece beforehand and gives constructive criticism during the meeting.
“You want to be able to learn what is actually happening in your writing, what other people are understanding through the writing itself without the writer explaining things,” Ryd said. “It’s very useful to get a sense for what it is actually being communicated in the piece.”
Assistant Professor of English and club faculty advisor Kelly Franklin also stressed the importance of a writing community and workshopping.
“To become good writers, I think we need a lot of eyes on our work,” he said. “What better place to do it than Hillsdale? These are writers that are nourished in the great truths and traditions. They have something to write about.”
Hedrick has only attended one club meeting, but said she enjoyed it.
“It’s really nice to have that community and a group there to support you and encourage you to write regularly,” she said.
Ryd said the club plans to continue hosting Poetry Out Loud, and hopes the club continues to grow.
“I want it to continue and gain a larger audience and make a bigger impact on campus,” he said. “Ultimately, I want the club to be a valuable resource to serious writers on campus, that’s really what I want.”