Ava Krug

Writing Club hopes to promote a welcoming environment for writers of all kinds.

Fantastical realms, orders of witches and wizards, and societal commentary: these are the elements of junior Faith Pawloski’s newest book draft.  

Having been working on her novel for two years sporadically, Faith has written numerous drafts, some discarded completely, while others have been taken as a source of inspiration for the next one. As of now, her current draft sits at 100 pages. 

While some high school students’ ambitions lie far away from the realm of creative writing, Faith befriended another junior who has similar author aspirations: Ava Krug. Through their shared passion for creative writing, Faith and Ava came up with the idea for the Writing Club, where striving creative writers in FHC can come together to discuss their current works of fiction and nonfiction alike. 

“Our first meeting will be the traditional introductory meeting,” Faith said. “But after that, we’re planning on having some sort of prompt every day, and then we’ll give people time to brainstorm. Based on the day and what people want to do, it’ll change. We’re thinking about maybe entering the [Kent District Library] short story writing contest as a group and doing various world-building activities with people, like designing a map and characters. So, it’ll include other fun things that relate to story writing that aren’t necessarily just writing.”

Although the main focus of the newly-established club is creative writing, all types of writing are welcome. If students are looking for a space to simply focus on their essays for their English class or polish their journalism skills, the club will allot time for both group collaboration and silent work.

“It doesn’t have to be creative writing,” Faith said. “That’s what [Ava and I] do; that’s naturally what we gravitate towards. But any sort of writing, whether it be academic or creative journalism, is welcome.”

The idea for Writing Club stemmed from multiple conversations between Faith and Ava about their enthusiasm for their stories. First meeting at Goodwillie Environmental School, the co-Presidents established a rapport that grew in part through writing. As their friendship progressed, so did their fervor to create a club focused on writing. 

“[Faith] and I had the idea to make [Writing Club] for a while,” Ava said. “Both of us are writers. We like to meet up, sometimes write together, and we decided maybe we should start a writing club…We kind of procrastinate with writing a lot, so if we had dedicated time for writing our stories and helping others and ourselves in the process, that would help us and others grow [as writers].”

With a new opportunity for prospective writers among the student body to connect, club advisor Alex Webster hopes that any students looking for a supportive environment with an interest in journalism will join. As a writing hobbyist, Webster believes that if the club had existed in her high school days, she would’ve gladly joined. 

“Sometimes, I do like to journal for pleasure,” Webster said. “In high school, I used to do some creative writing, but now it’s usually just journaling. We had a creative writing class in high school where we had to write short stories, so I was really into that for a while. If the opportunity presented itself, I think I would’ve joined a writing club.”

Weekly meetings will occur every Tuesday in Webster’s room, directly after school, starting Oct. 7. Having seen multiple students interested in the colorful posters taped in the halls, Webster hopes the club will assist students in feeling a sense of belonging at FHC. 

“I hope [Writing Club] will achieve a sense of community for students who like writing,” Webster said. “They can also help each other grow in their writing skills, both creatively and academically.”

Although Writing Club is promised to be a comfortable environment for writing of all sorts, it can be daunting for students to share their pieces, especially if they are more personal than others. Even so, Ava encourages potential attendees to get out of their comfort zone and share tidbits of their stories each week, building confidence as a writer and also encouraging others who may be timid to express their thoughts.

“Writing Club is definitely going to be an open area [to share writing],” Ava said. “You obviously don’t have to talk about the entire plot of a story that you have at the first meeting, but I think we’ll all grow closer as a group [if people are willing to explain ideas]. If [students] don’t like sharing out, they can hear other people who do like sharing out to listen and learn and get inspiration from them.”

For any students who write for a casual pastime or as a dedicated journalist, Ava and Faith remain confident that Writing Club will enrich the lives of participants through its flexibility, activities, and suitability for various sorts of writing. Although writing may be perceived as boring and only something one does for an assignment, the co-presidents hope their club can help shift the perspective.

“I want people to establish a basis for their writing and kind of get a good format to get the [writing] flow on, especially if they want to publish a book,” Ava said. “[Faith and I] want to help people discover that writing is fun and it can be a cool process, especially if you’re with a group and doing fun activities with it. [Overall,] Writing Club will be very diverse and fit people’s needs.”