Home > Newsletters > Spring 2006 > Writer's Club
Learning Specialist Julie Nelson discusses the DSS Writers' Club
When the Writers' Club started last fall, my hope was that students registered with disability services would find a space to explore their creativity, develop their voice, and share their love of literature with one another while practicing the writing craft. I thought creative writing might be a way to de-mystify the writing process and engage with students about their ideas. We would meet every Sunday evening to read stories and poems and share good books we are reading. We would receive suggestions on how to improve our work. All of these things have come to pass.
What I could not have known before we started was how lucky I would feel participating in our weekly salon-style sessions. Group members read original stories and poems, as we planned to do; but in the process we have shared our life stories and struggles, and we collaborated together in exploring the creative process. The best part for me has been getting to know the students and watching as they found joy in creative expression. Our meetings were serendipitous, linking thoughts or experiences we had the previous week to the themes that arose spontaneously in our weekly discussions. The on-going dialogue has been a rich exploration of our ideas about literature and the creative process, and students seemed to gain self-awareness through finding their voice.
Felicia Rovegno, one of the group members, spoke to the issue of finding her voice. She said, "As a new writer in the group, I gained confidence in my writing project ideas, which I have shared with group members. Not only was I able to share my ideas, but also the written work itself. Sharing my writing in its process and receiving my peer's critique aided me in order to continue the writing. I have gained many things from writer's club, including confidence, knowledge, friends, and, most of all, fun throughout the year."
I experienced our writers' club in a similar way: a place for engagement and encouragement, and, now I would add, fun. Of the many things I did this year as a graduate assistant in DSS, facilitating this group is among the highlights. The students are what made it special.
