(Photo by: Khadeeja Saleem)

Imagine one of those classic movie plots: the main character has a passion of some sort and starts a club or movement, but in the beginning, things are moving slowly. But as the days move on and the passion keeps growing, they go from a small organization to having long-term and new members alike.

That’s exactly what happened to the JCCC Creative Writing Club. They started with only officers showing up to meetings, and now they see consistent membership as well as new faces weekly.

The Creative Writing Club is a welcoming place where students can come to create and share their work, according to Vice President Shane Wilson.

“We encourage our members to write a work every meeting, no matter how small or rough it is. We aim to cultivate their writing skills and improve them with advice and critiques,” Wilson said.

This club is dedicated to all forms of writing: poetry, fiction and creative nonfiction.

“There are people interested in all of these at the club, though I would say our largest group is fiction. We do a mix of fun writing-related activities,” President Ashlyn Guinn said. “It’s partly about growing as writers, and partly about building a community.”

The Creative Writing Club meets for two hours, from 12 p.m. to 2 p.m. on Wednesdays in room 105A in the Writing Resource Center. This means there is a lot of time for writing, and they typically start with a short warm-up.

“You’ll have about fifteen minutes to write, and people are encouraged to share after, but aren’t required. Then we move on to a bigger activity. Some of the activities we’ve done include writer telephone, Madlibs, workshops and a bracket where students voted for their favorite tropes,” Guinn said.

They also participate in larger events during the spring semester, including some holiday-related activities like a prompt egg hunt and a Valentine’s Day event.

“We had an OC Show-and-Tell recently, where students could present unfinished projects and characters,” Guinn said. “It was really exciting to see what our members are doing outside of the club.”

Even with a slow start, Guinn explained that being the club’s president is the most chill and fun leadership role she has had on campus, and she looks forward to their meetings each week. She also stated that Marianne Kunkel, the club’s main advisor, has been incredible at helping the club get on its feet.

“The club grew from having almost no one show up but club officers to having around ten people or more each week. This happened over the course of a month or so. We have consistent members and plenty of new faces,” Guinn said.

Kunker explained that being the Creative Writing Club’s advisor has opened her eyes to all the creative and artistic energy on campus, and she sees supporting their goals as a serious responsibility.

“Their passion for writing of all types–fiction, poetry, drama, creative nonfiction, comics–has opened a space for JCCC students to hone their writing at every club meeting, and also built a community for talking about writing,” Kunker said. “It’s an honor to advise this club, and I’m so proud that this semester it’s doubled in size.”

Wilson explained that the most rewarding part of being in leadership for the club is witnessing members create something that he had never even thought about. Similarly, Guinn explained that watching herself and the club grow has been the most rewarding part of being in it.

“I am a better writer when I am not critical of my own work. I can allow it to be bad, and then I can fix it later. I genuinely don’t know what I would have done without the extra practice and supportive atmosphere I got from this club,” Guinn said. “If you’re serious about writing, I promise you will get a lot out of joining us every week.”

Guinn advises students to just show up. The club is nonjudgmental and open to anybody who wants to show up.

“You don’t need to be a good writer or have any experience,” Guinn said. “If you’re scared to share your writing, you’re not obligated, but members are very supportive.”