Bring me your Precious: Creative Writing in the Writing Center

When I came into Coe as a English and Creative Writing major I was terrified to let people read my stories. I’d been writing since I was a little girl, but actually letting people workshop my pieces petrified me. Every creative writer knows that in order to improve their stories they have to open themselves up to constructive criticism, but it doesn’t stop the fear from taking over.

Why Creative Writers are Scared to Visit the CWC

One resource creative writers should take advantage of is the Writing Center. Most creative writing students don’t take their pieces to the Writing Center for two reasons.

1. One, it puts them in an extremely vulnerable situation. Many people come into the Writing Center scared to share their academic essays with consultants, and that fear and vulnerability is only heightened when a writer has to share a creative piece they’ve spent hours working on and is very close to their heart.
2. Two, creative writers don’t take their pieces to the Writing Center because they don’t know if the consultants will be able to help them.

On the flip side, I know of some consultants who are scared at the idea of giving a creative writing conference because they don’t know what to look for or how to help, so they mostly just focus on grammar.

What Consultants can do for Creative Writers
As a creative writer I can say that if someone brings their piece into the Writing Center, they just want what every other writer wants. They want a conversation about the story they have written. Here are some things consultants can do when giving a conference to a piece of creative writing:

1. First, Break the paper down into parts. As consultants, we’ve been trained to look for different parts of writing, such as thesis statements, paragraph organization, topic sentences, etc. When it comes to a piece written creatively, you are doing nothing different. You are still breaking down the paper into parts, just instead of focusing on a thesis statement, you will focus on plot, character development, pacing, etc.
2. Second, be interested in their story and be their soundboard. People bring in writing assignments which deal with topics that consultants know nothing about all the time, but the writer knows what they are talking about, and by asking open-ended questions you are able to help prod the writer to get their ideas flowing to write a cohesive paper. It is no different for creative writers, most of the time they just want someone to talk to about their story and bounce ideas off of.

Come to the CWC—It’s a Win-Win for Everyone
So, creative writers please bring in your stories to the Writing Center. There are consultants who would love to nerd out and talk to you about your characters and the world you have created. And consultants, approach a creative writing conference like any other conference, ask the writer questions, be interested in their story, and offer your own ideas. Too often we think of writing as a solitary process, but why not take some help along the way if it is available to us? So please bring me your precious stories, because I would love to read them and discuss them. It would make my nerd heart more than happy.

Oh, The Weather Outside Is... Avoidable?

By the time second semester rolls around in the Coe Writing Center, the temperatures have dropped and so has the snow. Right now, there is probably about a foot of snow accumulation with lows in the single digits this season. Thankfully, this weekend was pleasant with temperatures in the 20s for Admitted Student Weekend and one of our annual Writing Center competitions. The prospies didn’t have to trudge through too much snow to get to campus!

With this in mind, the question on our infamous whiteboard was “What’s your favorite winter activity?” Consultants and guests alike are allowed to contribute by answering the question for all to see.

The CWC consultants seem to be fairly split between enjoying snow and not. Henry (‘21) and Astin (‘21) both are in the prior category. Henry said he likes snow, which would make sense because he is from Colorado. He noted that the Iowa cold usually doesn’t bother him, although if he could choose, he would prefer it to be a few degrees warmer.

Astin’s response was more entertaining and thoughtful in nature. “I like sledding, because you taste the thrill of death without the fear of commitment,” they said. To elaborate, they explained that they went sledding with Coe’s Outdoor Club this past weekend. Apparently the hill was all ice, which made sledding quite a thrill. Sometimes all of us could use an adrenaline rush to shock us enough to bring us out of the numbness of mundane everyday life.

Other consultants’ viewpoints of Winter are more in line with mine. “I like staying inside where it’s warm,” my best friend/consultant Aaron (‘21) thoughtfully noted. His chemistry and sociology double major will most definitely take care of that and present him with plenty of problems and readings to do, of course, with occasional breaks to play Mario Kart with his favorite coworkers.

Some consultants will do anything to avoid being outside, like Destiny (‘20). “Anything to distract me from the fact it’s winter,” she said.

What better way to distract oneself from the ever present and growing dread of extended dark hours and sub-zero temps than to come in to the writing center for a hot beverage and conversation?

Winter will come to pass, as it always does. Maybe when it starts to become nicer out, all Coe students’ brains will unfreeze and they’ll come to the Writing Center for meaningful feedback on their projects, graduate school applications, and research papers.

Welcome to the New Coe Writing Center Blog

Hello, all! Welcome to the brand new iteration of the Coe Writing Center Blog! It's been a little over five years since we've shared posts featuring our random thoughts while working, quotes from favorite authors, photos taken by students, and updates on our lives. But it's a new year, and we at the Writing Center are looking to expand our content. What better way to start than bringing back the nostalgia of a blog?

We're hoping to profile everything that makes up the Writing Center, from consultants to the committees they partake in. Additionally, this will serve as a place to hear about what our consultants are involved in outside of the Writing Center, extracurricular activities and personal projects. Be sure to follow us for weekly updates!