The Star will profile a student from each specialty department during the year. This is the first of this series.
The everyday life of a creative writer may seem pretty one-note, but after following junior writer Egg McClure for a day, it looks to be quite eventful. According to McClure, creative writers are typically busy with critiques, walkabouts, and preparation for readings in the lecture hall. McClure spends most of their specialty time exploring literature from their peers and other authors that prepare them for a later, verbal discussion.
Critique in the creative writing department normally lasts for a week or two. During this time, writers can be expected to read, discuss, and comment on nearly a hundred pages. Students will gather for a roundtable discussion as each person shares their questions, suggestions, and comments on another peer’s work. This cycle continues until all students have their work reviewed.
“Your piece is sent in, the whole class reads it. They tell you what’s bad about it, what’s good about it, you learn some stuff,” McClure says.
When it’s warm out, creative writers can be seen all about the city, as they often go on walkabouts to spark creativity. McClure comments, “People don’t think creative writers go outside a lot, but we do! . . .As the seasons change, good inspiration can be found in nature.”
Teachers may lead students to the courtyard, nearby parks, the Birmingham Museum of Art, CityWalk, or the local cemetery. The sunlight and exercise are believed to inspire and motivate students.
The second semester is filled with readings, which occur annually for each grade level. Readings are mostly held in the lecture hall, and it’s an opportunity for others in the school to see what the writers have been working on and exhibit their talent. “Everybody has an opportunity to see and hear you. . . .It does tap into that aspect of writing that’s spoken word or audiobooks.”
Creative writers are also expected to read and write daily. Whether it be for practice or an assignment, students are always encouraged to produce and explore something new.
“There are days when I feel like I can’t write,” McClure says, “or whatever I’m producing is bad.”
With the department’s nonfiction course, in which students create pieces inspired by their personal lives and journeys, McClure expresses that emotional vulnerability can be stressful.
“Whether it be my writing isn’t fitting an expectation that I want or whether or not people are going to like my story ... for critique, that can be stressful. Trying to become better and trying to figure out what’s the next step to become better can be hard,” McClure says.
They go on to praise the department for its closeness and how intimately they feel about the art.
“In this department," McClure says, "our art is very intimate ... and the way that I think writing stands out is how accessible it is. Most people can read, and if they can’t, they can hear it. We are sometimes able to see people pour their hearts out on the page or in critique ... You see these people grow in their work.”
Even with the rampant emotions among writers, McClure persists through the art as they’ve found it to be something extremely personal to them.
“I found that writing is a very important outlet for me, for hoping, for healing, for connecting with people on a level I wasn’t quite able to before,” McClure explains. “I became a creative writer because I wanted to hone that craft . . . that what I was doing was something special.”
McClure hopes this article gives a more broad and more educated idea of a creative writer’s work and life. As some Creative Writing students say the department flies under the radar, McClure would like to see more appreciation for the art of literature and the effort it requires. They say, “I think this should give more exposure to the department. . . .We just got a showcase, and I think a lot of people underestimate the artistry that goes behind creative writing. And I want people to see that and make a connection between people and their writing.”
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