We All Have Stories To Tell (Creative Writing)

By: Ashlyn Martin

Bellarmine GSP’s Creative Writing class lives up to its name...creative. As soon as I walked into the class I ambushed by colorful writing displays decorating the walls. I took my place among the 19 scholars, eager to learn about the stories they had to tell.

I first learned the story of their guest speaker, Carolyn Clouss, a science fiction author. Carolyn is best known for her installment in the Star Trek series, “The Pandora Principle.” She gave the scholars advice on short fiction, the focus of that day’s class. She warned them that “short fiction is harder...much less forgiving,” however, she did not discourage scholars against it.  When talking about her own career in writing, she talked about the importance of being persistent. The process of publishing her Star Trek book was a very grueling one. Her final draft, which had even been approved, received 300 requests for edits. In order to publish that book she remained determined and wouldn’t quit, no matter how many times she was frustrated by the countless changes editors wanted to make to her book. From this experience, she learned something vital: “don’t write for other universes.” Lastly, she emphasized how important it is for writers to make a living outside of writing. When writing, the only distraction should be making a living. For some, this may seem daunting, but to those who are truly passionate about writing the dedication is worth it.

Frank Wared, the Creative Writing teacher shared his story as well. Frank graduated from U of L with a B.A in English and from Spalding with an M. A. T. After college, he was hired at Trinity High School in Louisville. It was there that he was inspired to pursue science fiction writing. He bonded with Trinity’s principal over his love of science fiction, so he was asked to put together a science fiction class. In order to prepare for the class, he read a wide variety of science fiction novels. Upon doing so, he realized, “I could do this.” That sparked the beginning of his interest in writing books. He explained how we wrote a lot throughout the 80s and 90s, when there was a market for the short sci fi pieces he was writing. His last piece was published in the 90s. He grew tired of the endless battles with editors that publishing his works entailed, but that hasn’t stopped him from writing. For now, his main focus is teaching. Frank’s philosophy is that, “If you really enjoy teaching you don’t have time to do something else.” Right now he characterizes himself as a “good writer and a great teacher.” Once he retires he intends to devote his attention to becoming a great writer.

The majority of class was focused on sharing previous stories; the rest of it was focused on beginning new ones. Creative Writing scholars were given eight minutes to create captivating hooks based on a picture. The picture featured a red box floating in a room. Ornate black shadows from the intricately decorated box, were cast onto the walls and floor. The picture was of an exhibit that was on display two years ago at the Cincinnati Art Museum. The hooks were then read out loud to the class. Most used mystery or horror to their advantage, leaving the class on the edge of their seats. Just from this short activity I was wowed by the ‘out of the box’ thinking of the 19 scholars around me.