STUDENT VOICES
My experience as a creative ranger by Maya Leisure
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hen I started creative writing, I was not expecting to be drawn into the Circle of Death, get a pen name or learn all of the essential parts of becoming a better writer. To say creative writing has been an adventure would be an understatement. In writing class, we learn that “there are no little geniuses,” meaning that you will not become the next J.K. Rowling right when you start. You have to use critical thinking and a lot of effort to grow as a writer, and no one person is going to become an overnight sensation. There is so much work that goes into writing a novel and countless hours of typing or, “banging your thoughts out on a keyboard.” I began the class in my seventh-grade year thinking that it would be a fun, easy writing class, where I would get published for the first book I wrote. While it’s most definitely fun, it’s far from easy. I changed the plot of my story at least three times within the first few weeks. I got stuck in my writing and confused with tying in my plot so many times. I was eaten alive in my first Circle of Death. But all of these experiences made me a better writer. At the start of the semester, each student comes up with a plot and a story pitch. After a few weeks, we have what has been dubbed the “Circle of Death,” in which we go around and each student reads his or her pitch to the class. Our teacher Mr. Dahlstrom named this the “Circle of Sharing and Caring,” but we quickly renamed it the Circle of Death.
Afterward, students are able to ask questions and contribute to a story using critical feedback. Most students tend to be pretty nervous about the circle. Some even cry. But by the end of the year we’re more comfortable with it. The Circle of Death has been one of the best experiences for me, because I think being able to revise and build off of the critique of others and their ideas makes the story “not great, but better.” Also, although we may think our plot is foolish, we are reminded that some stories or movies are strange concepts, too. For instance, who would have thought a show about talking vegetables would make millions of dollars? My experience in the class has certainly been a positive one, even though I was rather intimidated at the beginning. Throughout the year, our class takes trips to the Cowboy Symposium and Texas Tech
University to learn about different crafts and forms of art, including writing. This is also a major help, to learn about other writers and authors and their creative processes. By the end of the school year, some students have written a novel of 50,000 words or more. Mr. Dahlstrom encourages each student to write at least 300 words a day. Some hard-working students achieve 1,000 words in our 45-minute class period. At times, students don’t get to finish their novels by the end of the year, which is also OK because of all of the knowledge we get from taking the class. By the end of the second semester, we send out query letters to publishing companies. I think this is such a beneficial and helpful process to go through, even if we don’t get a response, because it shows us how to get our writing out there, which will be a major help to those who consider a serious writing career. The first and most important piece of knowledge we learn in the class is this: We are not writers simply because we are in a writing class. We have to work to earn the title of “writer.” We are writers because we work hard, critique and pour our hearts out onto the pages. We are writers because we write. MAYA LEISURE is an eighth-grader at Hutchinson Middle School in Lubbock ISD, where she participates in a creative writing class taught by Nathan Dahlstrom.
“Student Voices” is a regularly featured column in Texas School Business. It’s an opportunity for students of all ages from across Texas to share their experiences in K-12 public schools. Contact Editorial Director Dacia Rivers at drivers@texasschoolbusiness.com for publishing guidelines. Texas School Business JANUARY / FEBRUARY 2018
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