The Writing Club

Since talking to Kirsten and Kasey, I've decided to begin a writing club. I have never taken a creative writing course, whether fiction or non-fiction, and there are so many stories from my family that I would like to share or at least preserve for posterity.

Actually, we came up with the idea when I was telling Kirsten about my Aunt Maree who, as a child, used to pee in the bed. Now, my grandmother and her family were dirt-poor tenant farmers-- the girls would sleep five to a bed (there were thirteen children altogether) so bed-wetting was more than a minor inconvenience. Aunt Maree, sensing the dismay of her sisters, would begin to sing to them after she wet the bed. I guess she thought it couldn't get any worse and maybe the singing would help them get back to sleep. But to listen to them tell these stories is such a blessing. In fact, tears often appear in my eyes but not because of sadness-- I'm usually laughing hysterically. That's what I love about my family. We're very close and there's so much love there, despite whatever hard times have fallen upon us.

I want to be able to share those stories with everyone, but I lack the confidence to write them down. I don't know, but writing a thirty page research paper on the fundamentals of prison reform never seemed like a daunting task to me. But give me an assignment to write a short story or poem and I break out in hives. I want to learn to write creatively and I think a writing club would be the best way to do it.

As of now, Kirsten and I have decided that we'd like to meet as a group at least once a month. We thought about Thursdays or Saturday nights, but we know how hectic everyone's schedule is and how difficult it is to give up a Saturday evening, so we will wait to see how many people would be interested. Who knows, it may just be me and Kirsten. As for the writing, we'd like to keep it open to any genre but have the content structured thematically. And Kasey, we need a cool name for the group. Let me know what you all think!