Written by Katrin Surkan
There is nothing more magical than a piece of paper and a pen. That magic floats through our words, seeping into the pages we write with our ink. And then, the magic of our voice changes the reader of our writing. Whether it shines through drafting the next Tolkien-esque fantasy epic or a yearbook article, each of us has a beautiful voice.
“when it is truly time,
and if you have been chosen,
it will do it by
itself and it will keep on doing it” ~Charles Bukowski
If “you have been chosen” and your words come bursting out of you, if you are used to splashing the page with a colorful imagination, you have good company here. Creative writing thrives at Hillsdale College, whether in clubs like Writers’ Block or Fool’s Talk or in class or even on their own time, nestled into a tree in the Arb.
At Writers’ Block, President Rooks Russell, ’25, creates a space for students to write creatively together, especially those long stories they have always dreamed of putting to paper. Yes, long, for “a story is not finished until its meaning is finished,” he explains. “People get frustrated with Tolkien for writing the end of the Lord of the Rings so much beyond the ‘story,’ but when does the journey end? When the ring falls into the volcano in Mordor? When Frodo and Sam get back to the Shire? When the elves leave with Frodo? The meaning of Tolkien’s story was not complete until the last word was written.” Meeting once a week on Saturday mornings, you will find good company at Writers’ Block to pull you through to the end of your story and find its meaning.
When you have a first draft, bring it to Creative Writing Club, run by President Grace Bryant, ’25. Students fill the Raese Conference Room on Saturday afternoons, creating a warm atmosphere of feedback and playfulness. A typical meeting includes time working on your own piece, sharing and discussing each other’s work, and a writing exercise. “Sometimes it’s fun just to do an exercise to be reminded of the joy of writing, like writing out as many first lines for stories as you can,” Grace muses. I promptly asked her what she would write as a first line for my article, which you can see at the top. Thank you, Grace!
Hannah Wong, ’26, editor-in-chief of the on-campus Christian publication titled Fool’s Talk, shares the value of organization. “In good writing, the form of the piece reflects its content, supporting the writer’s argument,” she says. “Some of my best pieces of writing are only a paragraph or two,” she adds, emphasizing how the beauty of writing can shine through even a few sentences. Hannah’s appreciation for writing blossomed in Dr. Ellen Condict’s class on English Grammar, where she was reminded that every word molds the meaning of its sentence. As with Christianity, each minute detail contributes to a beautiful whole. The individuals bring their unique voices together in praise of God. For Fool’s Talk, whose title is drawn from 1 Corinthians 1:18, this beautiful whole is Christ: “For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.” Wong believes everything in our writing should point to the message of Christ.
Anna Leman, ’25, editor-in-chief of The Forum, agrees and encourages writers to submit prolifically. “Submit your writing to multiple publications because it’s going to be rejected, but someone will take it gratefully,” Anna suggests. “Most editors will give you helpful suggestions whether they accept your piece or not.” She grins, “It’s exciting to see what people come up with because we get all kinds of submissions,” she notes. It is this creativity springing from the student submissions that makes The Forum an organic combination of beautiful pieces about what was, what is, and what could be. “No” doesn’t mean “bad”; rather, it’s an abbreviation for “not now.”
Though we may all be amateurs at creative writing, it is good to be reminded by the professionals that there are struggles in writing. Charles Bukowski, a German-American poet and novelist of the 20th century, wrote a poem about being a writer titled “so you want to be a writer?” In it, he presses the reader to consider whether they are left “searching for words” that will put libraries to sleep, or whether the words burn within you like a sun.
So go forth and write. Let your words bleed and sweat ideas on to the paper. Someone out there needs the words that come “bursting out of you / in spite of everything … / unasked out of your / heart and mind and mouth / and your gut.” The right words will come “out of your soul / like a rocket … / until you die or it dies in you.”
Katrin Surkan, ’25, has roots on the east coast but can almost always be found traveling. When not writing, reading, or chatting with someone new, she’s likely looking for a dog to pet or singing at the top of her lungs between classes with a cappuccino in hand.
Published in December 2024
