The Creative Writing Process at BCCHS

2018+Spring+BCCHS+Literary+Journal+Cover

2018 Spring BCCHS Literary Journal Cover

Karina Ruvalcaba, Creative Arts Editor

Many students will argue that they hate writing essays. They usually don’t necessary hate writing, but instead they don’t like following a format. Sometimes it’s not even the format that they don’t like, most of the times students simply don’t know how to start their essays.

This is why I feel creative writing is important; there’s no format to follow, unless you’re trying to write a certain way.  Most writers adjust to their own writing style and it gives them a whole different perspective on things. After doing a lot of free writing, people slowly become better writers, and it makes it easier to write essays because everything starts flowing out so naturally.

As the BCCHS Literary Journal Vice President, I will admit that a lot of creativity flows throughout this campus, but I also feel that there’s so much more than what was shown in this years Literary Journal.

A lot of people turn to writing when it comes to expressing their emotions–emotions that they don’t want others to know about. Emotions that they are scared to tell others about because they feel as if that part of them is “weak” or that they’ll look “vulnerable.” No one likes feeling weak or helpless.

Creative writing has been a big part of who I am for the past few years. Last year in the creative writing class, I found out much more about myself than what I thought was even possible. This year, I got the chance to read other students’ work. I saw all these different styles of writings, and how writers unfold their characters. Not only that, but this class also taught me how to work with deadlines, analyze the work, critique it, and suggest edits. It’s such a relief seeing where everything started (with packets of student work) and seeing the completed work, well almost. We just need to publish it now, but seeing the work being formatted as the final piece itself is amazing. All the work has paid off.

Now that’s enough about me and my experience. I strongly think that everyone should take a chance with creative writing. Maybe you’ll find out that it’s something you’re good at or maybe it’s just something that isn’t for you.

Sometimes you’ll be amazed with what you come up with. When a flower isn’t just a flower but you find a way to make it into a symbolical object. When a lightbulb turns into something more than an object that provides us lighting. When ordinary things have another meaning to you.

A place where you could create your own characters, make everyone different. When you give your characters a personality. It’s where you make your own characters, and make all the decisions for them. Through all the conflict, you bring someone to life through a novel.