Psych + Language = Creative Writing

Analyze, analyze, analyze. Or workshop as the Creative Writing (C.W.) students know it.  It’s the time Mr.Trudeau’s class full of Sophomores, Juniors, and Seniors try to discover themselves through their writing, and have their fellow peers edit and comment on each others’ work. It comes with a few rules, of course.  One is to be considerate, which is likely the most extolled virtue. Another is, “what happens in creative writing stays in creative writing.”  They do this for the “same reason we have Socratic seminars.  Students can teach better than teachers most of the time because we’re the same age,” one creative writing student, Abayomi Taylor, stated.

Trudeau allows his students to be free in their writing and critique but they have to be ready for the challenge of understanding how a person’s life shapes their writing pieces. Trudeau stated that one of his goals is to have his students write beautiful and useful pieces. As it turns out, being able to determine what makes it beautiful is what makes it useful. He believes that once they understand how their work distinguishes them from not only one another, but as individuals in general, their writing pieces can be considered art.

Although the format clearly separates the class from most others offered at King, there is something else that makes it special: the people. Student Abayomi Taylor stated that his peers are “much better writers than expected.  Everyone’s a good writer but there are those sentences that make the whole paper amazing.”  Zachary Baxter agrees and adds that that the class is “completely centered around the students.”  Consequently there is no beating around the bush in this class: writing and commentary must be direct and to the point so that there is complete understanding. But sometimes the writing isn’t necessarily for everyone else to comprehend, but for personal reflection on what you’re saying. Trudeau himself said, “When you write for yourself there’s no one to fool but yourself…so why bother?” The students in Trudeau’s class certainly take his words to heart and recommend the class to those willing to diligently work to discover their writing abilities.