Henderson Oracle

Issue date: 9/29/08 Section: News

Media Credit: Marcus Meier To be or not to be - The Writers' Guild, a newly formed organization on campus, welcomes writers. The group had their first meeting last Tuesday in Huie Library.

The Writers' Guild is a newly formed organization made up of many different types of talent, from poets to non-fiction and fiction writers to playwrights. The first meeting was held Tuesday.

The Writers' Guild is a place of creativity, a place where any form of written art is deemed acceptable, a group where both of these attributes are melded together to shape a new home for the writers at Henderson.

"I want this to become a place where you are comfortable sharing what you are working on," said senior mass media major and group founder Jim Miller.

Miller said he got the idea for a writer's guild from attending a creative writing class taught by Dr. Marck Beggs, who is Henderson's graduate dean and the faculty adviser for the group.

Many people have tried to start a club like the Writers' Guild, Miller said, but it has always fallen through.

He said he is diligently working against letting that happen so that the group will remain a permanent fixture on campus after he graduates.

He says that he has always chafed against the norm when it comes to the stereotype of writers, since he is very outgoing when it comes to speaking as well as writing.

"I really think that it helps to inspire creative work when you are in an environment with other people," he said.

The objective for the club is to create a workshop-like atmosphere in which each member can participate in whatever way they wish. As reassurance to any members or potential members who are wary of reading their work aloud, Miller has guaranteed that a student may have someone other than themselves read it - or have it be read silently by the group.

Miller also hopes to collaborate with many other groups on campus, such as the English and Comic clubs, to enable more outside projects.

Another of the group's main goals will be to reach out to surrounding areas such as Ouachita Baptist University, so that the group may become a dual effort by many diverse types of students.

"I hope it gets more organized beyond just having an idea, and they can come up with more tangible writing functions," said Beggs. The first meeting was initially to see who was interested in joining and to gather contact information. Any student still hoping to sign up can contact Miller at jimmumbles@gmail.com for further information. Miller encourages any student who is a writer to contact him as well as to persuade each student to spread the word to their fellow classmates.

Miller says the main form of contact outside of the meeting will be via e-mail, due to the heavy workload of many students which makes time a contributing factor in creative writing.

The meetings will be held on the second and third Tuesdays of every month in Huie Library. The location inside the library is scheduled to change to accommodate more people, as the first meeting left no extra chairs inside a small study room due to the number of students who attended.

If the group becomes large enough, the classroom on the second floor of the library will be opened so that the atmosphere will not become too claustrophobic for students who like to spread out when they discuss their work.

Miller said he will e-mail an agenda out to all hopeful members and identify the specific location to cease any confusion on where to meet.

"I think the group is a good idea," said junior English major Stephanie Elder. "I hope it continues on after this year."

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