New creative writing workshops are being held on Monday from 2 to 3 p.m. in the Writing Center for students to receive feedback from experienced tutors on their creative writing.
The workshop is an extra hour set aside specifically for creative writers, although students are more than welcome to bring their creative works by during regular hours as well, according to Mandy Deffendall, graduate student and creator of the workshops.
“Most people don’t think about bringing their creative works to the Writing Center, so I thought it would be a good idea to set aide an hour and invite creative writers to join us,” Deffendall said. “We also thought it was a good way to get people to work on their creative writing, then hopefully submit it to the Mayo Review.”
Rick McCraw, Kaye McCraw, and Sean Kennedy are the tutors who volunteer to work with Deffendall. They are all experienced creative writers and graduate students at Texas A&M University-Commerce.
The workshops are for anyone interested in writing fiction, poetry, songs, etc.
“I hope it will appeal to anyone and everyone who writes,” Deffendall said. “Maybe someone has always wanted to be a poet. This is a great place to come and get started.”
Though the workshops have not had much success yet, Deffendall hopes once the word gets out students will come.
“We really hope to promote a different sort of writing than what we are used to in academia,” Sean Kennedy, workshop tutor said. “Both faculty and staff are regularly working together to fully support creative writing.”