By Xu Zhenni (Chairperson), Laura Zheng Kailin (Vice-Chairperson), Tan Chern Shin (Secretary)
Does the prospect of writing about the themes close to your heart while chilling in an air-conditioned location align with your idea of an ideal CCA session? Have you ever found yourself intrigued by the various literary techniques and writing styles with which famous authors are able to paint a striking image? Or are you an aspiring writer, hoping to find a safe space where you can share your works with like-minded people?
If any of these apply to you, you should definitely consider applying for Writer’s Guild!
During our weekly Monday sessions, held from 4.30p.m. to 6.00p.m., Guild members can usually be found in a lecture theatre, or in one of the school’s many classrooms. Our CCA revolves around literary writing-centric activities — with an emphasis on literary — ranging from prompt-inspired sessions (where members write pieces based on a piece of media or a scenario) to peer review sessions for members to present their pieces and engage in meaningful discussions with each other. We value peer-to-peer interaction and discussion, hence most of our sessions feature opportunities to talk with CCA mates about each other’s writing, although sometimes we may call in experts to give talks instead!
As a student-run CCA, our activities are typically planned and organized by EXCO members, which lends us an element of autonomy! Guild is able to constantly explore different things we can do during sessions, allowing us to delve in things that YOU would like to see.
Of course, one of the most unforgettable parts of the Writer’s Guild experience would be our yearly anthology, written by our very own Year 6s. Y5 members often start to work on their pieces over the November-December holidays, and preparations continue until the middle of the next year.
The 2022 anthology.
This anthology is then made available to the school population through both physical and digital copies. For those who are curious, our writing endeavors are not limited by medium, anthology or otherwise. Prose and poetry pieces feature most commonly, but members can choose to venture into play-writing, or any form of writing that interests you!
This year, some of our other highlights include participating in school events, such as LitWeek. Centering around the theme of ‘1920s’, members submitted their poems — two of which were then read during a spoken poetry segment! Members also attended a talk by local author Theophilus Kwek to gain some insight into his creative processes, and take the opportunity to ask him questions. In addition, while there are no competitions that are compulsory for members to take part in, they are strongly encouraged to partake in at least one of their own choosing during their time in Guild, such as the Foyle Young Poets competition.
Beyond the literary activities that we do, Writer’s Guild aims to foster a supportive, comfortable environment in which members feel safe to express themselves through creative writing. There are no prerequisites for joining Writer’s Guild — all you need is a passion for all things literary and an openness to sharing your works with others in order to gain (respectful and constructive!) feedback, to learn and grow — both as a person and as a writer. We hope to see you next year!