A trio of seniors, Alyssa Hurley, Kissa Gaona King, and Henry Davis-Jones, have collaborated to create a new “Spartan Storytelling Club” in order to give students a space to write and be creative.

“Not a lot of people have a safe space to write all the time or share their creative stories with other people,” said Hurley. 

One of the club’s founders. Hurley was a member of the Writing Club two years ago until it stopped meeting at the beginning of last year. She is also currently working on writing a script for her original story. 

“When the pandemic hit, [Writing Club] just kind of went away, but I really missed that storytelling aspect in it and like, building your characters and making storylines,” said Gaona-King. 

While the previous club was focused on writing activities, the Storytelling Club focuses on inspiring creativity and giving students a place to discuss ideas for their own original stories. 

“It’s one big fun spot for writing and other creative things like that,” said Davis-Jones. The club shows how to curate stories, share ideas, and to give students a place to express their creativity. 

“We have lessons sectioned off in each quarter,” continued Hurley. “Quarter two will be about world-building, and quarter three will be about conflict and plot.” Additionally, the fourth quarter is about tying the story together. 

In addition to the trifold gaining a lot of attention at the Activities Fair, the first meeting was a hit, with an almost-filled classroom. The meeting was composed of introductions and introducing the members’ original characters, and the students that attended readily shared information about their stories.  

“I’ve been interested in storytelling ever since seventh grade, and ever since then, I’ve been completely obsessed with writing,” said freshman Jack Dowdy. 

Dowdy joined the Storytelling Club after it was recommended by his English teacher. Dowdy went to the first meeting and introduced his writing style and characters. 

“Our goal as a club is to help people become more creative and work on building their skills in writing. [They can] choose to write or mostly just storytelling, and how to develop plots for their stories,” said Gaona-King. 

Students in the club posted a copy of a document on Schoology that introduced one of their original characters to share with everyone. If they didn’t have one, they described and introduced themselves.

“I hope it’s prosperous, and I hope lots of people join and everything will be fun,” said Davis-Jones. 

During the Activities Fair during LS4, the club’s trifold amassed a lot of attention, with students crowding around and signing up to receive emails about the first meeting. 

“I hope the club makes it big and I hope for myself to publish one of my stories because of this club,” said Dowdy. 

The Storytelling Club offers a space in school for individuals to get creative and receive feedback on writing that isn’t purely academic. The flexibility of the club allows students to share as much as they feel comfortable. 

“Don’t listen to what other people think. You don’t have to share it with others. It can be something for yourself and you don’t owe anyone anything,” said Hurley.