Southeastern’s aspiring authors now have a safe, inviting hub to hone their literary works and connect with like-minded students: the Southeastern Lion Writers. The creative writing organization met in Ascension Hall 123 on Monday, Oct. 16, for its second-ever meeting.
Lion Writers is among the newest student organizations on campus. Lilith Finnell, a freshman English major, helms the fledgling organization alongside Anne Babson, an English teacher and the club’s faculty sponsor.
At the meeting, Finnell presented members with a horror-themed PowerPoint focused on horror literary titans – specifically, Edgar Allen Poe, H.P. Lovecraft and Stephen King – and their contributions to the genre.
Finnell talked about horror themes, such as the fear of the unknown or the fear of the unimaginable, two themes often examined in Lovecraft’s stories.
Before the Lion Writers’ founding, the English department had two primary student organizations: the English Club and Sigma Tau Delta, the International English Honors Society. The club usually serves as a holding area for members looking to officially join the society.
While both clubs are beneficial for English majors and writers in general, neither focus specifically on creative writing. Lion Writers will now serve to fill that gap in the department.
Finnell concluded the presentation by giving attendees five minutes to write a horror narrative in groups. While members paired up, talked and laughed while drafting their stories, Finnell walked outside and sat under the green umbrella to discuss more about the club’s formation.
According to Finnell, Brandon Sanderson, the famous fantasy writer, planted the idea for a creative writing club after she watched some of his lessons online.
“I thought, ‘How awesome would it be if we could do [Sanderon’s] writing groups [at SLU]?’ Of course, I also wanted to meet other people who enjoyed writing like I did, so I got the word out to my friends and I told those friends to talk to their friends. From there, I started a Discord and told everyone to meet in the Student Union. Now, we’re doing it more often to make it a club,” Finnell explained.
Finnell launched an Instagram account, with a logo featuring a lion clutching a pencil and holding a sheet of paper from its mouth. She announced the first meeting, which was on Sept. 21, and has since posted near-daily writing prompts and exercises for people to try.
Taylor Davis, a freshman English major, talked about her involvement with the club’s development, including pitching ideas and creating Halloween-themed activities.
“For October, we’re creating two different types of lists that members can choose from to write stories or poems and share them with the rest of the club,” Davis said.
The creative writing club, in Finnell’s eyes, is meant to serve as a “connected system for all the writers on campus.”
Sophomore social studies education major Jade DiMartino attended her first meeting and shared she feels the club succeeded in cultivating a supportive organization.
“I think it’s a welcoming environment and a good environment to get in a headspace for writing since there are other people to assist you if you need it. I have a lot of ideas in my head and I can’t always put them into one story…if I get stuck on something, I need a better word choice or somebody else has a suggestion, I have that support around me,” DiMartino commented.
Davis also commented on the club’s kind and welcoming atmosphere.
“I think it’s an intimate setting because we’re all writers so we all have the same type of struggles when it comes to writing. We can critique each other in a friendly way,” Davis said.
Through two meetings, Lion Writers has recruited a diverse array of club members. While most members are either English or art majors, a few break away from the traditional creative arts mold. Alongside DiMartino, there’s also Toby Lirette, a freshman biology major and Kimberly McKenzie, a freshman psychology major who serves as the club’s treasurer.
Librette said she’s enjoying having a space “where we can explore our passions” that are unrelated to their “science things.”
McKenzie said it never even occurred to her that the majority of members are creative art majors.
“It’s just fun to spend time with people who have similar interests in writing. Major isn’t the main thing,” Mckenzie said.
The club is very early in development, as it’s still looking for official recognition from the Office for Student Engagement. Finnell acknowledged the club is “malleable” and could head in a litany of different directions. From her perspective, she’d like to have more frequent meetings, see club members become more engaged via fun activities and potentially have members give presentations themselves.
“I want to have that balance between lectures on how to read and write better while still keeping the club a place where people can spend time with their friends,” Finnell noted.
Meetings alternate between Mondays and Thursdays. Visit their Instagram for more information on the Southeastern Lion Writers.
