The Creative Collective is a creative writing group that meets weekly on Monday nights in the Writing Studio from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. The group spends time during each meeting to brainstorm ideas, discuss technique and write creatively.

Jules Carew leads the Creative Collective and is on staff at the undergraduate Writing Studio. She recently received her MFA in Creative Nonfiction, and this is her second year leading the writing group. Carew wanted to create a safe space for writers to come together in a non-academic setting and provide support and community. 

“I am recreating what I wish I had in undergraduate,” Carew said. “It’s so easy to give up in creative writing, and I want to be a testament that this is possible. I’ve been exactly where students are, in college, no idea what they are doing, but they just want to be a writer of some sort. I want to be the proof that you can do that.”

Carew values learning about students through their writing and getting to know them on a personal level. She also enjoys hearing about students’ creative writing ideas and helping them develop further. “I love what students come up with. I am always surprised by how much brilliance is in the room, and a lot of times these students don’t even know it,” Carew said. “It’s amazing.”

The meetings start off with casual conversations about each other’s weeks and lives and then moves into responding to writing prompts. Each meeting focuses on different writing styles and genres from poetry to short stories.

Freshman Maximo Candamo Jr. is a History and Political thought major with a Philosophy minor and has enjoyed participating in the Creative Collective for his first year at Concordia. He joined because he has a passion for writing, specifically poetry, and wanted to improve further. “This group can help me develop my skills further and help give me feedback on creative writing,” Candamo said.

While the Creative Collective focuses on writing, it also allows students to bond and collaborate. “We engage together in our writing, collectively work on a prompt and discuss about it,” Candamo said. “You’re getting to learn a little bit about each other and their creative process.”

Students also appreciate the opportunity to submit their work to The Aerie, which is Concordia’s annual literary and art journal. Carew helps writers discover new ways to share their work with the world through the submission and publishing process. However, while submission to journals such as The Aerie is an important part of the writing life, the Creative Collective also wants students to have freedom to generate pieces without the pressure to turn anything in.

Carew reiterated that the Creative Collective is open for all students with any experience or level in writing. “We meet writers where they are at. You can come and play around with the prompts and hang out or you can take it really seriously,” Carew said. “We are meeting people wherever they are on their creative journey.”

For more information on Creative Collective, email julianne.carew@cui.edu or attend a weekly meeting in the Writing Studio from 6:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. every Monday.

Tags: Writing

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