On February 22, a group of forty students gathered in Room 318, each aspiring to become one of the eight LM student representatives in the Central League Writing Contest. This competition will occur on April 18, but students had to prove themselves in LM’s competition first. Carrie Hemler and Diane Shannon hosted an hour-long event where students put their writing skills to the test. The purpose of the school-wide contest was to “give students a chance to express themselves creatively, especially since this isn’t necessarily something we do often,” as said by Hemler. After participating in the contest myself, I can say with confidence that it was a successful event.
Once the lunch bell rang, students eagerly made their way into the classroom to show off their skills. Additional desks were organized in tight rows and chairs were lined up by the counters in order to accommodate every participant. Once all the students had shuffled in, the prompt was projected on the board: “Write a story about a conflict that breaks over something ordinary (like tea).” To some, the idea of sensitively constructing and finalizing a story within an hour may seem daunting. However, among these students, the sounds of graphite hitting the loose leaf within seconds proved that they were confident in their craft. The ambiguity of the prompt facilitated the possibility of endless creativity for the writers.
Students spent the hour placing their most superlative plot thoughts and exuberant characters into text. This continued through the hour. The lively energy that persisted for the entire duration of the competition spoke to the fervent passion that each student in that room had for writing. Even with forty students, no two papers were alike. This is one of the merits that accompanies creative writing. A single prompt can produce a variety of complex scenes. For example, one student given this prompt might have written a story where a father and daughter disagree about the moral implications of killing a fly. Another might have written a story where an intern is fired over spilling a coffee.
The task of selecting the best piece, however, will be put into the hands of a team of teacher volunteers. They will spend the next few weeks reading each story, eventually narrow down the submissions to the top two finalists in each grade. These eight students will then go on to represent our school in the Central League Writing Test at Ridley High School. As Hemler said, “this truly isn’t an opportunity we see often at LM. The creative talent that this school boasts is extraordinary, and I am thrilled that the artistic ability is being recognized and given the attention it deserves.” After speaking with students who also entered the contest, it is clear that this opinion is shared. Participant Katharine Worth ’24 stated, “I personally love creative writing, but can never find time for it. This activity not only gave me a break to do so, but also offered a challenge by making it a timed contest.”
Regardless of the outcome, the experience alone was incredibly rewarding. The creative writers of LM are undoubtedly looking forward to the grand reveal of the winners.
