Creative Writing at Irma Marsh

Creative Writing at Irma Marsh
Posted on 11/08/2021
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Creative Writing at Irma Marsh


7th-grade English Reading Language Arts teacher, Mr. Knudsen, hosts the Creative Writing Club and writing contests at Irma Marsh. Ever since he was in elementary school, Mr. Knudsen has seen writing as both a form of self-expression and an escape from some of the many challenges in life. He hopes that the club and contests inspire students to write creatively as well. 


The Creative Writing Club meets every Thursday in the library from 3:20-4. Students engage their creativity by freewriting based on fun writing prompts. Then, they discuss a literary concept, like creating symbolism, adding suspense, or writing in a particular genre, and finally they apply the skill they have discussed to their own writing. 

Mr. Knudsen, who has finished three published novels, also helps students who are writing their very own novels. Some Creative Writing days are devoted to novel creation. Students share their ideas, discuss how to improve the originality of their writing, and have quiet time to write their creative stories! Mr. Knudsen conferences individually with students who are writing novels and helps them truly make their novels stellar by challenging them to write unique concepts and build on deep themes in their stories.  Over the course of the 2021-2022 school year, six writing contests will further incentivize and challenge the students to embrace their creative side! Already resolved are the Realistic Fiction Contest of September and the Spooky Horror October Contest. Nine students entered the realistic fiction contest, and 27 entered the horror contest. Students who enter the contests win a writing bracelet for entering, story feedback, and other prizes depending on the contest! 


To win a contest, students need a strong grasp of the genre they’re writing for as well as great writing skills. The pacing of a story is exceptionally important, as writing details and dialog can truly help make a story feel like it’s really happening. A longer, more well-developed story tends to be a strong contender, but the horror story contest winner proved that quality beats quantity!

The next writing contest is the Dystopian December Short Story contest! Students can begin writing on November 17, 2021. Mr. Knudsen and the other judges are looking forward to the creative stories that will be entered. Happy writing!