Among an assortment of creative writing groups at UCLA, The Writer’s Den holds a premium on both creativity and volunteer work.
The Writer’s Den aims to establish an environment where writers can strengthen their connection to their craft. Through a volunteer program, it provides members with the opportunity to share their passion for creative writing with the next generation. Caroline Ives, a fourth-year applied mathematics student and co-president of The Writer’s Den, said the club is both a creative outlet and a community .
“I’ve gotten to knowpeople really well through their writing,” Ives said. “There’s some people who do this really thoughtful and metaphorically deep poetry. There’s other people who just write the funniest thing I’ve ever read every single time. … It’s so much fun to connect with people that way.”
Ives added that, although The Writer’s Den provides writing prompts for each meeting, members are encouraged to work on ongoing work or write from their own prompt. Though the club’s primary focus is on short stories, poetry and long-form prose are welcome, Ives said. She added that she has been active within the club since she was a first year .
The club also offers a volunteer program where members teach writing enrichment to elementary, middle, and high school students. Mason Ng, a third-year anthropology student and the director of volunteering, said The Writer’s Den volunteer program makes the club different from other student-run workshops and writing circles. Ng added that, in addition to seeing another part of the wider Los Angeles area, members are encouraged to foster relationships with their students.
“The real joy is going to the site and getting to know the students you’re working with,” Ng said. “It’s important to volunteer for the larger community but also for yourself.”
One of the schools that The Writer’s Den offers their enrichment program to is John R. Wooden High School, a continuation school. Ng said The Writer’s Den aims to increase accessibility to creative writing programs for schools such as Wooden, which tend to be smaller and have limited resources. The students’ projects range from poetry to comic books and are published in an anthology at the end of the year, she added.
Andy Engel, a fourth-year mathematics/economics student and co-president of The Writer’s Den said seeing students grow is one of the most rewarding experiences he’s had within the club. He added that working with students for a year is especially rewarding because the volunteers can observe the changes within students as they become more engaged in writing. Engel said the printed anthologies were a tangible manifestation of the students’ hard work that makes them very excited. The Writer’s Den also gives their students a field trip to UCLA, Engel added. Whether students choose to pursue writing in their college and professional careers or not, Engel said the ability to exercise and wield their creativity will help them go far in any field they may pick.
“Kids are so creative,” Engel said. “As they learn they can write whatever they want and be as creative as they want, they become more engaged.”
In addition to their volunteer and workshop programs, The Writer’s Den also publishes a quarterly writing journal that members can pitch their work to. The work ranges from projects that members worked on during meetings to projects they have worked on during their time at UCLA. Engel added that The Writer’s Den offers “bookish” socials for members as well. These field trips have included excursions to The LA Times Festival of Books at the USC campus and the famous downtown LA bookstore The Last Bookstore, among other outings. These trips help members bond with one another over writing, Engel said.
When she first joined The Writer’s Den as a freshman, Ng said the program was rocky due to COVID-19 restrictions that affected their structure. The phases of leadership since then have rejuvenated the club and strengthened its mission for creative openness and community engagement, Ng added.
“We’re trying to provide a really good space for people to write, to express themselves,” Engel said. “A lot of people can bondover writing.”
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