“Room 16 Goes to Outer Space” may not have been a New York Times bestseller, but Jessica Chessani, who co-wrote the story in first grade, thought it had potential.
Now a graduating history student, Chessani is showing her passion for writing was not simply a childhood phase.
Her dream of being an author led her to the English department’s creative writing program.
English 133 for poetry and English 134 for short story both provide an intimate environment of fewer than fifteen students. In each workshop, writers exchange detailed advice on each other’s work.
“We’re a really close-knit group,” said Chessani. “After class on Tuesday nights, we all meet up and go to dinner and a bar. I think these are the best classes I’ve taken at UCLA.”
Diana Nguyen, a graduating English and communication studies student and an aspiring writer, says that the workshop setup is one of her favorite things about the creative writing program.
“You only have to take three (workshops) but I just didn’t ever want to stop,” she said. “I love the atmosphere of being in a classroom with other people. There’s nothing else I’d rather do.”
Due to its high demand and selectivity, the creative writing program actually limits each student to taking only three workshops. This limit led to the creation of the Emeritus group, a student-initiated workshop created so writers can continue fostering their work.
Ben Corman, a graduating political science student and one of the founders of the Emeritus group, says that the Emeritus students also plan to keep in touch even after the summer through a web-based discussion board where they can receive feedback from each other after they go their separate ways.
And with graduation approaching, the writers are finding that the paths toward a writing career are indeed diverging. And while the graduating writing students will miss the workshop environment, they realize going their separate ways is an important part of the writing process, too.
Chessani believes that the next years of her life will be pivotal in gaining material to fuel her writing. While some students choose to begin masters programs in creative writing right away, Chessani will be moving to Gilroy, Calif. for two years with the Teach for America program.
“I plan to write and keep journals on my experiences, but I think I’m young,” Chessani said. “I want more experiences before I go to an MFA (Masters of Fine Arts) program.”
Nguyen also plans to take time off to work before she goes to graduate school. She too is looking to gain greater life experience, something different from the more sheltered atmosphere of UCLA, before she seriously considers a writing career.
“(At school) you’re kind of outside of reality because UCLA is its own little world,” Nguyen said. “I feel like I need to have lived some kind of life or do something a little bit different from what I normally do.”
Mona Simpson, a creative writing professor in fiction, thinks that it is a good idea for young writers to hold off on graduate school.
“I don’t recommend that (students) go straight into an MFA program. I think they’re better off waiting a couple years and doing something that interests them, whatever that is,” Simpson said. “And twenty years down the line, they’ll have something to write about.”
But some, like Corman, cannot wait to pick up the pen after graduation.
“I want to spend the summer writing a novel and then spend some time revising that,” said Corman.
And while getting published is the ultimate goal for most writers, Stephen Yenser, a creative writing professor in poetry, claims that being published is not as important as producing well-written work.
“What counts is the quality of the work,” he said. “Simple publication doesn’t mean anything. What you have to do is publish in good places. And to publish in good places, you have to write good work.”
Nguyen finds that focusing on the quality of her writing rather than on getting her work published keeps the writing process enjoyable.
“I’m actually doing things that I can be proud of and that other people appreciate,” she said. “That really reinforces why I should pursue a future in writing, not so I can get published, but because it makes me feel happy.”
But whether it’s writing a novel or going to Europe, Simpson encourages graduating students to follow whatever path best inspires.
“There’s not one way to do it,” she said.
“The only important thing is to do what fills your writing goals. … Other than that, follow what interests you when you write.”