By Tiffany Buchanan

Mr. Coffman and some of his Creative Writing students take time from their stories for a picture.
Photo by: Silian Oseguera

A unique course has recently been added to Plymouth High School’s curriculum.  It allows students to express their creative writing skills, but does not require a traditional classroom setting.  Mr. Coffman and various students enrolled in the course provide a deeper explanation of Creative Writing.
With an interest in directing online courses, Mr. Coffman took on this challenge as a perfect opportunity to teach creative writing, which is something he loves.  He explains, “Beyond journalism and yearbook, it is the only elective that the English department offers.  I think it is a terrific opportunity for students to not only learn, but to have fun with writing.”
Most of the students took this class, not only to critique their writing skills, but also because they thought it would be a fun change of pace.  Junior Morgan Hill tells, “I spend a lot of my free time writing and the idea of a course that encourages writing and creative thinking sounded interesting to me.”  Senior Stephanie Eckard agrees by saying, “I took it because I thought it would be fun to write something other than research papers!”
Unlike ordinary daily agendas, these students find their assignments on Moodle at the start of the week.  Junior Grace Anders explains, “Mr. Coffman posts our weekly assignments on Moodle and we turn them in by their due dates.  If we have questions, we can contact Mr. Coffman during the school day or call/email him.”  Senior Christina Green gives a more in depth glance at how this class operates.  “We usually read two chapters a week, write at least 600 words in our weekly journals, submit and reply in our weekly response groups, and write various numbers of poems.”  She further explains all class discussions are shared through forums and assignments have specific drop boxes for when completed, leaving no need for the use of paper.
As with any classroom settings, there are benefits to the setting and style of the atmosphere. Mr. Coffman likes that this class allows his students to work at their own pace.  Green agrees by saying, “The greatest benefit of being in a class that never meets is being able to do all the work whenever I want.  I can write when I feel like writing instead of at a set time every day.  Also, most assignments are due at 11:55 pm on Sundays, so I have all  week to work on them.  I honestly don’t think there is a down side to the class  being online.”
On the other hand, in terms of difficulties Mr. Coffman thinks, “there is more opportunity for miscommunication, but so far the creative writing class has gone very smoothly.”  He explains the hardest aspect is most likely time management and says, “At least 70% of the workload is due Sunday night, so if a student procrastinates, Sunday is probably more stressful than it has to be.”
This class is designed to help students develop their skills and provide techniques to better their writing.  Hill says, “So far, it has helped me learn how to do quick writes, which is like a scratchy rough draft just filled with ideas.  I’m also learning how to dig deeper into details in writing.”  Anders agrees, “We have to write pretty much everyday and that in itself improves my writing skills.  On top of this, our assignments are challenging and thought-provoking and my writing skills are honed a bit more every week.”
Mr. Coffman added an interesting touch to this class when he required each student to pick a published author’s name to use as his/her own pen name, or alias.  He reasons, “Writers need feedback, but as I tell all of my students, each person’s writing is like his or her child.  He or she is protective of it and will do whatever is necessary to defend it.  This is mostly because people feel such a sense of responsibility for it.  It can be  hard not to take comments personally.  For that reason, it is beneficial to have anonymity where students feel like people are providing positive and constructive feedback about the writing rather than the person.  It’s a good feeling both ways.”
While some students enjoy the alias, others are not a fan.  Senior Stephanie Ford is in favor of using an author’s name on the pieces she writes because it helps her feel less self-conscious of her work.  Green explains, “I love having a pen name.  Our pen names allow us to write on a personal level without fearing what other students will think of us.  Also, we are able to criticize and comment on works without being biased in any way.  Finally, my best friend (Stephanie Diedrich) is in the class too, and we have the best time teasing each other and guessing what our pen names are!  She has no idea who I am, and it is funny watching her rationalize her guesses.”  Anders agrees the aliases are fun.  She says, “You know that there are six other girls in the class and it is inevitable that we try to find out who the others are.  We have fun because, for the most part, no one knows who the others are, though everyone is constantly trying!”  On the other hand, Eckard would rather use her own name, but understands some people might feel more comfortable publishing their writing under and alias.
Mr. Coffman concludes with two things he wants all students to know about this course.  “First, it is not fluff.  A lot of thinking is required and I think at the end the students will look at the world with a heightened sense of perception.  The habits of thinking and techniques a student learns here can provide a basis for a lifetime of creative writing, published or not published.  Second, the course employs a portfolio concept.  By the end, there should be a deep level of personal satisfaction because a person would have a thirty-page portfolio of one’s own creativity for display.  That is a treasure for a lifetime.”