JQ Shearin/OutWrite
When I was coming to terms with my bisexuality and queer identities in my second year of high school, writing saved me; it allowed me to explore and express my queerness in my own safe space. Nobody could hurt me there. At the same time, while I could be more open and direct about my queerness in my personal pieces, I had to be more subtle in my school newspaper. At an all-girls Catholic high school, that was my way to keep myself safe.
Not even in my wildest dreams could I have imagined the incredible queer communities waiting for me at UCLA. As I entered my second year here, I started to get more involved in different queer communities and organizations on campus. One of the first I joined was the Queer Writing Space, an affinity space hosted by the LGBTQ Campus Resource Center. It meets biweekly for an hour and a half, and the co-facilitators Jaime and Tyler share different prompts centered around certain themes including point of view, setting, queering formats, and more. There is built-in time for both writing and sharing writing, if you’re comfortable.
I’m not alone in feeling the positive impact of creative writing on mental wellbeing. Studies by the U.S. Department of Education and the University of Minnesota show the positive influence of creative writing on writing skills, reading awareness, and mental health. I had the pleasure of interviewing Jaime and Tyler, and two frequent members of the Queer Writing Space, Melissa and Ember, to learn more about the intersection of queerness and creative writing, along with its effects. The following responses have been edited for concision and clarity.
OutWrite: When did you start a creative writing practice? What drew you to creative writing particularly?
Jaime (he/they/siya): From leaving cringey middle school love poems in a crush’s locker to writing poetry as a means to process my queerness when I wasn’t out in all my social circles, and co-writing my first play that was produced by the Filipinx student organization I was a part of in college, I’ve always been writing in some form. To me, creative writing is a liberatory act. When I first started sharing my poetry with others in my life — online and in-person — I realized that other people resonated with the themes I was drawn to writing about, which usually includes some sort of discussion on living in the in-between as a queer person, a brown Asian person, a Filipinx-American person. So, I kept writing and I started to tell more of my personal story and stories about worlds that I create as a means to talk about and process my identity and to educate others about my people and our histories.
Melissa (she/they): I’ve done little creative writing projects throughout my entire life but nothing super long or super meaningful. In my junior year English class, my teacher wanted to have a creative writing unit, so we were supposed to write a poem about something meaningful to us. I [wrote] about coming out of the closet and my experience as a queer Latina, and it was so freeing. It was something that I never really felt before, and that’s what drew me to creative writing… It’s a way to express yourself in a way that you don’t have to follow traditional rules.
OutWrite: What is your personal relationship to creative writing? How has a creative writing practice helped you explore your queerness, if at all?
Jaime: So much of my writing in my college years — specifically my poetry — was focused deeply on my queerness. In a way, creative writing was my friend before I learned to befriend and love my queerness. Writing poetry about being half in and out of the closet, about navigating the queer longing I once used to be afraid to act upon in my relationships, and about so badly wanting to be understood makes up a lot of my early poetry. Creative writing has been so integral to my life and development that I can’t imagine who I would be if I hadn’t started writing about everything I couldn’t say out loud over a decade ago. Now, creative writing has become such a huge part of my life between performing poetry, writing plays, submitting pieces to be published, and even enrolling in an MFA program in creative writing this past year. After I finish my grad program, I would love to find more opportunities to teach creative writing in the community.
Melissa: It’s very freeing. Like I said before, it’s a way for me to express myself in a way that’s totally me — unique to me, but also in a way that people can relate to. I don’t have to follow traditional writing rules. I’m able to express what I want to express, how I want to express it. The creative writing practice has helped me explore my queerness because I’m able to write about being queer in all types of ways, like feelings of love or sometimes anger or feeling sad. It can encapsulate how I’m feeling and it allows me to explore a new level of myself.
Ember (they/xe): I remember in middle school I wrote a love poem to my crush that I never gave to her. I would also write random short stories that I never finished. And they’re all a little fruity. I never write straight characters or cis[gender] characters; I write characters that are not “conventional.” And I think that’s very explorative.
OutWrite: Why do you think the Queer Creative Writing Space is an important affinity space to host at the LGBTQ CRC?
Jaime: I believe there is deep power in art, artmaking, and storytelling. I believe that consuming art [and] creating art and stories connects us to one another and allows us to make sense of the hard world around us. As a queer writer, I also believe that encouraging other queer writers to explore the stories in their head on the page — whether they’re writing something autobiographical, fictional, or somewhere in between — allows the writer access to some of that power. To me, the Queer Creative Writing Space is especially important because it encourages participants to show up authentically as their whole selves. So much of writing a story that resonates with audiences is about writing from a place of emotional authenticity. I argue that living our lives as thriving queer people also demands a level of emotional authenticity, not necessarily with every single person we encounter, but rather with ourselves. If I can encourage participants to show up authentically on the page, then my hope is that will translate to their lives beyond.
Tyler (he/him): I think the Queer Creative Writing Space is important to have at the center because it’s a very open and welcoming space. It doesn’t cater to any one identity within the queer community, and by nature of that, doesn’t exclude any sections of the community either. Even if a cis[gender] het[erosexual] person came to the writing space, they definitely would not be turned away! The space holds room for people of all different experience levels and allows us all to learn about others’ experiences and intersectionalities directly through our own words.
OutWrite: How has attending the space helped your creative writing practice and helped you explore your queerness?
Melissa: Attending this space gives me a set time to practice my creative writing especially because it’s my first year of college. There’s a lot to get used to and a lot going on being away from home, so I don’t always have a lot of time to decompress in meaningful ways. For me, it falls under self-care. It’s a way to explore [my]self and reflect on how [I’m] feeling. Without the space, it’d be very hard for me to find time to do that.
Ember: I like the activities that Tyler and Jaime lead and working with not just what topic to write about but also prompts regarding how to write it. A fun activity was writing with shapes and really looking at how to queer writing. [It] made me get out of my comfort zone.
OutWrite: What is your favorite part about the space?
Melissa: My favorite part about the space is the people. Everyone there is so nice and supportive, and I never feel judged about sharing my work, especially because it is a queer creative writing space. So I know that people aren’t going to say, “Oh, you only write about being queer?” — well, what if I only want to write about being queer? Jaime and Tyler are amazing. Their prompts are always so good and so fun to write.
Ember: I like hearing other people’s work and having a designated time to write and have guidance with writing because often I feel I don’t know where to start. Or I have an idea, but I don’t have the capacity to think about how I want to do it. I like having a space to set time for myself to just unwind and chill and write.
OutWrite: What are your goals and hopes for the space moving forward?
Jaime: As a relatively new LGBTQ CRC space that started in [the] fall of 2022, I would love to explore different aspects of craft that can expand on our attendees’ current knowledge of techniques across different genres. I would also love to bring more guests to the space who can share about their experience as writers and perhaps teach members of the space something new. Even weeks where current members can share out more of their projects and pieces they’ve worked on throughout the year would be amazing! Overall, my hope is to continue to cultivate a space where members can come and go, whenever they feel that itch to write and breathe amongst other queer writers.
Tyler: I hope that we can grow the space to have even more people coming to meetings, as there is power in community both in terms of queerness and writing. I hope to continue doing open mic night events and preparing people in the writing spaces to have all the tools they need to perform at an open mic if they want to.
OutWrite: What goals and hopes do you have for your creative writing practice moving forward? How do you feel like the space will help you reach your goals?
Melissa: At one point in my life, I want to publish poetry. I love poetry because of the way that you can express all of the human condition. It’s such a great way to connect with people on a level that’s deeply personal but also relatable. I’ve already won a poetry award before, and for me, that was amazing because it was a way for me to get my words out and have a platform to speak about things that I think are important.
Ember: I want to be more gentle with myself and not expect myself to be perfect when I write — just have fun with it more. I think that having the space to do that with this space (lol) makes that a lot easier because it’s not just myself doing it — it’s everyone doing it. I want to be able to unwind, and a lot of the time, I feel like I can’t do that because of doctor’s appointments, other health issues, classes, etc. And I want to just have fun with writing and my hobbies, so this space is definitely helping with that.
OutWrite: What would you say to someone interested in joining or attending the space but might be on the fence about it?
Jaime: Come try it out! Whether it’s been a long time since you’ve written anything you enjoyed, or whether you’re trying out creative writing for the first time, the space is for you to try things out, play on the page, and be in a supportive environment with other queer Bruins.
Tyler: I would tell them that we don’t bite! The spaces are filled with friendly people, we’ll walk them through every step in the process so they’ll never feel lost. They can either follow the prompts or work on whatever they want on their own. If they’re feeling like they need a sign or a push toward starting to write, this is it!
Melissa: It’s super low stress and not a huge commitment — you don’t have to be there every time there’s a meeting — and I think it’s really fun. I say just check it out; no one’s expecting you to be the best writer in the world as long as you write what you mean and you write true to yourself. Everyone’s supportive and it’s just a really nice space. I really love going, and I feel like I found a small community within it.
Ember: Everyone is really nice. No one’s going to judge you. And even if you’re not a “writer,” it’s a good way to just get your words on a page. Even if you don’t want to share, hearing what other people have to say is really powerful, and maybe one day you will [want to share].
If you’re looking to try your hand at creative writing, definitely stop by one of the Queer Creative Writing Space meetings! You can sign up to receive email updates at the LGBTQ Campus Resource Center’s linktree for meeting times and dates for the upcoming year. Whatever creative practice(s) you choose to incorporate into your life, I hope you find safety, joy, and queer liberation in them. That’s where queer liberation and liberation of the world lies — the stories we tell and the art we create.
Credits:
Author: Mary Nassar (She/Her)
Photographer: JQ Shearin (They/Them)