Storycraft: Where Your Imagination Has Company
Words by Martha Hardstaff (she/her) and Fraser Rivers (he/him)
Storycraft is for those of us who spend half our days with our heads in the clouds. Despite how magical being a writer can make the world, often it can be a lonely hobby amidst the pressures of work and uni. Creative writing groups provide community, inspiration, and a regular place to come and write to keep up the habit. Te Herenga Waka’s student run creative writing group is called Storycraft, and we’d love for you to join!
Who are we?
Martha (she/her): Hello, my name is Martha! Born in England and raised in Paekākāriki, I’ve loved writing for as long as I can remember. Like many aspiring authors, I hope to one day publish a book! In the meantime, I have the immense pleasure of co-facilitating Storycraft, and being a part of the cosy little writing community we have created here.
Fraser (he/him): Kia ora, my name is Fraser. I was brought up on the Kāpiti Coast, for the most part in Raumati South. I always loved the idea of writing growing up, but I never trusted myself to put pen to paper. My ideas were mostly relegated to an overactive imagination and the occasional doodle. Writing has recently become far more accessible to me. I joined Storycraft last year and have since become co-facilitator with Martha. Now I have every opportunity to flex my creative muscles and enjoy sharing that experience with others.
What is Storycraft?
Storycraft is a Creative Writing and peer support group that is part of Manawa Ora — Student Wellbeing. Every week we come together to chat, write, and eat snacks!
Each session has a theme, and facilitators use that theme to provide the group with discussion questions and writing prompts!
Here are some of the things we might chat about:
“What are some books you read as a child that stuck with you?” (Theme: Childhood)
“How do you like to use different landscapes in your writing? Which one is your favourite to work with?” (Theme: Landscapes).
“Your pet parrot has been learning to repeat things you say. It’s cute at first, then annoying. But then it says something unexpected, something you never taught it to say…” (Theme: Birds)
“One day the weather just stops; an unnerving stillness that sets the teeth on edge. One cannot help but feel like something is building. A storm? Or something much much worse?” (Theme: Weather).
Us facilitators read out the prompt, set the timer, and away we go! Afterwards, people can share what they have written if they want to, but there is no pressure.
We also occasionally run Storycraft events. In Trimester One, we did a bunch of Camp NaNoWriMo support sessions for those tackling the ambitious writing challenge. At the end of the year we come together to hand-make physical books full of writing from everyone in Storycraft! It’s a lot of fun, and it’s nice to have something physical at the end of it.
Where to find us?
Storycraft is based in SU219, a club room just off the Bubble! We run on Wednesdays at 5:30pm every week during the trimester, and on zoom during the mid-tri break. Masks are currently mandatory at our meetings. If you have any questions, please email us at storycraft@vuw.ac.nz