What is Creative Writing Camp?

According to Kim Suhr, a published author and certified educator with many years of classroom experience, Creative Writing Camp is a “glorious week in which young people who love to write come together” with coaches who provide fun activities to “spark” their creativity and teach them how to give and receive feedback on writing.

For students who are entering grades sixth through eighth, the camp takes place June 18th-22nd at the Brandybrook Community Center, located in Waukesha, Wisconsin, or June 25th-29th at the Wilson Center for the Arts, in Brookfield, Wisconsin.

Students who are entering grades nine through twelve can attend the camp July 23rd-27th at Mount Mary University, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin or July 30th-August 3rd at Wilson Center for the Arts, located in Brookfield, Wisconsin.

Each camp is one week, but Suhr says that some students like it so much they sign up for two weeks of the camp. Creative Writing camp meets from Monday through Friday on the week signed up for, from 9am-2:30pm.

A frequently asked question on the Red Oak Writing website asks: “What will my child be doing? Will they be writing all day?” The answer, according to Red Oak, is that throughout the day the students will being doing various activities to influence their creativity and “hone their writing skills.”

According to the website, days are filled with variety and purpose, and at the end of the day, coaches and participants alike are amazed at how fast the day has gone and “wish aloud for more a little time together.”

Quite a few of Arrowhead students have participated in this camp over the years, says Suhr.

She also says the reason this camp began was because a few adult writers   got together saying, “I wish I would have had (fill in the blank) when I was a teen…”

The purpose of this camp is to provide a safe, fun and nurturing where young writers can stretch their “creative wings,” challenge themselves and start to own the label, “Writer.”

“Athletes have sports camps, musicians have music camps. We thought writers deserved a camp of their own, too,” says Suhr.

According to the website, while grammar and remedial course are an important part of good writing, the camp’s focus is on helping young writers find their voice and use it effectively in whatever way they choose.

Writing can sometimes feel like an isolating activity, according to Suhr, we all need a “tribe” that “gets” us. Camp provides that tribe, she said, not just for one week in the summer, but for a lifetime.

Overall, Suhr says her favorite part about camp is “watching the friendships that form between writers and the confidence that soars in a matter of just a few days.” At first participants are a little nervous to share their work, but when they experience being in a group of others like them who respect their writing and share their passion, they’re “hooked,” as she puts it.