Inspiration Into Ink

by Jesse Illanes

I was sitting in the Noski Auditorium, waiting for The Northridge Review’s Spring 2023 issue release party to start. The literary magazine features published work from the English 460 class at the end of each semester. I was struck by the fact that over a hundred people were present to show their support. 

This was my first encounter with the creative writing community on campus.

The event was filled with authors who got their short stories, art, poems and prose published in the magazine, reciting their work in front of friends and family from the class and other students interested in literature.

It was also the first time I’d ever come across anything like this club. From heartfelt, to cleverly comedic stories, all the presenters were passionate about the stories they’ve created.

I knew I was amongst friends, so I considered participating in the open mic after I heard about it. After listening to a few stories, with the looming pressure of going in front of over a hundred of my peers, I asked myself, “Why not?”

Perhaps it was inspiration from the stories recited from The Northridge Review, or the “liquid courage” from before the event. But my friends pushed me to recite “Contender,” a brief, free-form poem I’d worked on about an ex-felon boxer fighting in his first professional fight.

As I walked towards the front of the auditorium, the crowd applauded me for my bravery. I felt nervous, but seeing familiar faces from my classes dismissed most of my worries. It made me excited to finally recite a poem that I’ve been working on all semester long.

What I didn’t know was that a majority of these people were part of the English clubs, which are vital to fostering a community for English majors and California State University, Northridge (CSUN) students interested in writing creative stories. 

The two main English clubs on campus are the Northridge Creative Writing Circle (NCWC) and the newly formed CSUN chapter of Sigma Tau Delta Iota Chi, an English honor society with chapters throughout the world.

The NCWC serves as an extension of what the creative writing classes offer, providing hands-on events for a community of writers who appreciate the format. Sigma Tau Delta is similar, but provides both private and public events.

One of the events hosted by Sigma Tau Delta was a “Horror Seminar & Workshop” on April 9, which was led by Kalan Cordell, the Sigma Tau Delta Iota Chi Vice President who recently had his creative stories published in literary magazines.

The Pasadena room in the University Student Union (USU) East Conference Center was decorated with bloody bandages and other horror iconography to immerse guests into Cordell’s world of horror. 

Cordell’s seminar consisted of explaining what horror stories are and how to write them. He also provided examples of what different horror story mediums, like movies, do to create an intriguing narrative. Cordell screened a few short horror films to show the emotions typically evoked by an audience. 

“Vicious” by Oliver Park, which featured a shadowy figure climbing up onto the bed of the sleeping protagonist, was screened at the seminar and caused people to gasp at the horror.

The seminar was followed by a brief workshop where everyone in attendance was given a note card with a random, horror-related setting. We had a few minutes to write a story with the setting we were given. 

This was just one of many events that the English clubs host, showing how important clubs like these are for the people who participate in them. Sigma Tau Delta and the NCWC are open to anyone who is a writer or simply a fan of stories and storytelling.

“Without them, I honestly feel like I wouldn’t continue writing stories,” Cordell said.“The people here are why I wanted to move forward in writing.”

Cordell said he organized the horror seminar because of his love for the genre and requests for tips from his peers, as the genre can be intimidating for new writers. His passion for writing comes from this love of horror. Whether it is a book or a movie, he believes, “the bloodier, the better.”

Cordell’s favorite story that he wrote is “In Love With a Dead Man,” which dabbles in taboo subjects, alluded to in the title, and exemplified through visceral imagery and the use of delay in storytelling. 

In addition to meeting like-minded individuals, I felt moved to write more stories and exercise my creativity, which is why clubs such as these are so important on campus.

There is no other feeling like reciting a story you wrote at events like these, then having a discussion with a peer who felt moved or impacted by it.