The October Writer’s Guild contests give Fossil Ridge High School students a low-commitment peek into the community of Writer’s Guild.

The contests provide those who can not show up to Writer’s Guild meetings with an opportunity to participate in something similar. Each contest is themed around something with a spooky vibe. This year was themed around micro horror stories or campfire stories. 

“The micro horror story idea was ripped off the idea of two sentence horror stories,” said club sponsor and Fossil English teacher Remy Garguilo. “We expanded it to be two to five sentences, to just give people a little bit more of an opportunity to engage with the prompt.”

Writer’s Guild used to require members to help judge the competitions for a few weeks.

“Every week, we’d get assigned stories to read, and then we’d make comments on them,” junior Reagan Jones said. “Once we read all of them, we discuss them as a guild.”

Now, Writer’s Guild has shifted its focus on what members want out of a writing group.

“Even though it’s a school-sponsored club, I try to run it with students,” said Garguilo. “It’s a community and it’s also growing their strength as creative writers.”

Most of the writing help also comes from the students, which is how it has been even before Garguilo decided to make the switch.

“Last year, we had somebody on the back whiteboard do their whole plot outline, and they’re like, ‘I don’t know what to put in this middle.’ And we just workshopped it with them and gave them a bunch of ideas,” said Garguilo.

This new shift reflects an aspect of Writer’s Guild that has always been around and is a factor that draws students in.

“We have a really nice community, lots of cool people,” said sophomore Adelaide Kaufman. “Just a nice, easy space to get stuff done.”

The club provides a place for people to find new friends who share an interest with them and be social.

“With cross country I’ve kind of lost the community in a way,” said sophomore Sally Morbog. “But with Writer’s Guild I have a better connection with people rather than the skill.”

The contest provides a place for students to share their creative works with people which reflects why Writer’s Guild exists.

“It helps me be more confident in letting people read my work,” said Morbog. “I want to be an author when I’m older, so it helps me get my work into the world.”

The interest in the October contests has waxed and waned over the years that they have been being held.

“Right after COVID no one wanted to submit [stories], and they weren’t that good of submissions,” said Jones. “But last year we got a lot, and they were all very good.”

Most members believe that the contests are for the people who can not come to meetings because of other activities.

“I want people to feel supported, and I want people who don’t have time to be able to write to have an excuse to do something,” said Morbog.

Even within Writer’s Guild people try to support one another in their shared creative pursuit.

“We want this space where people feel like they can be with like minded individuals and talk shop together as young artists in our field,” said Garguilo. “People pair up, they go into groups, and if we’re not running a contest or something, it’s time to build community.”

Writer’s Guild meets each Wednesday from 4:00 to 6:00 in W110, which is Garduilo’s classroom.