Students create a safe space for writers thanks to new Freestyle Writing Society

Creative students have come together to create society which is designed help promote and encourage the positive benefits of writing.

The Freestyle Writing Society, which was created at the start of the academic year, aims to provide a safe space for student writers to connect, share ideas and make friends at the same time.

The society, which meets every Tuesday at 4pm in the Relax and Renew space, gives members the opportunity to develop their own writing skills in the form of creative and therapeutic writing.

Society leads Joshua Maher and Rawan Abdelaziz both come from different writing backgrounds and want to encourage students, of any writing ability, to take part if they’re interested. Rawan explained: “I study Psychology, so I’m interested in learning about people’s psyche; mainly the feelings of anger and being overwhelmed. I feel personally overwhelmed with a lot of things, and usually I would try to speak to someone close to me – whether it’s a friend, family member.

I started looking at different methods, such as arts, crafts, etc. A lot of people said that doing this really helps them, but I didn’t find that it worked personally for me. I decided to look into the therapy of writing and looked into the research behind it to see how effective it was.”

She added: “I found a lot studies which proved that it was effective in helping to clear people’s minds, and that’s how I got into therapeutic writing. It helped me discover different writers, specifically from my home country of Egypt. I started attending workshops from a particular writer and at first I thought that it was trying to be too positive. For example, she would ask us to write down three things that we were grateful for but I tried it and found that it actually helped! Now, here I am starting a writing society to help other people the way I was helped.”

Joshua, who has a great interest in creative writing, describes the society as being a safe space for those who are interested in sharing their writing ideas. He said: “I became interested in writing because I had dropped out of university back in 2021 and after that I wasn’t really doing anything.

I found an interest in writing after wanting to write specifically for games initially, rather than writing for TV and books. After that, I started studying some creative writing to help prepare myself for doing that. I study Computer Games Design now but I like to write short stories on the side.”

After discovering that GCU didn’t have a writing society before, Rawan and Joshua knew that they had to make a change. Rawan explained: “I heard that GCU never had a writing society before and I was shocked! I think a lot of people and this idea of what a writing society would be like and didn’t really understand it. It wasn’t until some people attended our first meeting that people understood what we really meant in terms of a writing society.”

She added: “At first, some people were taken aback and didn’t really feel comfortable putting themselves out there, but they really got into it. Weirdly enough, the person that was the most hesitant to get involved ended up being voted #1 for his story! After the meeting, I took some feedback and people were saying how relaxing it was and how it encouraged them to be creative when they never thought that they could be. It was amazing feedback!”

After the first couple of sessions, Joshua noticed that students were growing in confidence as they tried different writing exercises. He said: “It was great to see people engage with it. Many of them haven’t tried writing before but we were surprised at how good they all were, especially when they didn’t think that they were good to begin with. It’s so good for your wellbeing and really helps with your sense of achievement.”

Despite not having the initial interest in creative writing, Rawan has witnessed the benefits of trying something new and putting yourself out there. She said: “For me, I went into the society idea with a completely different idea in my head – I wanted to focus more on the therapeutic side of writing.

Creative writing isn’t really my thing, but I have become so invested in it since starting the society with Joshua. Having those different sides of writing has really helped us create diversity within the society.

During the short writing exercise, one of our members admitted that he had never tried writing creatively before so instead he decided to write down one of his memories. It was so nice to read and good to know that he was able to put that trust in us to share one of his own personal memories.”

After receiving such positive feedback about the society sessions so far, Joshua and Rawan want to re-iterate the importance of balancing study with personal hobbies. Rawan explained: “Speaking form an international student’s point of view, we pay a lot to be able to study abroad. It’s a new life, a new place, away from family and you end up putting absolutely everything into completing your degree.

That can feel daunting after a while, because it’s not possible for anyone to completely focus on studying. For me, I was really focused in my first and second year and especially during the pandemic as well. The focus did pay off because I got good grades, but what about my mental health?

I didn’t feel any sense of achievement and felt empty because my life was solely based on studying. It even made me think ‘Am I a boring person with no hobbies?’ because I used to have hobbies. After that, I decided to take a step back and see what GCU had to offer.”

She added: “I discovered that the university has so much to choose from! The opportunities for students, the societies; it’s endless. I started off by joining a lot of societies and made a lot of friends through it. It really lets you appreciate the cultural diversity as well and what GCU can offer to their students. It’s important not to just be academic, but an actual person too. I think it’s a really major factor in life to make sure you do what you love.”

Joshua, who previously studied at a different university, knows first-hand how it feels not to make the most out of what university life has to offer. He said: “When I was at my previous university, I really didn’t like the experience. I focused purely on my studies and it felt quite isolating.

My advisor at the time told me something which has really stuck with me and that was to picture university as a pie chart. A third of your time at university should be on your studies, a third of your time enjoying yourself with friends and a third of the time on yourself. I believe that science does actually show that those who spend less time studying by engaging with other things that you like, you’ll end up performing better overall.”

When it came to planning the society, the location was a big factor in deciding where to host their sessions. Rawan said: “The Relax and Renew Space at GCU has been made for students to take a break from their studies and for that reason, it acts as a perfect place for us to have our society meetings. It allows people to be mindful and focus your attention on something else.”

She added: “I’m aware that the Relax and Renew space has been there for a while…but I was too intimidated to use it! I would only go and make use of it if I could go along with friends, because tat made me feel a bit safer. When I spoke to the different society members, they commented on how lovely the space was and how it was their first time visiting.”

Joshua explained: “I think I’ve completed every one of the jigsaws that they have in the Relax and Renew Space! There have been times where I have sat with a friend for nearly eight hours, because you felt so in the zone and the space really allows you to do that. When we were deciding on where to host our meetings, I knew it had to be the Relax and Renew space.”

The Freestyle Writing Society meets in the Sir Alex Ferguson Library every Tuesday at 4pm, on the ground floor at the Relax and Renew space.

Find out more about the Freestyle Writing Society on the GCU Student’s Association website and their Instagram page

By Rachael McAlonan

Got a SCEBE or GSBS story? Email me at Rachael.McAlonan@gcu.ac.uk or connect with me on social media here