On Dec. 6, Mr. Durham’s creative writing class held an event at The Wolf cafe to showcase the short stories they’ve been working on throughout the semester.

The stories are available for 99 cents on Amazon, and can be purchased and read on Kindle. At the event, students took the stage to briefly discuss the plots of their stories, or they could instead opt to read an original poetry piece.

“Like most years, there are a lot of dark themes in the poems and the stories,” Mr. Durham said. “It’s an expression. It’s hard to express dark things in the regular context of life, so this gives them an outlet to express some of that teen angst.”

To prepare for the showcase event, Mr. Durham instructed his class on how to do things like adjust the mic stand and ensure you’re speaking into the mic. Additionally, he helped students with memorizing their poetry, if they chose to write a poem. After this, they worked on things like volume and inflection.

“I conferenced with everybody and directed them towards what they wanted to write about,” he said. “Some of them used my advice, and some of them went on their own.”

After they finished their rough drafts, the class entered the revising process. Mr. Durham said this was the most challenging part for many of his students.

“[Revising is] a pretty tough skill to pull off,” he said. “They’re all writers, but not everybody’s a great storyteller, so that’s where I got hands-on with it.”

Once the students completed their stories, they enlisted Ms. Wildt’s graphic design class to create covers.

“They had to be accountable for emailing each other and meeting deadlines,” Mr. Durham said. “Some of my students got to see the frustration teachers see when things are not done correctly or not on time, so I think it’s a good, authentic experience for them.”

Jaeyoung Martin, senior, opted to discuss his book rather than read poetry. His book, “One Gold Coin,” takes place in a fantasy world, and is about a boy named Vyn who is captured and experimented on for a number of years. He eventually escapes, and returns home to find that things are not as peaceful as he expected.

“In general, I like writing fantasy stories,” Martin said. “This is a story that had been culminating in my mind for a while now. I thought about writing more of it, so I took one chapter and published it.”

As for the showcase at The Wolf, Martin said he was quite impressed with the turnout.

“There was some really good energy in the room,” he said. “I didn’t have too much faith at first, but I was pleasantly surprised.”

Martin also said he would recommend Mr. Durham’s creative writing class to other MHS students.

“It makes you a better writer,” he said. “Mr. Durham does not sugarcoat it. If it’s bad, he’ll tell you it’s bad. He might seem mean at first, but it will help you become a better writer.”

Dominik Kosican, senior, wrote a story entitled “Two Weeks Notice.” The story is based largely on real-life experience about his time working in a retirement home. The story follows a character who wants to quit his job, but cannot due to a lack of staff.

“Trying to make it flow well as a story was difficult, especially as a short story,” Kosican said. “From that experience I have way more to tell, but fitting it into that small amount was pretty hard.”

Kosican said he was also impressed with the event at The Wolf. He said he was particularly impressed with the poetry readings.

“It was striking, and it really hit the heart,” he said. “It was an interesting experience.”