By H. Rathmann, Turner Center Art Education Administrator

Some of the Annette Howell Turner Center’s longstanding programs are literary arts offerings. Dr. Cheryl Carvajal leads the free writers leagues for youth and adults at the Turner Center weekly and assists with coordinating the Turner Center’s annual “Art of Writing” contest. She describes how writing has shaped her life and how writing can inspire others.

Carvajal was first inspired to write at the age of five after her family performed a version of the “Three Billy Goats Gruff” at her grandmother’s house. She began writing plays as a child following that, and after attending the Utah Shakespeare Festival just before starting high school. Carvajal says she “started writing plays in earnest.” She read all the Shakespeare she could and eventually decided to major in English and become a teacher. She has taught at the college-level for more than 30 years and is now the Assistant Dean of the Arts & Sciences Department at Wiregrass Georgia Technical College, where she teaches courses in English, literature, and the humanities. Six months after earning her doctorate degree, Carvajal penned her first novel, and she has continued authoring novels ever since.

Carvajal has started writing classes and groups in multiple locations throughout her career and explained that writing has been so profoundly helpful to her that she wants to provide writers with a safe space to explore ideas, learn new techniques, and hone their craft wherever possible. She went on to say, “Writing tends to be a solitary activity, but writers also need to share with others, have people listen to what they are working on, bounce ideas off to see what works, and find ways to improve with practice. I have learned as much from my fellow writers as they have learned from me, and they inspire me every week.”

Carvajal leads both the Young Writers League for middle and high schoolers and the Writers League for adults at the Turner Center. Both groups are free to join and participate in. Typical youth meetings include provided prompts — one to two each week — to give young writers the opportunity to practice skills such as dialogue, description, writing action, creating various types of poetry, or even collaborative writing. Young writers are encouraged to enter the Turner Center’s annual “Art of Writing” contest – which offers the opportunity to win a part of $2,500 in cash prizes and to have work published annually – and are given feedback on their works for the contest at these meetings if desired. Notebooks and pencils are provided to any students who need writing supplies.

Adult writers frequently attend sessions whether they are working on a project or not, and writers in all genres share what they are currently working on to get feedback from the rest of the group. Carvajal describes it as “a working group – where writers come to get feedback on what they are creating or revising so that they can make it as polished and effective as possible.” She went on to say, “We also have a lot of people who come mostly to critique. No one is required to share, but the group is welcoming to everyone who would like to be inspired by the writing of others. “

When asked what she would say to encourage someone else to begin writing, Carvajal said, “No matter how old or young you are, no matter whether you are a seasoned writer or you have never written anything before, if you find joy in reading, writing can be a wonderful way to make sense of the world around you. Even more, writing can inspire others, open minds to new possibilities, communicate crucial ideas, and every day writing makes the world a better place. Want to change the world? Then write, and keep writing, and you will.”

To learn more about free writers leagues, the annual “Art of Writing” contest, and many other opportunities to explore the arts at the Turner Center, visit turnercenter.org/classes, or contact Art Education Administrator Hailey Rathmann at hrathmann@turnercenter.org or 229.247.2787. Carvajal’s books and previous anthologies from the annual “Art of Writing” contest can be purchased at the Turner Center’s Gift Shop in the Galleries, at 527 N. Patterson St.