The Quill showcases work by the Creative Writing students at Athena’s Academy each semester. Check out our current issue now!
Creative Writing Courses:
Each semester, instructors at Athena’s offer a variety of creative writing courses. From poetry to fiction, in-class writing to self-publishing a novel, our courses reflect the variety of interests and skill levels of our students. Our courses are multi-age, and integrate writers from beginning to advanced. Click here to see Athena’s current course offerings.
Why Creative Writing?
Creative writing is like that “spoonful of sugar” that makes the medicine go down. Students learn most of the skills they need to be good writers of academic work through pleasure and creativity. If you’d like to read more about this approach, read Prof. Suki’s series on teaching writing. Read more recent writing by Prof. Suki about teaching creative writing on Substack.
Creative Writing Roundabout!
The clock read 7:21. She was so incredibly tired, but there wasn’t time for that. She pulled her head off the desk. Her nose was [...]
A row of color-coded coffin-like boxes, waiting for roll call, will never be touched until the treaty of the other actions are done. So, as [...]
Glass-coated clay, molded and formed to life with still eyes. Some would say that alive was the wrong word for the clay-skeletoned being. Some would [...]
Prologue I’m sure you all know who I am. Or you think you do, anyway. You think I’m Hamlet’s tragic girlfriend, who drowned herself in [...]
Context Across the River is a story about a friendly person named Vera who wishes to make sure that their friend Vanya does not suffer [...]
Mara blinked up at the house. It was unlike anything she had come across in her travels among the Moon and Martian colonies. The colonies [...]
Hi, I’m Teddy. I’m a 3×3 Rubik’s Cube. Y’know, sometimes other, cooler Rubik’s Cubes (like the 4×4, 17×17, and even the 3×3 MIRROR cube) ask [...]
Art by Xan Note from Prof. Suki: Xan has been sharing her wonderful art for so many years, and she is now set to graduate. [...]
The Inventor was a small person, he’d had the same job for 56 years. He’d go in every day, meet with his boss, assess the [...]
I don’t think I was fully awake when the thing crashed in my yard. The noise came first, a trembling so loud the posters taped [...]
You stand outside staring at a quite unusual wooden and metal door with strange markings all around it. Its features appear to not be from [...]
This is an excerpt from a story I’m working on, titled In a Kingdom of Crystal. The story takes place in the kingdom of Eldoria, [...]
The clouds trudge across the sky like workers walking home. Light from the window falls onto the floor, heating the gray cat on the floor. [...]
For as long as I’ve existed, I have run a mask shop. It isn’t a very good mask shop. Oh, my wares blend in well [...]
OFFICIAL ALLIED SYSTEMS HISTORY BOOK # LXXXIX: (EARTH) PRE-SELF IMPOSED EXILE / POST WORLD PLAGUE SOCIETY CHAPTER XXVIII SECTION ३: Orionisians Arrive! While Delta Scorpii [...]
as Told by Rush (with Occasional Interruptions by Rachel and Anna) NOTE: This story features use of font colors as part of the content. To [...]
Creator of the SCP franchise: Wesley Williams. On: 4chan. under user: ANONYMOUS USER. (later identified as username Moto42) Very many years ago, there was a [...]
The heavens salted snowflakes down to mingle together, a wet reunion on the earth. The trees were thickened by ice and lush with leaves of [...]
Chapter 11 (Busan, South Korea. Photo taken by author.) “Rostovskov station, Rostovskov station,” a very bored announcer says over the intercom. “The doors open on [...]
A girl with long, brown hair stared into the pit, her skirt swishing as she bent at the waist. Her hair fluttered around her face [...]
By Xan Geffert By Sarah Gwinup Photos from Korea. Most of these were taken in Busan or Busan satellite cities, but the two airport pictures [...]
I am sad. They will try me for that too, but I am already going to be executed so it does not matter. I don’t [...]
Mud is no longer my enemy. I drag it down my face as it pools in my eyes and snags on my forked eyelashes. My [...]
One of the main goals of Teen Writer’s Lab is to encourage flexibility and cooperation in writing. Every week, we do “prompts” that may involve [...]
As a general rule, I like sleeping. I’d be much happier if I was allowed to sleep in until at least noon. This is, admittedly, [...]
The sky is blue—or, at least, I perceive it as blue. The clouds are gray, holding hands with the endless sky. The trees cover the [...]
It began with a door, a door in my bedroom wall that should not exist. The day was cloudy, gray and dark. My spirits hung [...]
The last few beams of sunlight glistened and reflected off the river, although the moon was already starting to push and grab its way above [...]
The thoughts of a small child are nothing more than fragments, growing as they age. By a year old, you should remember how people make [...]
Cherry tarts are great. I like them. Do you? Everyone in this town is eating cherry tarts right now. This is because I put a [...]
(“What is this? This is Aleksei.”) The sun looks down its nose at Otchayaniye. The capital—Nichto—is almost devoid of life. Windowless monstrosities of buildings reach [...]
(Warning, there is mild violence in this story!) Arc 1: “The Dawn of Heroes” Excerpt Link to previous chapters Previously on The Adventures of Daniel [...]
Oh, hello there. How are you doing? A story you ask for? Would you like to hear the one about the cloth boy and the [...]
Piece by piece the sky is raining down—not literally, but that’s how it feels. The magic runs free. It bellows and shakes the world. It [...]
Dear Esteemed Representative of the Poison Ivy Species for the National Interspecies Defense and Equality Team, It has recently come to my attention that your [...]
I suffer from having a vivid imagination. It started with a death of a family member, and my imagination froze any grieving process. I can [...]
(Content warnings: Nondescript implied mentions of violence) I’ve had my fair share (and several more) of paranormal encounters before, but none quite like this. I [...]
This piece focuses on two of the main characters, Innokentiy Zvezdochkov and Aleksei Kholodov. They are in an old apartment block having a nice conversation [...]
I briskly awake to the sound of my blaring alarm clock going off. I shut my eyes for three more restful seconds before slowly opening [...]
“You know it’s better this way.” “Better? Better this way?” Ivo snapped. “That’s cheap. This is gluttony.” “Gluttony is for poseurs and for faking belief.” [...]
Every Tuesday starts the same way. The boat sways under her feet as she puts on the slippers, the wind is calmer than it was [...]
The fish wants to get friends, but almost every other fish likes sports, like ultimate fishbee, where you throw a seashell around and follow some [...]
Joining a fan group (fandom) on the Internet can be a fun experience. You discuss the book, show, or movie you love with other passionate [...]
(Warning! There is mild violence and language in this story!) Arc 1 – The Dawn of Heroes (Excerpt) Prologue When animals die, they are reincarnated [...]
One It’s still moving, I’m sure of it, but it’s been hours now and the elevator hasn’t let me out. Why is it taking so [...]
Click here to see all the creative writing courses currently being offered at Athena’s!