A day in the life of a creative writing high school student
Wondering how to choose the best high school for creative writing? Pick one that gives you the day of your dreams, every day: master classes with incredible guest artists, focused writing time in cozy spaces, performances and activities to attend, and plenty of adventures with friends.
Are you passionate about writing and thinking about attending a boarding arts high school? You're probably wondering what your daily life would actually be like. At creative writing boarding schools, students dive into a world where their love of storytelling takes center stage. You'll balance regular academic classes with specialized writing workshops where you'll share your work and receive feedback from both teachers and peers. You’ll live and work alongside students who share your passion—people who get why you obsess over the perfect metaphor or spend hours crafting the dialogue for your latest screenplay. It's an environment where being a writer isn't just what you do in English class, but part of who you are. Read on to discover scenes from a typical student’s day at Interlochen Arts Academy, one of the nation’s best high schools for creative writing.
Morning routine, breakfast, and academic classes
Picture this: you wake up in your dream dorm room, stretch, and greet the day. Depending on your daily schedule, the time is somewhere between 6 and 8 a.m. You have plenty of time to get ready and soft-launch the morning with your favorite routines, whether that’s journaling or a cup of tea. (Some students also enjoy hitting the gym.) Once dressed, you meander over to the cafeteria for a hearty breakfast with options including fresh fruit, hot golden waffles, and scrambled eggs.
Many academic and artistic instructors make themselves available to students for help with homework in the morning. Since you need a little extra insight into a math problem, you head over to your instructor’s office afterwards to take advantage of office hours. Then it’s time for academic classes, including Spanish, Algebra II, and World History. At Interlochen, students explore college-preparatory math, science, history, languages, and literature, as well as the connections between academics and the arts. It’s very likely that you’ll study artistic and cultural influences during a history class, for example, or incorporate aspects of your arts major into a capstone project. Academic classes occur during a dedicated block of the school day, so you will always have a balance between your arts classes and the traditional reading, writing, and ’rithmetic. This block schedule is a major advantage of attending an arts boarding school.
Arts classes, chilling in The Writing House, and afternoon activities
Your first arts class of the day is Elements of Fiction, where you explore and analyze short pieces from a diverse range of published authors. You’re working on a short piece of your own that has really piqued your interest; you linger after class for a few minutes to chat about it with your instructor—herself an award-winning author.
After that, you cozy up in a corner of The Writing House, a northwoods-style lodge dedicated to the discipline of high school writing. The only building of its type in the United States, it features plenty of couches and alcoves perfect for stealing away to draft your novel. A fire burns on the stone hearth, you’ve got your headphones on, and life is good.
From 11:30 to 12:30, you have Introduction to Screenwriting. So far, you’ve examined concepts like character, setting, conflict, and theme. But today the class is shifting course a little: you’re learning how to pitch your screenplay in the professional world!
Lunch follows, giving you time to connect with friends and chat about the evening to come. Some of your friends are singer-songwriter majors with a performance coming up. You eagerly agree to attend. Together, you saunter out to grab lattes and boba at the Melody Freeze to help you power through the afternoon.
Back at The Writing House, the Great Room is full of commotion. Today, a famous guest artist is visiting—known for his poetry collections and leadership of a distinguished literary magazine. You settle into a seat and listen attentively as he reads a few of his best-known selections. When it’s time for Q&A, you ask a few well-researched questions, and he signs your copy of his book with a flourish. Experiences like these are part of what makes life at Interlochen so special: you’re constantly meeting people who help you envision what it’s like to turn your love of writing into a real-life career.
From 3-3:50 p.m., you take the Writing Workshop, the central component of Interlochen’s Creative Writing Program. Here, the process of group critique and exchange helps you polish your work into impactful pieces that resonate deeply with readers. You’re growing in your own understanding that writing doesn’t have to be a solely solitary act—it also happens in community. Your friends and instructors don’t hesitate to let you know what works and what doesn’t in your writing. Today, some of their input gives you an idea for a new direction for your story. It takes courage to open yourself up to friendly criticism, but you’ve found that the process is also incredibly rewarding.
Dinner, a show, and time with friends
Five o’clock doesn’t need to hit for you to know that it’s dinnertime. Tonight, you can enjoy the winning combination of house-made lasagna, veggies from the on-campus greenhouse, chocolate brownies, and the sounds of your friends’ laughter. Afterwards, you all head to Corson Auditorium to watch the singer-songwriters do their thing. A mix of pop covers and original compositions entertain and enthrall you until a little after 8:00, at which point you retreat to the dorm for more socializing and some homework.
Someone brings up the program’s in-house literary magazine, The Red Wheelbarrow, and for a while all you can talk about is what everyone’s submitting to the next issue. You binge some of your favorite show with your roommate, a film major, before starting to wind down for the night. It’s been a full day. You’re tired, but also feeling fulfilled and ready to do it all over again. You can’t imagine any other place you’d rather be.
Choosing a creative writing school
If this imaginary (but fact-based) day sounded like fun to you, it’s a good indicator that you’d fit in well at a boarding school for creative writing. Offerings vary from school to school, but some other things you’d enjoy at Interlochen Arts Academy include:
- Mentorship from professional writers on faculty
- Access and encouragement as you submit to national creative writing competitions and literary publications.
- Assistance with building a strong portfolio that gets you into top undergraduate literary studies programs
- Opportunities to explore diverse literary genres—including poetry, fiction, nonfiction, screenwriting, and forms you invent
- Interdisciplinary collaborations with artists from other majors on campus, including national tours
- Preparation for using your writing skills in the real world, whatever career path you choose
Curious how to choose the best high school for creative writing? Don’t be afraid to dig in and do your research. Most programs feature plenty of information on their websites about the instructors you’ll work with, the features you can expect, sample schedules, and even the classes you can take. If the opportunity is available to you, visit the schools that interest you to see if you like the campus, instructors, and students. Whatever school you choose, you’ll experience the excitement of focusing on the craft you love—and preparing to share your words with the world.
