Trextyn Harbolt

Interpersonal Communications
26 March, 2016
Cultural Ethnography

This lovely group of people call themselves the Rogue Writers of UC. Under normal
circumstances, I honestly could not see myself hanging out with the people in this group because
they can be considered edgy but after the first time I went to one of their meetings, I consider
myself a part of the group. Every person in this group is awesome and I got my own personal
reminder not to judge people by figuring that out. Rogue Writers meets every Tuesday in
McMicken so its kind of amazing how they act like theyve known me forever even though Ive
only met with them a couple of times. If you didnt catch it by the name, they are a writing
group. Even though I consider myself a writer, I had never been in a group of other writers or
even seen such a group interact before now.
I think this group is a part of another very unique sub-culture under its surface. Ive
lightly picked up on the fact that everyone in the group has their own problem experiences that
define a part of who they are. Whether that be the fact that their parents try to force them to be
more girly, theyre aunt blames them for making her son gay, or something that they havent
shared, it is obvious that they each carry a burden daily. I think Rogue Writers almost doubles as
a support group.
Of course, we dont meet just to talk about the problems in life, but we communicate in
several was just in meetings. Kat and Chris, the co-founders of the group, do most of the talking
during exercises. They seem to be well-versed in their knowledge of writing techniques. When
Trextyn Harbolt
Interpersonal Communications
26 March, 2016
Cultural Ethnography
we do an exercise, everyone in the group gets a chance to read what they just wrote aloud. Kat
and Chris always do their best to give feedback that allows the reader to know their strengths.
They basically take the short piece apart and tell the writer what worked about it, often revealing
things that worked well that the writer might not have even noticed about their writing.
Every sub-culture has its own reasons for existing and its interesting to understand what
those reasons are. My favorite piece of communication among this group so far has been Kat
addressing the need for this sub-culture to exist. She was giving feedback on someones piece
and this person was slightly embarrassed by their piece. Kat and Chris both immediately jumped
in, saying that there is no reason to be anything but proud of our works. Kat told everyone that
the whole reason we, as writers, meet is because we love to have someone to tell us how great
our works are. The more I think about it, the more I realize it holds true for every time I have
shared my writings with others.
This is the main way that this group communicates. Each time we meet, everyone writes
something based on the exercise we are doing and shares. The words that they share are normally
much more real than anything else Ive experienced. The things these people write often convey
some of their most important experiences and characteristics in something that is normally only a
couple of paragraphs long. The use of vocalics in this group is a very important part of the
communication within Rogue Writers.
Alone, the pieces that are shared within the group are good works of art. The reason that
they tend to be so emotional though, is because of the way that the authors read them. My pieces
arent usually very emotional but they would definitely not be as good as they are if I didnt read
them with the emotion that I put into them. One of the members wrote a piece about her parents
forcing traditionally girly ideals onto her. Alone, that piece would have been good anyway. The
way that she used her voice when she read it, however, added so much to the meaning of the
piece that I think some people were almost in tears. The intensity with which she presented her
work added an entire new layer to the understanding of the words that she was reading.
Thats only one example of the use of vocalics in Rogue Writers and it still astonishes me
every time. Every person reads their pieces in their own way and I believe that it shows an
integral part of who they are. This group is a place where people frequently show their Hidden
Selves, according to the Johari Window. Some of the things that have been shared via stories are
things that many people are afraid to tell their own parents. These are things that I can only
imagine I would have had serious conversations with only two people about, had they been my
own experiences.
This again speaks to the need for the existence of this group. I had only been to two
meetings and these people were comfortable sharing their deepest thoughts and experiences with
me. This reinforces my idea that Rogue Writers doubles as a sort of support group. It isnt quite
at the level that someone would think of when they hear the words support group but these
people reinforce each other and hold each other up.
Trextyn Harbolt
Interpersonal Communications
26 March, 2016
Cultural Ethnography
This group combined with my experiences of discussing authors works in classes leads
me to believe that writing culture in general is meant to share our Hidden Selves. That is not
something unique to this small group, but to the entire sub-culture of writers. Many of the things
we write reflect our thoughts, desires, and admirations. Who we want to be, the things we
admire, our deepest wishes. These things show in our writings, even if we show them
subconsciously. Rogue Writers just reminds me of that. Every time we meet, I get a new, unique
view of these peoples lives. I get to see how they are going to use their words and their voices to
make me experience something that Ive never even considered. Every time I meet with the
Rogue Writers now, I can expect to experience whole worlds that I didnt even know existed.