Welcome to the Syracuse Veteran's Writing Group website.

The Syracuse Veterans' Writing group is open to all veterans and their supporters  The focus of our group is on writing nonfiction accounts or "true stories" of life in and out of the military. 

Veterans of all ages, branches of the military, and conflicts are welcome. You need not have any prior experience with writing, just a desire to write your stories and share them with others.

Our group meets once a month on Saturdays 10 a.m.-12 noon on the Syracuse University campus in the Writing Center, 1st floor, H.B. Crouse.  Refreshments are provided, and the atmosphere is casual and relaxed.  The bulk of our meeting time is focused on sharing and commenting on group members' writing.   There is no cost or fee associated with the writing group.  Just bring a notebook and pen or and be prepared to do some writing. 

Writing group sessions focus on:

• Learning key techniques for nonfiction writing
• Drafting your stories
• Sharing your stories and offering feedback to other group members
• Encouraging each other as writers.
• Polishing and preparing your work for publication.

The group is co-led by Eileen E. Schell, a writing teacher and writing group leader for over 20 years and Ivy Kleinbart, a poet and writing teacher at Syracuse University.

The group meets once a month on Saturdays from 10 a.m.-12 p.m. in the Writing Center, 101 H.B. Crouse on the Syracuse University Campus. The meeting dates are announced a few weeks in advance via the Facebook group (Syracuse Veterans' Writing Group) or via email. Please email Eileen E. Schell to get on the email list or join the Facebook group.

Meditation with the Syracuse Veterans' Writing Group

The Syracuse Veterans' Writing Group also sponsors a monthly open meditation session for veterans and their supporters that takes place from 9:15-9:45 a.m. the same day and same place as the monthly writing group meeting. Our meditation leader is Dr. Diane Grimes, a Syracuse University faculty member in Communication and Rhetorical Studies and mindful communication expert. Dr. Grimes has extensive experience teaching classes on meditation and mindfulness and leading meditation sessions for all levels. She especially welcomes beginners to meditation as well as those who have tried it before and want to deepen their meditation practice. Come and join Dr. Grimes and learn how meditation might help you manage stress, anxiety, symptoms of PTSD, and also increase your concentration for writing. 

SVWG in the news

Syracuse.com: "Syracuse Veterans' Writing Group holds retreat for budding writers"

Syracuse University Magazine featured our group in "War Stories."

The New York Times mentioned SVWG in their article "Warrior Voices."

"Soldiers' Stories": The group was recently featured in a The Eagle article.

The Vets' Writing group was mentioned in a recent Daily Orange article on the rising number of student veterans at SU.

Email eeschell@syr.edu or call the Writing Program at 315.443.1083 to sign up and hear more details about meeting times and meeting locations.