Being able to write without a definite structure or purpose is a gift and a privilege, and as such, we should honor it. We should make time for it because it is so good for us. One should never have to choose between honoring emotions or self-expression and our daily obligations. We should be a society that promotes these things as part of our daily obligations. By making a space for creative writing, we strengthen the members of our society by enabling them to grow, learn, and experiment as people within a healthy facet. Creative writing is an underused resource in the education system that promotes empathy, emotional regulation, and communication skills.
Often when we think of creative writing, we think of how it is a tool for self-expression and exploring our own personal thoughts and ideas, and while this is true, it may surprise you to learn that creative writing can also aid in exploring the perspectives of others. Creative writing is very impactful when it comes to our sense of empathy. Writing about and or from the point of view of another character (especially those that may seem different from us), as writers do when they write fiction, forces them to think about their characters in terms of their stories. How does the character react in certain situations? How has their backstory fueled their beliefs and actions? How might they overcome their obstacles to fulfill their arc? These are all questions that good writers ask themselves when they write works of fiction, and it gets them thinking not as themselves but as their characters. In other words, writers must step into another person’s shoes when they write creative stories. When people shift their point of view like this, they begin to actively engage their sense of empathy. This makes for more moral, or at the very least, socially aware people.
Improved emotional regulation is another great benefit that can be reaped from creative writing. One of my favorite modes of creative writing is poetry, and this is because it offers the writer so much freedom, both in terms of content and structure. In addition to creative freedom, poetry also offers writers an opportunity to reflect on their emotions and express them through their words. Self-reflection allows people to learn about themselves and their relationship with the world; it is also a form of mindfulness and meditation. With this understanding, it means that poetry is synonymous with meditation, as it is a way for people to enter a state of mindfulness to grow and evolve.
Creative writing is one of the best outlets for catharsis as it is, in itself, an art. By writing creatively, writers can express their emotions through poetry and fiction writing. In poetry, this could look like metaphors to articulate strong emotions or even the spacing and placement of words to help create a visual that is parallel to the ideas expressed through the words. In fiction writing, this could look like exploring grief or love through character arcs and elaborate storylines. Creative writing has no cap for how many emotions can be stored in each word, and writers can therefore work through any emotions they may be experiencing and even learn ways to overcome particularly difficult ones. Catharsis is about letting go of bad emotions and exploring positive ones, and it is what makes creative writing such a powerful tool, especially when we pair this knowledge with the fact that catharsis has been known to be so therapeutic, like in the cases of those suffering from depression and or anxiety.
Additionally, creative writing can improve people’s communication skills. When people learn to write poetry, they learn how to communicate emotions and abstract ideas more through their words. By finding the right words and spending time thinking about the right way to arrange words in a clause in order to more effectively express a thought, writers put their communication skills into practice, and we’ve all heard the expression, “practice makes perfect.” While perfection may not truly be achievable, we can always strive to be better, and creative writing is a fantastic opportunity to get better at this skill. This is a skill that will certainly have real-life ripple effects, too, as having better communication skills could be what sets you apart from the other candidates at a job interview or what boosts your grade up from an A to an A plus. Being able to more eloquently express your ideas will grant you more power. It’ll also eliminate a lot of the stress and confusion associated with poor communication skills, and it can even improve interpersonal relationships.
It is for these reasons that I believe we should create more opportunities for people to try creative writing. School is one of the best places for the exploration of creative writing, and yet it is too often overlooked in favor of classes that emphasize rhetoric or argumentation. Educators should take a second look at the many lessons that creative writing opportunities may afford students.
