If you have a child who loves to write, you may find it difficult to comprehend how creative writing develops real-world skills.
After all, how can making up stories or poems lead to any useful skills?
Creative writing is so much more than that though. The skills attained in creative writing have wide-spanning applications that go beyond writing a story or a poem.
What Do Students Learn in Creative Writing?
We’ll begin by clarifying what is taught in a creative writing class at an arts academy high middle/high school. There’s a wide range of techniques students must learn to make their writing pop in a world of distractions already competing for attention.
Character development is at the top of the list. Learning how to create realistic characters with personality and depth that can connect with readers is crucial. But the characters can’t go anywhere without proper plot development. Writers need to learn how to develop and unfold a story so that it’s believable. Elements like action, intrigue, drama, and surprise must be carefully incorporated.
Then there’s dialogue. Characters that interact in believable and even provocative ways are going to keep the reader’s attention while defining the character’s personality. Furthermore, good dialogue helps to create a visual image.
In addition, students learn how to incorporate point-of-view as a device to offer key information and clarify who’s telling the story. They also get an understanding of how to use similes and metaphors, symbolism, juxtaposition, and other tricks of the trade to make their writing as engaging and descriptive as possible without overdoing it.
So how do these techniques lend to the bigger picture?
1. Students Gain Storytelling Skills Through Creative Writing
One of the best ways to engage people is to tell them a story. It brings down barriers and fosters a sense of camaraderie. And this is a valuable skill to have because there are many situations in life (both personal and professional) where it pays to be informative, persuasive, and even captivating.
Regularly engaging in creative writing enables folks to express their emotions clearly and concisely through well-constructed stories and arguments. Skilled writers tap into their imaginations to help readers see the world in a whole new way.
2. Creative Writing Increases Mental Clarity
When a creative writer sits down to hone his or her craft, they are forced to arrange and organize their thoughts and then put them into words in a way that others will understand. This is no easy feat and it requires the brain to work efficiently and logically.
In the process, writers become aware of their own emotions and ideas. In fact, creative writing is a powerful tool for students who struggle with anxiety and/or ADHD because they have to focus on just one thing. This helps them achieve more clarity of mind.
The pure act of writing creatively is also an amazing outlet for releasing emotions. A study published in the “Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition” found that individuals who wrote for 20 minutes about their emotions or opinions around a specific topic exhibited superior mental clarity when compared to those who did not. This was especially true for those who are more inclined toward lower levels of mental clarity.
3. Students Use Creative Writing As a Form of Self-Care
For some, writing is the ultimate in self-care. It’s an effective means for unwinding and de-stressing. And this makes sense. When people are unable to express themselves or relate dark emotions, they get pent up in the body in the form of physical ailments such as gastrointestinal issues or migraines.
In a study by psychologist James Pennebaker, researchers encouraged individuals to write about their worst thoughts and feelings regarding a terrible incident. They found that those who wrote about their encounters had considerably fewer physical problems than those who didn’t. Going forward, they also tended to deal with tough situations in a healthier way
4. Creative Writing Develops Real-World Skills
While the benefits listed above may help you to see the importance of creative writing in dealing with the world, there are the purely practical skills that come with regular writing.
To be successful, writers must develop skills such as planning and research, communication, emotional intelligence, presentation, time management, organization, and the ability to work independently. These are all valuable skills in the workplace.
What’s more, nearly every industry needs skilled writers to create content and get their message out there. So creative writing is anything but a passive way to spend the afternoon!
Creative Writing Could Help Your Child
If you have a child interested in writing but might be struggling with conventional education, contact us to take a tour of our school.
You’ll see firsthand the success of arts integration education and the ways that creative writing develops real-world skills for our students.
We look forward to meeting you and offering the opportunity to give your child a chance to truly shine.