Creative Writing Tips
Bobby Smith ‘22 Staff Writer
Creative writing is a beneficial hobby that can be pursued regardless of circumstance. Anyone can write if they are stressed, angry, have something on their mind, or are just bored. High school students need writing skills, a necessity in classes from English to Science. However, some readers might not know what to do if they want to try out creative writing.
The first question that probably comes to mind when creative writing is: “Where do I begin?” My answer to that question is to know what it is you want to write about. If you have an idea for something to write about, try writing about that. If you can not think of anything, my advice is to take inspiration from something from recent memory. Has something funny happened to you or someone you know? You could write a story elaborating on this funny story or retell it entirely. Maybe you had a weird dream the night before and it’s all you can think about. You could write down a retelling of the dream. Have you learned about something in school that you found really interesting? You can even write about that. How can creative writing be helpful? In a study conducted at University of Texas, Austin, Dr. James W. Pennebaker, who asked students to write about traumatic life events or trivial matters, discovered that “For six months following the experiment, students who wrote about traumatic events visited the campus health center less often, and used a pain reliever less frequently, than those who wrote about inconsequential matters.”
If you have nothing to do and are bored, grab a pencil and paper and write. Creative writing as a hobby can improve one’s writing skills, potentially contributing to improved grades as well. What if you are dealing with writer’s block or can not get their thoughts across? There are methods that can help people with writer’s block. Writing drafts will organize thoughts and provide a base to jump off from. Music can also aid in the writing process. In the article “Music vs. Silence: Does Listening to Music Get in the Way of Writing?” author Marylee MacDonald states, “Music opens us to feelings, listening to it can help us get into that zone of deep concentration from which inspired work arises.” That same article used a Ph.D thesis by Kristian Johnsen Haaberg, which stated that students use music “as a tool during study situations to increase well-being and motivation, to isolate themselves in a personal ‘bubble’, and to avoid other temptations and feelings such as hunger of boredom.”
Creative writing is a hobby with many benefits. It can help relieve stress and anger; it can help one collect their thoughts; it can get rid of boredom, and it can improve one’s writing skills. However, like all hobbies, creative writing isn’t for everyone. Try it out and see if writing “clicks” for you. If not, that’s okay, there are many other hobbies you can learn about and try out. If you do enjoy creative writing, you have found yourself a new hobby.
The first question that probably comes to mind when creative writing is: “Where do I begin?” My answer to that question is to know what it is you want to write about. If you have an idea for something to write about, try writing about that. If you can not think of anything, my advice is to take inspiration from something from recent memory. Has something funny happened to you or someone you know? You could write a story elaborating on this funny story or retell it entirely. Maybe you had a weird dream the night before and it’s all you can think about. You could write down a retelling of the dream. Have you learned about something in school that you found really interesting? You can even write about that. How can creative writing be helpful? In a study conducted at University of Texas, Austin, Dr. James W. Pennebaker, who asked students to write about traumatic life events or trivial matters, discovered that “For six months following the experiment, students who wrote about traumatic events visited the campus health center less often, and used a pain reliever less frequently, than those who wrote about inconsequential matters.”
If you have nothing to do and are bored, grab a pencil and paper and write. Creative writing as a hobby can improve one’s writing skills, potentially contributing to improved grades as well. What if you are dealing with writer’s block or can not get their thoughts across? There are methods that can help people with writer’s block. Writing drafts will organize thoughts and provide a base to jump off from. Music can also aid in the writing process. In the article “Music vs. Silence: Does Listening to Music Get in the Way of Writing?” author Marylee MacDonald states, “Music opens us to feelings, listening to it can help us get into that zone of deep concentration from which inspired work arises.” That same article used a Ph.D thesis by Kristian Johnsen Haaberg, which stated that students use music “as a tool during study situations to increase well-being and motivation, to isolate themselves in a personal ‘bubble’, and to avoid other temptations and feelings such as hunger of boredom.”
Creative writing is a hobby with many benefits. It can help relieve stress and anger; it can help one collect their thoughts; it can get rid of boredom, and it can improve one’s writing skills. However, like all hobbies, creative writing isn’t for everyone. Try it out and see if writing “clicks” for you. If not, that’s okay, there are many other hobbies you can learn about and try out. If you do enjoy creative writing, you have found yourself a new hobby.
