Calling Creative Writers! (testimonials?)

[MightiMidget]

Hello all!

I am doing a speech on "The Benefits of Creative Writing." My three main points are that it offers a fun way to build written communication skills, helps to relieve stress and offers a fresh perspective on everyday life.

Thoughts? Opinions? Testimonials? Disagreements?

Has creative writing helped anyone in those categories, or even outside those categories?

[Dante]

To say that people write to improve their communication skills is like saying people dance to improve their bodily kinetic intelligence, or to say that artists draw to improve their visual keenness. It's a by-product, but not the main reason people write... Never mind the fact that writing business e-mails in prose to your consumers is not likely to gain you any points at work. XD

Creative writing is a form of expression. It's a kind of art drawn with words instead of paint. You don't need a reason to write, writing is the reason to write in and of itself. I'm writing a book at the moment in fact and that has ended up being one of my larger setbacks. I wanted to publish the book to gain a small income, but once I started thinking about the money, the words stopped flowing and I was constantly dissatisfied with my corrections (I managed to get the first draft done... but rewriting and rewriting again is... that's a chore in a half).

TL;DR: People write for the same reason that they eat Apple Jacks.

[Ella Edric]

To say that people write to improve their communication skills is like saying people dance to improve their bodily kinetic intelligence,

This made me laugh. XD

[quote="Dante (post: 1589288)"]or to say that artists draw to improve their visual keenness. It's a by-product, but not the main reason people write... Never mind the fact that writing business e-mails in prose to your consumers is not likely to gain you any points at work. XD
Creative writing is a form of expression. It's a kind of art drawn with words instead of paint. You don't need a reason to write, writing is the reason to write in and of itself. I'm writing a book at the moment in fact and that has ended up being one of my larger setbacks. I wanted to publish the book to gain a small income, but once I started thinking about the money, the words stopped flowing and I was constantly dissatisfied with my corrections (I managed to get the first draft done... but rewriting and rewriting again is... that's a chore in a half).

TL]
Anyway, I second this.
I actually do think it can help with written communication. It has helped me. It causes you(if youre mindful of it and trying at least) to learn proper english and punctuation.
I find that writing can and does help relieve stress, for myself at least. Tho, other times depending on what I'm writing it can cause stress for varying reasons. Lol. School, an annoying passage in a book or something.
As far as perspective on everyday life, yes it does in ways. For me, it helps me be more perceptive, notice little details about things. And it helps me to understand certain things better by writing it out, if that makes any sense.

Anyway, that's my two cents. Hope it helps you somehow.

[MightiMidget]

Thank you both so much for the feedback!

Never mind the fact that writing business e-mails in prose to your consumers is not likely to gain you any points at work. XD

Perhaps, but learning to write through a creative fashion helps writing with structure be easier later. You have already practiced the process of getting words from your head to the page. Whether it's story about the war of butterflies and fairies, or a report on suicide prevention, both require communicating what you wish to get from your brain to the page.

I do agree that I doubt most people who specifically write to to gain communication skills though.

[Dante]

Perhaps, but learning to write through a creative fashion helps writing with structure be easier later. You have already practiced the process of getting words from your head to the page. Whether it's story about the war of butterflies and fairies, or a report on suicide prevention, both require communicating what you wish to get from your brain to the page.

I do agree that I doubt most people who specifically write to to gain communication skills though.

I noted that, in part, because of a comical memory I had back in my undergrad years. I spent so much time writing fiction that I had no idea that using a fictional style was inappropriate when writing a technical paper. Consequently, I was furious and flustered when the instructor acted confused and scolded me for writing something along these lines:

[INDENT]"So the electrons sliced a pathway through the resistor, but lacked the resolve to see the task through to completion. As the front lines faltered, however, so too did the rear and havoc was to be had by all. By this mechanism, the current collapsed in a mannerism that was inversely proportion to the resistance they faced, but they were compelled forward through a will that was directly proportional to the driving commands of their overlord, the battery, voltage incarnate.

However, when the great gods of physics removed the resistor from the circuit, nothing could stand in their way. In an instant, the free charges flourished with the flavor and spirit of haste. The torrential cataract of current flooded the circuit until the meager copper wires were lit ablaze by the raging torrent and all other circuit components did suffer a catastrophic failure that was passed on through the generations. This same event was even felt in the classroom beyond, filling the skies of the with smoke and the bitter realities of burnt fingers. For the heat was proportion to square of the current and the current had tasted true freedom, loosed from the chains of the draconian resistor until it's value surpassed the heavens and reached for infinity. It wallowed in the love of excess, until nature itself reacted in it's abhorrence of their Babylonian tower of current that yearned to become a singularity.

So the armies of electrons, with their dreams of infinite current, were short-sighted. For even copper wires are built with resistance and that resistance increases with tepid temperatures until the very fabric of the circuit itself, the electric wire, matched the will of the electrons with it's internal resistance... or until the path was vaporized completely and left no road for the wayward sparks to traverse and fulfill the pathways and journeys dictated to them by the prophesies of Kirkhoff and Ohm. Their way was confounded and no longer could they seek an infinite current."[/INDENT]

Naturally, I'm sure you can attach all kinds of strange emotions to the countenance of my instructors who received this inane drivel. They greatly bemoaned the fact that they had already required too many courses out of me and could not demand that I take a course in technical writing. They did, however, urge me to do that very thing.

[SierraLea]

I know I'm a little late, but I'll still give my input.
I would say that it does build your communication skills by teaching you how to do different things, like describe effectively and explain something complex, like a battle sequence or how to put together a machine. It also teaches how word choice can effect not just the meaning but also the mood of a piece. It can teach you how to write between the lines, like poetry, or how to lay it all out for the reader, like in a short story.
As for relieving stress, definitely. For me, it's the same as reading a book. I get to enter my own world where i controll what happenes, and get away from all the things that bother me in the real world.
As for offering a fresh perspective, it does. You can explore how people with different views can all look at the same thing and see something totally different from each other. For example, someone looking at a rose could think of it as a symbol of love, a thorny beauty, or just a high maintenance flower.

[Wolfsong]

I'm probably late, but what the heck.
Creative writing has often helped me express myself, like to my friends or family. I've often been able to make my friend, who suffers sometimes from depression, smile and laugh, which really helps both of us. For me, it gives me relief from stress as well as helping me get a new perspective about other people, and about myself. Creative writing has also helped me see things positively in the world, even when things are blackest.
Hey Dante, I write too, and hope to publish one of my books someday, so I just want to say 'I know how you feel' but don't read too deeply into it. If you aren't already, I'd suggest taking a short break and give yourself a rest from it. That helps me sometimes, so I just thought I'd suggest it.
If you'd like to read the book so far: Infinite
Please do. I'd appreciate everyone's input.
Good luck on your speech, MightiMidget!