Benefits of Creative Writing in Adolescence
Creative writing in adolescence allows teenagers to empower their imagination. It also helps them express their thoughts and emotions without the need to expose themselves to the judgments of others. They don’t even need to worry about grammar or spelling. Here the value is different: Originality.
What does creative writing consist of?
There are different types of writing. Each one has specific objectives and functions. For example, journalistic writing serves to inform about specific facts, while academic writing is useful for conveying argumentative ideas for research. These writing styles include a series of criteria and specifications that must be met in order to achieve a successful production.
Creative writing, on the other hand, involves a freedom that appeals to children, young people, and adults. In this case, it’s difficult to define a specific function that goes beyond mere enjoyment. We could say that it’s a game without rules and without winners or losers.
But this doesn’t mean that creative writing is just a pastime. It can also represent the greatest tool at the professional level: It’s the type of writing used by poets, playwrights, film or television scriptwriters, and writers of short stories, novels, and copywriters. For this reason, teenagers interested in this activity can find here a possible job opportunity for the future.
Discover the benefits of creative writing for teenagers
It’s common knowledge that reading provides important benefits to human beings. The habit of reading reduces stress, helps with insomnia, and improves neuronal plasticity. But little is said about how writing contributes to well-being: Writing is good for you!
Develops language skills
This style of writing doesn’t require specific linguistic and literary resources. However, it’s still a space for practice where adolescents strengthen their skills associated with literacy and language in general. In addition, they’re able to expand their vocabulary and improve their grammar and their ability to put their thoughts into words in a comprehensible and coherent way.
Boosts imagination and problem-solving skills
When writing a creative text, young people draw on personal experiences, memories, acquired knowledge, or other people’s stories. Therefore, they must use their imagination to create something original that doesn’t necessarily have to be amazing or surreal. For example, a simple story or a short poem can be creative.
Another benefit that adolescents get from this type of writing is that it favors problem-solving skills. With critical and innovative thinking, young writers manage to give certain twists to their stories for their characters to solve a conflict and even solve problems derived from the writing process.
It can be useful for emotional regulation
Emotions are intimately linked to words. Thanks to language, we’re able to express clearly what we feel and what we think. In this way, we understand each other better. Words allow us to name deep and abstract aspects that are part of the human experience.
In fact, writing is a valuable therapeutic tool. By making use of fictional characters, adolescents can put their own emotions on paper. This allows them to achieve a meaningful sense of relief. In this way, symbolic representations can help them work through internal conflicts.
Stimulates empathy
Creative writing in adolescence enhances the sense of empathy in adolescents, as it encourages them to put themselves in the place of the characters and to see the world from different perspectives. By creating them, they understand the value of diversity, as they understand that everyone has a different personality, which doesn’t make them better or worse.
In addition, they can create alternative worlds that don’t necessarily coincide with their reference contexts. In this way, imagination unfolds to unimagined levels. For its part, heterogeneity is presented from an empathetic and respectful place.
Creative writing in adolescence: A safe space in a time of chaos
Generally, the stage of adolescence is lived with intensity. Calm and tranquility aren’t an everyday affair. A sense of disorganization is to be expected at this time, as young people go through a series of physical and psychological transformations that they’re not prepared to assimilate.
In this unstable scenario, creative writing can provide a certain serenity. Why? Because there are no restrictions when writing a text; everything is valid. At some point, fiction allows teens to name thoughts with absolute freedom. There are no judgments, mandates, or demands. Teenagers, flooded by chaos, can find in this activity a safe space.
All cited sources were thoroughly reviewed by our team to ensure their quality, reliability, currency, and validity. The bibliography of this article was considered reliable and of academic or scientific accuracy.
- Coto, B. D. (2002). La escritura creativa en las aulas: en torno a los talleres literarios (Vol. 173). Graó.
- Grunin, J., & Schlemenson, S. (2015). Imaginación, narrativa y figurabilidad en la escritura de púberes y adolescentes. Revista de Psicología, 24(1), 1-21.