You don’t have to dream of publication to enjoy creative writing. The writing process has something to offer everyone, and carries enormous benefits even if you never share anything you write. Remember what it felt like, as a small child, to make up stories for yourself? How filled with adventure and excitement those moments were?
Here are five reasons everyone can enjoy creative writing – and I’ve included a prompt with each one, to get you started. How do you complete these creative writing prompts? Find a quiet place, open a notebook and start to write. Continue for at least 15 minutes, and stop when you run out of time, or ideas. It’s as easy as that!
1. We are all storytellers, at heart
If we didn’t love stories, Disney wouldn’t exist! The urge to create stories and to place ourselves within them is alive inside us all.
Creative Writing Prompt:
Start with an inciting incident: the moment a story begins. In this case, imagine a doorbell ringing in the middle of the night, in a storm. Describe who moves towards the door to answer it, and what happens as they ease the door open. By the time you have moved into this moment in the story, you will probably have an idea of what comes next. Continue to write, living each moment along with your character. Don’t worry about structure – just enjoy.
2. Language is exciting!
We are all capable of falling in love with words – the shape and sound of them, and the layers of meaning they can hold. The English Language is a powerful too and endlessly expressive. Why? The language originated in Britain, which was colonised again and again by successive waves of invaders. Each one of those invading cultures left its mark on the language, making it increasingly versatile. The Romans brought Latin, and after they left, the invading Danes, Saxons, Angles and Jutes all added their own words. Then came the Normans in 1066, adding a French influence. Shakespeare alone contributed hundreds of words and phrases we now use every day. More recently, English has been shaped by immigrating cultures, new technologies, and science. It’s a language to celebrate.
Creative Writing Prompt:
Collect words you like. Perhaps they appeal to you for the sound of them, or their shape. Once you have 20+ words, write a poem celebrating all the words you love.
3. Stories are how we make sense of the past
This process is called ‘mythologising’. We make sense of everything that has happened to us by creating stories from it. The stories can stay true to experience and become memoir, or they can form the backbone of fiction.
Creative Writing Prompt:
Choose category of objects, events or places, and write your life story through that lens. For example:
Five cars you have owned
Objects you have kept by the side of your bed
Five significant birthdays
Three moments you have stepped into the unknown.
4. Stories are how we envision our future
Futures can be exciting, or terrifying. Most science fiction is dystopian in nature; we imagine terrible possibilities for ourselves and our world, and in some ways, this may help us prevent them. By imagining our own futures, we can work hard to make them happen.
Creative Writing Prompt:
Imagine you achieve something monumental, a decade from now. Decide what that might be – make it your life’s dream, or something utterly unexpected and improbable! Now, write a speech you give around that time, or write a fictional biography for yourself. Allow yourself to drift into flights of fancy. No one will read this but you!
5. Stories are how we reflect our fascination with humanity
People are endless fascinating, and it isn’t always possible to understand what motivates them, and why they behave the way they do. Creative Writing can be about empathy – you never understand a person fully, as Harper Lee famously said, until you step into their shoes for a while and walk around in them. We do that, when we write.
Creative Writing Prompt:
Pick up a newspaper and find an article about someone who does something unexpected. Write down what it was they did (rob a bank, claim they were abducted by aliens, give up all their worldly possessions, eat 50 hamburgers). Now, write a story about this person, from their point of view. Explore what motivated them to do what they did – and what happens, as a result.
Stories are all around us, every day. They are our currency, our motivation, our memories, our lives. When you allow yourself to create stories, in the words of Robin Williams, you explore what it means to be alive.
Are you looking for a good read to inspire your writing? Check out my latest novel, here: https://geni.us/HerSecretSoldier
Consider a creative writing holiday, and write in the company of others. centauriarts.com/retreats
Centauri Arts offers FREE Creative Writing workshops. For more information, go to https://www.centauriarts.com/arts-workshops/
