What is creative writing and how may it help us?
Creative writing harnesses the power of simple words for personal insight, and acts as a springboard for personal and professional development.
The heart of creative writing is writing for awareness and change. We pay attention to what emerges on the page and stay with the present moment experience. When we write creatively, we bring all of ourselves (body and mind) into the process. The process of writing creatively enables us to become aware of our unfolding individual experience.
The practice of creative writing can be applied to a variety of contexts, topics and ways of
working. I use short writing activities, usually one or two minutes, in workshops or coaching sessions.
| ‘The workshop left me buzzing and dreaming in new words.’ Miriam Taylor, Gestalt psychotherapist |
‘Aline, it was a sublime couple of hours.’ Araxi Utidjian, Gestalt counsellor and mindfulness practitioner |
Who is creative writing for?
The short answer is: For everybody.
- For those who fear writing
- For those who love it
- For those who are indifferent to it
Creative writing is also for those who are creative and those who believe they are not.
Is creative writing therapeutic?
Creative writing can be used for therapeutic purposes. Writing creatively can help us to uncover what lies beneath the surface of awareness. Writing creatively means expressing ourselves, mindful that cognition and emotions are essentially tangled. Once we start to untangle the knots through self-expression we can change perspective, venture beyond our past, initiate genuine dialogue, consider a wide range of possibilities, explore solutions, keeping ourselves present, available and hopeful.