Creative Writing as an Outlet

By Staff Reporter, Leo Tavormina

For many of us, 2020 and the COVID-19 pandemic have introduced a lot of stress into our lives. It evokes many negative emotions and unpleasant feelings that may make our day to day lives feel more depressing or challenging. I find that I can better cope with my personal situation by making use of various creative outlets. One particular method that I’ve been doing longer than any other is creative writing.

I’ve always enjoyed how television, movies, and books have the potential to make me feel like I’m in a different world. Suddenly, I’m no longer at home trying to keep busy during quarantine. I’ve been transported to a different setting with unique and engaging characters. While these experiences are fun and cherished by many, I find that creative writing allows someone to take the process even one step further.

Creative writing allows you to construct a setting or even entire world completely of your own design. If there’s any sort of idea you’ve had in your head that you feel may be silly, outlandish, or embarrassing, you could write about it. I find a blank Google Doc to be a great way to get those ideas out in a judgment-free way. Even if that idea or draft or document never gets published, there’s a great amount of satisfaction that can be gained from creating your own little work even if it’s private.

A fun way to directly address negative emotions through this medium is to journal your thoughts and feelings about your day. This can be done easily by simply typing whatever comes to your mind the moment you are typing. While it may seem like a strange idea at first, I find that I always have things on my mind. This can range from venting about people that frustrate me, discussing a positive event that occurred that day, or imagining future possibilities that I am excited about.

Creative writing is an incredible medium partially because of the flexibility that it allows for. Any of the ideas that I’ve discussed can be combined or expanded upon in a single work. For example, you can choose to vent by writing about a character that represents you or someone you know. You may even want to develop an entire narrative to discuss how a particular situation or conflict in your life affects you. The possibilities really are limitless and that is what makes me want to keep writing for the rest of my life.