Creative writing is taught to children and students, but it benefits adults just as much. Writing is part of lifelong learning process that keeps us awake, sharp, and connected.

On June 19th, the UK will celebrate National Writing Day with events for pupils and young writers.1 This is a chance to bring creative writing into your life. The ideal moment to highlight the numerous benefits that writing offers for all ages.

1. For your wellbeing

Improve your mental health

Creative writing can be therapeutic for adults. It gives you a safe space to express emotions, navigate feelings, and make sense of life.

Writing connects us to ourselves, our friends and family, to people who know us and it creates new contacts, with some luck, maybe even far into the future.

Sharing your stories, traditions, and perspectives creates a sense of belonging. Clarifying our ideas, and connecting with others gives us sense and purpose.

Become who you are

Like kids, creative writing helps adults discover or reconnect with their inner thoughts and beliefs. It’s a platform for introspection.

“You have to follow your own voice. You have to be yourself when you write. In effect, you have to announce, ‘This is me, this what I stand for, this is what you get when you read me. I’m doing the best I can – buy me or not – but this is who I am as a writer.” ―David Morrell

Writing offers a chance to learn more about your values, goals, and aspirations through the ideas, stories, and characters you create. This leads to better self-awareness and personal growth.

Train your intelligence

As we age, it’s easy to get stuck. Creative writing keeps your thoughts fluid and helps maintain mental agility. Organizing thoughts, building narratives, or focusing on characters and plots keeps your brain sharp.

2. To improve your communication skills

Become a better communicator

Expressing yourself clearly and persuasively is key to many jobs. Writing poetry, short stories, or novels boosts your ability to engage and convince your audience.

“The good ideas come first. The skill to communicate them brilliantly in a way that appeals to readers or to an audience takes years of practice.” –Robin Mizell

These skills translate naturally into the workplace, from composing messages to pitching ideas confidently.

Strengthen your creative muscles

Creativity isn’t limited to the arts. It’s valuable in all areas: business, science, and tech. Creativity is crucial for innovative thinking and problem-solving. Writing helps you gain new perspectives and come up with fresh ideas.

3. For pleasure

Your readers will feel if you had fun writing or whether it was mainly work. By focusing on improving your text, you make writing playful and rewarding.

Writing can be fun

iA Writer has been embraced by thousands of journalists, writers, and bloggers worldwide. With iA Writer, you can

Each time you refine a sentence, improve your style, or clarify your idea, you feel a sense of achievement. This way, writing becomes a fun form of play, where the joy comes from seeing your text improve with each change.

Using AI without cheating

If you use ChatGPT or work with other authors, you can keep track of your unique voice with Authorship.

To use AI without cheating you need to learn how to turn the tables on AI. Ask AI to prompt you. Use it as a dialog partner. Don’t let it write for you.

Try different platforms

Use different writing tools. Write using a typewriter, or longhand, and try different apps for different purposes (Markdown is your friend because it’s portable across different apps).

So, pick up a pen2 or open a new document, and start writing. Find your focus. Share your thoughts. For more writing tips and inspiration, check out our blog posts.

4. To get started

National Writing Day is good occasion to get back at creative writing. It is a UK event created by First Story, a national literacy charity, that encourages people of all ages and skill levels to write for fun and self-expression. You’ll find details about First Story charity and free creative writing on their website.

Looking for more writing opportunities? iA sponsors the NYC Midnight Short Story and Screenwriting challenges. Join and see where your ideas take you.

  1. As an official partner of the event, the BBC has compiled some teaching resources for National Writing Day. ↩

  2. Prefer writing in analog? Experience minimalist, distraction-free writing with iA Notebook with watermark lines to guide your pen. ↩