Get creative with writing skills!

As soon as students start high school, they write less and less creative texts such as poems, lyrics or short stories. In addition to conventional writing skills, creative writing assignments are very useful for the development of the student.

Students often write texts such as literary analyzes, papers and essays. The effect is that writing in other genres than non-fiction is not encouraged and that these skills are not developed. The reason that creative writing is often not applied in schools is largely based on the assumption that creative writing does not teach students enough (critical) skills. This is not the case. Stimulating creativity can improve writing skills as well as creative thinking and more.

Imagination
Creative writing requires an active brain since students are, for example, writing from different viewpoints to encourage them to view problems from different perspectives. Moreover, creative writing also helps to structure thoughts, express and describe emotions, and to be inspired by the world around them. The students learn to let their imagination run free, to be in someone else’s shoes and develop empathy.

Fun with language
By giving students more freedom to write, they can experience what it is like to have more of a saying in the way they organize and write their assignment. They can have more fun in writing texts and gain confidence in writing skills. Moreover, also for teachers it is often more fun to read and correct a variety of types of texts.

Many more possibilities
There are many possibilities for creative writing. Texts such as fairy tales, poems, diary texts or lyrics can be used for an assignment but also of non-textual sources can be used for inspiration such as music, videos or photographs. Hereby, two courses or subjects can also be combined in an assignment such as English with history or biology. Finally, an assignment can also be made in teams. The possibilities are endless!

In short, by offering more space for creativity in language the brain can be further activated and have a positive effect on the self-confidence of students. There are endless possibilities for creative writing assignments. Think of text forms, sources of inspiration, and combining different subjects with each other for one assignment. Lets get creative!