benefits of creative writing for adults

British Council India

Boost your happiness and well-being with creative writing.

Beautiful writing isn’t about the words we use, it’s about the emotions we evoke – Katie Ganshert

For Katie, an author of several novels and works of short fiction, life is a journey we’re all travelling, and like any intriguing adventure, it’s filled with valleys and peaks, detours and shortcuts, highways and jaw-dropping scenery. Her happiness comes from the keys of her computer and her total mental health depends on it like it is for most of us who cherish writing.

To say the past year has been a difficult one for people is somewhat an understatement. But, despite the colossal devastation and the resulting decline in mental health, children or adults who took to writing were perhaps the happiest beings in the world.

Writing has powerful mental health benefits that promote happiness and well-being, creative thinking, language development and memory building. You don’t have to be Jeffrey Archer, Ruskin Bond or Khushwant Singh to consider yourself as a writer. Whether you are a scribbler, a diarist, a blogger, a would-be short story writer, or simply jotting down personal future plans, all have proven links to happiness according to research. Find out how writing can help you lead a happier life.

1. Writing promotes well-being and helps express emotions fluidly

Simply writing for the sake of opening up your thoughts and jotting them down on a page has huge therapeutic benefits that include an increased feeling of happiness and reduced stress. A recent study examined the effects of writing in a sample group of 81 undergraduates. The students wrote for 20 minutes each day for four consecutive days on topics such as traumatic experiences in life and future plans. By the end, the project revealed a significant increase in well-being and improved mood among participants.

So, try to use creative writing as a tool to express your positive thoughts.

2. Writing may lead to increased gratitude

According to a study, people who reflect on the good things in their life once a week by writing them down were found to be more positive and motivated about their current situation and their future. It is interesting to note that writing about the good things in life can have such an impact, perhaps because it forces you to really look at why those things make you so happy.

Furthermore, according to Psychology Today, writing leads to better learning because we tend to retain and recall information better when we write. It also keeps our thinking sharper even as we age because writing, much like a physical exercise, keeps our brain cells active.

3. Builds creativity and imagination

Children are particularly gifted with an incredible imagination and they demonstrate an extraordinary ability at storytelling. Research shows that introducing kids to creative writing not only gives them an outlet for that creativity, it boosts their English language, communication and persuasion skills, and helps in self-expression. If you're looking for ideas on how to help your child grow with creative writing, look up for a British Council course specially designed by English experts for children aged 11-14 years. The online course will help children build their creative writing skills by learning the key elements of short story writing and storytelling.

Writing can improve mental health – here’s how

Creative Writing Lecturer, Cardiff Metropolitan University

Disclosure statement

Christina Thatcher does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

Cardiff Metropolitan University provides funding as a member of The Conversation UK.

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The image shows an open notebook, and a person holding a cup of coffee in one hand and pen in the other, ready to start writing.

Ernest Hemingway famously said that writers should “write hard and clear about what hurts” . Although Hemingway may not have known it at the time, research has now shown that writing about “what hurts” can help improve our mental health .

There are more than 200 studies that show the positive effect of writing on mental health. But while the psychological benefits are consistent for many people, researchers don’t completely agree on why or how writing helps.

One theory suggests that bottling up emotions can lead to psychological distress . It stands to reason, then, that writing might increase mental health because it offers a safe, confidential and free way to disclose emotions that were previously bottled up .

However, recent studies have begun to show how an increase in self-awareness , rather than simply disclosing emotions, could be the key to these improvements in mental health.

In essence, self-awareness is being able to turn your attention inward towards the self . By turning our attention inward, we can become more aware of our traits, behaviour, feelings, beliefs, values and motivations.

Research suggests that becoming more self-aware can be beneficial in a variety of ways. It can increase our confidence and encourage us to be more accepting of others . It can lead to higher job satisfaction and push us to become more effective leaders . It can also help us to exercise more self-control and make better decisions aligned with our long-term goals.

Self-awareness is a spectrum and, with practice, we can all improve. Writing might be particularly helpful in increasing self-awareness because it can be practised daily . Rereading our writing can also give us a deeper insight into our thoughts, feelings, behaviour and beliefs.

Here are three types of writing which can improve your self-awareness and, in turn, your mental health:

Expressive writing

Expressive writing is often used in therapeutic settings where people are asked to write about their thoughts and feelings related to a stressful life event. This type of writing aims to help emotionally process something difficult .

Research shows that expressive writing can enhance self-awareness , ultimately decreasing depressive symptoms , anxious thoughts and perceived stress .

Reflective writing

Reflective writing is regularly used in professional settings, often as a way to help nurses, doctors, teachers, psychologists and social workers become more effective at their jobs . Reflective writing aims to give people a way to assess their beliefs and actions explicitly for learning and development.

Woman pauses to look out the window while she writes in a notebook.

Writing reflectively requires a person to ask themselves questions and continuously be open, curious and analytical. It can increase self-awareness by helping people learn from their experiences and interactions. This can improve professional and personal relationships as well as work performance, which are key indicators of good mental health .

Creative writing

Poems, short stories, novellas and novels are all considered forms of creative writing. Usually, creative writing employs the imagination as well as, or instead of, memory, and uses literary devices like imagery and metaphor to convey meaning.

Writing creatively offers a unique way to explore thoughts, feelings, ideas and beliefs. For instance, you could write a science fiction novel that represents your concerns about climate change or a children’s story that speaks to your beliefs about friendship. You could even write a poem from the perspective of an owl as a way to represent your insomnia.

Writing creatively about challenging experiences, like grief , can also offer a way to communicate to others something which you feel is too complicated or difficult to say directly.

Creative writing encourages people to choose their words, metaphors and images in a way that really captures what they’re trying to convey. This creative decision-making can lead to increased self-awareness and self-esteem as well as improved mental health .

Writing for self-awareness

Self-awareness is a key component for good mental health and writing is a great place to start.

Why not take some time to write down your feelings about a particularly stressful event that has happened during the pandemic? Or reflect on a difficult work situation from the last year and consider what you have learned from it?

If you prefer to do something more creative, then try responding to this prompt by writing a poem or story:

Think about the ways your home reveals the moment we are currently in. Is your pantry packed with flour? Do you have new objects or pets in your home to stave off loneliness or boredom? What you can see from your window that reveals something about this historic moment?

Each of these writing prompts will give you a chance to reflect on this past year, ask yourself important questions, and make creative choices. Spending just 15 minutes doing this may give you an opportunity to become more self-aware – which could lead to improvements in your mental health.

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How can creative writing help individuals struggling with their mental health?

By steve mccarthy-grunwald and mental health students.

The use of creative writing in its various forms has been seen to resonate with our mental health and wellbeing. Many individuals have, and currently use, the written word to help express their emotions and experiences to develop a deeper level of self-awareness. This in turn does offer some support towards becoming more resilient in the future.

How do our mental health nurses use creative writing?

Over the past few years, our mental health nursing team has incorporated sessions looking at the power of ‘narratives’. Looking at developing awareness and appreciation of creative story writing, in particular poetry. We look at how this can offer an alternative medium for mental health nurses to consider using with clients in clinical practice. With the express purpose of seeing beyond the ‘activity’ itself and recognising its therapeutic value. These sessions coincide every year with National Poetry Day. This is the annual mass celebration that takes place on the first Thursday of October and encourages anyone to enjoy, discover and share poetry. This year's theme was Vision.

We start with a discussion and presentation on the potential uses of creative writing within mental health nursing. We recognise examples of many famous authors and poets who have struggled with their mental health but found solace within the written word. We encourage our third-year mental health nursing students to try to create a piece of poetry and to experience first-hand how poetry can offer a deeper spiritual meaning to ourselves and the world around us. Here are some wonderful examples of this year’s poems from our students to inspire you to give it a go.

Poem by Ella Morley, third-year mental health nursing student

A Quiet Rage by Stacey Moore, third-year mental health nursing student

Poem by Sera Jenkins, third-year mental health nursing student

Gateway building, Lancaster Gateway building

Seen/Unseen by David Rawsthorn, third-year mental health nursing student

Are you interested in studying mental health nursing.

We offer a BSc Mental Health Nursing course and an MSc Nursing with a pathway in Mental Health (Pre-Registration ) course. Here at the University of Cumbria, we will enable you to gain all of the knowledge and practical skills you need to become a confident and qualified Nursing and Midwifery Council registered mental health nurse. It's time for you to make a difference, visit our course page today for more information on the course, call 0845 606 1144 or email [email protected] to speak to an expert and plan your career.

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How Creativity Positively Impacts Your Health

Barbara is a writer and speaker who is passionate about mental health, overall wellness, and women's issues.

Mixetto / Getty Images

Creativity Improves Mental Health

Creativity puts you in a flow state, how to enhance your creativity.

Creativity helps us perceive the world in new and different ways. It helps us create works of beauty, problem solve, and refresh our bodies and our minds. It's fun, and when you are having fun, you are positively impacting your health.

Expressing yourself through artistic and creative activities is like a prescription for your mental health. Turning to creativity has been proven in extensive research to relieve both stress and anxiety. Creativity also helps lessen the shame, anger, and depression felt by those who have experienced trauma.

The Walter Reed National Military Medical Center has an art therapy program for soldiers with PTSD. Veterans often find it difficult to express their trauma verbally. Art therapy manager Tammy Shella, PhD, ATR-BC, says, “Through art therapy, patients can convey how they really feel on the inside and reveal things that they weren’t comfortable sharing with the world.”

Have you ever been so immersed in writing in your journal, creating postcards out of your recent photographs, or dancing to your favorite band that you lost all sense of time?

Psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, one of the cofounders of positive psychology, calls this “flow state.” During this time, you’re focused with optimal attention on a task or activity. It’s sometimes called being in the zone .

This is an excellent and often euphoric state to be in. In this state, we are more mindful and relaxed. This allows us to feel more positive and brings a sense of accomplishment. People who experience flow report higher levels of creativity, productivity, and happiness.

Maybe we don’t think of ourselves as artists or as innovators trained in coming up with bold, new ideas. However, the key traits of innovators include energy, intelligence and discipline, which we all have in varying amounts.

Although we might not be artists or innovators by profession, that doesn’t mean we can’t tap into ways to expand our creativity. We all have the ability to express ourselves and come up with alternate ways of looking at things.

The good news for those of us who didn’t excel at art during our childhood is that the beneficial effects happen during the art process. They are not based on the end product.

Laurel Healy, LCSW, says, “Engaging in a creative process, like singing, dancing, painting or drawing, has full body benefits. When we focus on something that is challenging and/or fun, we make new neuropathways, increasing connectivity in the brain.

"Increased connectivity, especially in the left prefrontal cortex of the brain, makes us more emotionally resilient in a way that is similar to what occurs when we meditate. The release of dopamine brings an enhanced sense of well-being as well as improved motivation,” Healy says.

Draw or Paint

A growing body of research demonstrates that activities like drawing and painting can relieve stress and depression. Artistic activities have been linked to improving memory and resilience in older adults, even helping seniors with dementia reconnect with the world. Actively making art rather than simply appreciating art has also been shown to stave off cognitive decline.

Sing or Play Music

Music bonds us. According to researchers, when we harmonize or synchronize with others, we have more positive feelings towards them. This occurs even if they aren’t in the same room.

Singing raises oxytocin levels in both amateur and professional singers. If you’re not enamored with singing, do you like to just listen to music? Simply listening to music releases oxytocin. Music directly impacts oxytocin levels and oxytocin affects our ability to trust and socially connect to others.

Dancing is not only fun, it’s actually really good for you to move with music. Studies have shown that dancing relieves anxiety, improves quality of life for breast cancer patients, and lowers the risk of dementia for older people.

What is surprising in the research is that the benefit wasn’t due to physical exercise alone. Compared to other forms of exercise, dancing was the only exercise that made a difference.

While playing or storytelling might seem in the moment, there are psychological and developmental benefits that accrue and are long-lasting.

Jennifer A. Perry, former VP of worldwide publishing at Sesame Workshop and executive director of Perry Educational Projects Consulting, points to the long-term benefits of play and creative pursuits.

She says, "By exploring imagination and creativity through art, storytelling, interactive games, music, and all kinds of play, children learn lifelong skills... how to express themselves, communicate with others, problem solve, develop self-confidence, appreciate diverse ideas and cultures, and find things that make them feel fulfilled and happy."

Play isn’t just kid stuff. It’s also beneficial for adults. The National Institute for Play underscores the research that already exists on play: “A huge amount of existing scientific research—from neurophysiology, developmental and cognitive psychology, to animal play behavior, and evolutionary and molecular biology—contains rich data on play. The existing research describes patterns and states of play and explains how play shapes our brains, creates our competencies, and ballasts our emotions.”

Spend Time in Nature

A study titled “Creativity in the Wild: Improving Creative Reasoning Through Immersion in Natural Settings" showed how nature affects creativity. A group of hikers who spent four days immersed in nature and disconnected from technological devices increased performance on a creativity/problem solving task by 50%.

Nature in this study provided emotionally positive stimuli. By reducing the usage of phones and computers, those in the study weren’t switching tasks or multi-tasking, attending to sudden events, maintaining task goals or inhibiting irrelevant actions. Therefore, spending quality time in nature improved their creativity test scores.

So, when you are stumped by problems, move away from the computer. It helps to think creatively about solutions and alternative options while walking in the garden or hiking in the park.

A Word From Verywell

The everydayness of our daily lives might make everything seem flat or mundane. The result is a numbing sameness or a sense of endlessly being on the hamster wheel.

Creativity inspires novel thinking and ideas. So, step away from your routine, indulge yourself in playful and fun activities. Creating art, singing, dancing and playing will not only make you feel good, it will renew and revitalize you.

The Cleveland Clinic. How art can help you cope with the pandemic .

Twohig MP, Levin ME. Acceptance and commitment therapy as a treatment for anxiety and depression . Psychiatr Clin North Am . 2017;40(4):751-770. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2016.01654

Tarr B, Launay J, Dunbar RI. Music and social bonding: "self-other" merging and neurohormonal mechanisms . Front Psychol . 2014;5:1096. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2014.01096

Burzynska AZ, Jiao Y, Knecht AM, et al. White matter integrity declined over 6-months, but dance intervention improved integrity of the fornix of older adults . Front Aging Neurosci . 2017;9:59. doi:10.3389/fnagi.2017.00059

The National Institute for Play. Science and human play .

Atchley RA, Strayer DL, Atchley P. Creativity in the wild: improving creative reasoning through immersion in natural settings . PLoS One . 2012;7(12):e51474. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0051474

By Barbara Field Barbara is a writer and speaker who is passionate about mental health, overall wellness, and women's issues.

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Writing Can Help Us Heal from Trauma

Deborah Siegel-Acevedo

Three prompts to get started.

Why does a writing intervention work? While it may seem counterintuitive that writing about negative experiences has a positive effect, some have posited that narrating the story of a past negative event or an ongoing anxiety “frees up” cognitive resources. Research suggests that trauma damages brain tissue, but that when people translate their emotional experience into words, they may be changing the way it is organized in the brain. This matters, both personally and professionally. In a moment still permeated with epic stress and loss, we need to call in all possible supports. So, what does this look like in practice, and how can you put this powerful tool into effect? The author offers three practices, with prompts, to get you started.

Even as we inoculate our bodies and seemingly move out of the pandemic, psychologically we are still moving through it. We owe it to ourselves — and our coworkers — to make space for processing this individual and collective trauma. A recent op-ed in the New York Times Sunday Review affirms what I, as a writer and professor of writing, have witnessed repeatedly, up close: expressive writing can heal us.

Deborah Siegel-Acevedo is an author , TEDx speaker, and founder of Bold Voice Collaborative , an organization fostering growth, resilience, and community through storytelling for individuals and organizations. An adjunct faculty member at DePaul University’s College of Communication, her writing has appeared in venues including The Washington Post, The Guardian, and CNN.com.

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140 Creative Writing Prompts For Adults

Learning how to become a better writer includes knowing how to come up with a solid idea. With so many elements to consider when starting your novel, the plot itself may begin to slip away from you. Use these creative writing prompts for adults to get you started on the right path to a successful story and suffer from writer’s block for the last time. .

This list of writing prompts for adults can be taken and used in any way you want. Details can be changed and characters can be added or removed.

They are meant to be a fun way to get your creativity flowing and your next story developing. For even more writing ideas, check out the writing prompt generator . Here, you will find 500+ prompts of all kinds that will give you some ideas. Take control of that blank page and create something awesome.

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Dramatic Writing Prompts for Adults

Nothing beats some good old-fashioned drama once in a while. You can turn these writing prompts into a dramatic love story , an exciting short story, or morph them into a different genre. How you use them is up to you.

For a novel that is specifically romance, we have created an exclusive list of exciting and genre-bending romance writing prompts .

A young boy discovers that he is the only adopted child among his four siblings. Feeling confused and betrayed, he runs away to find his birth parents. After two months on the road, he runs out of money and still hasn’t found them. Does he go home? Or does he continue his quest?
Two couples are fueding and haven’t spoken in years. It is discovered that their two children have become best friends at school, and they want a playdate. Will this increase tension between them or lead to reconciliation?
Identical twins are attending the same college. They switch places and take each other’s classes depending on strengths and weaknesses. They’ve gotten away with it for two years until their observant professor of a father is transferred to the school they attend.
Two childhood best friends stopped talking after a huge fight in high school. Five years later, they find themselves sitting next to each other on the same 16-hour international flight.
Write about a passionate romance that crosses religions.
He’s only been in office for a year. He is already being tempted by a corrupt group of criminals who want him to sabotage a series of public safety projects in exchange for funding his entire reelection campaign.
Your main character is being offered a promotion from the high school principal to the district director. Sadly, she knows her replacement will cut funding to all of the art programs. How does she manage the situation?
A high profile general learns that the opposing army will surrender if he hands himself over. Will he prioritize his own safety, or sacrifice himself for his country?
Write about a successful businesswoman who has built herself from the ground up. The business is suddenly threatened by the son of a rich local contractor who started a similar business out of boredom.
A successful lawyer knows that his client is guilty of the murder for which he has been charged. He is a good liar and could easily win the case. The case is getting constant media coverage and would guarantee him making partner at his firm.
Your main character has lived a sheltered, isolated life. When their delusional and overbearing father dies. They are thrown into the real world and unsure of how to cope.
The doorbell rings and your character answers it – finding nothing but an envelope with nothing on it. They open it and follow the instructions to attend a secret underground event. Afterward, they become a part of a huge resistance that the rest of the world knows nothing about.
After a family member’s funeral, you arrive home to a stranger on your doorstep claiming the person is not really dead. The funeral was open-casket.
It is your character’s wedding day. While the vows are being said, someone from the crowd yells “I object!”
A huge storm has stopped traffic. Your character is stuck in the car with someone for an unknown amount of time. The person chooses this moment to confess their undying love. The feeling is not mutual.
Your character finds an old, disposable camera on the ground. Feeling, they get the photos developed. What they see tells an unsettling story.
Two old friends are reminiscing on a prominent and life-changing event. They have very different memories from that day.
Your main character is a world-traveling nature photographer. She stumbles upon a small tribe of indigenous people who have found the cure for all cancer in a small local plant.
A young man has been homeschooled all his life and is ready to start college. An attack on his small home town has him being drafted into the army. He is away from home for the first time ever and terrified. However, he becomes a key strategist due to his unique perspective and undiscovered scientific talents.
A middle-aged man is tired of his career in a corporate office. He takes all his vacation and sick days at once for an excursion in the Appalachian Mountains. Everything is fine until a blizzard hits.
A shy and reserved web designer thinks she has found the man of her dreams online. She is actually being catfished by a competing company who wants to get information from her.
A man and women work for two neighboring, rival fast food companies. They always take their lunch breaks together on the bench right in the middle of the two.
An ongoing murder investigation takes an unexpected turn when it is discovered that a prolific group of corrupted police officers were behind the whole thing.
A television star is renowned and respected for his “method” acting. He only interviews or appears on TV in character. But, this is because he doesn’t have a personality outside of his three most famous characters.
A professional gymnast is under fire for her supposed use of performance-enhancing steroids. She leaked the story herself to draw attention away from the fact that she is the leader of a high-profile drug ring.
An older couple on the brink of retirement keeps their life savings in the pages of the books in their home. They are just about to start looking for a retirement home to live in when a fire destroys their house and their cash.

Tips for Writing Drama

Drama is usually character driven , so make use of both your round and flat characters .
Introduce the conflict right away and keep it prominent. A drama will thrive off conflict.
Don’t let the resolution come easily.
Don’t be afraid to kill characters and write difficult situations.
Always show, don’t tell.

Supernatural Writing Prompts for Adults

Supernatural stories are popular. The world is in love with vampires. Write something interesting and unique enough, you might be writing their next favorite book. Use these supernatural story starters for your basic premise.

On her 16th birthday, your main character miraculously survives a deadly car crash without a scratch. Later that week, she watches as a small scratch heals and disappears right before her eyes. Where did this new power come from and what will she do with it?
There is an elite society of high education that wants to test a new drug. They give it to highly gifted students, and it allows them to stay awake for 48 hours and record everything they see, heard, and feel in that time. Unfortunately, some unexpected side effects set in two weeks later.
A middle-aged man is the only one in his famous and high-profile family without a superpower. The local police rely on his super-powered family to help them catch and fight crime. However, the powers are failing them during a specific investigation. Your protagonists “normal” perspective might just save the day.
Your main character suffers a terrible concussion. After recovering, they cannot control the vivid nightmares about the accident. However, they can also take images from their mind and project them into the real world. Doctors think they are crazy and keep them heavily sedated.
Write about a world where technology has given animals the ability to speak.

Tips for Writing Supernatural Stories

Setting the story in the real world will make your supernatural species more believable.
Create the origins of your species and supernatural characters.
Create the physical limitations for your species and beings.
Avoid the cliches of the genre.
Understand your reasons for using supernatural creatures. You shouldn’t be writing them in simply due to their popularity.

Thriller Writing Prompts for Adults

Thrillers can come in many forms and can be incorporated with many genres. Regardless of the details though, they are always meant to excite. Suspense and tension are crucial – it’s always more fun when you don’t know. Writing a good thriller requires a strong set of writing skills. These prompts will give you a good base. If you think you need to improve, try some writing exercises.

If your thriller can get hearts racing, you’ve done a good job.

The body of your main character’s best friend is dumped on their doorstep. They make it their mission to find out who is responsible, even if it means crossing some lines and breaking some laws.
A murderer is on the loose in your character’s hometown. For 10 weeks they have killed one person on the same day at the same time. Your main character is the next victim. They are abducted exactly three days before the planned kill time.
Strange things start happening around town. Your main character decides to find out for themselves what is going on. They do learn the truth, but now they aren’t allowed to leave.
Your character suffers from a condition that causes seemingly random blackouts for varying amounts of time. The only thing they ever remember before these episodes is a yellow car with a dent on the side. One day, that car is parked outside their house. This time, there is no blackout.
Your main character and their friends take an unsolicited mini-vacation to an off-limits island off the coast of their seaside town. Shortly after arrival, they discover the islands inhabitants and the reason why it was off limits.
Your protagonist is in intensive therapy due to extremely vivid nightmares detailing someone’s gruesome death. Many have said it’s just their twisted imagination, but this new therapist seems to think it’s much more than that.
You are legally allowed to kill someone one time in your life. You must fill out a series of paperwork, and your intended victim will be given notice of your plan.
A brilliant serial killer has been getting away with murder for decades. His only weakness is his acute inability to tell a lie. He is finally caught and tried for all murders. Write about how he still manages to walk free, with no charges laid.
Your character is a host at a restaurant. A couple comes in and says they have a reservation. You look it up in the system and find that the reservation was booked 40 years ago.

Tips for Writing a Thriller

Have a story that suits a thriller. This usually involves the protagonist falling victim to someone else and being caught in impossible situations.
Different points of view can add a lot of value to a thriller. It gives several perspectives and allows the reader into the heads of many characters.
Put action as close to the beginning as possible.
Don’t be afraid to make your characters miserable.

Thriller Book Writing Template

Squibler has a book writing template that was created specifically for writing a thriller:

It will walk you through each section of a typical thriller. It includes the basics of a thriller structure, without stifling your creativity. The guidelines are easy to understand, but loose enough that you can insert the details of your story with ease.

Horror Writing Prompts for Adults

The horror genre has always had a cult-like following. Several fictional killers have become household names. Some horror fans will spend their whole lives chasing the adrenaline that comes with a good scare.

If you’re learning how to become a better writer in order to scare your readers, these writing prompts will get you started. A book writing template may be helpful in creating a true horror as setting the stage properly is crucial.

It’s Halloween night and a group of rowdy teenagers break into an infamously haunted house in their town. They soon discover it is not the ghosts they have to fear, but the madman who lives upstairs is poisoning them with hallucinogenic gas.
There is a disease outbreak at a school. It appears at first to be chicken pox but it is actually a virus that is causing violent outbreaks in the children who begin to terrorize the town.
Your main character attends a meditation retreat. It turns out to be a recruiting process for an extremist cult that convinces members to commit dangerous acts of terror. Your protagonist is the only one in the room who is immune.
So overcome by his nightmares, your main character attacks anyone who comes near him. He cannot distinguish between loved ones and the monsters in his head.
A young man has to dive 300 feet into the ocean to rescue his girlfriend caught in a broken submarine. He must cross through a genetically modified shark breeding ground.
An old time capsule is about to be opened and the whole town is present for the celebration. When opened, the only thing found inside is a detached human hand with a threatening note in the grasp. The note is written in your character’s handwriting but dated 50 years before they were even born.

Master horror writer Stephen King reveals some of his thought process: “So where do the ideas—the salable ideas—come from? They come from my nightmares. Not the night-time variety, as a rule, but the ones that hide just beyond the doorway that separates the conscious from the unconscious.”

Horror doesn’t always have to be fantastical and dreamy in nature. Sometimes horror exists in the real world, within people.

Tips for Writing Horror

Don’t be afraid to give that gruesome, bloody description.
Aim to create extreme emotions.
Make sure the readers care about your characters. This will make their horrible situations more impactful.
Consider what scares you the most. Keep this in mind when writing.
Set the stakes high.
Some comic relief or brief periods of peace are okay – necessary even. It can help build suspense.

Crime and Mystery Writing Prompts for Adults

Stories of crime and mystery have been told for ages. There are some classic crime dramas that will never get old. Many non-fiction books have been written on this topic as well.

Creating a proper mystery takes time and much planning. When done correctly though, it makes for a most memorable story.

Your main character discovers another women’s clothes tucked in the back of her boyfriends closet. She plans an elaborate fishing trip to get him far away for a weekend so she can teach him a lesson.
A new serial killer is on the loose, killing one person every other day within 500 feet of a museum. There must be a connection and a reason, but how will they catch him when he keeps destroying the cameras and escaping?
A young officer is three years sober and committed to getting back on track. That is until he is called to the scene of a high-profile drug bust and is in charge of collecting evidence. Can he control himself around so many drugs?
Abandoned cars start randomly appearing throughout the city. No license plates and nothing inside. That is until one is found to contain several dismembered human limbs.
Your character has been receiving nasty, lifelike drawings in the mail. They ignore them at first, thinking it is some kids being silly. Until the drawings start coming to life. Since they have the drawings, they know what is going to happen next, and in what order.
Your main character and her husband awake one night in the early hours of the morning, both recalling a horrific dream from the night before. They soon learn the dream to be true as they discover a fresh, painful brand in between each of their shoulder blades.
Your character never wakes up feeling rested, no matter how long they sleep for. Medication doesn’t help. They decide to film themselves one night. The next morning they watch as they get out of bed around midnight, smirk at the camera, and wave before disappearing out the door for hours.
Your protagonist is a member of a small religious group. When a precious artifact goes missing, the head elder’s daughter is blamed for it. Your character knows she couldn’t be responsible because the two of them were romantically involved at the time of the theft. Such activities are strictly forbidden and the daughter would rather go down for the theft than admit to breaking that law.
There is a serial killer going after the children of rich and notable families in the area. Your main character is the child of one such family and is terrified every waking moment. Tired of living in fear, they decide to figure out who the killer is and stop them
Your character gets a DNA test, just for fun. After getting the results and doing some more research, they discover that members of their ancestry from all over the world were once all gathered in the same place. The reason is unknown.
Your character receives a strange voicemail from an unknown number. The voicemail ends up changing the course of their entire life.
Your character is in an accident and loses the memory of the last year of their life. There are so many things that don’t make sense. They must retrace their steps to find answers.
The entire town has started sleepwalking, together, every night.
Your character has a short but friendly encounter with a stranger in an elevator. The next day, they are all over TV as the victim of a brutal murder.
Your character is redecorating and takes down a painting. They notice something strange engraved on the back of the frame.
Your character goes to their usual coffee shop and orders “the usual.” The Barista smiles, nods, and slides something entirely different across the counter. She has never made a mistake before.
Your character opens a random book at the library when the cover page falls out. It says “if you are reading this, you have been chosen.”
When looking through some old family photos – going back generations – your character notices a cat in almost every photo. The very same colorful spotted cat with a single docked ear that is sitting on their lap.
When paying for their groceries, your main character mentions to the clerk that there is a mess in aisle 11. The clerk is confused and explains that there is no aisle 11.

Tips for Writing Crime and Mystery

This is a genre where a book writing template can come in handy. The plots are often so complex, it can be overwhelming to keep it all straight.
Draw inspiration from real-life crimes. This will make your story believable.
Also, draw your inspiration from real-life people and give them realistic motives behind their crimes. Crime and mystery are rarely set in a fantasy world, so being realistic is important.
Know how the mystery is solved before you start writing.
Include a few cliffhangers – usually at the end of a chapter.

Science Fiction Writing Prompts for Adults

Science fiction is similar to fantasy in that you can make up a lot of stuff, which is a fun way to write.

This is a versatile genre that can be molded into anything you want.

Sometimes, it is rooted in truth with elements of real scientific and technological advances. Other times, there are many assumptions made about the future of science, and lots of make-believe takes place.

A spaceship that can surpass the speed of light is allowing a few humans on board to escape our solar system and it’s dying sun. How does the world decide who gets to survive?
A shy, introverted tech guy develops a virus that can control human desires, impulses, and choices.
A pet store becomes overrun with kittens and sells them off at a low price. However, these cats are actually an alien hybrid that can body jump. It begins causing the owners of these cats to commit suicide within 24 hours of adoption.
A live TV broadcast from the White House experiences some technical difficulties. They end up broadcasting a top-secret meeting about a pending alien invasion.
Science has developed a brain scanning software that can read thoughts. Before they can decide what to do with it, someone has hacked the system and stolen it.
Your character wakes up on a spaceship with no memory.
The world has developed a genetic system that engineers everyone for a specific job in the community. Your character hates what they were created to do. This never happens.
The world has finally reached a state of all-encompassing peace thanks to a technical system that keeps things regulated. Your character is in charge of keeping the system running. When they discover exactly how the system is kept running, they consider abandoning their post and never turning back.
Your character accidentally traps themselves in an alternate universe that hasn’t discovered electricity or technology yet.

Tips for Writing Science Fiction

Make your story complex, but don’t rush it. Let your audience process information before adding more.
Keep the language simple and easy to understand even if the world isn’t. The majority of your readers will not be scientists or tech experts.
Be consistent in terms of the universe. Physical laws, social classes, etc. Know your own world.

Dystopian Writing Prompts for Adults

Dystopian stories are growing in popularity. The genres itself is growing and evolving all the time as people figure out what works and what entertains.

Dystopian is a fun genre to read and experience, but writing it can be just as enjoyable. Having fun while learning how to become a better writer is of utmost importance.

Be careful you’re not writing Dystopia just because it sells well. Make sure you have a real story to tell and that it’s one you believe in.

A newly married couple become pregnant with twins. Due to growing overpopulation, they are told they must make a choice when the babies are born. Only one will live. Rather than submit to this, they plan their escape across the border.
An amateur teen scientist accidentally discovers an impending alien attack set to destroy earth within a month. He becomes the unwilling leader of the evacuation and defense coalition.
A hacker discovers that the new iPhone can be remotely detonated. Many corrupt political leaders are assassinated in this way on the same day. The world breaks into chaos.
World War III has come and gone. Governments are a thing of the past and money is useless. Survival is the objective. Your main character also has a medical condition to keep under control.
A horrible outbreak of disease devastated the wildlife population 100 years ago. A scientist has recently created a virus that will strengthen the immune systems of the remaining animals. It works too well, and the animals are starting to overtake the human population.
After mental illness devastates a generation, scientists create an airborne substance that balances the levels of all people on the earth. Your character is one of the few who is immune.
Rampant wildfires are taking over the surface of the earth. Your character is part of a group who is trying to find a rumored ocean deep settlement. The settlement doesn’t really exist.
Nature extremists have taken over the government. Any and all activities that are harmful to the land or plants are forbidden and outlawed.
Natural farming is a thing of the past. All food is manufactured artificially and distributed. There is no flavor and it’s the same thing every day. Your character takes a stress-relieving trip to the mountains. Here they find the remnants of some real plants, with a few berries on them.

Tips for Writing Dystopian Fiction

Know what the message of the story is. What is the main character trying to achieve?
A dystopian society is usually one that has taken the current problems of the world and projected them into the future.
Dystopian realities are never good ones – make sure you have enough doom, gloom, and darkness for your readers to understand the state of the world.

Historical Writing Prompts for Adults

Historical fiction can be whimsical and charming. It can be dark and spooky. It can be funny and ridiculous. Stories of history span many genres.

Historical fiction can be a combination of educational and entertaining. It tests a writer’s research skills as well as knowledge. The better depiction you can create of your desired time period, the more effective your story will be.

Learning to research is crucial to know how to become a better writer.

From a first-person perspective, write about the showdown between a criminal and a lion in the Roman Colesseum.
Abraham Lincoln is famous for his top hat. Where did the top hat come from? Who was the president without it? Write a story about the infamous top hat and its life.
The Berlin wall has crashed to the ground and its love at first sight for one lucky couple – whose parents aren’t so impressed.
Your character is a talented composer whose direct competition is Beethoven.
Write about a dinner party where three famous historical figures are in attendance.
Your best friend has invented the very first time-travel machine.
Write about a well-known war, but give it a different outcome.
Write a happy ending for Dracula.
Your character’s husband of ten years has just confessed that he has traveled through time from the fourteenth century. He decided to stay because he fell in love with her.
Write about the thoughts of someone who is secretly watching Michelangelo paint the Sistine Chapel.
Your character is the only one who knows who really killed JFK. It wasn’t Oswald.
Your character is working under William Shakespeare as his apprentice.
Write about a pair of detectives who solve their cases by traveling back and forth in time.
Write about the experience of someone who has just learned of the Titanic’s sinking. They had a loved one on board.
Choose a major historical event. Write from the perspective of a witness.
Your character wants to travel across the land. No forms of transportation have been invented yet.
Write about someone who worked at one of the first printing presses during the printing revolution of the 15th century.

Tips for Writing Historical Fiction

Do your research! Inaccuracies or incorrect facts about the time you are writing in will break trust with your readers and decrease your credibility.
Choose a specific time period and location. “Early twentieth century” is too broad.
In addition to setting and facts, characters need to match the time period. This includes dress, behavior, and language.
Small details will matter.
Balance the historical facts with the drama and fictional elements.

Humorous Creative Writing Prompts for Adults

Another genre that is especially fun to write as well as read, is a comedy. Nothing beats throwing your head back in full laughter.

The goal here is to make people laugh as much as possible while still balancing a good story and believable characters.

Substitute teachers are tired of not being taken seriously. They come together and form a secret society, with plans to revolt.
An Elvis impersonator is so good that many start to believe Elvis has actually come back to life. Soon, he has been recruited to lead a superstitious Elvis-loving cult.
Three friends are out on the town for a night. Write about the most ridiculous series of events you can think of.
Life has gotten tough and your character is considering moving back in with their parents. Before they are able to make a decision, their parents show up at their door asking if they can move in.
Your character wakes up one day and everything they say rhymes. They can’t control it.
The climate is changing and your main character’s city gets snow for the first time in their entire life. She and her friends are recruited for clean up.
Your main character has never had a real job before. They are starting a job at the biggest, busiest store in town on the busiest day of the year.
Your character is set up on a blind date with their sworn enemy.
Every morning you have a package delivered that contains an item you end up needing that day.
Struggling with writer’s block, an author decides to sit at a local train station for information. They get some good material.
Your characters are holding a high-stakes rock-paper-scissors tournament.
Your main character gets backstage at a concert. What happens back there is much more interesting than the show.
Your protagonist decides to buy an old school bus and travel across the country. Being single without any close friends, they post an ad asking if anyone wants to join. The end up having their pick of travel partners.
Write a story about a low-profile, insignificant but long-unsolved crime is finally cracked.
Your character is a serial killer who kills anyone who hitchhikes along the mountain they live on. One day, they pick up a hitchhiker who kills whoever picks him up.
The world’s greatest detective finally meets his match: A criminal so stupid and so careless that the detective can’t ever predict what he is going to do next.

Tips for Writing Comedy

Test the humor on others. You might find something hilarious, but if no one else is going to laugh, it will be useless to include.
Observe comedy. Your ability to write it will hinge on your experience with it. Watch, read, listen, and speak comedy.
Have fun with it. Comedy is fun. If you’re not laughing at yourself along the way, you’ll never get through to the end.

Fantasy Writing Prompts for Adults

Fantasy is one of the most popular genres of the time. It’s growing every day because of its creative and immersive nature. People love to preoccupy themselves with something magical.

Being transported into another world for a little while – that’s what fantasy can do

In a world of advanced technological and magical advancements, one group keeps their practice of ancient spells a secret. One day, they are discovered and it leads to a fight. What is more powerful – old magic, or new technology?
A large, protected national forest is secretly home to werewolves. One summer there is an especially bad flea epidemic, and the werewolves are greatly affected. The fleas from the werewolves infect the town water supply and start turning everyone into werewolves. The only ones not affected are children under 13.
The world is overrun with vampires and humans are dying out. Different races and factions of vampires are beginning to go to war over the limited supply of human blood.
Your character finds a strange looking egg in the forest. Thinking it will make a great decoration, they take it home. What hatches from that egg surpasses their wildest imagination.
A city has spent centuries living in peace with the water-dwellers who reside in their lakes. Suddenly, the water dwellers declare war and no one knows why.
Your character has always been able to alter their appearance. They hide unattractive features. Suddenly, their powers stop working and their true appearance is revealed.
Your main character has a fascination with untouched societies – such as hidden tribes in the Amazon. She sets out to study them as a living. One day she accidentally allows herself to be seen by one of the members. What this person does is beyond what your character ever thought to be real.
The earth itself is dying and all life on the planet is dying with it.
Some people in the world have magic, others don’t. No one knows why. Your main character has magic, but his best friend doesn’t. The friend is exceptionally jealous and is growing more and more desperate to make the magic his.

Tips for Writing Fantasy

Focus on being unique
Don’t neglect worldbuilding . Inconsistencies will be obvious to readers. This is where a book writing software like Squibler can come in handy. It helps you stay organized and efficient.
Create unique names.
Don’t be afraid to make the journey long and the outcome unexpected.

Fantasy Novel Writing Template

Fantasy is one of the most complicated genres due to the necessity of building a brand new world. Squibler’s fantasy writing template will help you through this daunting process:

This template offers guidelines and suggestions for building your world as well as structuring and creating your storyline. It’s helpful but loose enough to allow your creativity to keep flowing.

Dialogue Inspired Writing Prompts

Sometimes, all it takes is a small exchange or a witty one-liner to get your brain working. Take these words and start something new. Or, insert them into an existing project and see what happens.

“As she stepped onto the train, I fought every urge to jump on after her.”
“He was expensive. Please be more considerate of my money the next time I hire an assassin to kill you.”
“You say that like it was a struggle.”
“I’m your conscience. That is literally my one job.”
“Well, I wish you didn’t love me. I guess no one is getting what they want today.”
“I guess it didn’t take.”
“I was bored so I blew up my house.”
“I taught you how to pick locks, and THAT is how you’re choosing to use the skill?”
“They thought I would forget everything. I remember even more than when they started.”
“Yes. But I don’t care.”
“I killed my mother. Are you really questioning what I can do to you right now?”

Write Your Next Masterpiece With These Creative Writing Prompts for Adults

Whether you have a book writing templat e all filled out or you are starting from scratch, these writing prompts will get your imagination going and make your writing time more productive.

Beat the writer’s block, get your groove back, or just be inspired. Figure out how to love writing again. Whatever you’re looking for, hopefully, these ideas have helped form the story you need to tell.

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Live Longer – Write Now! How Creative Writing Can Help Seniors Stay Healthy

There’s a long tradition of writers gathering to swap stories and feed on each other’s creative energy. At Lutheran Hillside Village, a senior living community in Peoria, Illinois, that tradition has taken the form of the Pen Souls.

The members write in a wide range of styles on a wide range of topics. As a creative exercise, stories started by one member can be passed around and finished by another. These games help keep the creative “pumps primed”, which makes tackling larger, more personal projects easier.

“It’s good for mental dexterity — not to mention manual dexterity,” says Ken Jones, one of the founders of the group. “Just the act of writing keeps the joints strong.” And Ken knows his stuff — writing offers a wide range of benefits for older adults, from the intellectual to the physical to the spiritual.

For example, one psychologist at the University of Texas at Austin reports findings that indicate the act of journaling strengthens our immune system. Other researchers tell us that writing takes the edge off asthma and rheumatoid arthritis.

It all comes down to stress. Writing down thoughts about stressful or unpleasant events can help the writer sort through his or her feelings about those events, which lowers stress levels. People utilize the logically-oriented language centers of the left brain when they write. In writing about bad times, we rationally “unpack” our emotions.

This works on a daily basis for journal-writers, but it can also work on a larger scale. Combat veterans are encouraged to keep a journal to help “unpack” traumatic events they experienced on active duty. That’s one reason that many groups have started interviewing World War II vets.

But another reason for this initiative is one that resonates with millions of seniors — the desire to preserve a piece of living history.

“I wanted my children and grandchildren to have a better feeling for who I am,” says Jerry Carlson, a resident at Concordia Village in Springfield, Illinois.

In his 70s, Jerry has spent months writing his life story for the benefit of his family. “I didn’t know much about my grandparents. I wish I’d asked more questions. I didn’t want my grandkids to say, ‘I wonder what he was like.’”

The Pen Souls’ work is collected in a series of large binders, which are available in the Village library. But over and above the creation of a sizeable body of resident-produced work, and the health benefits for everyone involved, perhaps the greatest result of the group’s formation has been the friendships formed.

After all, writing can be a terrific social activity as well.

As longtime member Diana Carlson puts it, “It’s a wonderful way to get to know people in a different way. In fact, it’s the place where I get to know people the best.”

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43 Creative writing exercises

A selection of fun creative writing exercises that can be completed solo, or with a group. Some are prompts to help inspire you to come up with story ideas, others focus on learning specific writing skills.

I run a Creative Writing Meetup for adults and teens in Montpellier or online every week. We start with a 5 to 20 minute exercise, followed by an hour and a half of silent writing, during which each participant focuses on their own project. Every exercise listed below has been run with the group and had any kinks ironed out. Where the exercises specify a number of people, if you have a larger group, simply split everyone up into smaller groups as appropriate.

The solo exercises are ideal to help stimulate your mind before working on a larger project, to overcome writer’s block, or as stand-alone prompts in their own right. If a solo exercise inspires you and you wish to use it with a larger group, give every member ten minutes to complete the exercise, then ask anyone who wishes to share their work to do so in groups of 3 or 4 afterwards.

Looking for something quick to fire your imagination? Check out these creative writing prompts for adults .

Writing Retreat in South France

A note on running exercises remotely

While you can enjoy the exercises solo, they are also designed for online writing groups using Zoom, WhatsApp, or Discord.

If you're running a group and follow a ' Shut Up and Write ' structure, I recommend connecting on WhatsApp (for example) first, doing the exercise together, sharing writing samples as needed. Next, write in silence for an hour and a half on your own projects, before reconnecting for a brief informal chat at the end. This works great with small remote groups and is a way to learn new techniques, gain online support, and have a productive session.

If you have a larger online group, it's worth looking into Zoom, as this has a feature called Breakout Rooms . Breakout Rooms let you split different writers into separate rooms, which is great for group activities. The free version of Zoom has a 40 minute limit, which can be restrictive, but Zoom Pro is well worth it if you're going to use it on a regular basis. In my experience, Zoom has a better connection than Facebook chat or WhatsApp.

A Letter From Your Character To You

Letter from fictional character to the author

Spend ten minutes writing a letter from a character in your novel to you , the author, explaining why you should write about them. This serves three purposes:

As you write, it helps you get into the mindset of the character. Ask yourself how they would language this letter and what they would consider important.
It's motivating to know that your character wants you to write about them.
If your goal is to publish a complete work of fiction one day, whether it be a novel, a play or a movie script, you will want to contact an agent or publisher. This helps you practice in an easy, safe way.

If you're doing this exercise with a group of teens or adults, and some of the group haven't already started working on their masterpiece, they can instead choose any fictional novel they love. Ask participants to imagine that a character within the book wrote to the author in the first place to ask them to write their story. How did they plead their case?

The Opening Sentence

The opening sentence has to grab the reader's attention and make them want to keep reading. Many authors achieve this by starting with an action scene. In modern literature, it's best to avoid starting with someone waking up, or a description of the weather. In this exercise the task is to write an opening sentence either to a book you're currently writing, or simply for an imaginary piece of literature. Here are some of my favourite opening sentences to get you going:

It was a bright cold day in April, and the clocks were striking thirteen.

George Orwell , 1984

The Golem's life began in the hold of a steamship.

Helene Wecker , The Golem and the Djinni

All happy families are alike; each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.

Leo Tolstoy , Anna Karenina

It wasn't a very likely place for disappearances, at least at first glance.

Diana Gabaldon , Outlander

You better not never tell nobody but God.

Alice Walker , The Color Purple

The cage was finished.

Gabriel Garcia Marquez , Balthazar’s Marvelous Afternoon

Imagine that you are living your life out of order: Lunch before breakfast, marriage before your first kiss.

Audrey Niffenegger , The Time Traveler's Wife

Far out in the uncharted backwaters of the unfashionable end of the western spiral arm of the Galaxy lies a small unregarded yellow sun.

Douglas Adams , The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

There are a plethora of ways you can start a book, however two ways that help engage the reader immediately are:

Set the scene in as few words as possible, so the reader immediately knows what's happening and wants to know what happens next. The scene must be original and create a vivid image in the reader's mind.
Surprise the reader with an unusual event or usual point of view.

Spend 5 minutes working on your own opening sentence, then share it with the other participants.

Make your protagonist act!

Exercise for 2 writers, or can be done solo.

According to John Gardner:

"Failure to recognise that the central character must act, not simply be acted upon, is the single most common mistake in the fiction of beginners."

Spend 5 minutes writing a scene where the protagonist is passive in a conversation with one other character. It could be that the other character says something dramatic, and the protagonist just listens, or it could be anything else of your choice!

Once the 5 minutes is up, swap papers with another writer. If you're using Zoom, or working online, send it to each other in a private chat. Now the other person spends 8 minutes rewriting the scene to make the protagonist as active as possible. This might include:

Read both scenes together. Which makes you want to keep on reading?

If you're doing this as a solo writing exercise, simply complete both parts yourself.

Showing the emotion this evokes.
Getting them to disagree with the other character.
Showing how they respond physically (whether it's as a physical manifestation of how they feel, or a dramatic gesture to make a point).

Overcoming writer's block

Are you staring at a blank page or stuck for any story ideas? This exercise will help anyone who's experiencing writer's block with a particular piece of writing. If this isn't you, that's great, others will value your input!

If anyone has a particular scene they're stuck with (a pool of blood on the floor they have no explanation for, a reason why the rich lady just walked into a particular pub, etc.) then at the start of the exercise everyone briefly describes their scenes (if working online with a large group, typing it into the chat might be best). Everyone then chooses one scene to use as a writing prompt to write a short story for 10-15 minutes.

Afterwards, split into small groups if necessary, and read out how you completed someone else's writing prompt. As everyone listens to everyone else's ideas, this can be a wonderful source of inspiration and also improves your writing. As an alternative solo exercise, try free writing. With free writing, simply write as quickly as you can on the topic without editing or censoring yourself - just let your creative juices flow. If you're not sure what happens next, brainstorm options on the page, jot down story ideas, or just put, "I don't know what happens next." Keep going and ideas will come.

Writing Character Arcs

There are several different types of character arc in a novel, the 3 most common being:

For this exercise choose either a positive or negative character arc. Spend 8 minutes writing a scene from the start of a novel, then 8 minutes writing a scene towards the end of a novel showing how the character has developed between the two points. Don't worry about including how the character has changed, you can leave that to the imagination.

The point here is to capture the essence of a character, as they will be the same, but show their development.

Positive - Where a character develops and grows during the novel. Perhaps they start unhappy or weak and end happy or powerful.
Negative - Where a character gets worse during a novel. Perhaps they become ill or give in to evil tendencies as the novel progresses.
Flat - In a flat character arc the character themself doesn't change much, however the world around them does. This could be overthrowing a great injustice, for example.

Sewing Seeds in Your Writing

In this exercise, we will look at how to sew seeds. No, not in your garden, but in your story. Seeds are the tiny hints and indicators that something is going on, which influence a reader's perceptions on an often unconscious level. They're important, as if you spring a surprise twist on your readers without any warning, it can seem unbelievable. Sew seeds that lead up to the event, so the twists and turns are still surprising, but make intuitive sense. Groups : Brainstorm major plot twists that might happen towards the end of the novel and share it in a Zoom chat, or on pieces of paper. Choose one twist each. Individuals : Choose one of the following plot twists: - Your friend is actually the secret son of the king. - Unreliable narrator - the narrator turns out to be villain. - The monster turns out to be the missing woman the narrator is seeking. - The man she is about to marry happens to already have a wife and three kids.

Write for ten minutes and give subtle hints as to what the plot twist is. This is an exercise in subtlety. Remember, when the twist occurs, it should still come as a surprise.

This is a fun writing activity for a small group. You’ve found a magic potion labelled ‘Cat Chat’ and when you drink it, you turn into whichever animal you’re thinking about; but there’s a problem, it also picks up on the brainwaves of other people near you!

Everyone writes down an animal in secret and then reveals it to the other writers. The spell will turn you into a creature that combines elements of all the animals. Each person then spends 5 minutes writing down what happens when they drink the potion.

After the 5 minutes is up, everyone shares their story with the other participants.

If you enjoy this exercise, then you may also want to check out our Fantasy and Sci-Fi writing prompts full of world building, magic, and character development prompts..

Joe Brainard wrote a novel called: I Remember It contains a collection of paragraphs all starting with “I remember”. This is the inspiration for this exercise, and if you’re stuck for what to write, is a great way to get the mental gears turning. Simply write “I remember” and continue with the first thing that pops into your head.

Spend 5 minutes writing a short collection of “I remember” stories.

Here are a couple of examples from Joe Brainard’s novel:

“I remember not understanding why people on the other side of the world didn't fall off.”

“I remember waking up somewhere once and there was a horse staring me in the face.”

Giving feedback to authors

If you're running a workshop for more experienced adult authors and have at least an hour, this is a good one to use. This is the longest exercise on this page, but I felt it important enough to include.

Give each author the option to bring a piece of their own work. This should be double spaced and a maximum of 3 pages long. If you're running a workshop where not everyone is likely to bring a manuscript, ask everyone who wants to bring one to print two copies each. If someone forgets but has a laptop with them, the reader can always use their laptop.

Print out a few copies and hand them around to everyone in the workshop of the guide on: 'How to give constructive feedback to writers'

Each author who brought a sample with them then gives them to one other person to review. They write their name on the manuscript in a certain colour pen, then add any comments to it before passing it to a second person who does the same (commenting on the comments if they agree or disagree).

Then allow 5 minutes for everyone to discuss the feedback they've received, ensuring they are giving constructive feedback.

The Five Senses

Painting by Giovanni Battista Manerius - The Five Senses

Choose a scene and write it for 5 minutes focusing on one sense, NOT sight. Choose between:

Hearing Taste Smell Touch

This can be internal as well as external (I heard my heartbeat thudding in my ears, or I smelt my own adrenaline).

After the 5 minutes stop and everyone reads it out loud to each other. Now write for another 5 minutes and continue the other person's story, but do NOT use sight OR the sense they used.

You can use any sense to communicate the essentials, just focus on creating emotions and conveying the story with the specific sense(s).

If you need some writing prompts, here are possible scenes that involve several senses:

Climbing through an exotic jungle
Having an argument that becomes a fight
A cat's morning
Talking to someone you're attracted to

Show don't tell

2 or 3 people

A lot of writing guides will advise you to, "Show, don't tell". What does this actually mean?

If you want to evoke an emotional reaction from your reader, showing them what is happening is a great way to do so. You can approach this in several ways:

Split up into pairs and each person writes down a short scene from a story where they "tell" it. After this, pass the description of the scene to your partner and they then have 5 minutes to rewrite it to "show" what happened. If there are an odd number of participants, make one group of three, with each person passing their scene clockwise, so everyone has a new scene to show. After the 5 minutes, for small groups everyone reads their new description to everyone else, or for large groups, each person just reads their new scene to their partner.

Avoid internal dialogue (thinking), instead have your protagonist interact with other people, or have a physical reaction to something that shows how s/he feels. Does their heart beat faster? Do they notice the smell of their own adrenaline? Do they step backwards, or lean forwards?
Instead of using an adjective like creepy, e.g. "Mary entered the creepy house", show why the house is creepy through description and in the way the protagonist responds - "The light streamed through the filthy skylight, highlighting the decomposing body of a rat resting on top of it. As Mary stepped inside, she felt a gust of freezing air brush past her. She turned, but there was nothing there..."

World building

World building is the art of conveying the magic of living in a different world, whether it's a spaceship, a medieval castle, a boat, or simply someone's living room. To master world building, it's not necessary to know every intricate detail, rather to convey the experience of what it would be like to live there.

Choose one of the above images as a prompt and spend 10 minutes writing a scene from the perspective of someone who is seeing it for the first time. Now, move your character six months forward and imagine they've spent the last six months living or working there. Write another scene (perhaps with an additional character) using the image as a background, with the events of the scene as the main action.

Click the above image for a close-up.

Gossiping about a character as if they're a friend.

Easy to gossip with friends about a character

Judy Blume says that she tells her family about her characters as if they’re real people.

Chris Claremont said, "For me, writing the 'X-Men' was easy - is easy. I know these people, they're my friends."

Today’s exercise has 2 parts. First, spend 5 minutes jotting down some facts about a character you’ve invented that might come up if you were telling your friends about them. Either choose a character in something you’ve already written, or invent one from scratch now.

Answer the questions:

What are they up to? How are they? What would you say if you were gossiping about them?

Then split up into groups of 4 to 6 writers. 2 volunteers from each group then role-play talking about their character as if they were a friend (perhaps another character in the story). The other participants will role-play a group of friends gossiping about the character behind their back and ask questions. If you don’t know the answer, invent it!

Degrees of Emotion Game

This is based on an acting game, to help actors understand how to perform with different degrees of emotion.

Ask everyone to write the following 4 emotions:

For groups of 5 or less, write down numbers starting with 1 and going up until everyone has a number, then give them out in order. For groups of 6 or more, divide groups into 3's, 4's or 5's.

Each person has to write a scene where the protagonist is alone and is only allowed to say a single word, e.g. "Banana". The writer with number 1 should write the scene with a very low level of the emotion (e.g. happiness), number 2 increases the intensity a bit and the highest number writes a scene with the most intense emotion you can possibly imagine.

Once each writer has written about happiness, rotate the numbers one or two spaces, then move onto anger, then fear, then sadness.

It can help to give everyone numbers showing the intensity of the emotions to write about at the start of the exercise, in which case you may wish to print either the Word or PDF file, then use the ones corresponding to 3, 4 or 5 writers.

Everyone shares their scene with the other course participants.

Three birds, one line

The first paragraph of a surprising number of best-selling novels serves multiple purposes. These are to:

Establish a goal
Set the scene
Develop a character

Nearly every chapter in a novel also serves all three purposes. Instead of establishing a goal though, the protagonist either moves towards it, or encounters an obstacle that hinders them from achieving it.

Some books manage to meet all three purposes with their opening lines, for example:

Mr and Mrs Dursley, of number four, Privet Drive, were proud to say that they were perfectly normal, thank you very much.

J.K. Rowling , Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone

A little more than one hundred days into the fortieth year of her confinement, Dajeil Gelian was visited in her lonely tower overlooking the sea by an avatar of the great ship that was her home.

Iain M. Banks , Excession

"We should start back," Gared urged as the woods began to grow dark around them.

George R.R. Martin , A Game of Thrones

For this exercise write a sentence or short paragraph that serves all three purposes. If you're already writing a novel, then see if you can do this for the first line in a chapter. If not, choose any combination from the following table:

Blind Date on Valentine's Day (Exercise for Adults)

In pairs one writer spends a minute or two describing a character they're writing about, or alternatively they can describe a celebrity or someone from a work of fiction. The next writer then describes their character.

The story is that these 2 characters (or in my case, person and alien, as I'm writing a sci-fi) have accidentally ended up on a blind date with each other. Perhaps the waiter seated them in the wrong location, perhaps it's an actual blind date, or perhaps they met in some other fashion the writers can determine.

Now spend 10 minutes discussing what happens next!

A Success (Works best for online groups)

This exercise works best for online groups, via Zoom, for example. The instructions to give are:

"In a few words describe a success in your life and what it felt like to achieve it. It can be a small victory or a large one."

Share a personal example of your own (mine was watching my homeschooled sons sing in an opera together).

"Once you have one (small or large), write it in the chat.

The writing exercise is then to choose someone else's victory to write about for 10 minutes, as if it was the end of your own book.

If you want to write for longer, imagine how that book would start. Write the first part of the book with the ending in mind."

This is great for reminding people of a success in their lives, and also helps everyone connect and discover something about each other.

Your dream holiday

You’re going on a dream holiday together, but always disagree with each other. To avoid conflict, rather than discuss what you want to do, you’ve decided that each of you will choose a different aspect of the holiday as follows:

Choose where you’ll be going – your favourite holiday destination.
Choose what your main fun activity will be on the holiday.
Decide what mode of travel you’ll use to get there.
If there’s a 4 th person, choose what you’ll eat on the holiday and what you’ll be wearing.

Decide who gets to choose what at random. Each of you then writes down your dream holiday destination/activity/travel/food & clothes in secret. Next spend 5 minutes discussing your dream holiday and add any other details you’d like to include, particularly if you’re passionate about doing something in real life.

Finally, everyone spends another 5 minutes writing down a description of the holiday, then shares it with the others.

A haiku is a traditional Japanese form of non-rhyming poetry whose short form makes it ideal for a simple writing exercise.

They are traditionally structured in 3 lines, where the first line is 5 syllables, the second line is 7 syllables, and the third line is 5 syllables again. Haiku tend to focus on themes of nature and deep concepts that can be expressed simply.

A couple of examples:

A summer river being crossed how pleasing with sandals in my hands! Yosa Buson , a haiku master poet from the 18 th Century.

And one of mine:

When night-time arrives Stars come out, breaking the dark You can see the most

Martin Woods

Spend up to 10 minutes writing a haiku. If you get stuck with the 5-7-5 syllable rule, then don’t worry, the overall concept is more important!

See How to write a haiku for more details and examples.

Unlike a haiku, which is profound and sombre, a limerick is a light-hearted, fun rhyming verse.

Here are a couple of examples:

A wonderful bird is the pelican. His bill can hold more than his beli-can He can take in his beak Food enough for a week But I'm damned if I see how the heli-can.

Dixon Lanier Merritt, 1910

There was a young lady named Bright, Whose speed was far faster than light; She started one day In a relative way, And returned on the previous night.

Arthur Henry Reginald Buller in Punch, 1923

The 1 st , 2 nd and 5 th line all rhyme, as do the 3 rd and 4 th line. The overall number of syllables isn’t important, but the 3 rd and 4 th lines should be shorter than the others.

Typically, the 1 st line introduces the character, often with “There was”, or “There once was”. The rest of the verse tells their story.

Spend 10 minutes writing a limerick.

Time Travel - Child, Adult, Senior

Imagine that your future self as an old man/woman travels back in time to meet you, the adult you are today. Alternatively, you as a child travels forward in time to meet yourself as an adult. Or perhaps both happen, so the child you, adult you, and senior you are all together at the same time. In story form write down what happens next.

Participants then share their story with other writers either in small groups, or to the whole group.

Focus on faces

Solo exercise.

One challenge writers face is describing a character. A common mistake is to focus too much on the physical features, e.g. "She had brown eyes, curly brown hair and was five foot six inches tall."

The problem with this is it doesn't reveal anything about the character's personality, or the relationship between your protagonist and the character. Your reader is therefore likely to quickly forget what someone looks like. When describing characters, it's therefore best to:

Animate them - it's rare that someone's sitting for a portrait when your protagonist first meets them and whether they're talking or walking, it's likely that they're moving in some way.
Use metaphors or similes - comparing physical features to emotionally charged items conjures both an image and a sense of who someone is.
Involve your protagonist - if your protagonist is interacting with a character, make it personal. How does your protagonist view this person? Incorporate the description as part of the description.
Only give information your protagonist knows - they may know if someone is an adult, or a teenager, but they won't know that someone is 37 years old, for example.

Here are three examples of character descriptions that leave no doubt how the protagonist feels.

“If girls could spit venom, it'd be through their eyes.” S.D. Lawendowski, Snapped

"And Ronan was everything that was left: molten eyes and a smile made for war." Maggie Stiefvater, The Dream Thieves

"His mouth was such a post office of a mouth that he had a mechanical appearance of smiling." Charles Dickens

Spend 5 minutes writing a character introduction that is animated, uses metaphors or similes and involves your protagonist.

If working with a group, then form small groups of 3 or 4 and share your description with the rest of the group.

Onomatopeai, rhyme and alliteration

Today's session is all about sound.

Several authors recommend reading your writing out loud after you've written it to be sure it sounds natural. Philip Pullman even goes as far as to say:

"When I’m writing, I’m more conscious of the sound, actually, than the meaning. I know what the rhythm of the sentence is going to be before I know what the words are going to be in it."

For today's exercise, choose the name of a song and write for 10 minutes as if that's the title for a short story. Focus on how your writing sounds and aim to include at least one onomatopoeia, rhyme or alliteration. At the end of the 10 minutes, read it out loud to yourself, or to the group.

Alliterations

An alliteration example from Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner”

The fair breeze blew, the white foam flew, The furrow followed free; We were the first that ever burst Into that silent sea.

Onomatopoeias

Buzz, woof, quack, baa, crash, purr, beep, belch,...

The alphabet story - creating a story as a group

This is a novel way to write a story as a group, one word at a time. The first person starts the story that begins with any word starting with “A”, the next person continues the story with a word starting with “B”, and so on.

Keep going round until you have completed the alphabet. Ideally it will all be one sentence, but if you get stuck, start a new sentence. Don’t worry if it doesn’t make complete sense!

It can be tricky to remember the alphabet when under pressure, so you may wish to print it out a couple of times, so the storytellers can see it if they need to, this is particularly helpful if you have dyslexics in the group.

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

Here’s an example of an alphabet story:

A Band Can Dance Each Friday, Ghostly Hauntings In Jail Kill Lucky Men, Nobody Or Perhaps Quiet Rats, Still That Unifies Villains Who X-Ray Your Zebras.

As I mentioned, it doesn’t need to make sense!

A question or two

Small or large groups

The standard format in our group is a short writing exercise followed by an hour and a half of silent writing on our projects.

At one point I felt like we'd done a lot of small group exercises, and wanted to gain an insight into what everyone was working on, so we did the following exercise instead:

Go round the table and ask everyone to briefly talk about their writing. Each person then asks one or two yes/no questions.

Everyone responds either by raising their hand for 'yes' or shaking their heads for 'no'. You can also leap up and down to indicate a very strong 'yes'.

Questions can be about anything, and you can use them either to help guide your writing or to help find other people in the group who have similar interests.

Here are some random examples you might ask:

I want to write a romance novel and am considering setting it in Paris, a traditional romantic setting, or Liverpool which is a less obvious setting. Who thinks Liverpool would be best?
I need to know more about the life of a farmer. Has anyone got farming experience who I can interview in exchange for a drink?
My character gets fired and that night goes back to his office and steals 35 computers. Does that sound realistic as the premise of a story?

This works best when you give participants some advance notice, so they have time to think of a question.

Murder Mystery Game

Groups of 3 or 4

This exercise takes 20-30 minutes and allows participants to create a murder mystery outline together.

Phase 1 (3 minutes)

Split into groups of 3 or 4
Decide as a group where the murder occurs (e.g. the opera house, a bar, a casino)
Decide one person who will write the details of the victim and the murder itself. Everyone else writes the details of one suspect each.
The ‘victim author’ then invents a few extra details about the scene of the crime, who the victim was (a teenage punk, an adult opera singer, etc.) and the murder weapon and summarises this to the others.

Phase 2 (10 minutes)

Each person then writes a police report as if they are either describing the scene of the crime, or recording the notes from their interview with a single suspect:

Write the following:

1 line description of the victim.
When they were last seen by a group of witnesses (and what they were doing).
How the murder occurred in more detail based on the evidence available.

Write the following (from the perspective of the investigator):

1 line description of the suspect
What they said during the interview (including what they claim to have doing when the murder occurs).
A possible motivation (as determined by the police from other witnesses).

Phase 3 (5 minutes)

Each person reads out their police reports to the other members of their small group
As a group, decide who the murderer was and what actually happened

See more ideas on creating murder mystery party games

The obscure movie exercise

Pick a famous movie and spend 5 minutes writing a scene from it from an unusual perspective. Your aim is to achieve a balance between being too obscure and making it too obvious. Feel free to add internal dialogue.

At the end of the 5 minutes, everyone reads their movie scene to the others and all the other participants see if they can guess what the movie is.

How to hint at romantic feelings

Write a scene with two people in a group, where you hint that one is romantically interested in the other, but the feelings aren’t reciprocated.

The goal of this exercise is to practice subtlety. Imagine you are setting a scene for the future where the characters feelings will become more important. Choose a situation like a work conference, meeting with a group of friends, etc. How do you indicate how the characters feel without them saying it in words?

Some tips for hinting at romantic feelings:

Make the characters nervous and shy.
Your protagonist leans forward.
Asks deeper questions and listens intently.
Finds ways to be close together.
Mirrors their gestures.
Gives lots of compliments.
Makes eye contact, then looks away.
Other people seem invisible to your protagonist.

A novel idea

Take it in turns to tell everyone else about a current project you’re working on (a book, screenplay, short story, etc.)

The other writers then brainstorm ideas for related stories you could write, or directions your project could take. There are no right or wrong suggestions and the intention is to focus on big concepts, not little details.

This whole exercise takes around 15 minutes.

Creative writing prompts

Exercise for groups of 3-5

If you're in larger group, split up into groups of 3 or 4 people.

Everyone writes the first line of a story in the Zoom chat, or on paper. Other people can then choose this line as a writing prompt.

For this exercise:

Say who the protagonist is.
Reveal their motivation.
Introduce any other characters

Once everyone's written a prompt, each author chooses a prompt (preferably someone eles's, but it can be your own if you feel really inspired by it.) Then write for 10 minutes using this prompt. See if you can reveal who the protagonist is, what their motivation is (it can be a small motivation for a particular scene, it doesn't have to be a huge life goal), and introduce at least one new character.

Take turns reading out your stories to each other.

Write in the first person.
Have the protagonist interacting with an object or something in nature.
The challenge is to create intrigue that makes the reader want to know more with just a single line.

Creative story cards / dice

Cut up a piece of paper and write one word on each of the pieces of paper, as follows:

Give each participant a couple of pieces of paper at random. The first person says the first sentence of a story and they must use their first word as part of that sentence. The second person then continues the story and must include their word in it, and so on. Go round the group twice to complete the story.

You can also do this creative writing exercise with story dice, your own choice of words, or by asking participants to write random words down themselves, then shuffling all the cards together.

Alternative Christmas Story

Every Christmas adults tell kids stories about Santa Claus. In this exercise you write a Christmas story from an alternative dimension.

What if every Christmas Santa didn't fly around the world delivering presents on his sleigh pulled by reindeer? What if gnomes or aliens delivered the presents? Or perhaps it was the gnomes who are trying to emulate the humans? Or some other Christmas tradition entirely that we humans have never heard of!

Group writing exercise

If you're working with a group, give everyone a couple of minutes to write two possible themes for the new Christmas story. Each theme should be 5 words or less.

Shuffle the paper and distribute them at random. If you're working online, everyone types the themes into the Zoom or group chat. Each writer then spends 10 minutes writing a short story for children based on one of the two themes, or their own theme if they really want to.

If working alone, choose your own theme and spend 15 minutes writing a short story on it. See if you can create the magic of Christmas from another world!

Murder Mystery Mind Map

In a murder mystery story or courtroom drama, there's often conflicting information and lots of links between characters. A mind map is an ideal way to illustrate how everything ties together.

Split into groups of 3 or 4 people each and place a blank piece of A3 paper (double the size of A4) in the middle of each group. Discuss between you who the victim is and write their name in the middle of the piece of paper. Then brainstorm information about the murder, for example:

Feel free to expand out from any of these, e.g. to include more information on the different characters involved.

The idea is that everyone writes at the same time! Obviously, you can discuss ideas, but anyone can dive in and write their ideas on the mind map.

Who was the victim? (job, appearance, hobbies, etc.)
Who did the victim know?
What were their possible motivations?
What was the murder weapon?
What locations are significant to the plot?

New Year’s resolutions for a fictional character

If you’re writing a piece of fiction, ask yourself how your protagonist would react to an everyday situation. This can help you to gain a deeper insight into who they are.

One way to do this is to imagine what their New Year’s resolutions would be.

If completing this exercise with a group, limit it to 3 to 5 resolutions per person. If some participants are historical fiction or non-fiction writers, they instead pick a celebrity and either write what their resolutions will be, or what their resolutions should be, their choice.

Verb Noun Fiction Exercise (Inspired by Stephen King)

Stephen King said, "I believe the road to hell is paved with adverbs, and I will shout it from the rooftops."

He also said, "Take any noun, put it with any verb, and you have a sentence. It never fails. Rocks explode. Jane transmits. Mountains float. These are all perfect sentences. Many such thoughts make little rational sense, but even the stranger ones (Plums deify!) have a kind of poetic weight that’s nice."

In this fiction writing exercise, start by brainstorming (either individually or collectively) seven verbs on seven different pieces of paper. Put those aside for later. Now brainstorm seven nouns. Randomly match the nouns and verbs so you have seven pairs. Choose a pair and write a piece of fiction for ten minutes. Avoid using any adverbs.

It’s the end of the world

It’s the end of the world! For 5 minutes either:

If working as a team, then after the 5 minutes is up each writer reads their description out to the other participants.

Describe how the world’s going to end, creating evocative images using similes or metaphors as you wish and tell the story from a global perspective, or
Describe how you spend your final day before the world is destroyed. Combine emotion and action to engage the reader.

7 Editing Exercises

For use after your first draft

I’ve listened to a lot of masterclasses on writing by successful authors and they all say variants of your first draft won’t be good and that’s fine. Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman summarise it the best:

“The first draft is just you telling yourself the story.”

Terry Pratchett

“For me, it’s always been a process of trying to convince myself that what I’m doing in a first draft isn’t important. One way you get through the wall is by convincing yourself that it doesn’t matter. No one is ever going to see your first draft. Nobody cares about your first draft. And that’s the thing that you may be agonising over, but honestly, whatever you’re doing can be fixed… For now, just get the words out. Get the story down however you can get it down, then fix it.”

Neil Gaiman

Once you’ve written your first draft, it will need editing to develop the plot, enhance the characters, and improve each scene in a myriad of ways – small and large. These seven creative editing exercises are designed to help with this stage of the process.

The First Sentence

Read the first paragraph of the novel, in particular the first sentence. Does it launch the reader straight into the action? According to On Writing and Worldbuilding by Timothy Hickson, “The most persuasive opening lines are succinct, and not superfluous. To do this, it is often effective to limit it to a single central idea… This does not need to be the most important element, but it should be a central element that is interesting.” Ask yourself what element your opening sentence encapsulates and whether it’s the best one to capture your readers’ attention.

Consistency

Consistency is crucial in creative writing, whether it’s in relation to location, objects, or people.

It’s also crucial for personality, emotions and motivation.

Look at scenes where your protagonist makes an important decision. Are their motivations clear? Do any scenes force them to choose between two conflicting morals? If so, do you explore this? Do their emotions fit with what’s happened in previous scenes?

As you edit your manuscript, keep the characters’ personality, emotions and motivation in mind. If their behaviour is inconsistent, either edit it for consistency, or have someone comment on their strange behaviour or be surprised by it. Inconsistent behaviour can reveal that a character is keeping a secret, or is under stress, so characters don’t always need to be consistent. But when they’re not, there has to be a reason.

Show Don’t Tell One

This exercise is the first in The Emotional Craft of Fiction by Donald Maass. It’s a writing guide with a plethora of editing exercises designed to help you reenergize your writing by thinking of what your character is feeling, and giving you the tools to make your reader feel something.

Select a moment in your story when your protagonist is moved, unsettled, or disturbed… Write down all the emotions inherent in this moment, both obvious and hidden.
Next, considering what he is feeling, write down how your protagonist can act out. What is the biggest thing your protagonist can do? What would be explosive, out of bounds, or offensive? What would be symbolic? … Go sideways, underneath, or ahead. How can your protagonist show us a feeling we don’t expect to see?
Finally, go back and delete all the emotions you wrote down at the beginning of this exercise. Let actions and spoken words do the work. Do they feel too big, dangerous, or over-the-top? Use them anyway. Others will tell you if you’ve gone too far, but more likely, you haven’t gone far enough.

Show Don’t Tell Two

Search for the following words in your book:

Whenever these words occur, ask yourself if you can demonstrate how your characters feel, rather than simply stating it. For each occasion, can you use physiological descriptors (a racing heart), actions (taking a step backwards) or dialogue to express what’s just happened instead? Will this enhance the scene and engage the reader more?

After The Action

Find a scene where your characters disagree – in particular a scene where your protagonist argues with friends or allies. What happens next?

It can be tempting to wrap up the action with a quick resolution. But what if a resentment lingers and mistrust builds? This creates a more interesting story arc and means a resolution can occur later, giving the character development a real dynamic.

Review how you resolve the action and see if you can stretch out the emotions for a more satisfying read.

Eliminating the Fluff

Ensure that the words used don’t detract from the enormity of the events your character is going through. Can you delete words like, “Quite”, “Little”, or “Rather”?

Of “Very” Florence King once wrote: “ 'Very' is the most useless word in the English language and can always come out. More than useless, it is treacherous because it invariably weakens what it is intended to strengthen .” Delete it, or replace the word after it with a stronger word, which makes “Very” redundant.

“That,” is another common word used in creative writing which can often be deleted. Read a sentence as is, then reread it as if you deleted, “That”. If the meaning is the same, delete it.

Chapter Endings

When talking about chapter endings, James Patterson said, “At the end, something has to propel you into the next chapter.”

Read how each of your chapters finish and ask yourself does it either:

End on a cliff hanger? (R.L. Stine likes to finish every chapter in this method).
End on a natural pause (for example, you’re changing point of view or location).

Review how you wrap up each of your chapters. Do you end at the best point in your story? Can you add anticipation to cliff hangers? Will you leave your readers wanting more?

How to run the writing exercises

The editing exercises are designed to be completed individually.

With the others, I've always run them as part of a creative writing group, where there's no teacher and we're all equal participants, therefore I keep any 'teaching' aspect to a minimum, preferring them to be prompts to generate ideas before everyone settles down to do the silent writing. We've recently gone online and if you run a group yourself, whether online or in person, you're welcome to use these exercises for free!

The times given are suggestions only and I normally get a feel for how everyone's doing when time's up and if it's obvious that everyone's still in the middle of a discussion, then I give them longer. Where one group's in the middle of a discussion, but everyone else has finished, I sometimes have a 'soft start' to the silent writing, and say, "We're about to start the hour and a half of silent writing now, but if you're in the middle of a discussion, feel free to finish it first".

This way everyone gets to complete the discussion, but no-one's waiting for ages. It's also important to emphasise that there's no wrong answers when being creative.

Still looking for more? Check out these creative writing prompts or our dedicated Sci-Fi and Fantasy creative writing prompts

If you've enjoyed these creative writing exercises, please share them on social media, or link to them from your blog.

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100+ Writing Prompts for Adults: Unleash Your Creativity and Imagination

By: Author Paul Jenkins

Posted on October 18, 2023

Categories Inspiration , Writing

Writing prompts can be an excellent tool for sparking creativity and overcoming writer’s block. Regardless of whether you’re a seasoned writer or just starting your literary journey, these prompts can guide you in discovering new ideas and refining your writing skills.

As an adult, you might prefer prompts that cater to your unique interests, experiences, and perspective.

There’s a vast array of writing prompts available, catering to a wide range of genres and themes. From exploring interpersonal relationships to delving into fantasy worlds, these prompts can help you break free from the constraints of everyday life and find inspiration in unexpected places.

Moreover, writing prompts can push you to experiment with different styles and techniques, enabling you to grow as a writer.

Ultimately, writing prompts for adults allow you to get lost in your imagination, create vivid characters, and tell captivating stories. By engaging with various prompts, you can challenge your writing habits, ignite your creativity, and develop a stronger connection to your unique voice as an author.

Key Takeaways

Writing prompts for adults spark creativity and overcome writer’s block.
Wide range of themes and genres cater to adults’ unique interests and perspectives.
Engaging with prompts helps develop writing skills, styles, and techniques.

100 Writing Prompts for Adults

Here are 100 writing prompts for adults:

Write about a time you felt truly happy. What made you feel that way?
If you could go back in time and change one decision you made, what would it be?
Write a letter to your 20-year-old self giving advice.
Describe the house you grew up in. What memories do you have there?
What’s the bravest thing you’ve ever done? Why did you do it?
Who has had the biggest impact on your life? Describe how they influenced you.
What’s the most spontaneous thing you’ve ever done? Would you do it again?
What’s your biggest regret in life? How has it impacted you?
Describe a time you failed at something. What did you learn?
What are you most proud of achieving in your life so far?
What’s the kindest act you’ve ever witnessed? How did it make you feel?
What small moments bring you the most joy in life?
If you could have a do-over for one day in your life, which day would you choose?
When was the last time you stepped outside your comfort zone? What was the experience like?
What’s your biggest dream that you hope to achieve in the future?
What has been the greatest obstacle you’ve had to overcome? How did you do it?
What person has shaped you into the person you are today?
What is your greatest strength? How has it helped you in life?
Describe a time you felt truly at peace. What were you doing and who were you with?
What is your biggest insecurity? How has it negatively impacted your life?
What one piece of advice would you offer your younger self?
What do you hope people say about you after you die?
Who do you miss the most and why?
What is your happiest childhood memory? Describe it in detail.
What is something you lost that you wish you could have back? Why?
Describe your perfect weekend from start to finish.
What is the most courageous act you’ve ever witnessed?
What is your biggest pet peeve and why does it bother you so much?
What is the biggest risk you’ve taken in your life? Was it worth it?
What is the most surprising thing you’ve learned about yourself over the years?
What is the wisest piece of advice you’ve ever received? Who gave it to you?
Describe a time you felt like you failed. How did you bounce back?
What brings you true joy in life? Describe how it makes you feel.
What rules do you live your life by? Where did they come from?
What is your favorite childhood memory involving your family?
Who is your role model? How have they influenced your life?
What is the most spontaneous trip you’ve ever taken? What made you decide to go?
What is the kindest thing a stranger has ever done for you?
What are you most thankful for in your life right now?
What is the wisest life lesson an elderly person has taught you?
Describe a time you felt immense gratitude. What triggered this feeling?
What is the most surprising act of kindness you’ve ever witnessed?
What old photos bring back the sharpest memories for you? Describe the images.
What smell brings back childhood memories for you? Describe the memory.
When was the last time you felt pure joy? What triggered this feeling?
What is your favorite quote or saying? What meaning does it hold for you?
Who is the most inspirational person you know? How have they inspired you?
Describe the last time you tried something new. How did it make you feel?
When was the last time you had a really good belly laugh? What caused it?
What is your favorite family tradition? Why is it meaningful to you?
What is the most memorable gift you’ve ever received? Who gave it to you?
Describe a time you felt a strong emotional connection with someone.
What is the greatest accomplishment in your career so far?
What is the most thrilling experience you’ve had? What made it so exciting?
Describe the last time you felt butterflies in your stomach. What caused the feeling?
What is your favorite place in nature? Describe how it makes you feel.
When was the last time you stepped way outside your comfort zone? What motivated you?
What is the wisest advice your mother ever gave you?
Describe a time you felt truly proud of yourself or someone else.
What is the most insightful or wise observation you’ve made about life?
What makes you laugh the hardest? Describe the situation.
What small things brighten your day when you encounter them?
When was the last time you felt pure contentment? Describe the moment.
Who has been the biggest inspiration in your life? How have they inspired you?
What is the most meaningful or insightful conversation you’ve ever had? Who was it with?
If you had one day left to live, how would you spend it? Who would you spend it with?
What is the greatest single day you’ve ever experienced? Describe it from start to finish.
What is the biggest lesson failure has taught you? How has it shaped you?
What places have shaped who you are? Describe how they impacted you.
What is the greatest act of generosity you have either given or witnessed?
What advice would you offer your 20-year-old self about love and relationships?
What is the hardest life lesson you’ve had to learn as an adult? How did you finally understand it?
Describe a time in your life when you felt truly alone. How did you get through it?
What is the most beautiful place you have ever visited? Describe how it made you feel.
What is the most significant change you have made in your life in the past five years?
What is the most valuable life lesson your father ever taught you?
Describe the most fascinating person you have ever met. What captivated you about them?
What has been the most surprising twist in your life story so far?
What is the bravest thing you have done that no one knows about?
Describe a time you saw someone going through a difficult time. How did you help them?
What unpopular opinion do you hold? Why do you think many disagree with you?
What does your ideal future look like? Describe your life in detail.
What book or movie changed your perspective on something? How so?
What is the most spontaneous trip or adventure you ever embarked on?
Describe a time you failed at something. How did it change your perspective?
What would your childhood self be surprised to learn about your adult life?
Who had the biggest positive influence on the person you have become?
When was the last time you felt pure joy? What caused this feeling?
What do you wish your 16-year-old self knew? What advice would you give?
When was the last time you felt you were living your true purpose? What were you doing?
What is the greatest obstacle you overcame as an adult? How did you do it?
Describe the best birthday you ever had. What made it so memorable?
When was the last time you felt proud of a family member? What did they achieve?
What is your definition of true friendship? How has your definition evolved?
Who do you miss the most who is no longer in your life? Why are they special to you?
What is the wisest or most insightful observation about life you have come up with?
If you could instill one core value or belief in the next generation, what would it be?
When was the last time you felt you made the absolute right choice? What decision did you make?
What is one piece of advice you’d give to someone starting out their adult life?

Writing Prompts: Taking the First Step

Writing prompts can be an excellent way for you, as an adult writer, to take the first step towards unleashing your creativity.

Whether you are a beginner or a seasoned writer, prompts can help you break through writer’s block, develop new ideas, and explore different genres.

There are numerous sources to find creative writing prompts for adults, with many websites offering free and engaging ideas designed to spark your imagination. You can use these prompts as either the starting point for your writing or simply as an exercise to get your creative juices flowing.

Remember, when working with a writing prompt, don’t hesitate to adapt it to your personal style and preferences. You can change details, add or remove characters, and even alter the setting to make the stories your own.

Here are some ways to approach writing prompts:

Set a timer for 10-15 minutes and write without stopping.
Use the prompt as a warm-up exercise before you start working on your main writing project.
Share your completed prompt with a writing buddy or in a writers’ group to gather feedback and suggestions.
Give yourself permission to write without worrying about grammar or punctuation, focusing on the ideas and emotions you want to convey instead.

Types of Writing Prompts

Creative Writing Prompts

Creative writing prompts can help you break through writer’s block or simply spark your imagination. They often involve a fun or intriguing situation, character, or setting, which you can use as a starting point for your own story.

For example, you might find a prompt asking you to write a short story about an unexpected encounter at a coffee shop or a magical object found in your attic.

To make the most of these prompts, try writing without worrying about word count or perfect grammar. Focus on getting your ideas down and exploring your creativity.

Keep in mind that you can always edit and revise later. By engaging with creative writing prompts, you’ll build your storytelling skills and gain confidence in your abilities.

Essay Writing Prompts

Essay writing prompts, on the other hand, are aimed at testing your critical thinking, research, and argumentative skills. They usually require you to explore a specific topic or issue, using evidence and logic to present a well-reasoned point of view.

Some examples of essay prompts might include exploring the benefits and drawbacks of a particular technology, discussing the morality of a controversial topic, or analyzing a historical event.

When responding to an essay prompt, you’ll want to focus on creating a clear and organized structure for your work, providing supporting examples and evidence for your claims, and ensuring your language is clear and concise.

Writing Prompts Based on Themes

Writing Prompts of Family

When it comes to family, there is an endless trove of memories and stories. Try writing about a cherished family tradition or that one time you couldn’t stop laughing at a family gathering. You can also take a more introspective approach and write about your relationship with a specific relative and how it influenced your life.

Exploring Emotions Through Prompts

Writing about emotions can be a powerful way to gain insight into your own feelings and experiences. Consider prompts that explore anger, joy, grief, and desire. For example, write about a time when you felt really fulfilled or challenged by a situation that led to intense feelings of anger. See how these emotions can shape your stories and personal growth.

Prompts on Money and Financial Themes

Money often shapes our lives and affects our decisions. Share your experiences with saving for a specific goal or a time when you had to make a tough financial decision. It could also be a fictional scenario where an unexpected windfall forces reconsideration of your character’s priorities.

School-related Writing Prompts

School forms a significant part of our lives and provides a rich environment for stories. Recall a memorable event from your school days, a favorite teacher, or a challenging assignment. You can also dive into issues such as school friendships and rivalries.

Prompts relating to Social Media

Social media has become a key part of our daily lives. Write about your experiences navigating social media, how it affects your relationships, and its impact on your self-esteem. Alternatively, you can create a story about the consequences of a social media post gone wrong or an unexpected connection made through online platforms.

Travel-themed Prompts

Traveling often leads to unique and interesting stories. Write about a memorable trip you took, an interesting encounter you had on your journey, or even a dream destination. Don’t be afraid to let your creativity roam in these prompts!

Food-related Writing Prompts

Food can evoke powerful memories and emotional connections. Write about a dish that means a lot to you or the experience of learning to cook something with a loved one. You could also explore the culture, history, and emotions associated with a specific type of cuisine.

Health Themed Writing Prompts

Health plays a vital role in our lives and can serve as a great source of inspiration. Write about a personal health challenge you faced, the importance of self-care, or even an experience witnessing someone else’s health journey. These prompts can encourage reflection and understanding of various realities we face with wellness.

Remember to keep it brief and maintain a friendly tone throughout. Happy writing!

Interpersonal Themes and Writing Prompts

When it comes to writing prompts for adults, interpersonal themes can provide inspiration and opportunities for self-discovery, especially when focusing on relationships and dating. In this section, we will delve into writing prompts related to dating, offering a few ideas to help you get started.

Writing Prompts for Dating

Your Ideal First Date: Imagine you are going on a perfect first date. Describe the setting, the activities, and how both of you interact with each other. What would make this date unforgettable for you?
The Unexpected Match: Write a story about two people who are complete opposites but somehow find each other and connect on a deep level. How do they meet, and what challenges do they face in their relationship?
A Lesson in Love: Think about a time when you learned something significant about love or relationships, either from personal experience or through observing others. Share the story and describe how it has impacted your view on dating.
The Five Senses: Choose one of your past dates or create a fictional date scenario. Write a scene incorporating all five senses (sight, sound, touch, taste, and smell) to help the reader experience the date as if they were present.
An Unlikely Romance: Write a story where two characters from different backgrounds or lifestyles find love in an unexpected place or situation. Explore how their preconceptions and biases are challenged as they get to know each other.

Remember, writing prompts related to dating can help you explore new perspectives, spark your creativity, and foster a deeper understanding of your own experiences and emotions. By engaging in these exercises, you’re not only honing your writing skills but also reflecting on your own interpersonal connections. Happy writing!

The Art of Getting Lost in Writing

As you explore different writing prompts for adults, allow your imagination to wander. Embrace new ideas, and don’t be afraid to take risks.

By leaving your comfort zone, you’ll discover fresh perspectives and interesting avenues for your writing.

One way to get lost in writing is to let go of self-doubt and criticism.

Silence your inner editor, and give yourself the freedom to write without constantly worrying about making mistakes. As a friendly reminder, remember that your first draft doesn’t need to be perfect.

Incorporating elements of the unknown, such as the feeling of being lost, into your stories can help you tap into your reader’s emotions and encourage them to lose themselves in your words.

Use vivid descriptions and authentic dialogue to paint a vivid picture of the world you’re creating. The more you can draw your readers in, the easier it will be for them to get lost in your work as well.

Finally, give yourself permission to take breaks when needed. Sometimes stepping away from your writing can give you fresh insight and a renewed sense of direction. Once you return, you may find it easier to get lost in the story again and let your words flow.

Frequently Asked Questions

What are some unique prompts for adult writers?

Exploring unique writing prompts can help unleash your creativity and inspire new ideas. A few standout prompts for adult writers can include writing about a dream you’d love to return to or crafting a story set in a casino. Feel free to change details, add characters or put your own twist on these prompts to make them truly special.

How can I find writing prompts focusing on mental health?

Writing prompts that focus on mental health can offer a therapeutic space for self-reflection and emotional exploration. To find these prompts, try searching websites, blogs, and forums that specifically target mental health and wellness topics. You’ll come across a variety of prompts, ranging from writing about your feelings and emotions to exploring strategies for self-care and personal growth.

What are engaging poetry prompts for adults?

Engaging poetry prompts can often draw from personal experiences, emotions, or current events. Consider writing a poem about a cherished memory, a strong emotion you’ve recently experienced, or something that affects you deeply. Feel free to play with different poetic structures and styles to discover which resonates with you the most.

Which nonfiction writing prompts are popular for adults?

Nonfiction writing prompts can encompass journaling, essays, or opinion pieces on a variety of subjects. Popular nonfiction prompts might include writing about a significant event in your life, offering your perspective on a current issue, or discussing how personal experiences have shaped your beliefs. The key to exploring nonfiction writing prompts lies in relating your unique thoughts, perspective, and experiences to broader themes and ideas.

Where can I find funny prompts suitable for grown-ups?

Humor can add a fresh and enjoyable element to your writing. To find funny writing prompts suitable for adults, explore websites like Reddit or online writing communities that share comedic short stories, jokes, or funny personal anecdotes as prompts. Remember to have fun and let your inner comedian shine through your writing!

How can beginners find simple yet inspiring writing prompts?

As a beginner, finding writing prompts that are both simple and inspiring may seem challenging. However, there are countless resources available, from writing websites to online forums that cater specifically to novice writers. Start with a basic prompt that encourages you to explore your feelings, experiences, and ideas, and don’t be afraid to modify prompts to suit your personal writing style and interests.

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Creative Writing for Seniors: Unleash Your Imagination and Tell Your Tale!

Creative writing for seniors offers numerous benefits, both mentally and emotionally. As older adults engage in creative writing activities, they’re able to tap into their wealth of life experiences and wisdom, using them as a foundation for their storytelling. This allows seniors to express themselves in new ways, and even explore their thoughts and feelings more deeply.

According to a study conducted by the National Institutes of Health, engaging in creative writing can have a positive impact on the cognitive abilities of older adults, contributing to improved memory, attention, and problem-solving skills. Furthermore, creative writing for seniors also fosters social connections, as they join writing groups or workshops, building a sense of community and reducing feelings of isolation.

To fully experience the benefits of creative writing for seniors, older adults should actively seek out opportunities to engage in writing activities. This can involve joining senior writing groups, enrolling in writing workshops for seniors, or participating in creative writing classes for older adults. By immersing themselves in the world of creative writing, seniors can unleash their potential, discover new passions, and enrich their lives.

Finding Inspiration: Creative Writing Prompts for Seniors

Writing prompts play a significant role in the creative writing process, particularly for seniors. They serve as a starting point, helping to ignite the creative spark and overcome writer’s block. Creative writing for seniors can greatly benefit from the use of writing prompts, as they provide a framework for older adults to channel their thoughts, memories, and emotions into a structured piece of writing.

Age-Appropriate Writing Prompts for Seniors

Selecting age-appropriate writing prompts is essential when engaging in creative writing for seniors. These prompts should resonate with the experiences, interests, and emotions of older adults. Here are some examples of writing prompts that cater to seniors:

Write a letter to your younger self, offering advice and insights you’ve gained over the years.
Describe a significant life event that shaped who you are today.
Create a fictional character based on someone from your past and weave a story around them.
Write a poem about a cherished memory or a place that holds special meaning for you.
Imagine you could travel back in time for one day. Where and when would you go, and what would you do?

By focusing on topics that are relevant and meaningful to seniors, these writing prompts can inspire older adults to explore their creativity and delve into the world of storytelling.

Tips for Creating Your Own Writing Prompts

In addition to using pre-existing writing prompts for seniors, older adults can also create their own prompts. Here are some tips to help seniors generate their own creative ideas for writing prompts:

Draw from personal experiences : Seniors have a wealth of life experiences to draw upon. Reflect on your own experiences and find inspiration in the events, people, and places that have shaped your life.
Embrace your emotions : Writing can be an emotional outlet. Consider your feelings and emotions, and use them as a starting point for your writing prompts.
Explore different formats : Don’t be afraid to experiment with different writing formats, such as poetry, memoir writing, or short stories. This variety can help keep the creative process fresh and engaging.
Read and research : Reading books, articles, or even watching movies can inspire new ideas for writing prompts. Look for themes, characters, or settings that resonate with you, and use them as a basis for your prompts.
Collaborate with others : Joining writing groups or workshops for seniors can be a great way to share ideas and brainstorm new prompts. Engaging with others can help generate a wealth of creative ideas that can be transformed into personalized writing prompts.

Preserving Memories: Memoir Writing Workshops for Seniors

Memoir writing is a form of creative writing that allows individuals to document their life stories, exploring personal experiences, emotions, and insights. This form of writing holds particular importance for seniors, as it provides an opportunity to preserve memories and create a lasting legacy for future generations. Creative writing for seniors often includes memoir writing, as it enables older adults to reflect on their lives and share their wisdom.

Memoir Writing Workshops Tailored to Seniors

Memoir writing workshops for seniors are specifically designed to cater to the unique needs and interests of older adults. These workshops focus on teaching seniors the essential elements of memoir writing, such as structure, narrative voice, and the use of vivid descriptions. By providing a supportive and engaging environment, these workshops help seniors to develop their writing skills and find their own unique storytelling voice.

Some key components of memoir writing workshops for seniors include:

Guided writing exercises and prompts that encourage seniors to explore their memories and experiences
Group discussions and feedback sessions that allow participants to learn from their peers and refine their writing
Expert instruction on the craft of memoir writing, including tips on creating compelling narratives and evoking emotions through words
Opportunities for seniors to share their work in a supportive and nurturing environment

How to Find and Join Memoir Writing Workshops for Seniors

For seniors interested in pursuing memoir writing, there are several avenues to find and join workshops tailored to their needs:

Local community centers and senior centers : Many community centers and senior centers offer creative writing workshops, including memoir writing, as part of their programs for older adults. Check the schedule and offerings at your local center.
Libraries : Public libraries often host writing workshops and classes, some of which may be specifically designed for seniors. Contact your local library or visit their website to inquire about upcoming workshops.
Online platforms : There are various online platforms, such as Meetup , where you can find and join local memoir writing workshops or even virtual workshops that cater to seniors.
Continuing education programs : Many colleges and universities offer continuing education programs that include creative writing courses, such as memoir writing workshops, for older adults.
Writing organizations and clubs : Local writing organizations and clubs may host workshops or provide resources for seniors interested in memoir writing. Reach out to these groups to inquire about opportunities.

By exploring these avenues, seniors can find memoir writing workshops that cater to their unique needs and interests. Participating in these workshops provides older adults with an opportunity to develop their creative writing skills, preserve their memories, and connect with others who share their passion for storytelling.

Express Yourself: Poetry Writing for Seniors

Creative writing for seniors offers numerous benefits, and poetry writing is an excellent way for older adults to express themselves, delve into emotions, and cultivate their creativity. Poetry writing allows seniors to explore various styles and formats, enabling them to find their unique voice and share their stories.

Benefits of Poetry Writing for Older Adults

Engaging in poetry writing offers several advantages for seniors, including:

Emotional expression : Poetry provides an outlet for seniors to explore and express their emotions, helping to improve mental health and emotional well-being.
Cognitive stimulation : Crafting poems encourages seniors to think critically, enhancing cognitive function and memory retention.
Social connection : Sharing poetry in writing groups or workshops promotes social interaction and camaraderie among older adults.
Enhanced creativity : Poetry writing stimulates the imagination, inspiring seniors to develop creative ideas and think outside the box.
Personal growth : Through the process of self-expression, seniors can gain insight into their feelings, experiences, and perspectives.

Tips and Techniques to Get Started with Poetry Writing

For seniors who are new to poetry writing, the following tips and techniques can help them begin their creative journey:

Read and analyze poetry : Reading various poets’ works exposes seniors to different styles, themes, and techniques, offering inspiration for their own writing. Analyzing poems can help seniors understand how to craft effective imagery, metaphors, and other poetic devices.
Experiment with forms and styles : There are numerous poetry forms and styles to explore, such as haiku, sonnet, free verse, and narrative poetry. Trying different forms can help seniors discover their preferred style and build confidence in their writing.
Use writing prompts : Creative writing prompts for seniors can ignite inspiration and provide a starting point for crafting poems. Prompts may include specific themes, emotions, or images to incorporate into the poem.
Practice regularly : Like any skill, poetry writing improves with practice. Encourage seniors to set aside dedicated time for writing and to experiment with different techniques.
Join a writing group or workshop : Participating in poetry writing workshops or joining writing groups for senior citizens provides a supportive environment to share work, receive feedback, and learn from others.

For additional resources and inspiration, seniors can visit the Poetry Foundation , which offers a wealth of information on various poets, styles, and techniques. By engaging in poetry writing, seniors can enjoy a creative outlet that promotes personal growth, emotional expression, and cognitive stimulation.

Building Community: Writing Groups for Senior Citizens

Creative writing for seniors is a fulfilling activity that fosters personal growth, cognitive stimulation, and social interaction. Writing groups for senior citizens provide an essential platform for older adults to connect, share their work, and receive valuable feedback. Participating in such groups encourages seniors to explore new creative ideas, hone their writing skills, and build lasting friendships.

Finding and Joining Local and Online Writing Groups

There are various ways for seniors to find and join writing groups tailored to their needs and interests:

Community centers : Local community centers often host writing groups for older adults, providing a space for seniors to meet and share their work in person.
Libraries : Public libraries may offer writing workshops or host writing clubs for seniors, fostering a supportive environment for older adults to develop their writing skills.
Online platforms : Websites like Meetup allow seniors to search for local and online writing groups catering to their interests and preferences.
Social media : Joining Facebook groups or following relevant hashtags on Twitter can help seniors connect with like-minded individuals and discover online writing communities.

Tips for Creating Your Own Writing Group for Older Adults

If seniors cannot find a suitable writing group in their area or online, they can consider starting their own group. The following tips can help older adults create a successful and supportive writing group:

Define the group’s focus : Determine the primary focus of the writing group, such as poetry writing, memoir writing, or creative writing for older adults in general. This will help attract members with similar interests and goals.
Establish a meeting schedule : Decide on a regular meeting schedule, whether it’s weekly, biweekly, or monthly. Consistent meetings help maintain momentum and encourage active participation.
Set group guidelines : Create clear guidelines for group members, including expectations for providing constructive feedback, respecting diverse perspectives, and maintaining a supportive atmosphere.
Promote the group : Advertise the writing group through local community centers, libraries, social media, and online platforms to attract interested seniors.
Choose a meeting format : Determine whether the group will meet in person or online. If meeting online, familiarize yourself with user-friendly video conferencing tools, such as Zoom or Skype, to facilitate virtual meetings.
Incorporate writing exercises and prompts : Include writing exercises for older adults and creative writing prompts for seniors to stimulate creativity and encourage group members to explore new topics and styles.

Creating a writing group for senior citizens can provide a welcoming and supportive environment for older adults to engage in creative writing activities, share their work, and connect with like-minded individuals. By following these tips, seniors can create a successful writing group that fosters personal growth, social interaction, and the continued development of their writing skills.

Continuing Education: Creative Writing Classes for Older Adults

Creative writing for seniors offers an excellent opportunity for older adults to express themselves, stimulate their minds, and connect with like-minded individuals. Creative writing classes designed specifically for older adults cater to their unique needs and interests, providing a supportive environment for learning and growth.

Types of Creative Writing Classes Available

A variety of creative writing classes are available to suit the preferences of older adults:

Online classes : Seniors can take advantage of online creative writing courses that allow them to learn at their own pace and from the comfort of their homes. These courses often feature video lectures, writing exercises, and peer feedback opportunities.
In-person classes : In-person classes provide seniors with a more interactive learning experience, allowing them to engage with instructors and fellow students directly. These classes are typically held at community centers, libraries, and educational institutions.
Workshops : Creative writing workshops for seniors offer a more focused and intensive learning experience. These workshops may center around specific writing genres, techniques, or creative ideas, enabling seniors to hone their skills in a particular area.
Writing groups : Senior writing groups provide a more informal learning environment, where older adults can share their work, exchange feedback, and explore new writing projects together.

How to Find and Enroll in Creative Writing Classes

Finding and enrolling in creative writing classes for older adults can be a straightforward process by following these steps:

Search online : Websites such as Coursera and edX offer a range of online creative writing courses tailored to various skill levels and interests.
Visit local community centers and libraries : Community centers and libraries often host in-person creative writing classes and workshops for seniors. Check their websites or visit in person for information on upcoming courses.
Explore continuing education programs : Many colleges and universities offer continuing education programs featuring creative writing classes for older adults. These institutions may provide both online and in-person options, catering to diverse learning preferences.
Contact senior centers : Senior centers often organize creative writing activities and classes for their members. Reach out to local senior centers to inquire about any available opportunities.
Browse social media and online forums : Social media platforms and online forums can be valuable resources for discovering creative writing classes, workshops, and groups tailored to the interests and needs of older adults.

Once a suitable creative writing class is identified, seniors can enroll by following the specific registration process outlined by the course provider. This may involve completing an online form, registering in person, or contacting the course organizer directly. By participating in creative writing classes for older adults, seniors can continue their education, explore new creative ideas, and foster meaningful connections with fellow writers.

Engaging the Mind: Writing Exercises and Storytelling Workshops for Seniors

Creative writing for seniors, particularly writing exercises and storytelling workshops, can provide significant cognitive health benefits. Engaging in these activities helps seniors maintain mental sharpness, stimulate memory, and enhance communication skills. By participating in writing exercises and storytelling, older adults can tap into their creativity, explore new ideas, and foster social connections.

Examples of Writing Exercises for Older Adults

Here are some writing exercises that can help seniors strengthen their creative writing skills:

Freewriting : Set a timer for 10-15 minutes and write continuously without worrying about grammar, spelling, or coherence. This exercise encourages seniors to express their thoughts without inhibition.
Writing prompts : Use prompts to inspire storytelling or exploration of specific topics. For example, “Write about a memorable event from your childhood” or “Describe your favorite place in nature.”
Character development : Create a character profile, including physical appearance, background, and personality traits. This exercise helps seniors develop well-rounded characters for their stories.
Storytelling from photographs : Select a photograph and write a story based on the image. This can ignite creative ideas and encourage seniors to interpret visual cues.
Memoir writing : Reflect on personal experiences and write short memoirs that capture significant moments in life. This exercise helps older adults preserve their memories and share their life stories.

Overview of Storytelling Workshops for Seniors and How to Find Them

Storytelling workshops for seniors provide an engaging and supportive environment for older adults to learn the art of storytelling, develop their narrative skills, and connect with others who share their interests. These workshops often involve group exercises, storytelling techniques, and constructive feedback from facilitators and fellow participants.

To find storytelling workshops for seniors, consider the following resources:

Local libraries and community centers : Many libraries and community centers offer storytelling workshops for seniors as part of their programming. Check their websites or visit in person to inquire about upcoming workshops.
Senior centers : Senior centers often host various creative writing workshops, including storytelling, for their members. Contact local senior centers for information on their programs.
Continuing education programs : Colleges and universities may offer storytelling workshops for seniors as part of their continuing education programs. Explore their course catalogs or websites for more information.
Online platforms : Websites like Meetup can help seniors find local storytelling workshops and writing groups in their communities.

Participating in writing exercises and storytelling workshops for seniors can have a profound impact on older adults’ cognitive health and overall well-being. By engaging in these activities, seniors can sharpen their minds, foster connections, and unleash their creative potential.

Conclusion: Bringing It All Together

Throughout this exploration of creative writing for seniors, we’ve covered numerous aspects, including writing prompts, workshops, storytelling, memoir writing, poetry writing, writing exercises, and writing groups. Each of these facets provides unique opportunities for seniors to engage in creative expression, connect with others, and maintain cognitive health.

Older adults are encouraged to pursue creative ideas and try various writing projects and activities. Whether it’s participating in writing workshops, joining local writing groups, or tackling writing exercises, seniors can uncover new passions and learn valuable skills. By engaging in creative writing for seniors, older adults can continue to grow, explore, and express themselves.

The Lifelong Benefits of Engaging in Creative Writing for Seniors

Creative writing for seniors offers numerous lifelong benefits, such as:

Cognitive health : Regular engagement in creative writing activities can help seniors maintain mental sharpness and memory function.
Emotional well-being : Writing can serve as a therapeutic outlet, allowing seniors to process emotions, cope with stress, and increase self-awareness.
Social connection : Writing groups and workshops provide opportunities for seniors to connect with like-minded individuals, fostering friendships and a sense of community.
Legacy building : Memoir writing, storytelling, and poetry writing allow seniors to share their life experiences, wisdom, and creativity with future generations.
Continued learning : Creative writing for older adults encourages lifelong learning and personal growth, keeping seniors intellectually engaged and curious.

In conclusion, engaging in creative writing for seniors offers an array of benefits, from cognitive health to emotional well-being and social connection. By exploring various writing projects and activities, older adults can continue to learn, grow, and express themselves creatively. Seniors are encouraged to harness their creative ideas and immerse themselves in the world of creative writing, ultimately reaping the lifelong rewards this rich and diverse form of expression has to offer.

What are some creative writing prompts for seniors?

Creative writing prompts for seniors can include topics related to life experiences, family history, or imaginative scenarios. Examples include:

Write a letter to your younger self, offering advice and wisdom.
Describe a memorable event from your childhood.
Imagine you could travel to any time and place. Where would you go and why?
Write a short story inspired by a family heirloom or photograph.

How can seniors get involved in creative writing?

Seniors can get involved in creative writing by attending workshops, joining writing groups, taking online courses, or simply setting aside time for regular writing practice. They can also explore various writing genres, such as memoir writing, poetry, or storytelling.

Are there writing workshops specifically for seniors?

Yes, there are writing workshops specifically designed for seniors. These workshops may focus on memoir writing, poetry, storytelling, or other creative writing genres. Seniors can find local workshops through community centers, senior centers, or libraries, or explore online options through platforms like Coursera or edX.

What are some storytelling ideas for seniors?

Storytelling ideas for seniors can involve recounting personal experiences, family history, or exploring fictional narratives. Some ideas include:

Share a story about a family tradition or a unique cultural practice.
Create a fictional tale inspired by a historical event or figure.
Tell a story about a meaningful friendship or relationship.

How can seniors benefit from creative writing?

Seniors can benefit from creative writing in various ways, including cognitive health maintenance, emotional well-being, social connection, legacy building, and continued learning. Engaging in creative writing activities helps seniors stay mentally sharp, process emotions, connect with others, and share their wisdom and experiences.

Can older adults learn creative writing?

Yes, older adults can learn creative writing through workshops, classes, online courses, or self-guided practice. Creative writing is a lifelong skill that can be learned and enjoyed at any age.

What are some memoir writing tips for seniors?

Memoir writing tips for seniors include:

Begin with a specific focus or theme.
Create a timeline of significant events.
Use vivid details and sensory descriptions.
Include dialogue to bring scenes to life.
Be honest and open about emotions and experiences.

Are there writing groups for senior citizens?

Yes, there are writing groups for senior citizens that provide a supportive environment for older adults to share their work, receive feedback, and connect with others. Seniors can find local writing groups through community centers, senior centers, or libraries, or join online communities through social media or writing websites.

How can creative writing help seniors with cognitive function?

Creative writing helps seniors with cognitive function by stimulating the brain, improving memory, and encouraging critical thinking. Regular engagement in creative writing activities promotes mental flexibility, problem-solving skills, and cognitive resilience.

How can seniors share their creative writing with others?

Seniors can share their creative writing with others by participating in writing groups, reading their work at open mic events, submitting pieces to literary journals or contests, or self-publishing their work. They can also share their writing online through blogs, social media, or writing communities.

creative writing
elderly writing
memoir writing
older adults
poetry writing
senior citizen writing
senior writing
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writing exercises
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writing projects
writing prompts
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Creative Writing for Senior Citizens – Tips, Strategies and Creativity

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Hey there, fellow word nerds! Are you ready to dive into the exciting world of creative writing for senior citizens? We know what you’re thinking: “Wait, isn’t writing just for angsty teenagers and brooding artists?”

Well, think again! Writing can be a fun and fulfilling activity for people of all ages, and it can be especially meaningful for older adults who are looking to explore their life experiences and connect with others through shared stories.

In this post, we’re going to take a deep dive into the world of creative writing for senior citizens. We’ll explore the benefits, challenges, and opportunities of writing in your golden years, and provide some tips and strategies for overcoming obstacles and finding success as a writer.

What's Inside - Table of Contents

So, grab your favorite pen, brew a cup of coffee (or tea), and get ready to unleash your inner Shakespeare!

Here’s a Sneak Peek at what we’ll be covering about Creative Writing for Senior Citizens

The benefits of creative writing for senior citizens : why writing can be a powerful tool for exploring your creativity and connecting with others
Overcoming writer’s block : tips and tricks for getting your creative juices flowing and overcoming the dreaded blank page
Memoir writing : how to share your life experiences with others through the power of storytelling
Building a writing community : how to find support and inspiration from other writers, both in person and online
Writing for self-discovery : how to use writing to explore your own thoughts, emotions, and life experiences
Overcoming ageism in writing : why age is just a number, and how older writers can find success and recognition for their work
Exploring new genres : how to step out of your comfort zone and try new styles of writing that you never thought possible.

So, whether you’re a seasoned writer or a complete beginner, this post is for you! Let’s get started on this exciting journey together.

The Benefits of Creative Writing for Senior Citizens:

Let’s be real: getting older can be tough. But the good news is, creative writing for senior citizens can offer a wide range of benefits that can help older adults stay sharp, reduce stress, and connect with others.

Here are just a few of the benefits that creative writing can offer to older adults:

Improving cognitive function : Studies have shown that engaging in creative writing can improve cognitive function in older adults, including memory, attention, and language skills. Writing can also stimulate the brain and help prevent cognitive decline associated with aging.
Reducing stress : Writing can be a great way to reduce stress and promote relaxation. It can provide a sense of accomplishment and help older adults process their emotions and experiences.
Fostering social connections : Writing can also be a great way for older adults to connect with others and build meaningful relationships. Writing groups, workshops, and classes can provide opportunities for socialization and community building.

But don’t just take our word for it! Research has shown that creative writing can offer a wide range of benefits for older adults. For example, a study published in the National Library of Medicine showed that seniors who practiced gratitude and expressive writing experienced improved physical health, resilience, and optimism.

Another study, in the Nordic Journal of Arts, Culture and Health , showed that creative writing groups for older adults provided benefits like improvement in:

Emotional processing
Creative expression
and much more

Creative Writing for Senior Citizens is Easily Accessible and Meaningful

One of the great things about creative writing is that it can be accessible and meaningful for older adults of all abilities and backgrounds.

Whether you’re an experienced writer or just starting out, writing can provide a sense of purpose and meaning, as well as opportunities for personal growth and exploration. Plus, writing can be done from anywhere, at any time, making it a convenient and flexible activity for older adults who may have mobility or scheduling challenges.

In short, creative writing can offer a wide range of benefits to older adults, from improving cognitive function and reducing stress to fostering social connections and promoting personal growth. So, why not give it a try? You never know what stories you might discover!

Overcoming Writer’s Block: Tips for Seniors

Have you ever found yourself staring at a blank page, your mind as empty as the page in front of you? We’ve all been there, and it can be especially frustrating for older writers who may feel like they’ve lost their creative spark.

But fear not! In this section, we’re going to share some tips and strategies for overcoming writer’s block and finding inspiration for writing.

The Problem of Writer’s Block

Writer’s block is a common problem for writers of all ages, but it can be especially challenging for older writers who may feel like they’ve already said everything they need to say. Writer’s block can lead to feelings of frustration, anxiety, and even self-doubt, which can further exacerbate the problem.

Tips and Strategies for Overcoming Writer’s Block

Here are some tips and strategies for overcoming writer’s block and getting your creative juices flowing:

Take a break : Sometimes the best way to overcome writer’s block is to step away from your writing for a while. Take a walk, do some yoga, or listen to music to clear your mind and come back to your writing with a fresh perspective.
Change your environment : Sometimes a change of scenery can be just what you need to break out of a creative rut. Try writing in a different location, such as a park or a coffee shop, or even just rearrange your writing space at home.
Try freewriting : Freewriting involves writing continuously for a set amount of time, without worrying about grammar, spelling, or punctuation. This can help get your creative juices flowing and break through any mental blocks you may be experiencing.
Use prompts : Prompts can be a great way to jumpstart your writing and inspire new ideas. Look for prompts online, in writing books, or even come up with your own.
Collaborate : Sometimes working with another writer can help spark new ideas and break through writer’s block. Consider joining a writing group or finding a writing buddy to collaborate with.

Establishing a Regular Writing Routine and Creating a Supportive Writing Environment

In addition to these tips and strategies, it’s important to establish a regular writing routine and create a supportive writing environment. This can help you stay motivated and productive, and also provide a sense of structure and purpose.

Here are some ideas for establishing a regular writing routine and creating a supportive writing environment:

Set goals : Whether it’s a word count, a time limit, or a specific project, setting goals can help you stay focused and motivated.
Create a writing space : Having a dedicated writing space can help you get into the writing mindset and minimize distractions.
Make writing a habit : Try to write at the same time every day, or on certain days of the week, to establish a consistent writing routine.
Find inspiration : Surround yourself with things that inspire you, such as books, art, or music, to help spark your creativity.
Stay positive : Writing can be a challenging and sometimes frustrating activity, but staying positive and celebrating your successes can help you stay motivated and inspired.

So, whether you’re experiencing writer’s block or just looking to jumpstart your creativity, these tips and strategies can help you overcome obstacles and find inspiration for writing. Remember, writing is a journey, and every word you write is a step forward.

Memoir Writing for Older Adults

Memoir writing can be a particularly rewarding activity for older adults. As we age, we accumulate a lifetime of experiences and memories, and memoir writing offers a way to reflect on those experiences and share them with others. Writing a memoir can be a deeply personal and meaningful way to leave a legacy and connect with future generations.

Getting Started with Memoir Writing and Creative Writing for Senior Citizens

If you’re interested in writing a memoir, here are some tips for getting started:

Choose a topic : Think about the experiences and memories that are most important to you. This could be a particular period of your life, a significant event, or a specific relationship.
Organize your thoughts : Once you’ve chosen a topic, it can be helpful to create an outline or a timeline to organize your thoughts and memories. This can help you structure your memoir and ensure that you include all of the important details.
Consider sensitive topics : Memoir writing can be a deeply personal and emotional process, and it’s important to be mindful of sensitive topics. Consider how you will handle difficult or traumatic memories, and think about whether you want to share them in your memoir.
Use sensory detail : Adding sensory detail can bring your memories to life and make them more vivid and compelling. Try to include descriptions of sights, sounds, smells, and textures to help your readers experience your memories with you.
Be authentic : Memoir writing is all about telling your own story, and it’s important to be authentic and true to yourself. Don’t be afraid to share your unique perspective and voice, and don’t worry about what others may think.

Successful Memoirs Written by Older Adults

There are many examples of successful memoirs written by older adults. Here are just a few:

“The Year of Magical Thinking” by Joan Didion: In this memoir, Didion reflects on the year following the sudden death of her husband and the illness of her daughter.
“Educated” by Tara Westover: In this memoir, Westover describes growing up in a strict, fundamentalist family in rural Idaho and her journey to education and independence.
“Becoming” by Michelle Obama: In this memoir, the former First Lady reflects on her life, from her childhood on the South Side of Chicago to her time in the White House.

These memoirs offer examples of how older adults can use writing to reflect on their lives and share their stories with the world.

Whether you’re writing for yourself or for a wider audience, memoir writing can be a powerful way to make sense of your experiences and leave a lasting legacy.

Building a Writing Community

Writing can be a solitary activity, but building a writing community can be a valuable way for older writers to find support, inspiration, and feedback.

A writing community can provide a sense of belonging and purpose, as well as opportunities for collaboration and growth. In this section, we’ll discuss the importance of building a writing community for older writers. We’ll provide strategies for finding and building a writing community.

The Importance of Building a Writing Community

Building a writing community can offer many benefits for older writers, including:

Support and Feedback : A writing community can provide a supportive environment where writers can share their work, receive feedback, and learn from one another.
Inspiration and Motivation : Being part of a writing community can provide inspiration and motivation, as well as opportunities for collaboration and growth.
Connection and Belonging : Writing can be a solitary activity. But being part of a writing community can provide a sense of connection and belonging. It also provides opportunities for socialization and community building.

Finding and Building a Writing Community

Here are some strategies for finding and building a writing community:

Join a Writing Group or Workshop : Look for local writing groups or workshops that focus on your area of interest. This can be a great way to meet other writers and receive feedback on your work.
Attend Writing Conferences or Retreats : Writing conferences or retreats can provide opportunities to meet other writers, learn new skills, and connect with the writing community.
Join Online Writing Communities : There are many online writing communities that offer forums, discussion boards, and other resources for writers. These communities can provide support and feedback from writers all over the world.
Participate in Writing Challenges : Writing challenges, such as National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) or writing prompts, can provide opportunities to connect with other writers and challenge yourself creatively.

Success Stories of Older Writers in Writing Communities

Many older writers have found success and inspiration through writing communities. For example, author Anne Lamott has written about the importance of her writing community in her memoir “Bird by Bird”.

Similarly, poet Donald Hall found support and inspiration through his writing community, which included writers such as Robert Frost and Richard Wilbur.

Building a writing community can be a valuable way for older writers to find support, inspiration, and feedback. Whether it’s joining a local writing group, attending a writing conference, or participating in an online community, finding a community of like-minded writers can provide a sense of belonging and purpose, as well as opportunities for growth and collaboration.

Writing for Self-Discovery with Creative Writing for Senior Citizens

Writing can be a powerful tool for self-discovery and personal growth, especially for older adults. As we age, we may find ourselves reflecting on our lives and our place in the world. Writing can provide a safe and structured way to explore these feelings and gain new insights into ourselves and our experiences.

Ways Writing Can Be a Tool for Self-Discovery

Here are a few ways that writing can be a tool for self-discovery:

Reflection : Writing can provide an opportunity to reflect on our experiences, thoughts, and feelings. This reflection can help us gain a deeper understanding of ourselves and our place in the world.
Clarification : Writing can help us clarify our thoughts and feelings. It can help us make sense of complex emotions and gain clarity on important life decisions.
Creativity : Writing can be a way to tap into our creativity and explore new ideas and perspectives. It can provide an outlet for self-expression and imagination.

Prompts and Exercises for Self-Discovery

Here are a few prompts and exercises for exploring the self-discovery aspect of writing:

Write a letter to your younger self : This exercise involves writing a letter to your younger self, offering advice, encouragement, and insight based on the wisdom you’ve gained over the years.
Reflect on a significant event or period of your life : Write about a significant event or period of your life, exploring the emotions and thoughts you experienced at the time and reflecting on what you’ve learned since then.
Explore your values and beliefs : Write about your values and beliefs. Explore where they come from and how they’ve evolved over the years.
Try stream-of-consciousness writing : This exercise involves writing continuously for a set period of time, without worrying about grammar, spelling, or punctuation. The goal is to let your thoughts flow freely and see where your writing takes you.

How These Activities Can Help

By engaging in these prompts and exercises, writers can tap into their creativity and gain new insights into themselves and their lives. Writing can provide a safe and structured way to explore complex emotions and ideas. It can help writers clarify their thoughts and gain a deeper understanding of themselves and their experiences.

Whether you’re writing for yourself or for a wider audience, the self-discovery aspect of writing can be a powerful tool for personal growth and exploration.

Overcoming Ageism in Writing

Ageism in the writing world can be a real issue for older writers, who may face barriers to publication, representation, and recognition. Despite the wealth of knowledge and experience that older writers can bring to the table, there can be a perception that their work is less relevant or marketable than that of younger writers.

The Issue of Ageism in Writing

Ageism can manifest in many ways in the writing world, such as:

Perceived lack of relevance : There can be a perception that older writers’ work is less relevant or marketable than that of younger writers, particularly in genres such as YA or romance.
Stereotyping : Older writers may be stereotyped as out of touch or technologically illiterate. This can impact their ability to reach a wider audience.
Barriers to publication and representation : Older writers may face barriers to publication or representation due to their age, such as assumptions that they are not interested in pursuing a writing career or that they are less capable of producing successful work.

Creative Writing for Senior Citizens – Strategies for Overcoming Ageism in Writing

Here are some strategies for overcoming ageism and finding success as an older writer:

Build a strong online presence . Building a strong online presence can help older writers reach a wider audience and overcome age-related stereotypes. This can include social media accounts, a personal website, or a blog.
Emphasize unique perspectives and life experiences . Older writers can leverage their unique perspectives and life experiences to create compelling and relevant work. By emphasizing what sets them apart, they can challenge age-related stereotypes and connect with readers.
Seek out age-inclusive writing communities . Older writers can benefit from seeking out writing communities that are inclusive of all ages, where they can connect with other writers and receive feedback on their work.
Continuously develop skills and knowledge . By continuously developing skills and knowledge, older writers can stay current and demonstrate their ongoing commitment to the craft of writing.

Examples of Successful Older Writers

There are many examples of successful older writers who have overcome ageism and achieved recognition for their work. For example, Toni Morrison published her first novel, “The Bluest Eye”, at the age of 39, and went on to become one of the most acclaimed writers of her generation.

Similarly, Maya Angelou published her landmark memoir, “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings”, at the age of 41. She continued to publish influential works throughout her career.

The Oldest Debut Novelist on Record

And here’s one for the record books! Lorna Page is an inspiration to readers and authors alike. At the age of 101, she achieved a remarkable milestone in becoming the oldest debut novelist on record with her 2019 book Glimpses of the Other Side.

Page’s story begins long before that, when she – born in 1917 – was raised by a single mom. She worked throughout World War II and had a career as an office manager in London. Her enthusiasm for writing was fueled by her natural curiosity about people, places, and events, which resulted in a variety of short stories over the years.

In her later life, Page continued to follow her passion for writing until finally publishing Glimpses of the Other Side. She achieved literary greatness at an incredible age.

Exploring New Genres

Exploring new genres and styles can be an important way for older writers to challenge themselves creatively and find renewed passion for writing. Even if you’ve been writing for years, trying new things can help you grow as a writer. You can expand your skills and perspectives.

Why It’s Important to Explore New Genres

Exploring new genres can offer many benefits for older writers, including:

Challenging yourself creatively : Trying new genres and styles can challenge you creatively and push you out of your comfort zone.
Expanding your skills and perspectives : Writing in different genres can expand your skills and perspectives. It can help you grow as a writer and gain new insights into the craft.
Finding a renewed passion for writing : Exploring new genres can be a way to reignite your passion for writing. Find new inspiration and motivation.

Tips and Strategies for Branching Out with Creative Writing for Senior Citizens

Here are some tips and strategies for exploring new genres:

Take writing classes : Taking writing classes or workshops can be a great way to learn about different genres and styles. You can receive guidance and feedback from instructors and peers.
Join writing groups that focus on different genres : Joining writing groups that focus on different genres can provide opportunities to connect with other writers. Socialize, share your work, and receive feedback on your writing.
Read widely : Reading widely can expose you to different genres and styles. It helps you develop an understanding of the conventions and techniques that are unique to each genre.
Practice writing exercises : Try writing exercises that focus on different genres. This can help you develop your skills and get a feel for the unique challenges and opportunities that each genre presents.

Examples of Successful Genre Transitions

Many successful writers have transitioned to new genres and found a renewed passion for writing. For example, Stephen King has written successful novels in a variety of genres, including horror, science fiction, and mystery.

Similarly, Margaret Atwood has written in a variety of genres, including historical fiction, science fiction, and speculative fiction.

Exploring new genres can be an important way for older writers to challenge themselves creatively. They can find a renewed passion for writing.

Conclusion and Final Thoughts on Creative Writing for Senior Citizens

Creative writing can be a powerful tool for self-expression, personal growth, and connection. It’s never too late to start exploring your own creativity and passion for writing.

For older adults, in particular, creative writing can offer a wealth of benefits, including improved cognitive function, reduced stress, and opportunities for social connection and personal growth.

Encouragement to Try New Things

By trying out some of the tips and strategies discussed in this post, you can tap into your own creativity and find new inspiration and motivation for writing.

Whether it’s joining a writing group, taking a writing class, or simply practicing writing exercises on your own, there are many ways to explore your own passion for writing and connect with others who share your interests.

Final Thoughts on Creative Writing for Senior Citizens

If you’re an older adult who has always been interested in writing, or if you’re looking for a new hobby or creative outlet, why not give creative writing a try?

With the potential benefits that it can offer, from improved cognitive function to reduced stress and enhanced personal growth, there’s never been a better time to start exploring your own creativity and passion for writing.

So take a deep breath, grab a pen and paper, and see where your writing journey takes you!

Elizabeth Crane

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How Creative Writing Exercises Keep Senior Minds Active

Everybody knows that the key to keeping our muscles strong, regardless of our age, is to put them to use by exercising on a regular basis.

So, it makes perfect sense that we want to keep our senior loved one’s mind in top condition, too! Studies show that creative writing is a great way for seniors to keep their cognitive skills sharp , including those who have been diagnosed and living with dementia.

Top three benefits of creative writing exercises for seniors:

It stimulates the mind. Older adults, who are often retired and tend to spend less time socializing than they did when they were younger, can easily fall into the monotony of a daily routine. Creative writing breaks seniors out of that mental rut by simply requiring them to think more deeply about what they’re doing.
It’s an emotional outlet. Many senior loved ones feel isolated and alone when they aren’t socializing with family and friends frequently. Creative writing exercises provide a way for them to express their feelings instead of keeping them bottled up inside. This can be especially helpful for those older adults with memory issues that cause them frustration, anxiety and fear. Not only does committing their thoughts to paper give seniors a way to address their emotional needs, but completing a writing project can provide them with a sense of pride and accomplishment.
It can stir the memory. Thinking creatively often causes us to deeply examine our thoughts and experiences, which can lead to the rediscovery of long-forgotten memories and refresh our recollections of things that might otherwise be forgotten.

Starting a creative writing project?

Fortunately, there are a lot of different types of creative writing, so there are plenty of options from which to choose.

And you may want to sit down with your senior loved one to find out what interests them before getting started.

They could create work on their own memoir or autobiography , writing about their life experiences for their grandchildren and great-grandchildren to explore in the future. Asking questions about their life and helping commit their thoughts to written words are also a great way for the loved one to connect with Mom or Dad, resulting in a rewarding endeavor for everyone involved.
If short and sweet is better, they could create original poetry . One of the great things about writing poetry is that there are basically no rules. It can be as long or short as the writer wants to make it. It can rhyme, but it doesn’t have to. Unless the creator is committed to a rigid format, such as penning a haiku, they can make their creative work anything they want it to be.
If they want to take an exciting adventure or solve a puzzling mystery, formulating fictional stories might be more their style. Not only does making up an entire story from start to finish really get the creative juices flowing. It’s a great way for your senior loved one to indulge themselves with a break from everyday monotony.
Although it’s something of a lost art, penning a hand-written letter, whether they intend to send it or not, could be a comfortable way to get started. Writing a letter to an old friend or family member can be a great way to uncover long-forgotten memories and make mental connections.

Regardless of the format your senior chooses, there are a couple things to remember as you embark on this new, constructive hobby.

First, be patient and supportive . Often when writing, getting started is the toughest part – and that’s true even for people who write regularly. Someone new to creative writing exercises might initially be reluctant or possibly intimidated by the task, so give them plenty of time to get comfortable.

Second, don’t be afraid to join in . Writing doesn’t have to be a solo activity. Grab a seat at the table with your senior loved one and create with them. You may want to team up to make memories together. It’s often easier to do something new when you have a partner by your side. Make sure you keep things positive to make your new writing project something your senior loved one looks forward to each time.

Just remember that as we age, it’s not WHAT we write, it’s THAT we write to help keep our cognitive skills and memories sharp!

For more ideas to inspire creativity with seniors, visit our health and wellness blog!

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Feeling Artsy? Here's How Making Art Helps Your Brain

Malaka Gharib

Credit: Meredith Rizzo/NPR

A lot of my free time is spent doodling. I'm a journalist on NPR's science desk by day. But all the time in between, I am an artist — specifically, a cartoonist.

I draw in between tasks. I sketch at the coffee shop before work. And I like challenging myself to complete a zine — a little magazine — on my 20-minute bus commute.

I do these things partly because it's fun and entertaining. But I suspect there's something deeper going on. Because when I create, I feel like it clears my head. It helps me make sense of my emotions. And it somehow, it makes me feel calmer and more relaxed.

Explore Life Kit

This story comes from an episode of Life Kit , NPR's podcast with tools to help you get it together. For more, sign up for the newsletter and follow @NPRLifeKit on Twitter .

Making Art Is Good For Your Health. Here's How To Start A Habit

That made me wonder: What is going on in my brain when I draw? Why does it feel so nice? And how can I get other people — even if they don't consider themselves artists — on the creativity train?

It turns out there's a lot happening in our minds and bodies when we make art.

"Creativity in and of itself is important for remaining healthy, remaining connected to yourself and connected to the world," says Christianne Strang , a professor of neuroscience at the University of Alabama Birmingham and the former president of the American Art Therapy Association .

This idea extends to any type of visual creative expression: drawing, painting, collaging, sculpting clay, writing poetry, cake decorating, knitting, scrapbooking — the sky's the limit.

"Anything that engages your creative mind — the ability to make connections between unrelated things and imagine new ways to communicate — is good for you," says Girija Kaimal . She is a professor at Drexel University and a researcher in art therapy, leading art sessions with members of the military suffering from traumatic brain injury and caregivers of cancer patients.

Shots - Health News

Can poetry keep you young science is still out, but the heart says yes.

But she's a big believer that art is for everybody — and no matter what your skill level, it's something you should try to do on a regular basis. Here's why:

It helps you imagine a more hopeful future

Art's ability to flex our imaginations may be one of the reasons why we've been making art since we were cave-dwellers, says Kaimal. It might serve an evolutionary purpose. She has a theory that art-making helps us navigate problems that might arise in the future. She wrote about this in October in the Journal of the American Art Therapy Association .

Her theory builds off of an idea developed in the last few years — that our brain is a predictive machine. The brain uses "information to make predictions about we might do next — and more importantly what we need to do next to survive and thrive," says Kaimal.

When you make art, you're making a series of decisions — what kind of drawing utensil to use, what color, how to translate what you're seeing onto the paper. And ultimately, interpreting the images — figuring out what it means.

Make This: "How To Start An Art Habit" Zine

This zine covers the basics of starting an art habit. Print it out here , and carry its inspiration wherever you go. ( Folding directions courtesy of The Oregonian ).

"So what our brain is doing every day, every moment, consciously and unconsciously, is trying to imagine what is going to come and preparing yourself to face that," she says.

Kaimal has seen this play out at her clinical practice as an art therapist with a student who was severely depressed. "She was despairing. Her grades were really poor and she had a sense of hopelessness," she recalls.

The student took out a piece of paper and colored the whole sheet with thick black marker. Kaimal didn't say anything.

"She looked at that black sheet of paper and stared at it for some time," says Kaimal. "And then she said, 'Wow. That looks really dark and bleak.' "

And then something amazing happened, says Kaimal. The student looked around and grabbed some pink sculpting clay. And she started making ... flowers: "She said, you know what? I think maybe this reminds me of spring."

Art Studio Helps Adults With Disabilities Turn Their Passion Into A Career

Through that session and through creating art, says Kaimal, the student was able to imagine possibilities and see a future beyond the present moment in which she was despairing and depressed.

"This act of imagination is actually an act of survival," she says. "It is preparing us to imagine possibilities and hopefully survive those possibilities."

It activates the reward center of our brain

For a lot of people, making art can be nerve-wracking. What are you going to make? What kind of materials should you use? What if you can't execute it? What if it ... sucks?

Studies show that despite those fears, "engaging in any sort of visual expression results in the reward pathway in the brain being activated," says Kaimal. "Which means that you feel good and it's perceived as a pleasurable experience."

She and a team of researchers discovered this in a 2017 paper published in the journal The Arts in Psychotherapy . They measured blood flow to the brain's reward center, the medial prefrontal cortex, in 26 participants as they completed three art activities: coloring in a mandala, doodling and drawing freely on a blank sheet of paper. And indeed — the researchers found an increase in blood flow to this part of the brain when the participants were making art.

This research suggests making art may have benefit for people dealing with health conditions that activate the reward pathways in the brain, like addictive behaviors, eating disorders or mood disorders, the researchers wrote.

It lowers stress

Although the research in the field of art therapy is emerging, there's evidence that making art can lower stress and anxiety. In a 2016 paper in the Journal of the American Art Therapy Association , Kaimal and a group of researchers measured cortisol levels of 39 healthy adults. Cortisol is a hormone that helps the body respond to stress.

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They found that 45 minutes of creating art in a studio setting with an art therapist significant lowered cortisol levels.

The paper also showed that there were no differences in health outcomes between people who identify as experienced artists and people who don't. So that means that no matter your skill level, you'll be able to feel all the good things that come with making art.

It lets you focus deeply

Ultimately, says Kaimal, making art should induce what the scientific community calls "flow" — the wonderful thing that happens when you're in the zone. "It's that sense of losing yourself, losing all awareness. You're so in the moment and fully present that you forget all sense of time and space," she says.

And what's happening in your brain when you're in flow state? "It activates several networks including relaxed reflective state, focused attention to task and sense of pleasure," she says. Kaimal points to a 2018 study published in the journal Frontiers in Psychology , which found that flow was characterized by increased theta wave activity in the frontal areas of the brain — and moderate alpha wave activities in the frontal and central areas.

So what kind of art should you try?

Some types of art appear to yield greater health benefits than others.

Kaimal says modeling clay, for example, is wonderful to play around with. "It engages both your hands and many parts of your brain in sensory experiences," she says. "Your sense of touch, your sense of three-dimensional space, sight, maybe a little bit of sound — all of these are engaged in using several parts of yourself for self-expression, and likely to be more beneficial."

A number of studies have shown that coloring inside a shape — specifically a pre-drawn geometric mandala design — is more effective in boosting mood than coloring on a blank paper or even coloring inside a square shape. And one 2012 study published in Journal of the American Art Therapy Association showed that coloring inside a mandala reduces anxiety to a greater degree compared to coloring in a plaid design or a plain sheet of paper.

Strang says there's no one medium or art activity that's "better" than another. "Some days you want to may go home and paint. Other days you might want to sketch," she says. "Do what's most beneficial to you at any given time."

Process your emotions

It's important to note: if you're going through serious mental health distress, you should seek the guidance of a professional art therapist, says Strang.

However, if you're making art to connect with your own creativity, decrease anxiety and hone your coping skills, "by all means, figure out how to allow yourself to do that," she says.

Just let those "lines, shapes and colors translate your emotional experience into something visual," she says. "Use the feelings that you feel in your body, your memories. Because words don't often get it."

Her words made me reflect on all those moments when I reached into my purse for my pen and sketchbook. A lot of the time, I was using my drawings and little musings to communicate how I was feeling. What I was doing was helping myself deal. It was cathartic. And that catharsis gave me a sense of relief.

A few months ago, I got into an argument with someone. On my bus ride to work the next day, I was still stewing over it. In frustration, I pulled out my notebook and wrote out the old adage, "Do not let the world make you hard."

View this post on Instagram left this(very common saying)on the back of the x1 bus going downtown,for anyone A post shared by malaka🥀gharib (@malakagharib)on Jul 10,2019 at 5:54am PDT

I carefully ripped the message off the page and affixed it to the seat in front of me on the bus. I thought, let this be a reminder to anyone who reads it!

I took a photo of the note and posted it to my Instagram. Looking back at the image later that night, I realized who the message was really for. Myself.

Malaka Gharib is a writer and editor on NPR's science desk and the author of I Was Their American Dream: A Graphic Memoir .

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Creativity and art therapies to promote healthy aging: A scoping review

The purpose of this scoping review is to investigate the value of creative arts therapies in healthy older adults. This article aims to shed light on current knowledge concerning the effectiveness of art therapies (ATs) for the prevention of common age-related conditions using the definition of art therapy provided by the American Art Therapy Association (AATA), as well as Cohen’s conceptual framework for the psychological conceptualization of the relationship between the arts and health in later life. The objective is to carefully capture subthreshold situations of distress, which are often not taken into account and primarily involve psychological aspects that are crucial in the multidimensional perspective of healthy aging. Twelve articles were selected and examined following an initial electronic search on 3 databases. A thematic analysis of the results identified four major themes: improving cognitive performance and proprioception; enhancing self-identity and meaningful life; reducing feelings of loneliness and depressive symptoms; and the importance of socialization. All these aspects constitute the basis for preventing psychological distress and enhancing mental well-being for healthy aging.

Introduction

The percentage of older adults is projected to nearly double between 2015 and 2050, from about 12 to 22% of the global population ( World Health Organization, 2021 ). Aging of the population causes an increase in multimorbidity ( OECD, 2020 ). Beyond physical ailments, older age is associated with a higher risk of mental diseases ( Jokela et al., 2013 ), the most prevalent of which is depression: a study identified dimensional depression and lifetime major depression as the most prevalent mental health disorders in later life ( Volkert et al., 2013 ).

The onset of mental health problems, such as depressive symptoms and emotional distress, may also coincide with very common existential events, such as the transition from work to retirement ( Lucas et al., 2017 ), or as a reaction to adverse life events, such as the bereavement of a spouse ( Fried et al., 2015 ). Depression is also linked to physical health. For instance, older adults with physical health concerns such as heart disease have higher rates of depression than healthy older adults ( Fiske et al., 2009 ). Untreated depression in an older person suffering from heart disease can have detrimental effects on the individual’s physical health and well-being ( World Health Organization, 2017 ; Hazell et al., 2019 ). Recent studies have also demonstrated that depression can increase the risk of developing dementia ( Hazell et al., 2019 ; Cantón-Habas et al., 2020 ). Acting on the early symptoms of depression and mental distress may reduce the risk of developing early cognitive impairment. Although fairly prevalent, depression in older adults is often disregarded by both healthcare professionals and older adults themselves, with the latter receiving psychotherapy far less frequently than younger people ( Jokela et al., 2013 ). In fact, the stigma associated with mental health issues generally discourages the current generation of older adults from seeking assistance. Mental health is a determinant of healthy aging ( Jeste et al., 2022 ). Therefore, from a preventive perspective, its promotion can help older adults lead a meaningful and fulfilling life, particularly through early interventions for initial depressive symptoms ( World Health Organization, 2020 ).

The literature suggests that psychosocial (non-pharmacological) interventions can help improve older adults’ mental health ( Chen et al., 2021 ). In primary care, bibliotherapy, life review, problem-solving therapy, and cognitive behavioral exercise treatments are available for the treatment of late-life depression ( Holvast et al., 2017 ; Chen et al., 2021 ). Since the late 1930s, art therapy (AT) has been recognized as an intervention for mental health patients in America and the United Kingdom ( Malchiodi, 2006 ; Stuckey and Nobel, 2010 ; Fancourt and Finn, 2019 ; American Art Therapy Association, 2021 ).

Moreover, the potential for creativity and expression was recently incorporated into the gerontology and social science concepts of aging. In fact, older individuals who are unfettered by choices and responsibilities can make room in their lives for self-expression, self-identity, and creativity ( Erikson, 1959 ; Cohen, 2000 ). This perspective can have a significant impact on research and the conceptualization of the relationship between the arts and health in later life.

According to the American Art Therapy Association (AATA; American Art Therapy Association, 2021 ), art therapy, facilitated by a fully trained art therapist, is a treatment option used in ongoing sessions to “improve cognitive and sensorimotor functions, foster self-esteem and self-awareness, cultivate emotional resilience, promote insight, enhance social skills, reduce and resolve conflicts and distress, and advance societal and ecological change.” The AATA adds that, through integrative methods, AT engages the mind, body, and spirit in ways that are distinct from verbal articulation alone. Kinesthetic, sensory, perceptual, and symbolic opportunities open the door to alternative modes of receptive and expressive communication, which can circumvent the limitations of language. Visual and symbolic expressions give voice to experience and empower individual, communal, and societal transformation. According to the AATA, AT is a type of therapy that enhances mental health through “active art-making, creative process, applied psychological theory, and human experience.”

The goal of ATs is to improve or restore the person’s functioning and sense of personal well-being ( American Art Therapy Association, 2021 ). Recent scientific literature has demonstrated that the use of artistic media in healthcare can have lasting benefits on health outcomes. The arts can influence the social determinants of health, encourage health-promoting behaviors, aid in the prevention of health issues, and support caregiving. They can also reduce stress, which helps prevent or slow the progression of a range of conditions, including cardiovascular diseases ( Stuckey and Nobel, 2010 ; Fancourt and Finn, 2019 ). Creating and experiencing the arts can have profound effects on those afflicted by mental illness. Their ability to provide cognitive stimulation is effective in treating dementia and other age-related conditions ( Deshmukh et al., 2018 ). Art as a means of emotional processing can be effective in the treatment of depression and anxiety ( Abbing et al., 2019 ).

Furthermore, the social interaction associated with the practice of the arts can be an effective way to prevent mental illness risk factors, including loneliness, discrimination, and diminished social capital. Social capital is defined as the networks of relationships among people who live and work in a particular society, enabling that society to function effectively ( Fancourt and Finn, 2019 ).

According to Carr and Hass-Cohen (2008) , creative expression and ATs in the field of gerontology can promote healthy aging by fostering a sense of control and the development of positive emotions that can influence physical health, brain plasticity, sense of control mechanisms, and social engagement, as briefly described below.

Influence of the mind on physical health. The field of study that helps us understand brain–body relationships is called psychoneuroimmunology (PNI) and refers to the influence of the mind, as mediated through the brain or central nervous system, on the body or immune system ( Kiecolt-Glaser et al., 2002a ). Based on their studies ( Kiecolt-Glaser et al., 2002b ) on the effects of positive emotions on the immune system, PNI scientists believe that the positive feelings associated with a sense of control trigger a response in the brain that sends a signal to the immune system to produce more beneficial immune system cells.

Brain plasticity. The field of behavioral neuroscience has revolutionized the way we understand the brain’s ability to adapt and remain vital, which is referred to as brain plasticity ( Kramer et al., 2004 ). The use of colors, gestures, and materials stimulate areas of the brain located within the limbic or emotions system, and particularly the hippocampus, which is responsible for the formation of new brain cells ( Stern, 2009 ). With targeted stimulation, the density and mass of the hippocampus may be increased or preserved, thereby continuing neurogenesis well into old age ( Stern, 2009 ). Therefore, art therapists have initiated the development of a neurobiological framework for AT theory and practice.

Sense of control mechanism. The arts provide some of the best opportunities for experiencing a new sense of control or mastery. The arts present unlimited opportunities to create something new and beautiful, while simultaneously providing an enormous sense of satisfaction and empowerment.

Social engagement. As a mechanism for promoting health, a growing number of studies ( Bassuk et al., 1999 ; Hebblethwaite et al., 2021 ) have indicated that social engagement in later life has a positive influence on general health and reduces mortality ( Avlund et al., 1998 ). Many forms of art provide significant opportunities for social engagement, including chorales, poetry groups, bands and other instrumental groups, and groups that engage in painting, writing, drama, and dance.

The purpose of the scoping review

Many studies have proved that the use of AT interventions can improve older adults’ perceptions of health, well-being, and quality of life, consequently reducing the risk of depression and physical and cognitive decline ( Im and Lee, 2014 ; Van Lith, 2016 ).

However, the majority of the literature focuses on older adults with pre-existing illnesses, and just a few studies have examined the potential of creativity and the arts as a means of preventing mental illness in older adults who live independently in the community. According to the Arksey and O’Malley (2005) framework, the first step in conducting a scoping review is to define the research questions. Therefore, the questions that guided this review are: (1) what are the effects of AT interventions on the independent elderly population? And (2) in what ways do they promote healthy aging? Advancing on previous studies and literature reviews on ATs, this work aims to investigate AT interventions driven by the multi-dimensional healthy aging paradigm ( World Health Organization, 2020 ) to prevent health disorders and improve quality of life for older adults (average age of 60 years or older, as defined by the WHO; Van Lith, 2016 ; World health Organization, 2022 ) who have no diagnosed pathologies significantly impacting everyday living and are neither hospitalized nor residing in care facilities.

Materials and methods

As outlined in Arksey and O’Malley (2005) framework, the methodology of this scoping review is based on the following stages: (1) define the research question; (2) identify the relevant literature; (3) select the studies; (4) map out the data; and (5) summarize, synthesize, and report the results. The findings of each stage are described in this paper’s corresponding section.

Eligibility criteria and search strategy

Since we make reference to the concept of prevention, we included quantitative and qualitative studies based on AT interventions on community-dwelling older people without conditions that severely impair daily independence, such as Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s disease. Conversely, we included chronic diseases that are not in an acute phase and are controlled, such as diabetes and cardiovascular disease. The first and third authors conducted an electronic database search on February 9, 2021 using PubMed, ProQuest—Psychology Database, CINAHL Complete—EBSCOHost, to find research publications focusing on the application of ATs and their potential to promote the well-being of older adults. After conducting a pilot search in the selected databases, minor adjustments were made to correct search terms. Finally, a combination of Boolean operator and key terms comprising free terms was applied to the literature search, as shown in Table 1 .

Search criteria in different database.

The word followed by an asterisk (*) is used for searching for all terms that begin with the related specif word.

Based on the PRISMA extension for scoping reviews ( Tricco et al., 2018 ) and the search strategy, a total of 1,422 articles were identified through database searches, and 537 duplicates were manually identified and removed. Five different eligibility criteria were implemented for the article selection process. First, only research papers were considered; review articles, dissertations, and position papers were excluded. This was related to the objective of this scoping review, which sought to investigate evidence-based experience of AT-driven studies and their effectiveness in reducing the risk of depression and other mental health issues and promoting healthy aging in older adults. Additional selection criteria were centered on the selected methodological approach, which had to be based on ATs and focused on a psychological theoretical framework. Moreover, specific criteria were related to the subjects’ characteristics, that is, an average age of 60 years or older, no chronic or specific pathologies severely affecting everyday living, and not hospitalized or in care or nursing homes. Younger subjects or non-age-defined target groups were excluded. Finally, this scoping review only included articles written in English.

Data collection and extraction

The first, second, and third authors chose 885 articles by title and abstract, following each author’s individual selection process. The first author’s screening process was checked by the second to verify the accuracy of the selection process described in the PRISMA chart ( Moher et al., 2009 ; see Figure 1 ). Each author’s results were consistent with those of the other authors once the eligibility criteria were applied.

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The PRISMA flow chart for reporting the study screening process.

Review of studies

Article selection based on full-text reading was simultaneously conducted in the three different databases by the first three authors. All full texts were then reviewed by the first author, who also performed a thematic analysis of the included articles and shared them with the co-authors for re-reading and content flow arrangement. They were subsequently shared with the final author, who provided an independent evaluation and oversight. Data analysis led to the identification of central themes through a process of inductive thematic content analysis ( Braun and Clarke, 2006 ). The authors read the articles in order to find specific meanings and common patterns in the use of ATs and intervention outcomes, from which they constructed initial “codes” that were then categorized based on their similarities. The latter were categorized into themes as described in Table 2 .

Selected studies by purpose and method.

Description of selected studies

The search returned 885 results. Following the elimination of 760 articles based on the analysis of titles and abstracts, the remaining 125 full articles were assessed for eligibility. This selection process culminated in the final inclusion of 12 eligible articles (see Figure 1 ).

In accordance with the framework proposed by Arksey and O’Malley (2005) ; Table 2 provides an overview of the selected studies, which are discussed in more detail below. The earliest study was conducted in the United Kingdom in 2006, while the most recent article, which was also conducted in the United Kingdom, was published in 2020. More than half of the selected studies are from the Americas, including four from the United States, one from Argentina, and one from Canada. Two studies are Australian. Finally, there are five European studies, including three from the United Kingdom, one from Finland, and one from Portugal. The selected articles have different sample sizes, ranging from 5 to 235 individuals, based on the adopted research methodology. Only McCarthy et al. (2019) focused on one-gender participants, with 20 women in their study, while all the other studies included both women and men. The selected articles were based on studies that evaluated the impact of different types of ATs on general life domains such as health and well-being ( Poulos et al., 2019 ), quality of life ( Diaz Abrahan et al., 2019 ; Malyn et al., 2020 ), and the general arts experiences ( McCarthy et al., 2019 ), or specific sub-domains such as social isolation ( Greaves and Farbus, 2006 ) and proprioception ( Marmeleira et al., 2009 ). Other sub-domains are cognition ( Pitkala et al., 2011 ; Alders Pike, 2013 ), motivation ( Stephenson, 2013 ), and depression ( Ilali et al., 2018 ).

In terms of the research method, four studies adopted a qualitative method ( Engelbrecht and Shoemark, 2015 ; Ilali et al., 2018 ; McCarthy et al., 2019 ; Malyn et al., 2020 ), five a quantitative approach ( Marmeleira et al., 2009 ; Alders Pike, 2013 ; Stephenson, 2013 ; Ilali et al., 2018 ; Diaz Abrahan et al., 2019 ), and three a quant-qual methodology ( Greaves and Farbus, 2006 ; Engelbrecht and Shoemark, 2015 ; Poulos et al., 2019 ). Seven studies included a pre-post assessment or one or two follow-ups ( Greaves and Farbus, 2006 ; Marmeleira et al., 2009 ; Pitkala et al., 2011 ; Alders Pike, 2013 ; Stephenson, 2013 ; Engelbrecht and Shoemark, 2015 ; Ilali et al., 2018 ; Poulos et al., 2019 ; Schoales et al., 2020 ). The studies involved different interventions.

Four of the studies included multiple types of ATs ( Greaves and Farbus, 2006 ; Pitkala et al., 2011 ; McCarthy et al., 2019 ; Poulos et al., 2019 ). The other studies are more specific in terms of the type of AT used: one study discusses creative writing ( Malyn et al., 2020 ), two studies focus on AT and its therapeutic models (detailed below; Stephenson, 2013 ; Ilali et al., 2018 ), two studies discuss music therapy ( Engelbrecht and Shoemark, 2015 ; Diaz Abrahan et al., 2019 ), one study discusses creative dance ( Marmeleira et al., 2009 ), and one study focuses on digital storytelling ( Schoales et al., 2020 ). The AT interventions described in the selected studies last between a minimum of 2 months to a year or more, except for the digital storytelling intervention (a three-day workshop; Schoales et al., 2020 ) and the five one-hour sessions of technology-mediated music therapy ( Engelbrecht and Shoemark, 2015 ). The studies are listed in Table 2 in chronological order; however, for the sake of logic and clarity of presentation, we will discuss them on the basis of the intervention methodology employed.

Multimethod studies

McCarthy and colleagues ( McCarthy et al., 2019 ) applied and examined the Psychoeducational Approach to Transcendence and Health (PATH) program by engaging 20 older women in an 8-week theory-based intervention combining mindfulness exercises, group processes, and creative projects reinforced by home practice. The program is based on Reed’s self-transcendence theory ( Reed, 2018 ). Self-transcendence is a developmental process inherent in later life that shapes one’s perspective on self, others, the material world, and the spiritual or existential dimension. In the older adult population, self-transcendence has been associated with well-being, meaning in life, hope and transcending loss, decreased depression, resilience, sense of coherence and purpose in life, inner strength, flexibility and creativity, more satisfying social relationships, improved physical and mental health, and improved self-care.

The Art on Prescription (AOP) Model evaluated by Poulos et al. (2019) reflects the international shift from the biomedical model of health to a more holistic approach, which sees health as “complete physical, mental, and social well-being” ( Rigby, 2004 ). In this study, conducted in Sydney, Australia, 127 older adults were referred to the program by their healthcare practitioners. Professional artists led courses in visual art, photography, dance and movement, drama, singing, or music with the aim of aiding recovery and promoting healthy aging. A pre-post quantitative and qualitative evaluation was carried out. Quantitative assessments included the Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well Being Scale (WEMWBS; Tennant et al., 2007 ) and a common assessment tool (CAT) developed ad hoc for the study, which incorporated measures of frailty.

Focus groups and individual interview topic guides were used as qualitative tools.

The Upstream model adopted by Greaves and Farbus (2006) is a complex intervention for preventing social isolation and depression in older people. The model promotes active social contact ( McAuley et al., 2000 ), encourages creativity ( Smith and Andersson, 1989 ), and uses mentoring ( Bennetts, 2000 ). A wide range of activities were provided: painting, printmaking, creative writing, Tai Chi, reminiscence, music, and others, in a vast study that involved 172 participants at baseline, 72 at 6 months, and 51 at 12 months. The model was evaluated by using both quantitative [e.g., Geriatric Depression Scale ( Sheikh and Yesavage, 1986 ); SF12 Health Quality of Life ( Huo et al., 2018 ); Medical Outcomes Study Social Support Scale ( Sherbourne and Stewart, 1991 )] and qualitative measures (semi-structured individual interviews with 26 participants, 5 careers, and 4 health professionals and focus groups).

Pitkala et al. (2011) selected a very large sample of 235 lonely older adults for a psychosocial group intervention that included art and stimulating activities, exercise and nature, therapeutic writing, and a verbal discussion at the conclusion of each meeting. The group leaders were nurses, occupational therapists, or physiotherapists who had received detailed training ( Pitkala et al., 2004 ). To investigate the cognitive effects of socially stimulating group therapies, this study used the following tools at baseline, 3 months, and after 1 year: the Charlson comorbidity index ( Charlson et al., 1987 ), which takes into account the number and severity of comorbid conditions; the Mini Mental State (MMSE; Folstein et al., 1975 ); CDR ( Hughes et al., 1982 ), which is a clinical scale for identifying the stage of cognitive impairment or dementia; the ADAS-Cog ( Rosen et al., 1984 ), which consists of a set of brief neuropsychological evaluation tools used to assess the severity of dementia cognitive symptoms; and the 15D measure ( Sintonen, 2001 ) that is a generic, comprehensive, 15-dimensional, standardized, self-administered measure of health-related quality of life (HRQoL).

Art therapy studies

The Alders Pike (2013) study examined the effects of 10 weeks of AT on cognitive performance in a moderate-sized, ethnically diverse sample of 91 older adults. In this experience, cognitive training strategies served as a framework, and a specific protocol was used and implemented by all the art therapists involved, employing a pre and post-test design and utilizing the Clock Drawing Test (CDT; Nishiwaki et al., 2004 ) and the Cognitive Failures Questionnaire (CFQ; Wagle et al., 1999 ).

The Stephenson (2013) study reported the results of a program based on the Creative Aging Therapeutic Services (CATS), which forms part of a longitudinal community program founded on the belief that art-making can be a meaningful and important component of aging well, as framed by Tornstam’s theory of gerotranscendence ( Tornstam, 2005 ). Seventy older adults participated in an open, non-directive AT art studio for 6 years ( Finkel and Bat Or, 2020 ). Participants shared their thoughts, ideas, and feelings regarding their own artwork and the artwork of other participants at weekly group meetings.

There was no mention of whether the group discussions were guided by a topic, of who moderated the sessions, or how the content was analyzed. Ilali et al. (2018) investigated the impact of an AT-based life review process on depressive symptoms in a sample of 54 older adults. This technique can be employed as a primary, evidence-based treatment for depression in later life ( Korte et al., 2012 ). The life review’s therapeutic aspect appears to be the revival of memories of past experiences and conflicts, which can lead to reassessment, identification of solutions, and the possibility of the individual’s improved coherence and sense of integrity. A life review is typically structured around one or more family-centered life themes, ranging from a person’s childhood to their experience as a parent or grandparent ( Haber, 2006 ).

Music therapy studies

The study by Diaz Abrahan et al. (2019) assessed the impact of weekly music therapy meetings on a group of 30 older adults as a non-pharmacological strategy to improve older people’s quality of life in order to promote healthy aging or prevent pathological aging.

The pre-post intervention study conducted by Engelbrecht and Shoemark (2015) on five community-dwelling older women explored the acceptability and efficacy of using iPads as opposed to traditional music instruments to administer music therapy. They used both qualitative and quantitative tools, such as diary writing ( Jacelon and Imperio, 2005 ), the Friendship Scale to quantify older people’s social isolation ( Hawthorne, 2006 ), and the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale ( Rosenberg, 1965 ).

Creative dance study

Marmeleira et al. (2009) measured knee proprioception and kinesthesia with the Joint Position Sense (JPS; Riemann et al., 2002 ) and Biodex System 2 (Biodex Medical Systems, Shirley, New York) to assess the impact of a 12-month creative dance program on proprioception in a group of 37 older adults. In this study, creative dance is defined as a particular form of dance that does not require years of training and lacks predetermined performance standards ( Lewis and Scannell, 1995 ).

Creative writing and digital storytelling studies

Malyn et al. (2020) implemented a program that focused on community-based bibliotherapy and therapeutic creative writing groups. Four overarching themes concerning the relationship with the self, with others, with facilitators, and with an intermediary object emerged from the qualitative analysis of the interviews with the 20 participants. The study by Schoales et al. (2020) relied on the technique of creative digital storytelling with the use of technology, and involved 10 individuals who had participated in a three-day digital storytelling workshop. Van Manen (2014) conducted qualitative interviews using interpretative phenomenological inquiry to assess the well-being of 10 participants.

Thematic analysis of the studies

In addition to the common and overarching goal of improving the well-being and quality of life of older adults, four main themes emerged from the analysis of the results obtained from the various AT-mediated interventions: improving cognitive function and proprioception; enhancing self-identity and a meaningful existence; reducing depression and a sense of loneliness; and the importance of socialization. Tabulated in Table 3 are the studies grouped by their findings’ main themes and sub-themes.

Theme and sub-themes (when applicable) within selected articles.

Cognitive performance and proprioception

The Alders Pike (2013) study is the first to examine this topic; it demonstrates that cognitive performance can improve after a 10-week program of AT sessions. The findings indicate that the AT approach and the length of treatment positively impacted cognitive performance; and finally, longer sessions and a combined approach of “art as therapy” and art psychotherapy are associated with improved performance. The creative dance program evaluated by Marmeleira et al. (2009) is in the same thematic group. This study demonstrated that body awareness can improve proprioception, which can provide a unique sensory component to optimize motor control. Its importance in older adults has been consistently reported in terms of balance, walking stability and trajectory, sit-to-stand performance, and stair-climbing ability ( Lord et al., 2002 ). Creative dance further amplifies these effects by stimulating creativity through a positive learning environment and adding extra dimensions, such as an individual’s self-mastery, by allowing the subjects to be consciously aware of their bodies. The study by Pitkala et al. (2011) is the first randomized controlled trial to demonstrate that art and inspirational activities, such as therapeutic writing, significantly improved the cognition of lonely older adults in the intervention group in comparison to the control group, which received conventional cognitive training.

Self-identity and a meaningful life

Five studies observed the influence of ATs on the self-identity and meaningfulness of individuals’ lives ( Stephenson, 2013 ; Diaz Abrahan et al., 2019 ; McCarthy et al., 2019 ; Poulos et al., 2019 ; Malyn et al., 2020 ). The 20 women who participated in the PATH program assessed by McCarthy et al. (2019) gained a new perspective on life and death; they identified personal meaning in past experiences and were supported in developing a positive sense of self. Participants in the AOP intervention delivered by Poulos et al. (2019) reported a statistically significant improvement in the results of mental well-being, as measured by the WEMWBS (Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well Being Scale) and self-reported creativity. Moreover, the AOP provided participants with a sense of purpose and direction, facilitated personal growth and achievement, and empowered them to form meaningful relationships with others. Malyn et al. (2020) concluded that the therapy promotes the well-being of older adults by creating a unique environment in which participants feel acknowledged, accepted, challenged, and inspired. The study by Diaz Abrahan et al. (2019) also demonstrates AT’s positive effects on the meaning of life. In fact, older adults who attended weekly music therapy meetings scored higher on the inventory of quality of life (IQoL) and its subcomponents (religion, creativity, recreation, and love) in terms of total quality of life. The research conducted by Stephenson (2013) demonstrated that the AT program can stimulate artistic identity and activate a sense of purpose and motivation in participants through creative work. Furthermore, this study proved that the use of art can facilitate human connection and promote gerotransendence.

Reducing feelings of loneliness and symptoms of depression

The study by Ilali et al. (2018) , conducted in the United States, analyzes the impact of a drawing-based life review program on depressive symptoms in a sample of 54 older adults. This technique can be employed as a primary, evidence-based treatment for depression in later life ( Erikson, 1959 ). This study demonstrates that after a six-week drawing-based life review intervention, the experimental group’s depressive symptoms decreased and the older adults’ ego integrity improved, thus preventing depression and despair, and the structure of group sessions appeared effective at reducing depressive symptoms. Finally, the study by Engelbrecht and Shoemark (2015) , which targeted the health risk factors of social isolation and low self-esteem in a group of five community-dwelling women, demonstrates that technology can be an acceptable and potentially successful tool for use in music therapy with older adults.

The importance of socialization

The research conducted by Greaves and Farbus (2006) reveals that the Upstream Model generates social networks, a range of psychosocial and health benefits, and a reversal of expected downward trends in certain aspects of participants’ health. The key outcomes were the formation of a positive group identity and the enhancement of participants’ self-confidence and self-efficacy. Similarly, Schoales et al. (2020) found that group AT programs can generate enjoyment and social ties, which can amplify the effects of ATs on individuals’ well-being.

The themes that emerged from the analysis are similar to the Positive Emotion, Engagement, Relationships, Meaning, and Accomplishment (PERMA) model ( Seligman, 2011 ), which draws on both pleasure-focused hedonic factors and eudemonic elements that emphasize moral development and self-growth. The findings of these two studies demonstrate that the development of a positive group identity and socialization within AT workshops and activities can boost confidence and self-efficacy.

Advances in the knowledge of art therapies as a means of promoting healthy aging

This review’s main novelty is its focus on studies reporting the outcomes of AT interventions targeting independent community-dwelling older adults from a preventive standpoint. This study’s thematic analysis provided evidence of the efficacy of ATs in promoting cognitive functions ( Marmeleira et al., 2009 ; Pitkala et al., 2011 ; Alders Pike, 2013 ), mental well-being (by fostering self-identity, self-efficacy, and by reducing depressive symptoms; Stephenson, 2013 ; Engelbrecht and Shoemark, 2015 ; Ilali et al., 2018 ; Diaz Abrahan et al., 2019 ; McCarthy et al., 2019 ; Malyn et al., 2020 ; Schoales et al., 2020 ), and socialization ( Greaves and Farbus, 2006 ; Poulos et al., 2019 ), all of which can be considered psychological dimensions of healthy aging and preventive aspects of depression ( World Health Organization, 2017 , 2020 ).

Thus, the analysis supports and corroborates current knowledge on creativity and ATs as tools to enhance personal feelings of well-being and key physiological and psychological functions such as cognition, emotions, and proprioception ( Carr and Hass-Cohen, 2008 ). More specifically, ATs can play a pivotal role in the delivery of health and social care interventions to promote healthy aging among older adults ( World Health Organization, 2017 ).

Even though the reviewed studies investigated the efficacy of ATs on specific well-being domains, Carr and Hass-Cohen (2008) framework states that all these aspects should be considered interconnected because they all contribute to psychological well-being and can help prevent the most common age-related pathologies, such as Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias ( Deshmukh et al., 2018 ; Fancourt and Finn, 2019 ). Our findings are comparable with those of several other studies indicating that engagement in an environment enriched with creative materials and stimulation from ATs may foster neurogenesis (increased production of new neurons). Indeed, this type of environment encourages physical activity (e.g., by manually creating a drawing or a sculpture), problem solving (e.g., by choosing colors or compositional elements), and socialization (e.g., by creating, sharing, and describing one’s artwork in a group; Bassuk et al., 1999 ).

The results also highlight the importance of the group dimension in the execution of AT programs. Artistic and expressive group activities appear to stimulate socialization, which, in turn, mitigates the perception of loneliness and depressive symptoms, when present ( Hocoy, 2002 ). This review validated current knowledge regarding the effectiveness of ATs in enhancing healthy aging, particularly mental well-being and socialization, among older adults living independently, and shed light on the potential of ATs to prevent age-related diseases ( Fiske et al., 2009 ; Jokela et al., 2013 ; World Health Organization, 2017 ; Barnes et al., 2021 ).

Critical aspects and insights related to the topic

This scoping review also uncovered certain critical aspects. One such aspect lies in the very definition of AT, which is not unique and multifaceted. In fact, as defined by the British Association of Art Therapist (BAAT), AT is a form of psychotherapy that uses art media as its primary mode of communication. Clients who are referred to an art therapist need not have experience or skill in art. The art therapist is not primarily concerned with making an aesthetic or diagnostic assessment of the client’s image. The overall aim of its practitioners is to enable a client to change and grow on a personal level through the use of art materials in a safe and facilitating environment. AT is not a recreational activity or an art lesson, although the sessions can be enjoyable. Clients do not need to have any previous experience or expertise in art.

Moreover, from a literature review commissioned by the Psychotherapy and Counselling Federation of Australia (PACFA; Dunphy et al., 2013 ) the terms “expressive arts therapy” and “creative arts therapy” were found to be used interchangeably, referring to the overall practice of the arts applied as therapy. “Expressive arts therapy” is more common in European practice, while “creative arts therapy” is more frequently used in Australia. Both terms can also refer to a multi-modal approach wherein a therapist employs a range of art forms as an integral aspect of their practice. One of the most accurate definitions might be that given by the Australian and New Zealand Arts Therapy Association ( ANZACATA, 2012 ), according to which Arts therapy or arts psychotherapy is a form of psychotherapy that uses creative modalities, including visual art-making, drama, and dance/movement to improve and inform physical, mental and emotional well-being. Arts therapy works by accessing imagination and creativity, which can generate new models of living, and contribute towards the development of a more integrated sense of self, with increased self- awareness and acceptance.

In reality, there are numerous approaches that we have attempted to include in a single theoretical framework by primarily referring to the AATA definition ( American Art Therapy Association, 2021 ), that we felt was most suitable and inclusive, and by making certain choices: we excluded all activities considered to be merely recreational and, in the AT container, we included all forms of creative expression treated from a therapeutic perspective, such as painting, sculpture, drawing, dance, creative writing, and music. Another point of reflection concerns who conducts AT experiences and how they do so. If we take the AATA website as a reference, art therapists are described as “master-level clinicians who work with people of all ages across a broad spectrum of practices.” Guided by ethical standards and scope of practice, their supervised education and training prepares them for culturally competent work with diverse populations in a variety of settings.

Art therapists work with people facing medical and mental health issues, as well as individuals seeking emotional, creative, and spiritual growth ( American Art Therapy Association, 2021 ). Following the BAAT definition we go on to say that Art therapists have a good understanding of art processes, underpinned by a sound knowledge of therapeutic practice, and work with individuals and groups in a variety of residential and community based settings. Although influenced by psychoanalysis, art therapists have been inspired by theories such as attachment-based psychotherapy and have developed a broad range of client-centred approaches such as psycho-educational, mindfulness and mentalization-based treatments, compassion-focused and cognitive analytic therapies, and socially engaged practice. Exploring the links between neuro-science and art therapy has also been at the forefront of some of the BAAT’s conferences. Importantly, art therapy practice has evolved to reflect the cultural and social diversity of the people who engage in it.

However, the selected articles contain different approaches. With the exception of one study, which focuses on the role of the therapist and the importance of sufficient training for effective therapeutic interventions ( Pitkala et al., 2011 ), the level or type of therapist training is frequently not well-defined ( Marmeleira et al., 2009 ; Diaz Abrahan et al., 2019 ; Schoales et al., 2020 ). Sometimes, the therapist is a mentor or facilitator who is given specific instructions ( Greaves and Farbus, 2006 ; Malyn et al., 2020 ); or a nurse, psychologist, or occupational therapist who has received specific training in AT ( Pitkala et al., 2011 ; Ilali et al., 2018 ; McCarthy et al., 2019 ); or a professional artist ( Schoales et al., 2020 ); or even art therapists who are university graduates ( Alders Pike, 2013 ; Stephenson, 2013 ). In reality, AT training is open to many different professionals in different countries, so it is possible to find art therapists with different backgrounds and training of different durations and with different curricula. AT programs developing around the world need an educational framework to ensure that graduates have a knowledge base and set of skills consistent with peers in other countries. There are currently many independent training standards offered by art therapy associations in the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, United States, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, as well as two international associations. Research still in press, attempted to synthesize these requirements, revealing 12 content areas that can form the core of art therapy training. Even within these standards, programs developing around the world must consider local values related to health, art, therapy, and education to create globally relevant and locally meaningful art therapy training programs ( Potash et al., 2012 ).

Therefore, it should be emphasized that AT therapists who seek to improve the physical, mental health, and social functioning of older adults must be professionally trained and have the necessary educational background ( Dunphy et al., 2019 ). From this point of view, it would be interesting to devote extra effort to cross-research the educational curricula offered by various professional art therapy associations.

In the context of the healthy aging paradigm ( Jeste et al., 2022 ), the purpose of this review was to identify and highlight the beneficial effects of ATs for the prevention of mental distress, while considering those aspects of mental health that are closely related to physical health and social well-being. We did not, however, delve into the processes (the why) by which ATs accomplish these objectives. Rather, we used the AATA definition, identified the topic areas where the interventions were effective, and presented a discussion that included the quality of the art therapist’s training, the duration, and the grouping of the interventions as critical factors for their success. This and other recent research in the field of ATs ( Cohen et al., 2006 ; Regev and Cohen-Yatziv, 2018 ; De Witte et al., 2021 ) have left certain questions unanswered, for instance, why various types of AT interventions are effective and what their neurobiological bases are.

Finally, we found only two articles that implemented hi-tech solutions in ATs for older adults. Given the growing interest in practice and research in this field, it is important to investigate how art therapists engage with digital technology and how (and if) this approach can be safely adapted to encompass new potential ways of delivery and new artistic media ( Zubala et al., 2021 ). This could be especially intriguing in light of the global spread of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, which has opened the doors to the virtual world in the AT field. However, the pros and cons are still unclear, and further research is necessary to determine how to advance the use of ATs to improve older adults’ attitudes toward healthy aging.

Limitations and suggestions for future research studies

This review is not without its limitations. Several studies may have been overlooked because they were available in languages other than English on search engines that were not accessed during this review, and others may have been published after the search was completed. Another limitation is the stringent study selection criteria. In fact, the goal of identifying only those studies based on AT interventions targeting independent community-dwelling older adults resulted in the inclusion of a small number of articles because the majority of studies on ATs target (older) people with disabilities and/or those attending elderly care facilities.

Moreover, despite the availability of a substantial corpus of “grey literature” on ATs, this review focused exclusively on scientific studies providing evidence-based outcomes. Another limitation is the absence of a consultation exercise which, according to Arksey and O'Malley (2005) , is optional but may have made the results more relevant to policymakers, practitioners, and service users. Since the purpose of this review is to map research activities in the AT field, evidence sources were not critically appraised.

It is recommended that future research and reviews specifically focus on one type of intervention, for instance, to learn more about the success factors of music therapy versus dance movement therapy or art therapy. In order to acknowledge that expressive and creative modalities are not limited to drawing alone, but include a variety of non-verbal languages as defined by the AATA ( American Art Therapy Association, 2021 ), we accepted studies employing a wide range of outcome assessment methodologies and included several types of ATs. The gender, educational level, and multiculturalism of participants are other aspects that may be interesting to explore but were not the subject of this review. Only one of the selected studies considered the influence of ethnicity on the effectiveness of the ATs program by including individuals from diverse ethnic and cultural backgrounds ( Stephenson, 2013 ), and none of the studies considered the educational level of participants as a possible factor influencing the effectiveness of ATs.

Given that the studies under consideration were conducted in the United States and Europe, it is reasonable to assume that the positive outcomes of creative activities and art therapies are transcultural and inclusive, permitting both verbal and non-verbal expression through gestures, sounds, graphics, and plastic signs; thus, they can be considered a universal language ( Hocoy, 2002 ). All but two of the samples included male and female participants ( Engelbrecht and Shoemark, 2015 ; McCarthy et al., 2019 ), revealing that the majority of the selected studies also lacked a gender viewpoint. Given that AT enables the client and therapist to explore issues that are often difficult to articulate in words, and that one such issue is the complexity of gender, it is recommended that future research investigates how cultural and ethnic aspects and gender influence participants’ responses to AT-based interventions, particularly in the aging phase and from the perspective of healthy aging ( Hogan, 2002 ). Therefore, we do not claim to be exhaustive, but we believe that our focus on interventions targeting independent, community-dwelling older adults is the key aspect, necessitating the exclusion of certain elements and facets of the topic’s complexity.

Art therapists in gerontology have traditionally focused on treating patients with established conditions, such as dementia in general and Alzheimer’s disease in particular ( Ozdemir and Akdemir, 2009 ; Deshmukh et al., 2018 ). However, it is not inconceivable that they could also play a significant role in promoting healthy aging and preventing or delaying the need for medical intervention. Numerous older adults are at risk of becoming isolated, depressed, or incapable of taking care of their daily needs. Through participation in AT programs, older adults may continue to interact with their peers and communities, and become motivated to lead active lives. AT can boost their self-esteem and provide them with opportunities to develop previously unexplored aspects of their identities. Policymakers, commissioners, and care providers in health and social care must acknowledge that the arts and ATs are not a marginal and elitist avenue, but rather a mainstream tool that helps older people remain active, healthy, and independent. In fact, ATs constitute a powerful source of motivation, agency, and confidence that, when coupled with rigorous methodology for the assessment of outcomes, can provide new advancements for the delivery of measures to delay early cognitive deterioration, depression, and social isolation in older adults.

Author contributions

FG and SS: conceptualization. FG, BD’A, and SS: methodology. AM, FG, and BD’A: formal analysis. FG and BD: writing—original draft preparation. AM and SS: writing—review and editing. All authors contributed to the article and approved the published version.

This study was supported by Ricerca Corrente funding from the Italian Ministry of Health to IRCCS INRCA.

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Publisher’s note

All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article, or claim that may be made by its manufacturer, is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.

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Home » Blog » The Benefits of Creativity and Imagination

The Benefits of Creativity and Imagination

Benefits of creative activities for active seniors.

If you were asked to list creative activities for seniors, what would you say? Would you mention painting? Woodworking? Flower arranging? And if you were asked to try something thought of as “creative,” such as dance, poetry or pottery, what would be your response? These traditional activity ideas for seniors often prompt the reply, “I’m not creative.”

T he journey and the destination.

Creativity isn’t only about the end result. It’s also about the process of creation. Forms of art such as dance, poetry, theater and painting arise from a creative process that’s based on an openness to new ideas and creating novel outcomes.

When you embrace something new, try a new approach or think outside the box, you’re engaging in creativity — as surely as any performance or visual artist. Thus, creative activities for seniors aren’t just about making art. They can take a wider definition. According to research on creativity in older adults, “The process of creating, and one’s attitude toward life, may be more important than the actual product or tangible outcome.” It’s this journey of openness that is the foundation of creativity, and it’s available to all of us at every stage of life.

Which stage of creativity describes you?

While brains may age, creative abilities do not. As we grow older, we gain knowledge, emotional maturity and practical life experiences. We have the advantage of being able to look back and the ability to integrate these disparate pieces into profound insights. These growing insights about life start the itch for creative expression in our own unique way.

How we express our creative energy is shaped by the four phases of the second half of life:

Midlife (40s to 50s) — These years motivate an evaluation of one’s personal and professional life. We look for ways to make them more gratifying. We combine insightful reflection with a drive to create meaning.
Liberation (60s) — We experience the freedom of retirement and time to explore new ways of expression. We are more comfortable with ourselves and less concerned about what others think.
Summing up (70s) — We look back at our life to divine its larger meaning. We become the keepers of cultural history and want to share our life’s wisdom. We’re motivated to give back through community involvement, volunteering or creative writing for seniors, including autobiography and storytelling. The summing-up process may spark new creative activities left unexplored until now.
Encore (80s) — Our creative expression is focused on making a statement or completing unfinished business. We add to the contributions we’re making toward our communities and families.

What does it mean to be creative?

You can tap into your creativity in many ways. For some seniors, the traditional arts are their creative home. They find happiness and social connection through making art with others. Painting, pottery, dance, and other traditional forms of art become a way to express ideas and emotions and make sense of the world around them. The profound effect the creative arts have on physical and mental health is seen in the practice of art therapy. Just the smell of paint, its feel and its colors, opens up new paths for those affected by dementia or language loss.

For other seniors, creativity is part of a problem-solving attitude to life. Reports from The Boston Globe and The New York Times showed how older adults responded to stay-at-home orders during the 2020 pandemic. Unable to attend in-person exercise classes, some adopted new technologies, participating in virtual classes for Zumba, weight training, yoga, meditation and the like. Others made the most of their surroundings, using a hallway or staircase for walking, and water-filled milk jugs for strength exercise.

Different types of people are drawn to different creative pursuits:

Are you more social? You may enjoy starting or joining a discussion group, meeting with friends, joining a club, or video chatting regularly with family and friends.
Are you more musical? You may enjoy learning or revisiting how to play an instrument, singing, listening to music, or attending a concert.
Are you more spatial? You may enjoy drawing, painting, sculpting, scrapbooking, taking art classes, making cards, gardening or flower arranging.
Are you more kinesthetic? You may enjoy walking, golfing, hiking, cycling, taking yoga or Pilates classes, swimming, dancing, acting, or performing.
Are you more logical/mathematical? You may enjoy Sudoku, working out brainteasers, organizing a collection or playing cards.
Are you more verbal/linguistic? You may enjoy writing, telling stories, or participating in a writing group or book club.

Creative activities are a path to discovering new strengths because of our age, not despite it. They bring a sense of meaning, purpose and joy to our lives. And in Broadview’s unique art and academia-infused lifestyle on the Purchase College SUNY campus, there’ll be an unmatched array of creative activities for seniors. Residents will audit classes of all kinds, attend events at the Neuberger Museum of Art or The Performing Arts Center, and interact with faculty and students. Creativity and lifelong learning will be woven into the tapestry of Broadview life.

Continue your journey of growth and discovery. Join us for an upcoming lecture or be part of the Broadview Book Club led by professors of Purchase College . Contact us at (914) 417-4201 to participate or to learn more.

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Spark Creativity: Writing Ideas for Senior Citizens

Welcome, senior citizens! Are you ready to ignite your creativity through the power of writing? Whether you’re looking to preserve memories, exercise your mind , or simply find a new outlet for self-expression, creative writing can be a valuable and fulfilling practice for older adults. In this article, we’ll explore various writing ideas and projects specifically designed for senior citizens.

Key Takeaways:

Journaling is a powerful tool for seniors, promoting memory preservation , exercising the mind, creating routine, boosting creativity, and providing stress relief .
Journaling prompts can help seniors get started with their writing practice, whether it’s writing about day-to-day events, childhood memories, or favorite books and movies.
Engaging in creative projects like photo collaging , finger painting , and decorating flower pots can tap into seniors’ artistic side and provide a fun and meaningful activity.
Joining a book club can offer seniors the opportunity to dive into fiction and explore their preferred genres, including the option of enjoying audiobooks .
Narrative writing allows seniors to share their personal stories and experiences, unleashing their creativity through fictional and personal narrative prompts .

The Benefits of Journaling for Seniors

Journaling is a valuable practice for seniors, offering numerous benefits for their overall well-being. Not only does it provide a means of recording thoughts and experiences, but it also plays a vital role in memory preservation . By engaging in regular journaling, seniors can exercise their minds, creating routine and structure in their daily lives.

One of the key advantages of journaling for seniors is its ability to boost creativity . Putting pen to paper allows for self-expression and the exploration of new ideas. It can also serve as a stress reliever, providing a safe outlet for expressing worries and anxieties.

Furthermore, journaling offers seniors the opportunity to sharpen their memory recall skills. By writing about their experiences and reflecting on their thoughts, seniors can strengthen their ability to remember details and important information. This aspect of journaling is particularly beneficial for seniors who may be dealing with memory challenges or cognitive decline.

Journaling is not just about capturing the present moment; it is also about creating a legacy. Seniors can write with the knowledge that their words will be cherished by future generations, providing a window into their lives and wisdom.

The Benefits of Journaling for Seniors:

Promotes memory preservation
Exercises the mind
Creates routine and structure
Boosts creativity
Provides stress relief

Journaling Prompts for Seniors

Journaling is a wonderful way for seniors to express themselves and engage in self-reflection. It can be a therapeutic practice that promotes mental well-being and cultivates creativity. If you or a loved one are interested in starting a journaling practice, here are some prompts to get you started:

Prompts for Day-to-Day Reflection

Write about your favorite part of the day.
Describe a small act of kindness you witnessed or experienced.
Reflect on a recent conversation that made you smile.

Prompts for Memory Exploration

Recall a cherished childhood memory and write about it in detail.
Describe a favorite family tradition and what it means to you.
Write about a memorable trip you took and how it impacted your life.

Prompts for Connecting with Nature

Observe a flower or a tree and write about its beauty and significance.
Describe a peaceful outdoor spot that brings you joy.
Write about a favorite season and the sensory experiences it evokes.

Prompts for Exploring Interests

Write about a book that has had a lasting impact on you.
Share your thoughts on a movie or a TV show you recently enjoyed.
Describe a concert or a live performance that brought you joy.

These prompts are just a starting point, and you can tailor them to your own preferences and experiences. Remember, journaling is a personal journey, so feel free to explore different themes and topics that resonate with you. Happy writing!

Creative Projects for Seniors: Photo Collaging

Engaging in creative projects can have numerous benefits for seniors, including enhancing cognitive abilities, fostering self-expression, and providing a sense of accomplishment. One popular creative activity for seniors is photo collaging , a versatile and enjoyable way to preserve memories and spark conversations.

Photo collaging involves arranging and pasting photographs onto a surface, such as a themed scrapbook or poster board . Seniors can gather their favorite photos from different stages of their lives and create a visual representation of cherished moments and relationships. This process encourages reminiscence and can be a catalyst for sharing stories and experiences with loved ones.

A themed scrapbook is a creative project that allows seniors to organize and display their photographs around a specific topic, such as family vacations, milestone events, or hobbies. By curating images and adding captions or descriptions, seniors can create a personalized narrative that encapsulates their life journey. Themed scrapbooks also make meaningful gifts for family members and friends.

Poster board collages offer seniors a larger canvas to express their creativity. They can attach photos, quotes, and decorative elements to create visually captivating displays. Poster board collages can be hung on walls or displayed on easels, serving as conversation starters and decorative pieces in their living spaces.

Creative Projects for Seniors: Finger Painting

Finger painting is a fun and easy way for seniors to exercise their creative muscles. It provides a unique opportunity for self-expression and allows seniors to explore their artistic abilities in a forgiving and playful manner. Unlike traditional painting techniques that may require fine motor skills, finger painting allows seniors to use their fingers to apply paint directly onto the canvas, creating vibrant and colorful artwork.

One of the advantages of finger painting is that it doesn’t require any prior painting experience or expertise. Seniors can simply squeeze easily manageable bottles of finger paint onto their canvas and use their fingers to spread and blend the colors. The forgiving nature of finger painting allows for experimentation and exploration, making it an ideal art style for seniors who may be new to painting or are looking for a more relaxed and enjoyable creative outlet.

“Finger painting is a great way for seniors to reconnect with their inner child and tap into their creativity. It can be a therapeutic and enjoyable activity that promotes relaxation and stimulates the senses,” says art therapist Sarah Johnson.

Not only is finger painting a stimulating and enjoyable activity, but it also offers numerous cognitive and emotional benefits for seniors. Engaging in artistic activities like finger painting can help improve cognitive functions such as memory, concentration, and problem-solving skills. It also provides a means of self-expression and can serve as a valuable tool for emotional release and stress reduction.

In addition to the individual benefits, finger painting can also be a social activity for seniors. It can be done in group settings, allowing seniors to bond, share their artwork, and engage in meaningful conversations. Finger painting can be incorporated into senior centers, art therapy programs, or even family gatherings, creating opportunities for connection and companionship.

Overall, finger painting is a versatile and accessible creative project for seniors. It allows them to explore their artistic side, exercise their creative muscles, and experience the joy of self-expression. Whether done individually or in a group, finger painting offers a therapeutic and enjoyable activity that can enhance the overall well-being of seniors.

Creative Projects for Seniors: Decorating Flower Pots

As spring approaches, seniors can engage in a fun and creative project by decorating flower pots . This activity not only celebrates the season but also brings the beauty of the outdoors inside. By personalizing their pots, seniors can add a touch of their unique style and creativity to their indoor plants .

To begin, seniors can choose different types of indoor plants , such as succulents or peace lilies, that thrive in the comfort of their homes. Once they have selected their plants, they can start decorating the pots using various materials. Paints, decals, and even nail polish can be used to add vibrant colors, patterns, and designs to the pots.

Seniors can let their imagination run wild when decorating their flower pots. They can create intricate patterns, write inspiring quotes, or paint scenes from nature. This activity not only allows seniors to express their creativity but also gives them a sense of accomplishment as they see their personalized pots come to life. The decorated flower pots can be displayed on windowsills, tabletops, or anywhere that needs a touch of nature and color.

Decorating Flower Pots: Tips for Seniors

Choose plants that are suitable for indoor environments and require minimal maintenance.
Experiment with different painting techniques such as stenciling, sponge painting, or using paintbrushes.
Consider adding a clear coat of varnish or sealant to protect the artwork and make the pots more durable.
Explore using different types of materials like ribbons, beads, or buttons to add texture and dimension.
Invite friends or family members to join in the activity for a fun and collaborative crafting session.

Decorating flower pots is not only a creative project for seniors but also a therapeutic and rewarding experience. It brings joy, fosters self-expression, and adds a personal touch to their living spaces. So, grab some brushes and paints, let your imagination bloom, and enjoy the process of transforming plain flower pots into unique works of art.

Creative Projects for Seniors: Join a Book Club

Joining a book club is a creative and engaging activity for seniors who have a love for fiction and a desire to connect with others who share their passion. Book clubs provide seniors with the opportunity to immerse themselves in captivating stories, explore different genres, and expand their literary horizons. Whether it’s a physical gathering or a virtual club, participating in a book club offers numerous benefits for seniors.

Seniors can choose a book club that focuses on their preferred genre , whether it’s mystery, romance, science fiction , or historical fiction. By reading and discussing books with like-minded individuals, seniors can dive into the intricate plots, complex characters, and thought-provoking themes that fiction has to offer. Sharing insights, opinions, and personal interpretations of the stories can spark creativity and inspire seniors to explore their own storytelling abilities.

In addition to reading physical books, seniors can also enjoy the convenience and accessibility of audiobooks . Audiobooks allow seniors to indulge in captivating stories while engaging in other activities such as walking, gardening, or relaxing at home. This multi-sensory experience can enhance the enjoyment and imagination sparked by the narrative, providing a stimulating and enriching experience for seniors.

Benefits of Joining a Book Club as a Senior:

Engages seniors in the world of fiction
Allows exploration of preferred genres
Offers opportunities for stimulating discussion
Enhances creativity and storytelling abilities
Provides social connections and community

By joining a book club, seniors can embark on an exciting literary journey, immersing themselves in the power of fiction while nurturing their creativity and connecting with fellow book lovers. Whether it’s through in-person meetings or virtual gatherings, book clubs offer a space for seniors to share their reflections, delve into captivating stories, and appreciate the magic of storytelling.

Narrative Writing for Seniors: What is Narrative Writing?

Narrative writing is a form of storytelling that allows individuals to share their experiences, ideas, and emotions through a structured narrative. It involves crafting a story with a beginning, middle, and end, using various literary elements to engage the reader. Seniors can explore the art of narrative writing to express themselves creatively and reflect on their own personal narratives .

At its core, narrative writing involves the use of characters, settings, problems, and solutions to create a cohesive and engaging story. It allows seniors to delve into their memories, imagination, and observations to shape compelling narratives. By focusing on personal experiences, seniors can add authenticity and depth to their stories, making them more relatable and memorable.

Through narrative writing, seniors can not only preserve their own stories but also leave a lasting legacy for future generations. These personal narratives can chronicle important milestones, adventures, lessons, and significant moments in their lives. Whether it’s a heartfelt memoir, a fictional tale, or a reflection on a particular event, narrative writing provides seniors with a creative outlet for self-expression and storytelling.

Narrative Writing Prompts for Seniors

Writing narratives can be a fulfilling and imaginative activity for seniors looking to explore their creativity. Narrative writing prompts can provide that spark of inspiration to get seniors started on their storytelling journey. Whether it’s writing fiction or personal narratives , these prompts are designed to ignite the imagination and bring stories to life.

Fiction Prompts

Imagine you wake up one day with the ability to fly. Write a story about how it changes your life.
Write a fictional tale about a hidden treasure that is discovered in an unlikely location.
Create a story set in a futuristic world where robots have taken over human jobs.

Personal Narrative Prompts

Write about a proud moment in your life and the emotions you felt.
Share a heart-racing experience that left a lasting impact on you.
Describe a memorable vacation and the adventures you had along the way.

Storytelling Prompts

“Every great story starts with a great character.” – Unknown

Storytelling prompts can help seniors tap into their storytelling abilities and create engaging narratives. These prompts provide the opportunity to develop interesting characters and explore captivating plotlines. Seniors can let their creativity flow and share stories that captivate readers.

So, grab a pen and paper or your favorite writing device, and get ready to embark on a storytelling adventure. The creative writing ideas for elderly individuals are endless, and with the help of prompts, seniors can unlock their imagination and share their unique stories with the world.

Narrative Writing Rubrics for Seniors

Narrative writing rubrics are valuable tools for assessing and evaluating the writing skills of senior citizens. These rubrics provide clear guidelines and criteria for measuring the quality and proficiency of narrative writing. They help both students and teachers understand the expectations and standards of narrative writing and can be tailored to be student-friendly, teacher-friendly, and time-saving.

Student-friendly rubrics are designed to be easily understood by seniors and provide them with a framework for self-assessment. These rubrics break down the elements of narrative writing and provide clear descriptions of each level of proficiency. By using student-friendly rubrics , seniors can independently evaluate their own writing and set goals for improvement.

Teacher-friendly rubrics , on the other hand, are comprehensive tools that allow teachers to assess seniors’ narrative writing effectively. These rubrics provide a detailed breakdown of the different elements of narrative writing and assign scores to each aspect, ensuring that all areas are objectively evaluated. Teacher-friendly rubrics save time by streamlining the assessment process and providing consistent evaluation standards.

For both seniors and teachers, using time-saving rubrics can be highly beneficial. Time-saving rubrics are designed to minimize the time required for assessment while still providing valuable feedback. These rubrics focus on key elements of narrative writing and provide concise and clear evaluation criteria. By using time-saving rubrics , teachers can efficiently assess seniors’ writing without sacrificing the quality of feedback.

Overall, narrative writing rubrics offer a structured and objective approach to assessing seniors’ writing skills. Whether it’s using student-friendly rubrics for self-assessment or teacher-friendly rubrics for evaluation, these tools provide seniors with the guidance and feedback they need to enhance their narrative writing abilities.

Creative writing is a wonderful outlet for seniors to express themselves, share their stories, and ignite their imagination. Whether through journaling, engaging in creative projects, or exploring narrative writing, seniors can find joy and fulfillment in their writing practice.

Journaling provides a powerful tool for seniors to exercise their minds, promote memory preservation, and find stress relief. By starting with journaling prompts, seniors can easily dive into their writing practice and explore their thoughts and experiences.

Engaging in creative projects such as photo collaging, finger painting, and decorating flower pots allows seniors to tap into their creative muscles and express themselves through art. These activities provide opportunities for reminiscing, celebrating the seasons, and personalizing their living spaces.

Narrative writing opens up a whole new world for seniors to share their personal stories and explore their creative writing skills. With narrative writing prompts and the use of elements such as characters, settings, and problems, seniors can craft compelling narratives that captivate their readers.

Overall, creative writing offers endless possibilities for seniors to engage in a fulfilling and enriching writing practice. It provides a platform for self-expression, connection, and the preservation of their stories. So, whether it’s journaling, creative projects, or narrative writing, seniors can embark on a journey of creativity and self-discovery through their writing practice.

What are the benefits of journaling for seniors?

Journaling promotes memory preservation, exercises the mind, creates routine, boosts creativity, and provides stress relief for seniors.

How can journaling prompts help seniors?

Journaling prompts can help seniors get started with their writing practice, providing them with ideas and inspiration for what to write about.

What are some creative projects for seniors?

Creative projects for seniors include photo collaging, finger painting, decorating flower pots, and joining a book club.

How can photo collaging benefit seniors?

Photo collaging allows seniors to reminisce about memorable people and places in their lives and can spark conversations with others.

Why is finger painting a good creative project for seniors?

Finger painting is a fun and easy way for seniors to exercise their creative muscles, as it doesn’t require fine motor skills and can be forgiving.

How can seniors decorate flower pots creatively?

Seniors can personalize their flower pots with paint, decals, or even nail polish, celebrating spring and bringing the outdoors inside.

Why should seniors join a book club?

Joining a book club allows seniors to immerse themselves in the world of fiction, engage their creative energy, and enjoy audiobooks while walking or exercising.

What is narrative writing for seniors?

Narrative writing is the art of telling a story with a beginning, middle, and end, including elements such as characters, settings, problems, and solutions.

How can narrative writing prompts inspire seniors?

Narrative writing prompts can inspire seniors to write fictional stories about volcanoes, wishes, zoo adventures, as well as personal narratives about proud moments, heart-racing experiences, and memorable vacations.

How can narrative writing be assessed for seniors?

Rubrics are a helpful tool for evaluating seniors’ narrative writing. There are different types of rubrics, including student-friendly, teacher-friendly, and time-saving rubrics, which can be used for assessing narrative writing .

Source Links

https://www.ebenezercares.org/news-events/4-ways-to-help-seniors-spark-creativity
https://blakeford.com/the-art-of-journaling-for-seniors/
https://vibrantteaching.com/20-prompts-for-narrative-writing-that-spark-creativity/

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The poetics of vulnerability: creative writing among young adults in
In the current paper, we present a pilot project on a creative writing group for young adults with psychosis; here, we look into written texts and excerpts from interviews with the participants. ... there are no 'established ways of assessing qualitatively or quantitatively the therapeutic benefits of creative writing' (2018, p. 83).
What Happens In Your Brain When You Make Art : Shots
It lowers stress. Although the research in the field of art therapy is emerging, there's evidence that making art can lower stress and anxiety. In a 2016 paper in the Journal of the American Art ...
Creativity and art therapies to promote healthy aging: A scoping review
The purpose of this scoping review is to investigate the value of creative arts therapies in healthy older adults. This article aims to shed light on current knowledge concerning the effectiveness of art therapies (ATs) for the prevention of common age-related conditions using the definition of art therapy provided by the American Art Therapy Association (AATA), as well as Cohen's conceptual ...
Benefits of Creativity for Active Adults at Broadview
Engaging in creative activities has a variety of benefits for older adults. Discover how creative activities can keep the mind sharp. Call Us. Main 914-996-9100 ... volunteering or creative writing for seniors, including autobiography and storytelling. The summing-up process may spark new creative activities left unexplored until now.
Spark Creativity: Writing Ideas for Senior Citizens
Boosts creativity. Writing in a journal encourages seniors to tap into their creative sides, providing an outlet for self-expression and exploration of new ideas. Provides stress relief. Journaling offers seniors a safe space to express worries, anxieties, and emotions, promoting emotional well-being and stress relief.
PDF Creative Writing Guidance
Creative Writing Teaching and Supporting Students on the Autism Spectrum Creative writing tasks are often a trigger for heightened anxiety for those students on the autism spectrum. An abundant amount of skills are required, e g. social imagination, language skills, decision making, auditory and visual memory, the organisation of thoughts ...
Creative Aging: Memoir Writing at 58th Street Library
Event Details. Continue where we left off at the end of our Memoir Writing workshops for adults 50 and older. This program will be held in person at 58th Street Library and online. Teaching artist Frank Ingrasciotta will continue to guide participants through the art of writing over 5 extra sessions. Storytelling is our most ancient art form ...
Creative Writing Workshop
This event will take place in person at the 53rd Street Library. This workshop is designed to help patrons unlock their creative potential. We will engage in fun idea generating exercises and work together to get results and find joy in the writing process. All writers of any experience level are welcome. If you're curious, come check it out! This workshop, the sixteenth in an ongoing series ...

British Council India

Writing can improve mental health – here’s how

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Expressive writing

Reflective writing

Writing for self-awareness

Executive Dean, Faculty of Health

Regional Engagement Officer - Shepparton

Lecturer/Senior Lecturer, Earth System Science (School of Science)

Sydney Horizon Educators (Identified)

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How can creative writing help individuals struggling with their mental health?

How do our mental health nurses use creative writing?

Poem by Ella Morley, third-year mental health nursing student

A Quiet Rage by Stacey Moore, third-year mental health nursing student

Poem by Sera Jenkins, third-year mental health nursing student

Seen/Unseen by David Rawsthorn, third-year mental health nursing student

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