5 Myths About Creative Writing

“Myths are fun, as long you don’t confuse them with the truth” – Richard Dawkins

Every day we come across people who believe in myths about various things and form an opinion that usually derails them from the truth.

Today, we’re here to bust the myths about CREATIVE WRITING. But before talking about the myths, it is important to understand what creative writing is.

We can define creative writing as an artistic interpretation of fictional things by the use of imagination and narration along with some drama. Sounds simple, right? Well, it isn’t.

Here are 5 Myths about creative writings that you need to know about –

1. It is just fiction and no research

I agree, that a good idea and a little bit of imagination can help you start something but there’s a lot more that goes into that. You must’ve heard, “There’s no end to research, the more you research the more you get.” It is important to understand what kind of audience you are serving and find the best way to convey your point and the topic as well.

2. Since it is spontaneous, practice is impossible

This is one of the worst misconceptions people have about creative writing, it is spontaneous but the more you practice the better you’ll get. Honestly, the more topics you touch, the more ideas you’ll have and you might reach new heights in terms of imagination. It is going to help you in being a better narrator and improve your writing skills as well.

3. It isn’t an art, it’s just a skill

To an extent, I will probably agree that creative writing or writing in consensus is considered a skill. But, I think there’s so much more to creative writing than a skill. It is heavily dependent on ideas, imagination, and narration which aren’t particularly skills.

4. Creativity is a tough skill to adapt

The biggest problem is that people don’t take the first step and as an outsider, it appears way more difficult than it is. Just like any other skill, you have to be open to the idea of learning and more importantly, explore different creative fields to see where you can fit it. That is going to give you an idea and direction to move forward.

And Last, but never the least...

5. You need qualifications

Having an academic qualification in creative writing is like learning to drive on empty roads; whereas the real test and learning happens on ground zero. The more you write, the more you can connect the dots, with or without the degree.

I think a lot of people would’ve tried to do something in the field of creative writing if it wasn’t for such myths holding them back. Were you also having a setback due to your mind being hijacked by such myths? Would love to know your inhibitions in the comments below.