The Healing Art of Writing

Recently, I read this article bit.ly/t6GnpF about how writing is now being used as a form for rehabilitation therapy for returning soldiers. Art therapy is often the only form of creative-based therapy people think of, but I was pleased to discover that more doctors are encouraging writing as a means of relaxation and rehabilitation. In these cases writing is used to ease the pain of traumatic events, but the healing art of writing can be used in many forms and has been for centuries.

The few examples of the emotions that writing can alleviate are:

Sadness: Jotting down feelings of loneliness and depression eradicate the pain by painting it on the page.

Happiness: Telling a story of elation or joy is not a form of bragging, but rather a means to share your happiness with others.

Anger: Venting about a troublesome situation is typical of humans, and writing it down only increases the cathartic nature.

For people dealing with particularly difficult times, writing is an excellent means of therapy. It is akin to watching a movie or reading a book, except you are the creator of the story. The facets of your newly written idea can either reflect your dilemmas or avoid them all-together. That is the beauty of writing. There is no definitive form. There are no restricting rules. You can transform a blank page into a place that only exists in the deepest recesses of your imagination. Writing is limitless.

Storytelling is a form of expressing emotion through the beautiful tangle of words. It can relieve stress, share delights or provide an outlet to experience escapism at its finest. The root of writing and reading is to share a common bond with the characters’ struggles while taking time to escape your own. And at some point, either in the middle of a sentence or at the end of the book, you’ll find the worries of the real world melt away at the stroke of a pen.  

National Novel Writing Month

A true challenge in writing is the annual program NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) that encourages writers to start a new project on November 1^st and complete it by November 30^th. There are no prizes as it is not a contest, but your final product must be a minimum of 50,000 words although anything over that is acceptable. That is one tall order, if you ask me. Granted, my first novel is around 90,000 words, but it took me a few months to write and several years to plan (and I’ve been working on its sequels ever since). I adore the concept of NaNoWriMo as it supports authors and promotes them to dig deep and uncover one of the stories hidden within.

Even though this task may seem daunting, I would gladly be an advocate for this exercise. Are you going to come through the month with a polished final draft? In all likelihood, no. Regardless, you will have a solid draft that is completed! And in the process you have the opportunity to network with other writers from across the country and the globe. For a new writer or struggling author, this is the precise atmosphere You Are What You Write endorses.

If I wasn’t already undertaking two other projects, I would try my luck at the NaNoWriMo. I could finally get the idea written that could be best described as a Disney novel. There are so many classic tales out there that could be developed into a Disney themed story. Red Riding Hood for example…well that might be tough to get around the murder and grandmother-consumption. Few tweaks here and there and it could work. Or maybe my long-desired prequel to The Lion King. Did you know Scar’s real name is Taka. That’s a fact, look it up. What made him so sour and delectably disgusting? Coming up with the idea is half the battle. Spending November writing your novel is the other half of the journey.

Take the chance and see what you come up with. If you’d like, share what ideas you have for NaNoWriMo.