5 Personal Benefits of Writing Fiction

1. Focus Over Avoidance

By now you’ve probably heard of procrastination. But did you know that avoidance may very well be the number one problem of our psychological health? Especially in this day and age where anxiety is becoming a predominant, most commonly diagnosed problem.

It’s hard getting focused as well since every day we’re being bombarded by thousands of different and distracting voices, be it phone calls, television, messages, and other. Writing thus provides a way of withdrawing, silent and focused contemplating we so desperately need.

But the catch is, our focus is not directed at ourselves and we don’t feel the need to look the other way, as is the case with avoidance. What we instead do is create a healthy habit in a more fun and imaginative way.

2. Narrative And Organizing

Life can be very confusing when it comes to our feelings, desires, and actions. In order to avoid aimless, meaningless and painful experiences, we organize our knowledge of ourselves and the world.

Narrative theories have been joined with psychology ever since psychotherapy earned our trust, with the assumption that our brains work in different patterns of archetypal narratives which form an underlying structure of our perception of life events. Narratives are a form of intellectual processing of our experience and rendering it from pieces of random events to greater self-knowledge and consciousness.

Since narratives are, traditionally, considered to be a thing of prose fiction, you can see why writing stories can be helpful when it comes to processing one’s own chaotic life experiences.

3. Irony And Criticizing

We are oftentimes unable to see ourselves clearly, for the experience of being ourselves is so overwhelming and consuming that we cannot take a step back and look with a more critical eye. This distancing is something we do while telling the narratives as well, but if narratives are a sort of an organizing matrix, irony is a critical stance (distance).

While writing fiction, we presumably engage ourselves in the lives of different characters, faulty and maybe lovable in all possible ways. This way we explore, not that which is different from ourselves, but that which is different within ourselves. What this means is we get to look at ourselves through other’s eyes and incite inner change.

4. Imagination Over Loneliness

Reading books has been known to decrease the feeling of social isolation, but can you imagine the power of fiction you created yourself? The mere act of writing can alleviate the sense of isolation since it implies its own manner of communication and expression.

In the end, having someone read what you wrote can in itself be rewarding. Whether it’s your close friends or the public, the feedback can make you feel more connected with the world around you, especially if you engage others in your world of imagination.

5. Free And Profitable

Nowadays we barely have the time to be where we have to be, and not to speak of wanting some alone time. For most of us, it is the luxury we can’t afford. Taking this into consideration, writing can truly feel like an expensive, time-consuming hobby. But given that benefits are much greater than just those listed above, it’s worth thinking of options that can make this hobby more affordable.

Firstly, you might want to find out how to self-publish, since this can save you a lot of trouble and money. Secondly, you might look for different usages for your writing and writing skills.

In the age of information, internet and new developing media, writing is certainly a profitable and desirable skill to have. Copywriting, scriptwriting, screenwriting, writing columns, all of these are at your disposal, your writing skills are widely applicable.

Whatever the case, in the end, you’ll find your life to be richer, for writing can be a place for retreat or a source of power, it can make you more self-conscious and at the same time more forgiving and flexible.