Friday Speak Out!: Emotions and Creativity – Are they Interdependent?, Guest Post by Carrie Oakley

Emotions and Creativity – Are they Interdependent?

by Carrie Oakley

I’ve found that when I write for myself, I cannot separate my emotions from my creativity; the two combine to make my writing, straight from the heart and true to my feelings and personality. I recently wrote a string of short stories, with most of them dealing with love and relationships and injected with a small dose of humor. A very close friend asked me if I had experienced the emotions I had written about; she felt that without firsthand knowledge, it was impossible to write so accurately about them. I admitted to her that the stories were semi-autobiographical and were based on happenings in my life at random times. I also agreed that it was almost impossible to write passionately about something you’ve never experienced or something you don’t feel strongly about. For me, for creativity to set up shop in my pen, my heart and soul have to first lay the foundation.

This interdependence of emotions and creativity has left me in a sort of dilemma – there are some things that just beg to be put down in words; however, if my writing reveals too much about my innermost thoughts and emotions, should I desist from making it public? Or should I write anonymously? Both options are not acceptable to my vanity because I love the appreciation and applause that my writing brings, and I’m not too worried about the occasional brickbat or two.

I’m sure most writers face similar issues, but after a while, they adapt to filtering out the facts and retaining just the emotions in their writing. This way, they’re able to project authenticity without revealing too many personal details. Good writing needs the edge that emotions provide; however, raw emotions that are unchecked could end up turning writing into a rant. So every new writer who’s faced with this dilemma needs to remember that it takes time to become a mature writer, one who’s able to filter out raw emotions and retain just the right amount to augment their creativity.

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This guest post is contributed by Carrie Oakley, who writes on the topic of online college . Carrie welcomes your comments at her email id: carrie.oakley1983(AT)gmail(DOT)com.

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Would you like to participate in Friday "Speak Out!"? Email your short posts (under 500 words) about women and writing to: marcia[at]wow-womenonwriting[dot]com for consideration. We look forward to hearing from you!

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