5 Reasons to Begin a Creative Writing Journey
I began my creative writing journey around nine years ago. Nursing a heartbreak and trying to calm an unsettled soul, I found solace in the pages of my journal, untangling my busy mind and making sense of my woes in the years to come.
What emerged on the paper wasn’t exactly what I would call poetic to begin with; it was mostly gratitude lists, to-dos, and reflective pieces about what I had eaten for dinner that day, and how I had performed during my gym workouts.
At the time, I had taken to the gym to deal with my broken heart. Truth is, I was lost in the world and looking for a place to belong. I found that place for a while beneath the barbells in the gym, and then later — and still to this day — in the pages of my journal during the sacred hours of morning.
I write practically every day. It’s not always pretty, and sometimes I find myself staring at a blank piece of paper for a while or distracted by emails and notifications, but more often than not, I’ll produce something worthwhile and meaningful.
These pieces sometimes come in the form of poetry:
‘‘I have known sadness,
and I have known pain,
but at least now I know what it’s like
to feel the sunshine after rain.’’
Or mantras:
‘‘Remember who you are.
Remember who you could have been.
Remember, you are just a man.
Remember, you will die one day.’’
Or, powerful, self-expressive pieces about topics that are close to my heart:
‘‘Courage opens the window of the psychological prison we have confined ourselves to, allowing light to enter, but, more importantly, allowing us to see out to new horizons. It then unlocks the door to our cell and tempts us towards these faraway lands, where freedom and creativity await.’’
Now and then, the foundations of a creative essay might fall out of my head — sometimes the essay in its entirety might emerge before me onto the paper.
Learning to See Again
Cleansing the Soul
This devoted approach to writing has led me to produce two books, with a third due for publication in 2026, write for reputable international magazines, and connect with people in all four corners of the world.
The ultimate achievement, however, is in the catharsis that the creative process has invoked in me since I began writing almost a decade ago.
Creative writing has healed my soul and granted me a sense of belonging in the world — and inside myself.
Now, as well as spending many hours throughout the day sitting at my journal and putting words to paper, I also guide others through the creative writing process.
My practice has evolved into a purpose-driven business, and I have recently launched a brand-new service, Healing Through Words, to share the creative wisdom I have accessed through my journey into my inner world and open a safe space for others to explore and express themselves through the art of creative writing.
If you have been thinking about embarking on a writing journey of your own but find yourself hesitant to start, I hope these pointers will be reason enough for you to find your courage and begin weaving your own words on paper.
Learn the Language of Your Inner Landscape
One of the most difficult things about being human is learning to articulate the complex thoughts and feelings we have going on inside our bodies; many people will spend their entire lives never being able to put words to their feelings.
I spent many years unable to share my inner experience with other people. This led to me feeling completely disconnected and alienated from the world. Friends could hardly get to know me, so they built a projection of who I was, which led to these feelings of isolation — and my internal frustration — compounding.
The most beautiful thing about the writing process is that it helps you learn the language of the inner landscape. When we can find the words that accurately describe what is going on inside of ourselves, connections with people around us deepen, and we can relate to the world in entirely new ways.
So often now, I find myself completely immersed in colourful, enlightening conversations with people around me from all walks of life. The world has become a much more interesting place to exist in. If that isn’t reason enough to begin a writing journey, then I don’t know what is.
Share Your Story with an Audience
When I began writing back in 2017, I was doing so entirely for myself — apart from the occasional caption I would share with my friends and followers on Instagram.
Although I still write for myself first and foremost, I also share my words online across many different platforms. I have watched my audiences grow steadily for years. My words have now connected with people in dozens of countries through publications and blogs.
Despite writing for myself, it has, of course, been fulfilling to know that my words resonate with other people. I feel as though I am weaving threads of connection every time I share an article online or get published in a magazine.
This adds fuel to my creative flame and inspires me to continue being the change I want to see in the world.
Do you have an inspiring story to share with the world? Would you like to connect with people in different corners of the globe and feel as though you’re contributing to a cause that is much greater than your own? Writing can open doorways of possibilities. All you have to do is find the courage to sit and write those first words.
Creative Writing Heals the Soul
I briefly touched on this in the introduction: creative writing invites profound healing in the psyche and can lead us to a place of wholeness and integration.
The act of writing allows us to access treasures that might have lain buried in the depths of our subconscious for eternity. Bringing these deep insights from the darkness of the subconscious into the light and seeing them on paper before our eyes can have a profound and transformative effect on us.
We begin to see the stories that we are telling ourselves and the narratives that rule our lives. We might come to realisations about our life experiences. Perhaps, we can begin to use the art of creative writing to write ourselves a new story for our lives of tomorrow.
There is something mystical that happens inside of us when we begin to explore the inner world of thoughts and feelings through words and write them down on paper, bringing insights and realisations into the physical, three-dimensional world.
Once we have seen them on paper, we become witnesses to them. There is no hiding place anymore. The body is forced to integrate the wisdom the soul knew long ago. We become more embodied human beings as a result and call back the fragmented parts of our soul that we might have abandoned through painful and traumatic events.
Writing Helps us Process our Emotions
Over the years, I have written angry words, sad words, joyful words, hopeful words, words of regret, words of longing, dreaming, forgetting, and letting go. I have cried whilst writing, I have laughed at myself whilst writing, and I have vented the anger invoked during writing as a spoken poem on social media.
Writing has helped me access many corners of my heart and taken me on a journey into my own world of emotions and painful memories.
I spent many years resenting the fact that I was born into a body that was so sensitive to the world and other people’s emotions. Through the process of writing about my early life experiences around domestic abuse and violence, which I always blamed for my being the sensitive person I am, I managed to work through my negative feelings towards myself and those who raised me, and reframe my view of my sensitivity, which has now become my greatest strength.
When we write our way through our feelings, our pen becomes a therapist, and the paper a safe space for us to express and release.
Many of our struggles in life come as a result of not knowing how to let go of our painful memories and release the feelings that cause us to become so weighed down and heavy. Writing can be that release we so desperately need.
We Meet — Or, Create — New Sides of Ourselves
Creative writing is an excellent way to get to know ourselves through our words. I have lost count of the number of times I have been lost in the flow of writing, only to look down to read something I didn’t know I knew about myself.
The pages are a mirror, and what emerges is often surprising and interesting. So many of us go through life thinking we know ourselves — but writing has taught me that there is so much I don’t know, and probably never will.
Although we often think of writing as a self-discovery journey, I have actually come to realise that it’s more of a self-creation journey.
Through my own writings over the years, I have identified that we are just the result of our own beliefs and limitations imposed on us by those around us — parents and the peers we kept close as we grew.
What, then, I ask, might we become if we were to rid ourselves of these thoughts and beliefs?
The version of myself that I am today — speaking in public, presenting online, sharing my story with audiences on leading podcasts — is a result of what I have written in the pages of my journal over the past decade.
What might you become if you embark upon this process today?
Practical Tips on Your Creative Writing Journey
The creative writing journey should be seen as a marathon, not a sprint. You will have days when the words flow effortlessly onto the page, and you’ll have days when you feel like you’re churning tarmac with your pen, trying to make them come.
Here are some simple, practical tips that might help you stay on the right path as you weave your words of healing onto paper:
Create a routine. Find a comfortable corner of your house, light a candle and some incense, and let the pen lead you to some beautiful places. I wrote a book of poetry about love and relationships in just two weeks by sticking to a routine.
Read as much as you can. Find blogs that inspire you. Pick up magazines. Ready captions on social media. Absorb as many words as you can, from as many genres as you can remain interested in. You’ll not only be inspired, but your vocabulary will increase rapidly.
Set yourself small goals. Don’t aim to write your memoir in one week. Instead, start small. Aim to write 200 words a day for one week. By the end of the week, you might have yourself a chapter. Four chapters a month. Forty-eight in a year.
Share your words with others. The feedback can be invaluable. But, if you’re new to this, find a select few people you trust with your innermost parts. Build your confidence before sharing with wider circles.
Celebrate your progress. Every word represents your dedication to your own growth and evolution. It also shows how courageous you are to do what 99% of people will never do. That is a huge victory.
Final Words for Your Journey
There are times when I sit and stare at the blank pages before me, wondering why I write, and questioning whether any of it really matters. I could, I think, just put the notebook away and spend my free time watching films and disconnecting from the world through social media videos or computer games.
Writing, however, has led me to form deep connections with others and develop a profound, transformative relationship with the natural world. More importantly, it has allowed me to connect and relate deeply with myself — my true self; the version of me who used to bury himself beneath books and lose himself in entire worlds, not the conditioned shell of me whom the world once knew.
When you learn to write with openness and vulnerability, you open the door to your heart and invite others in to sit around the hearth to listen to your stories. You get to share your unique experiences and viewpoints with your readers, inspiring, educating, comforting, and empowering them.
If you’re feeling hesitant to start, why not start small? Share your words with a select few people whom you trust not to judge, advise or criticise you. Then, when you’re ready, perhaps you could share with a wider circle of friends or in writing groups. Over time, you’ll start to unearth your unique voice, which could be used for powerful purposes.
No matter where it leads, the writing journey can be powerful and transformational. This path, I have learned for myself, is absolutely worth taking, so long as you remember to enjoy the process of your own unfolding.
If you want to read more inspirational words, visit www.bradwcarr.com and explore the Finding Light Journal. Or, find me on Instagram at @bradwcarr.
If you’d like a guide to get you started, you can book a Healing Through Words session to work with me online.
Keep searching. Keep seeking. Keep writing. Your true creative voice is waiting to be unearthed.