Day 15

Prompt: Give us your opinion on ways that creative writing can remain relevant long into the 21st century.

When I first read the prompt for today, I simply didn't understand why such a question was being asked. It has never once occurred to me that creative writing may not have a place in the future. Books are such a part of life for many people, but beyond novels, creative writing is used everywhere. People interact with creative writing everyday- in ads, TV shows, radio shows, movies, theater, even informative writing- and don't even know it. As such, I firmly believe that creative writing won't be going anywhere. In fact, I think it will become only more important as life goes on.

These are the top seven reasons I believe that creative writing has a strong place in the future.

1. As much as I hate to start with this one, I honestly believe that it is one hundred percent true: without creative writing, most marketing ploys would fall flat and without marketing, companies would loose their contact with consumers, thus negatively impacting the economy.

2. In most societies, people rely on entertainment for escape, whether that is in the form of TV, movies, books or radio. Creative writing is behind all of that.

3. As long as language continues being taught in schools, people will keep reading. The literary canon ensures that students are exposed to many of the great creative writings, and chances are, throughout students' time in school, one of those books will inspire them to continue reading.

4. There are people like us, and have been since writing began, that feel the need to tell stories, to capture our worlds and share them. I would say it is safe to say that the group of people drawn to writing will continue forever.

5. Creative writing helps humans to process the world and events. While reading about the Civil War or pilgrims or factual history in general may not be that engaging for many, reading about these things in the context of a story draws us in and helps us to understand history and enjoy doing so.

6. Similar to the above, as long as humanity keep doing horrible things to each other, there will be stories, fictional and non-fictional, inspired by them. We cannot help but write tales about the events that impact us.

7. Reading is addicting and as long as we pass down our own loves of reading, the future generations will also appreciate the written word.