Four Factors That May Predict the Emergence of Creative Writing: A Proposed Model

Abstract

Factors that may predict that a child will become a creative writer as an adult are explored. Two areas of research are reviewed: studies documenting the incidence of mood disorders in adult creative writers and retrospective studies examining the childhoods of creative writers. The first body of research shows a clear correlation between creative writing and mood disorders. The second shows that children who later become creative writers experience an atypical amount of stress. It is suggested here that these 2 findings are related, because stress in childhood is associated with mental illness in adulthood. Stress cannot however be a necessary condition for becoming a creative writer because not all creative writers experienced stress in childhood. Nor can it be a sufficient condition since most children who experience stress do not become writers. It is argued that, along with the stress that many writers experience as children, 3 factors may be associated with creative writing ability: growing up in an enriched and child-centered family (which can co-exist with stress), having high verbal ability, and having an unusually rich imaginative life. These latter 3 factors may mediate against stress and foster resilience in these children and allow them to grow up to become writers.