Skip to main content

The Creative Process in Writers

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
The Creative Process

Part of the book series: Palgrave Studies in Creativity and Culture ((PASCC))

Abstract

Piirto discusses the creative process in creative writers, gleaned from qualitative themes obtained from archival sources—scholarly biographies, autobiographies, memoirs, and published interviews. This chapter discusses the motivation, or intention, to write, which is primary. It discusses the Five Core Attitudes for creators: (self-discipline, risk-taking, group trust, tolerance for ambiguity, and openness to experience) and Seven I’s for the creative process: [(1) inspiration (from love, dreams, travel, the work of others); (2) intuition; (3) insight; (4) imagery; (5) imagination; (6) incubation; and (7) improvisation]. Then, General Practices for the Creative Process (need for solitude, meditation, exercise, study, ritual, and the transpersonal) are discussed. This chapter demonstrates the multi-faceted nature of the creative process in writers as illustrated by the real words and personal accounts of the writers themselves.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 99.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Hardcover Book
USD 129.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

References

  • Barker, C. (1993). Clive Barker. In N. Epel (Ed.), Writers dreaming (pp. 31–42). New York, NY: Carol Southern Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Barron, F. (1968). Creativity and personal freedom. New York, NY: Van Nostrand.

    Google Scholar 

  • Barron, F. (1995). No rootless flower: An ecology of creativity. Cresskill, NJ: Hampton Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Barron, J. (2013, December 26). Completely without dignity: An interview with Karl Ove Knausgsard. Paris Review Daily. Retrieved from http://www.theparisreview.org/blog/2013/12/26/completely-without-dignity-an-interview-with-karl-ove-knausgaard/.

  • Barthelme, D. (1981). Sixty stories. New York, NY: G. M. Putnam Sons.

    Google Scholar 

  • Biles, J. (2015, July). Interview with Jeffrey Harrison: The Writers’ Almanac. Retrieved from http://writersalmanac.org/bookshelf/jeffrey-harrison.

  • Brooks, J. (1995). Interview with Chinua Achebe: The art of fiction, CXXXVIV. Paris Review, 133, 142–166.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bugeja, M. J. (1992). The muse at home. In E. Shelnutt (Ed.), My poor elephant: 27 male writers at work (pp. 295–310). Marietta, GA: Longstreet Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Carruth, H. (1983). The formal idea of jazz. In S. Berg (Ed.), In praise of what persists (pp. 33–44). New York, NY: Harper & Row.

    Google Scholar 

  • Chabon, M. (1995). Wonder boys. New York, NY: Random House.

    Google Scholar 

  • Contemporary authors autobiography series, 11, (CAA). (1990). Detroit, MI: Gale Research.

    Google Scholar 

  • Contemporary authors new revised. (1981ff.). Detroit, MI: Gale Research.

    Google Scholar 

  • Csikszentmihalyi, M. (1990). Flow. New York, NY: Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Currey, M. (2013). Daily rituals: How artists work. New York, NY: Alfred A. Knopf.

    Google Scholar 

  • Daniels, J. (2012, June 6). Aaron Sorkin. Interview. Retrieved from www.interviewmagazine.com/film/aaron-sorkin/#page2.

  • Dee, J. (1988). Interview with John Hersey. In G. Plimpton (Ed.), Writers at work (pp. 99–136). New York, NY: Viking Penguin.

    Google Scholar 

  • Faggen, R. (1995). Czeslaw Milosz: The art of poetry LXX. Paris Review, 133, 242–273.

    Google Scholar 

  • Getzels, J., & Csikszentmihalyi, M. (1976). The creative vision: A longitudinal study of problem finding in art. New York, NY: Wiley.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ghiselin, B. (Ed.). (1952). The creative process. New York, NY: Bantam.

    Google Scholar 

  • Graham, J. (1995). The dream of the unified field: Selected poems 1974–1994. New York, NY: HarperCollins.

    Google Scholar 

  • Guppy, S. (1989). Interview with Edna O’Brien. In G. Plimpton (Ed.), Women writers at work: The Paris Review interviews (pp. 337–359). New York, NY: Viking Penguin.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hall, J. W. (1993). James W. Hall. In N. Epel (Ed.), Writers dreaming (pp. 106–118). New York, NY: Carol Southern Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Harrison, J. (1991). Just before dark: Collected nonfiction. New York, NY: Houghton Mifflin.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hart, H. (2000). James Dickey: The world as a lie. New York, NY: Picador.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hodges, J. (1992). The genius of writers: A treasury of facts, anecdotes, and comparisons: The lives of English writers compared. New York, NY: St. Martins Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • John-Steiner, V. (1997). Notebooks of the mind. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Johnson, C. (1993). Charles Johnson. In N. Epel (Ed.), Writers dreaming (pp. 119–132). New York, NY: Carol Southern Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Johnson, K., & Paulenich, C. (Eds.). (1992). Beneath a single moon: Buddhism in contemporary American poetry. Boston, MA: Shambhala.

    Google Scholar 

  • Joyce, J. (1922). Ulysses. Paris, FR: Sylvia Beach.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kakutani, M. (1995). Interview with Woody Allen: The art of humor, I. Paris Review, 133, 200–222.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kelsey, M. (1996, January/February). An interview with Robert Olen Butler. Poets & Writers Magazine, 24(1), 40–48.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kevles, B. (1989). Interview with Anne Sexton. In G. Plimpton (Ed.), Women writers at work (pp. 263–289). New York, NY: Viking Penguin.

    Google Scholar 

  • King, S. (1993). Stephen King. In N. Epel (Ed.), Writers dreaming (pp. 133–143). New York, NY: Carol Southern Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Langan-Fox, J., & Shirley, D. A. (2003). The nature and measurement of intuition: Cognition and behavioral interests, personality, and experiences. Creativity Research Journal, 15(2), 207–222. https://doi.org/10.080/10400419.2003.9651413.

  • Linville, J. C. (1993). Interview with Mark Helprin: The art of fiction, CXXXII. Paris Review, 126, 160–199.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lubart, T. (2009). In search of the writer’s creative process.In S. B. Kaufman & J. C. Kaufman (Eds). The psychology of creative writing (pp. 149–165). New York, NY: Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • MacAdam, A. (1991). Interview with Octavio Paz. Paris Review, 119, 82–113.

    Google Scholar 

  • MacKinnon, D. (1978). In search of human effectiveness: Identifying and developing creativity. Buffalo, NY: Creative Education Foundation.

    Google Scholar 

  • Marquez, G. G. (1967). One hundred years of solitude. New York, NY: HarperCollins.

    Google Scholar 

  • Maslow, A. (1998). Maslow on management. New York, NY: John.

    Google Scholar 

  • May, R. (1975). The courage to create. New York, NY: Bantam.

    Google Scholar 

  • McCullough, J., & Simpson, M. (1994). Alice Munro, the art of fiction no. 137. Paris Review, 137. Retrieved from http://www.theparisreview.org/interviews/1791/the-art-of-fiction-no-137-alice-munro.

  • Merrill, J. (1992). Permission to speak. In E. Shelnutt (Ed.), My poor elephant: 27 male writers at work (pp. 83–100). Marietta, GA: Longstreet Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Moyers, B. (1995). The language of life: A festival of poets. New York, NY: Doubleday.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mukherjee, B. (1993). Bharati Mukherjee. In N. Epel (Ed.), Writers dreaming (pp. 160–166). New York, NY: Carol Southern Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nichols, J. (1993). John Nichols. In N. Epel (Ed.), Writers dreaming (pp. 178–187). New York, NY: Carol Southern Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • O’Hagen, N. [Producer] & Temple, J. [Director]. (2001). Pandaemonium [Motion picture]. London, UK: British Broadcasting Corporation.

    Google Scholar 

  • Phillips, R. (1989). Interview with Joyce Carol Oates. In G. Plimpton (Ed.), Women writers at work: The Paris Review interviews (pp. 361–384). New York, NY: Viking Penguin.

    Google Scholar 

  • Piirto, J. (1985). The three-week trance diet. Columbus, OH: Carpenter Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Piirto, J. (1998). Understanding those who create (2nd ed.). Tempe, AZ: Great Potential Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Piirto, J. (2002). “My teeming brain”: Understanding creative writers. Cresskill, NJ: Hampton Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Piirto, J. (2004). Understanding creativity. Scottsdale, AZ: Great Potential Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Piirto, J. (2007). Creativity. In J. L. Kincheloe & R. A. Horn (Eds.), The Praeger handbook of education and psychology (pp. 310–320). Santa Barbara, CA: Greenwood Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Piirto, J. (2008). Rethinking the creativity curriculum: An organic approach to creativity enhancement. Mensa Research Journal, 39(1), 85–94.

    Google Scholar 

  • Piirto, J. (2009). The creative process as creators practice it: A view of creativity with emphasis on what creators really do. In B. Cramond (Ed.), Perspectives in gifted education: Creativity (pp. 42–67). Denver, CO: Institute for the Development of Gifted Education, University of Denver.

    Google Scholar 

  • Piirto, J. (2010). The five core attitudes and seven I’s for enhancing creativity in the classroom. In J. Kaufman and R. Beghetto (Eds.), Nurturing creativity in the classroom (pp. 142–171). New York, NY: Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Piirto, J. (2011a). Creativity for 21st century skills: How to embed creativity into the curriculum. Rotterdam, The Netherlands: Sense Publishers.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Piirto, J. (2011b). Synchronicity. In M. Runco & S. Pritzker (Eds.), Encyclopedia of creativity (2nd ed., Vol. 2, pp. 409–413). San Diego, CA: Academic Press.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Plimpton, G. (1988). Interview with E. L. Doctorow. In G. Plimpton (Ed.), Writers at work (pp. 299–321). New York, NY: Viking Penguin.

    Google Scholar 

  • Plimpton, G., & Crowther, E. (1988). Interview with E. B. White. In G. Plimpton (Ed.), Writers at work, Eighth Series (pp. 2–23). New York, NY: Penguin Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Policastro, E. (1999). Intuition. In M. Runco & S. Pritzker (Eds.), Encyclopedia of creativity (Vol. 2, pp. 89–93). San Diego, CA: Academic Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Price, R. (1993). Reynolds Price. In N. Epel (Ed.), Writers dreaming (pp. 200–208). New York, NY: Carol Southern Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sanders, S. R. (1992). Letter to a reader. In E. Shelnutt (Ed.), My poor elephant: 27 male writers at work (pp. 236–254). Marietta, GA: Longstreet Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Segal, E. (2004). Incubation in insight problem solving. Creativity Research Journal, 16(1), 141–148.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Shapiro, D. (2010). Devotion: A memoir. New York, NY: HarperCollins.

    Google Scholar 

  • Shields, D. (2010). Reality hunger: A manifesto. New York, NY: Random House.

    Google Scholar 

  • Siddons, A. R. (1993). In N. Epel (Ed.), Writers dreaming (pp. 237–243). New York, NY: Carol Southern Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Simmons, S. (2012). I’m your man: The life of Leonard Cohen. New York, NY: HarperCollins.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sinclair, U. (1962). The autobiography of Upton Sinclair. New York, NY: Harcourt, Brace, and World.

    Google Scholar 

  • Solzhenitsyn, A. (1963). One day in the life of Ivan Denisovich (R. Parker, Trans.). New York, NY: Dutton.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sternberg, R., & Davidson, J. (Eds.). (1995). The nature of insight. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Styron, W. (1993). In N. Epel (Ed.). Writers dreaming (pp. 270–280). New York, NY: Carol Southern Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tan, A. (1993). In N. Epel (Ed.), Writers dreaming (pp. 281–288). New York, NY: Carol Southern Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Taylor, R. L. (1993). The territory of memory. In E. Shelnutt (Ed.), My poor elephant: 27 male writers at work (pp. 255–268). Marietta, GA: Longstreet Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Teicholz, T. (1988). Interview with Cynthia Ozick, 198. Reprinted in G. Plimpton (Ed.), Writers at work, eighth series (pp. 195–223). New York, NY: Viking Penguin Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Thoreau, H. D. (1845). Walden. Retrieved from http://thoreau.eserver.org/walden00.html.

  • Wallace, D. F. (1996). Infinite Jest. New York, NY: Little, Brown.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wallace, I. (1962). The prize. New York, NY: Dutton.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wallace, I. (1968). The writing of one novel. New York, NY: Simon and Schuster.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wallas, G. (1926). The art of thought. New York, NY: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich.

    Google Scholar 

  • Warner, M. (1989). Interview with Rebecca West. Reprinted in G. Plimpton (Ed.), Women writers at work: The Paris Review interviews (pp. 71–105). New York, NY: Viking Penguin.

    Google Scholar 

  • Watson, R. (1992). Luck and chance. In E. Shelnutt (Ed.), My poor elephant: 27 male writers at work (pp. 153–165). Marietta, GA: Longstreet Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wilmer, C. (1995). Thom Gunn: The art of poetry, no. 71. Paris Review, 135. Retrieved September 17, 2015, from http://www.theparisreview.org/interviews/1626/the-art-of-poetry-no-72-thom-gunn.

  • Wood, W. C. (1988). Interview with Robert Stone. Reprinted in G. Plimpton (Ed.), Writers at work (pp. 343–375). New York, NY: Viking Penguin.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Jane Piirto .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

Copyright information

© 2018 The Author(s)

About this chapter

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this chapter

Piirto, J. (2018). The Creative Process in Writers. In: Lubart, T. (eds) The Creative Process. Palgrave Studies in Creativity and Culture. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-50563-7_4

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics