The Psychology of Creative Writing

Cover......Page 1
Half-title......Page 3
Title......Page 5
Copyright......Page 6
Dedication......Page 7
Contents......Page 9
Contributors......Page 13
Foreword......Page 17
Preface......Page 21
Acknowledgments......Page 25
Part I The Writer......Page 27
1 The Personalities of Creative Writers......Page 29
The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator......Page 32
PERSONALITY ATTRIBUTES OF WRITERS......Page 33
Ambition/Envy......Page 34
Frankness that Is Often Expressed in Political or Social Activism......Page 36
Psychopathology......Page 38
Depression......Page 41
Empathy......Page 42
References......Page 43
2 The Creative Writer, Dysphoric Rumination, and Locus of Control......Page 48
THE CREATIVE ARTIST AND MENTAL ILLNESS......Page 50
THE CREATIVE POET......Page 51
DYSPHORIC RUMINATION BY REVISION......Page 52
FEMALE POETS AND WRITERS......Page 53
THE WRITER AND SUICIDE......Page 54
REVISION: “WHITE-HOT” VARIETY......Page 55
RUMINATION AND THE STEREOTYPE......Page 56
WOMEN AND RUMINATION......Page 57
CREATIVITY AND MOOD......Page 58
A DETRIMENT: AN EXTERNAL LOCUS OF CONTROL......Page 59
REFERENCES......Page 61
3 “The more I write, the better I write, and the better I feel about myself”: Mood Variability and Mood Regulation in Student Journalists and Creative Writers......Page 66
MOOD DISORDERS AND CREATIVE WRITING......Page 67
IS THERE A RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN SUBCLINICAL MOOD VARIABILITY AND WRITING?......Page 68
RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN MOOD AND CREATIVITY......Page 69
EFFECT OF WRITING ON MOOD......Page 71
THE STUDY......Page 73
REFERENCES......Page 77
4 Characteristics of Eminent Screenwriters: Who Are Those Guys?......Page 82
A BRIEF HISTORY OF SCREENWRITERS......Page 83
OUR STUDY......Page 86
EARLY LIFE HISTORY......Page 87
Marriage and Children......Page 88
THE CAREER PATHS TO BECOMING A SCREENWRITER......Page 89
Television Writing......Page 90
Unrelated Fields......Page 91
AGE AT WINNING AN AWARD......Page 92
Repeat Winners......Page 93
Women and Minority Writers......Page 94
THE CREATIVE PROCESS......Page 95
Work Habits......Page 96
Developing Ideas for Original Scripts......Page 98
Collaborating with Directors, Producers, Executives, and Actors......Page 99
REFERENCES......Page 100
CONCLUSION......Page 101
5 The Tears of a Clown: Understanding Comedy Writers......Page 105
FLAVORS OF HUMOR AND THEIR RELATION TO PERSONALITY......Page 107
HUMOR PRODUCTION AND CREATIVITY......Page 111
HUMOR PRODUCTION AND INTELLIGENCE......Page 112
HUMOR PRODUCTION AND SELF-MONITORING......Page 114
THE PSYCHOLOGY OF THE PROFESSIONAL HUMORIST......Page 115
CONCLUSION......Page 119
REFERENCES......Page 118
Part II The Text......Page 125
EVOLUTION AND CULTURE......Page 127
THE EVOLUTION OF THE CREATIVE READER......Page 129
THE EVOLUTION OF THE CREATIVE WRITER......Page 134
REFERENCES......Page 139
The Creativity of the Work......Page 143
Physiognomy Introduced......Page 144
A Brief History and Theoretical Overview of Physiognomy......Page 146
PHYSIOGNOMY IN THE ARTS AND LITERATURE......Page 147
PHYSIOGNOMY, SYNESTHESIA, AND THE LITERARY EXPERIENCE......Page 150
LITERARY CREATIVITY, THE TEXT, AND PHYSIOGNOMY......Page 151
REFERENCES......Page 153
8 The Literary Genius of William Shakespeare: Empirical Studies of His Dramatic and Poetic Creativity......Page 157
Style......Page 158
Content......Page 161
Exogenous Factors......Page 160
Impact......Page 162
THE 154 SONNETS......Page 163
Study One......Page 164
Study Two......Page 165
Not Shakespeare!......Page 167
REFERENCES......Page 169
Part III The Process......Page 173
9 In Search of the Writer's Creative Process......Page 175
THE WRITING PROCESS......Page 177
THE CREATIVE PROCESS......Page 179
CREATIVE PROCESS IN WRITING......Page 183
REFERENCES......Page 187
10 Writing as a Collaborative Act......Page 192
FROM THE LONE GENIUS TO THE GROUP GENIUS......Page 193
MEDIEVAL WRITING......Page 197
THE INKLINGS......Page 198
THE CREATIVE PROCESS......Page 200
CONCLUSION......Page 202
REFERENCES......Page 203
11 Writing as an Interaction with Ideas......Page 206
CREATIVITY AND ADAPTATION......Page 207
WRITING AS SELF-DISCLOSURE......Page 209
WHO IS CREATIVE?......Page 212
WRITING AS PRODUCT AND PROCESS......Page 214
CONCLUSION......Page 216
REFERENCES......Page 217
CREATIVE COGNITION......Page 222
RETRIEVING KNOWLEDGE AT MULTIPLE LEVELS OF ABSTRACTION......Page 223
A ROLE FOR SPECIFICITY......Page 227
THE PATH-OF-LEAST-RESISTANCE IN CRAFTING SENTENCES......Page 229
COMBINING CONCEPTS......Page 230
SUMMARY......Page 234
REFERENCES......Page 233
Part IV The Development......Page 237
WHAT IS FLOW IN WRITING?......Page 239
FEEDBACK AND FLOW......Page 241
WHO WILL READ IT (AND WHO CARES)......Page 242
FROM RITUAL TO FOCUS......Page 243
VARIETIES OF FLOW......Page 245
PHYSICAL EXPERIENCE OF FLOW......Page 246
LEARNING TO FLOW......Page 247
REFERENCES......Page 248
NATURAL IMAGERY AND CREATIVE PRODUCTION......Page 251
BLOCKED WRITERS – CHARACTERISTICS AND SUBTYPES......Page 253
Comparison of Blocked and Nonblocked Writers......Page 254
Type 1: The Dysphoric/Avoidant Type......Page 255
Type 2: The Guilty/Interpersonally Hindered Type......Page 256
Type 3: The Constricted/Dismissive/Disengaged Type......Page 258
Type 4: The Angry/Disappointed Type......Page 259
Imagery and Daydreaming in Creative Activity......Page 262
Waking Imagery, Hypnotic Dream, and Rational Discussion Interventions......Page 263
Outcomes of the First Intervention Study......Page 264
Imagery Intervention with Writers Blocked in Artistic, Nonfiction, or Critical Projects......Page 267
Outcome of the Intervention Study......Page 269
REFERENCES......Page 270
PRETEND PLAY AND CREATIVITY......Page 273
AFFECT AND THE CREATIVE PROCESS......Page 275
THEORIES OF AFFECT AND CREATIVITY......Page 276
EMPIRICAL FINDINGS......Page 280
PRETEND PLAY AND MEMORIES......Page 282
PLAY INTERVENTIONS......Page 283
CONCLUSION......Page 287
REFERENCES......Page 286
THE EXPRESSIVE WRITING PARADIGM......Page 290
WHY AND HOW DOES EXPRESSIVE WRITING WORK?......Page 294
PATTERNS OF LANGUAGE USE......Page 295
REFERENCES......Page 296
Part V The Education......Page 301
17 How Rewards and Evaluations Can Undermine Creativity (and How to Prevent This)......Page 303
REFERENCES......Page 309
18 Teaching Writing by Demythologizing Creativity......Page 314
THE INEVITABLE OVERSHADOWING OF EMINENT CREATIVITY......Page 315
FROM THE PRIVATE TO THE PUBLIC: THE POTENTIAL INFLUENCE OF THE RISE OF THEORETICAL INTEREST IN EVERYDAY CREATIVITY......Page 316
THE CREATIVE WRITER'S BELIEF SYSTEM: DEFINING THE NUANCES OF THE CREATIVE WRITING PROCESS......Page 318
CREATING ART: DEVELOPING A CREATIVE PERSONA......Page 320
THE WRITER'S NARRATIVE: EXPLANATION OF ACCUMULATED PERCEPTIONS IN THE CREATIVE WRITING WORKSHOP......Page 322
EXPRESSING PERSONAL CREATIVITY: HOW A WRITERS BELIEF SYSTEM INFLUENCES THE EVOLUTION OF THE WRITING PERSONA......Page 323
OVERALL TRAJECTORY OF THE CREATIVE WRITING PROCESS......Page 328
CREATING A SUBJECTIVE REALITY: INTELLECTUAL TOOLS FOR WORKING WITHIN THE CREATIVE WRITING FIELD AND CULTIVATING A WRITERLY IDENTITY......Page 332
THE INFLUENCE OF THE SOCIAL REALM ON THE CREATIVE INDIVIDUAL......Page 335
INVENTION AND REVISION: HOW THE SOCIAL CONTEXT OF THE CREATIVE WRITING FIELD INFLUENCES THE INDIVIDUALS CREATIVE PROCESS......Page 337
REFERENCES......Page 340
19 Creation and Response: Wellspring to Evaluation......Page 343
PAT SCHNEIDER: AWA THEORY AND PRACTICE......Page 344
GENEVIEVE CHANDLER: EVALUATION......Page 350
CONCLUSION......Page 357
REFERENCES......Page 356
20 Fostering Creative Writing: Challenges Faced by Chinese Learners......Page 359
THE CREATIVE WRITING PROGRAM......Page 360
Schedule and Design of the Study......Page 363
External Assessment......Page 367
Knowledge of Biyu and Grouping......Page 368
Pre- and Posttest Essays......Page 369
Language Habits......Page 370
Chinese-Language G.C.E. O-Level Scores......Page 371
Implications......Page 373
Acknowledgments......Page 375
REFERENCES......Page 374
21 Putting the Parts Together: An Integrative Look at the Psychology of Creative Writing......Page 378
Personality......Page 379
Bipolar Disorder......Page 380
Depression......Page 381
Women and Creative Writing......Page 382
Language......Page 383
Recurring Themes in Literature......Page 384
Subprocess Theories......Page 385
The Importance of Revision......Page 386
The Collaborative Process......Page 387
The Inner Critic......Page 388
Flow......Page 389
Alleviating Writers Block......Page 390
Play......Page 391
Positive Effects of Creative Writing......Page 392
Learning Environment......Page 393
Role of Feedback......Page 394
References......Page 395
CONCLUSION......Page 396
Index......Page 398