The Creative Process in Writers

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.