The Psychology Of Creative Writing

The Psychology of Creative Writing takes a scholarly, psychological look at multiple aspects of creative writing, including the creative writer as a person, the text itself, the creative process, the writer's development, the link between creative writing and mental illness, the personality traits of comedy and screen writers, and how to teach creative writing. This book will appeal to psychologists interested in creativity, writers who want to understand more about the magic behind their talents, and educated laypeople who enjoy reading, writing, or both. From scholars to bloggers to artists, The Psychology of Creative Writing has something for everyone.

The Psychology of Creative Writing takes a scholarly, psychological look at multiple aspects of creative writing, including the creative writer as a person, the text itself, the creative process, the writer's development, the link between creative writing and mental illness, the personality traits of comedy and screen writers, and how to teach creative writing. This book will appeal to psychologists interested in creativity, writers who want to understand more about the magic behind their talents, and educated laypeople who enjoy reading, writing, or both. From scholars to bloggers to artists, The Psychology of Creative Writing has something for everyone.

The Psychology of Creative Writing takes a scholarly, psychological look at multiple aspects of creative writing, including the creative writer as a person, the text itself, the creative process, the writer's development, the link between creative writing and mental illness, the personality traits of comedy and screen writers, and how to teach creative writing. This book will appeal to psychologists interested in creativity, writers who want to understand more about the magic behind their talents, and educated laypeople who enjoy reading, writing, or both. From scholars to bloggers to artists, The Psychology of Creative Writing has something for everyone.

The human ability to render meaning through symbolic media such as art, dance, music, and speech defines, in many ways, the uniqueness of our species. One symbolic medium in particular--written expression--has aroused increasing interest among researchers across disciplines, in areas as diverse as the humanities, education, and the social sciences because it offers a fascinating window into the processes underlying the creation and enunciation of symbolic representation. In The Psychology of Writing, cognitive psychologist Ronald T. Kellogg reviews and integrates the fast-growing, multidisciplinary field of composition research, a field that seeks to understand how people formulate and express their thoughts with the symbols of written text. By examining the production of written text, the book fills a large gap in cognitive psychology, which until now has focused on speech production, comprehension, and reading, while virtually ignoring how people write. Throughout, the author masterfully examines the many critical factors that come together during the writing process--including writer personality, work schedules, method of composing, and knowledge. In providing an important new theoretical framework that enables readers from a wide range of backgrounds to navigate the extensive composition literature, the author drives home the profound significance of meaning-making as a defining feature of human cognition. Kellogg not only draws from the work of leading composition scholars, but quotes insights into the writing process proffered by some of the most gifted practitioners of the writing craft--including E.M. Forster, John Updike, and Samuel Johnson. Engaging and lively, The Psychology of Writing is the perfect introduction to the subject for students, researchers, journalists, and interested general readers.

A COMPANION TO CREATIVE WRITING A Companion to Creative Writing is a comprehensive collection covering myriad aspects of the practice and profession of creative writing in the contemporary world. The book features contributions from an international cast of creative writers, publishers and editors, critics, translators, literary prize judges, and many other top professionals. Chapters not only consider the practice of creative writing in terms of how it is “done,” but also in terms of what occurs in and around creative writing practice. Chapters address a wide range of topics including the writing of poetry and fiction; playwriting and screenwriting; writing for digital media; editing; creative writing and its engagement with language, spirituality, politics, education, and heritage. Other chapters explore the role of literary critics and ideas around authorship, as well as translation and creative writing, the teaching of creative writing, and the histories and character of the marketplace, prizes, awards, and literary events. With its unprecedented breadth of coverage, A Companion to Creative Writing is an indispensable resource for those who are undertaking creative writing, studying creative writing at any level, or considering studying creative writing.

“One of the few truly helpful books on fiction writing.” —Chicago Tribune Go beyond Stephen King’s On Writing to master the fundamentals of great storytelling with this foundational guide that reveals the essential elements of what makes the best fiction. The Art of Creative Writing is a timeless testament to the power of dialogue and character development that is accessible for every level of writer from beginner to established author. As in the bestselling The Art of Dramatic Writing, still considered one of the most essential books on playwriting more than 75 years after publication, the author outlines in detail his highly acclaimed Egri Method of Creative Writing and shows how to apply it to all fiction formats—novels, short stories, and screenplays. Grounded in Egri’s assertion that “Every type of creative writing depends upon the credibility of a character,” here is concise, clear advice on the most important element of good writing: characterization. Step by step, Egri shows writers how to probe the secrets of human motivation to create flesh-and-blood characters who create suspense and conflict, and who grow emotionally under stress and strain. As practical as it is inspiring, The Art of Creative Writing remains a timeless, illuminating guide that teaches every writer, and aspiring writer, how to create works that are both compelling and enduring.

An assessment of human thought and behavior explores conundrums from the mind's ability to perceive three dimensions to the nature of consciousness, in an account that draws on beliefs in cognitive science and evolutionary biology.

Writing is a means of making sense of experience, and of arriving at a deeper understanding of the self. The use of creative writing therapeutically can complement verbal discussions, and offers a cost- and time-effective way of extending support to depressed or psychologically distressed patients. Suitable both for health-care professionals who wish to implement therapeutic writing with their patients, and for those wishing to start writing creatively in order to help themselves, The Therapeutic Potential of Creative Writing provides practical, well tried and tested suggestions for beginning to write and for developing writing further. It includes ideas for writing individually and for directing groups, and explores journal writing, poetry, fiction, autobiography and writing out trauma, with established writers and those who have taken up writing for private enjoyment.