Writing fiction; a phenomenological study of the creative writing experience of fiction writers

Modern Psychological Studies Modern Psychological Studies

Volume 26 Number 2 Article 2

May 2021

Writing 7ction; a phenomenological study of the creative writing Writing 7ction; a phenomenological study of the creative writing

experience of 7ction writers experience of 7ction writers

Konstantinos Mavrakakis

The Open University, United Kingdom

, [email protected]

Abigail Chipman

The Open University, United Kingdom

, [email protected]

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Recommended Citation Recommended Citation

Mavrakakis, Konstantinos and Chipman, Abigail (2021) "Writing 7ction; a phenomenological study of the

creative writing experience of 7ction writers,"

Modern Psychological Studies

: Vol. 26 : No. 2 , Article 2.

Available at: https://scholar.utc.edu/mps/vol26/iss2/2

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A PHENOMENOLOGICAL STUDY OF CREATIVE WRITING EXPERIENCE

Abstract

While the focus of previous psychological research on artistic creativity has been mainly

cognitive, the phenomenology of creativity has been largely neglected. This research aimed

to address this gap, exploring how fiction writers experience the creative writing process.

Two semi-structured interviews were carried out with published fiction writers. A thematic

analysis of these interviews was conducted in order to explore how writers experience the

creative writing process. The three common emergent themes that were selected for analysis

were firstly, finding your voice, secondly, living between two worlds, and thirdly, facing the

challenges of writing. This study generated insight into the creative writing experience of

fiction writers.

A PHENOMENOLOGICAL STUDY OF CREATIVE WRITING EXPERIENCE

Introduction

Previous research

Research on artistic creativity has in the past followed a number of different paths

such as cognitive, personality, contextual, psychometric, psychoanalytic and pragmatic

approaches (Nelson and Rawlings, 2007). The focus of these approaches has mostly been on

correlates of creativity, characteristics of creativity, contexts of creativity and developmental

pathways to creativity. While these approaches have provided valuable perspectives on the

concept of creativity, the phenomenology of creativity, or in other words the manner in which

creativity is subjectively experienced by the artist, has been largely neglected by

psychological research.

An example of a key study about creative writing from a non phenomenological

perspective, is that of Michael’s (2016) which explored the unconscious fantasies of writers

from a psychoanalytic perspective. It was found that writers invested their writing with

fantasized powers of healing and self-sustenance, selected readers who could help them

complete their work but also separate themselves from it, developed a unique process or

method of writing that represented an external solution to internal challenges and that self-

criticism was the main reason for writing inhibition. Another key example of non

phenomenological research is Paton’s (2012) study which explored the concept of flow,

looking at the specific example of character empathy, as experienced by a sample of

Australian fiction writers. It was found that the concept of flow can help explain the

dichotomy between conscious, controlled writing and unconscious processes or altered states

of consciousness. Writers’ deep familiarity with story content, including the characters, can

lead to the deep concentration, the losing of the sense of time and the lack of self-awareness

that characterize the state of flow.

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The few studies that have investigated creative writing from a phenomenological

perspective mainly originate from academic fields other than psychology such as education or

occupational science. Healy and Merga (2017) explored children’ s writing from a

phenomenological perspective that views writing as an experience of the self, the expression

of ideas, and the existential phenomena of the lifeworld. They proposed that the act of writing

involves cognitive, affective and interpersonal aspects. Cognitive aspects, include developing

ideas and converting them into written language, affective aspects, refer to the mood and

motivation of writers, and interpersonal aspects, include the perception of readers. Healy’s

(2019) study about children’s experience of creative writing in the classroom explored how

the affect, embodiment and materiality of their environment impacts the child’s writing

experience. Three main themes were identified which indicated a binary experience of

writing with the child’s consciousness shifting between their imagination and the task before

them and with each of those affecting the way the experience of the self appears to the writer.

Although the findings of these studies are interesting, they may not be very relevant for adults

as significant differences between the creative writing of children and that of adults may

exist.

Rampley et al.’s (2019) phenomenological study from the field of occupational

science explored the relationship between creative writing, well-being and identity for writers

who regarded creative writing as a serious leisure occupation. Five main themes were

identified from the data, namely creative and communicative freedom, writing as an escape

from reality, writing as intrinsic to sense of self, the vulnerable identity of ‘writer’, and

strategies for coping with the vulnerability of a writer’s identity. It was found that the

participants could express their feelings and obtain emotional clarity through creative writing.

Regarding the relationship between well-being and creative writing, it was found that the

A PHENOMENOLOGICAL STUDY OF CREATIVE WRITING EXPERIENCE

participants experienced joy, excitement, escapism and a sense of intensity, but that these

feelings could make them reluctant to stop writing and this in turn could have negative

consequences for their routines and their social life. It was also found that although writing

provided a strong sense of identity for the participants, this identity could be vulnerable if

their writing did not receive external critical affirmation. The use of an all-male sample in the

study may mean that the findings do not apply to female writers. Moreover, the use of

participants who view creative writing as a serious leisure occupation may mean the findings

do not apply to professional fiction writers.

Nelson and Rawlings (2007) phenomenological study of artistic creativity explored

how artists from a range of diverse artistic fields (including writing) experience the creative

process. Their findings were organized in nineteen interlinked themes, with three closely

related dynamics operating within these nineteen themes, namely an intuition-analysis

dynamic, a union-division dynamic, and a freedom-constraint dynamic. More specifically,

regarding the intuition-analysis dynamic, there seems to exist a movement between more

intuitive and more critical, analytical mental processes. Regarding the union-division

dynamic, there seems to be a movement between a unity in sense of self and lack of self-

awareness while immersed in the creative activity and a return to the awareness of other

mental objects, including the sense of self. Regarding the freedom-constraint dynamic, there

seems to be a movement between a sense of freedom experienced while absorbed in the

creative process and feelings of vulnerability, but also other more positive feelings, after

completing the artwork.

In an interdisciplinary study, also influenced from phenomenology, Doyle (1998)

explored the experience of creating literary fiction. The themes found were used along with

theoretical concepts from psychology, phenomenology and literary theory to construct a

A PHENOMENOLOGICAL STUDY OF CREATIVE WRITING EXPERIENCE

tentative modal account of writing fiction. It was found that for those interviewed, writing

progressed through alternations between a “writingrealm” (in which the writer withdrew from

everyday life in order to write, to plan and to reflect on their writing) and a “fictionworld” (in

which elements of the story came to the writer as narrative improvisation unfolded). It was

also claimed that writing fiction differs from other creative domains in that one of its main

modes of thought, namely narrative improvisation, involves stances in a fictionworld from

viewpoints different from the writer’s own.

In summary, the creative writing process has been studied from a range of different

perspectives and from various academic fields. Non phenomenological studies have focused

on different aspects and factors of the creative writing process such as for example the

unconscious fantasies of writers or how the concept of flow influences the writing process.

Similarly, phenomenological studies have focused on different aspects of the creative writing

process, such as for example the impact of the environment on the writing experience, the

relationship between creative writing and identity, or creative writing as an experience of the

self.

The current study

Since the small number of studies that have explored creative writing from a

phenomenological perspective originate from a range of academic fields, the focus of these

studies has been diverse, such as on educational or occupational aspects of creative writing,

and their conclusions varied. The present study aimed to fill this gap in the literature by

exploring from the field of psychology and from a phenomenological perspective how fiction

writers experience the creative writing process. In other words, it sought to understand the

writers’ unique experience and worldview and to describe their lifeworld. The research

question was: ‘How do fiction writers experience the creative writing process?’

A PHENOMENOLOGICAL STUDY OF CREATIVE WRITING EXPERIENCE

Method

Design

Phenomenological Qualitative Design was used in order to gain understanding of the

way fiction writers experience the creative writing process. A thematic analysis found themes

in response to this and lifeworld features were uncovered to explore participants’ lived

experience.

Participants

A purposive sample of adult participants was used in this research. Writers who have

published fiction books and who were therefore likely to have the relative experience and

knowledge needed to provide detailed responses to questions relating to the phenomenon of

creative writing were recruited. Since the main author of the paper is also a writer, he

recruited participants among writers he knows personally. Participants were over 18 years

and did not belong to a vulnerable category. The first participant, given the pseudonym Anna,

is a woman aged 75 who has published four novels. The second participant, given the

pseudonym Stamatis, is a man aged 45 who has published two short story collections.

Materials

Information given by participants was captured by an audio recorder and then the data

was transferred to a secure location i.e. the hard drive of the main author’s personal computer

and the files were protected by a password. A copy of the interview schedule is included in

the appendices (see Appendix A).

Data collection

Data was collected via semi-structured interviews in which open ended questions

were asked. Semi-structured interviews are ideally suited for phenomenological research as

A PHENOMENOLOGICAL STUDY OF CREATIVE WRITING EXPERIENCE

they allow the researcher to explore the subjective meanings of the participants and to collect

rich descriptions of concrete experiences (Lynden, 2016). Since the research question focused

on key characteristics of the experience of creative writing, the aim was to collect rich and

detailed descriptions of that experience.

Procedure

The research was carried out as part of a student research project. A research proposal

was submitted and gained ethical clearance before proceeding with the research. One

participant was recruited for the pilot interview and then the interview questions were slightly

adjusted based on the outcome of the pilot interview. Then two interviews were conducted

with two more participants. Interviews were conducted in Greek, since both the researcher

and the participants are native Greek speakers. Then the data from the interviews was

transcribed and translated in English. The data analysis was conducted by coding the

transcripts, moving gradually from initial codes to developed ones, and from developed codes

to themes by looking for relationships between the codes and then considering a meaningful

title for each theme that aimed to capture what the relationship was about. A list of initial

codes, developed codes and themes can be found in the Appendices (see Appendix D). Some

of the codes identified were not used as they did not fit into a clear theme or were not

relevant to the research question. Furthermore, some of the themes identified were not used

as they were not particularly relevant to the research question or were not common for both

participants. Out of the themes that were identified in each transcript three common emergent

themes from across the transcripts that best contributed to answering the research question

were selected for interpretation in the report. The interpretation of the themes was built up

and supported through the presentation of quotes from the data.

Ethics

A PHENOMENOLOGICAL STUDY OF CREATIVE WRITING EXPERIENCE

Participants read a participant information sheet (see Appendix B) with all the

necessary information and signed an informed consent form (see Appendix C) to demonstrate

that they voluntarily agreed to participate. A topic that is not particularly sensitive was

chosen for exploration. The interviews were conducted at a quiet cafe where the participants

could feel safe and relaxed. If the participants had become uncomfortable or distressed during

the interview, the researcher would have attended to this and assess if additional support was

required. After the interviews the participants were debriefed. It was explained to them how

they can obtain further information and any needs for additional support were addressed.

The information the participants provided was treated confidentially and

anonymously and any identifying information such as their name and the titles of their

published works was changed or omitted. As the participants talked extensively about the plot

of their books, they were contacted after the interviews in order to be made aware of this

point and were asked if they allow their data to be used or if they wanted to withdraw it. They

confirmed that they allow their data to be used. Participant data was managed in line with the

General Data Protection Act 2018 and General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR). The

data was stored in a secure location i.e. the hard drive of the main author’s personal computer

and the files were protected with a password.

Findings

The present study explored how fiction writers experience the creative writing

process. On reading the transcripts, a number of themes emerged from the data. Three

common emergent themes from across the transcripts were selected that specifically address

the research question. The three themes are firstly, finding your voice, secondly, living

between two worlds and thirdly, facing the challenges of writing.

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Theme I: Finding your voice

For both participants finding their own voice through their writing seems to have been

a crucial step in the creative writing process. Finding their voice meant being able to express

themselves, to write about the things they care about. Stamatis began his adult creative

writing with poetry but at some point felt frustrated:

35 I wrote very

36 rarely because I didn’t get something out of it. What I am trying to say, I couldn’t

37 express myself through it, nor could it lead me to a different place. And I didn’t

38 exactly realize this. I realized it later on.

But as soon as he tried writing prose he realized that this was the form that suited him

and in which he could express the things he wanted to express. In fact, the feeling was so

powerful that he felt like he had discovered a new world:

38 [W]hen I wrote my first short

39 story I felt like I had discovered a new world. Which I couldn’t have found… This is

40 why I realized then… Then I realized what it meant not being able to express myself

41 through poetry. That is to say, the wall I was finding, which I didn’t understand was

42 leading nowhere. I realized it later on when I moved on to a different kind of form and

43 in this form I could speak, I could say the things I wanted to say.

For Anna, on the contrary, finding her voice did not come from changing the form she

was writing in, but through her life experiences. She had to first create her own distinct path

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in life and to overcome her fears that she had messed up her life or that she had thrown away

her opportunities:

245 I didn’t do any of the things

246 that I was supposed to do. I did other things. And I also think that creatively because

247 I entered into this kind of businesses and circles and opened up; I think that through

248 this way I was able to overcome the feeling that I had made a mess of things, that I

249 hadn’t done what I was supposed to do being so clever as I was, anyway all the

250 different things that they say [laughter]. Alright and I also found my own voice.

This was achieved through her creative and successful career in film production

which gave her the self-confidence that she may also have to say something of her own as a

writer that has value:

197 But all of this because I was in a very creative situation with all

198 these film crews, that is to say they were fine films, perhaps it gave me the

199 self-confidence that I lacked. Very likely. To be able to say something of my own.

Theme II: Living between two worlds

Both participants talked about the unique condition of the writer who lives between

two worlds, the real world and the fictional world they have created. This seems to have

significant consequences for their subjective temporal and spatial experience. Anna in

particular has felt like living simultaneously in two places ever since she was very young. A

A PHENOMENOLOGICAL STUDY OF CREATIVE WRITING EXPERIENCE

sickly child spending a great part of her childhood in bed inside a dark and cramped house,

she escaped into the places she created with her imagination:

426 Because from a young age I had gone through many

427 childhood diseases, I almost spent my entire childhood lying in bed. And there I kept

428 reading and reading and reading. So, this thing in a small and dark home, this is how

429 I have experienced it, for me it was a huge… it was another world. That I was able to

430 escape reality and live inside these novels. And of course, I made my own stories that

431 were non-stop. I didn’t have to write them, I lived them in my head.

But what was once her refuge during a difficult childhood, has now also become a

burden for her:

416 What makes being a writer a heavy thing… I personally feel like I am

417 living inside another world. And because I always lived between this world and

418 another world… That is to say, I had this since I was very young, I had a world of my

419 own in which I lived in. It is not a simple thing.

This ‘heavy thing’ has apparently to do with the process she goes through when

writing her books, using elements from her ‘real world’ experiences and transforming them

into fiction in the parallel universe of her fictional world:

121 I think because I am now old, that what I have inside my mind is like a mill

122 that grinds and grinds and grinds from very early childhood because I remember

123 things that then somehow disguise? Transform? And why is it that obsessions with

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124 certain kind of things that I find in my early writings, those that I dragged on for ten

125 years, that I suddenly find that elements of these characters are in my most recent

126 novel?

What makes it even more difficult is that drawing on her own experiences to write her

stories, means that she has already experienced firsthand the feelings of her characters:

455 That is to say, the feeling I express in this book is not a

456 description. It is what I have felt. Of course, in a way it comes out differently in a

457 book. This is why I am saying than when you write and the world you create is not a

458 simple thing. It is not in cold blood. For me at least.

Stamatis also recognizes that he feels ‘split’ between the real world and the fictional

world:

360 You are a split personality. You must be inside the world but also not be

361 inside the world.

He even hints that perhaps similarly to Anna, he can also be inspired from events in

his life, although for him this does not seem to necessarily be the case:

347 The others will

348 continue to chase butterflies and you will write something that is related to it or is

349 not related to it but this whole life inside you, this vitality will be transformed into

350 the process of writing.

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Moreover, he admits that writing can have a significant impact on his sociality. For

whereas people who are not writers can constantly have new experiences, a writer having had

new experiences and thus having recharged his batteries must eventually withdraw from

social life in order to write:

352 Because the experiences you collect, the ideas you collect

353 and so on, some people would continue to do this constantly. But you may say for

354 example, I will stay at home one day from morning till night, I won’t go anywhere,

355 because I am in the mood to write, I want to write. So, you are also in a parallel

356 process to the world.

However, Stamatis recognizes that writing can also have a positive impact on his

sociality in the sense that it provides him with the incentive to engage with the real world and

to meet new people:

295 In other words, I would rather do

296 something creative, to learn something new, to talk to different people.

Therefore, Stamatis paints overall a more positive picture of his situation recognizing

that writing can lead him to do new and interesting things and to become the catalyst for

personal growth:

299 To do something different that you have not done before in certain

300 occasions. In other words, you must take advantage of the fact that you are a writer

301 in order to change, to evolve.

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Theme III: Facing the challenges of writing

Both writers have faced significant challenges when writing their books, although for

each of them different parts of the writing process are the most challenging. For Anna,

beginnings are slow and painful processes. Not only does she hesitantly start a new story but

it also takes her a long time to develop it. One thing is for sure; writing starts with certain

characters that appear as out of thin air and then she stays with these characters for a long

time and tries to get to know them:

331 I am difficult

332 with myself. I don’t start by saying “I have this idea, what a nice idea to write about

333 this”. I start with certain characters that come out and then I write a scene and then I

334 sit and look at it, maybe even for six months and ask myself what is this thing? That is

335 to say, where did this thing come from? For example, in my third book I had written

336 the first chapter where there is this man with the old lady that knocks on his door.

337 Where did the old lady come from and where did he come from? And gradually it

338 became a story.

For Anna, even more challenging than beginnings are endings. In fact, the main

challenge she faced as a writer for many years was to complete her stories. At first, Anna

suggests that this issue has to do with not planning ahead when she writes:

84 Yes, I didn’t know where it was going. Why? Because when I write, even now when

85 I write, I haven’t planned a thing. I don’t write based on a story that I have thought

86 from before.

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But as it quickly becomes clear, there also other other issues lurking underneath, such

as her fear of showing her work to other people and being exposed to criticism:

88 I have thought about this, that is to say that my main problem was

89 that when it was completed obviously I would have some kind of… I would show it.

90 Perhaps I was very… perhaps I was scared of this thing,

Moreover, as it becomes apparent when talking about completing her first novel, this

issue also has to do with having high expectations of herself and not being easily satisfied,

being under this ‘critical eye’ she has always felt was hovering above her:

155 That I had completed it and that I had written a story that had ended, it was

156 from the beginning until the end. You may find it strange but I had this issue since I

157 was a child. That I always felt that I was under this critical eye that I could not get

158 over in any way. And of course I have high expectations of myself. I am not easily

159 satisfied.

Anna feels that her issue with endings was conclusively resolved only in her most

recent book because in what was by far her most complicated novel, she managed to link all

the topics:

373 All topics are linked, even those topics that you don’t think will be linked,

374 they do link in the end. At least for me they do. So, I think that my initial problem as

375 a writer was resolved here because it was quite hard to… [Laughter]

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And she is now confident that no matter how much time it will take her, she will be

able to finish her stories:

386 I don’t have this difficulty anymore. It may take me three years but it

387 doesn’t matter. I no longer have the fear of where I am going.

Stamatis also recognizes the challenges of being a writer, which for him have to do

with every aspect of the process, starting from the blank page in front of him:

390 It’s the whole process, every aspect of writing. That is to

391 say it’s not something… it’s not easy to take a piece of paper and write something

392 that… it is difficult to match all these things together.

However, he also adopts a more stoic attitude towards writing, while also

acknowledging that even during the times you do not write you never cease to be a writer and

thus being tormented by your writing demons:

187 When you like to write, you write. Difficulty is a relative thing. Alright it

188 gives you a hard time but what can you do. When I write, I can give it up for a couple

189 of days but I don’t just give up. I always carry a piece of paper with me to write down

190 an idea and then I can start again in order to finish it and so on.

He also believes that the ending is a crucial part of the story in the sense that it is there

that the whole point of the story will be revealed:

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192The big decision is the ending because it

193 is there you must show what kind of message you want to… if you want to show an

194 image, some…

He also recognizes that things can get even trickier if you know neither the ending nor

the direction of the story. In fact, they can get so tricky that the end result is writer’s block:

235 Even if I don’t know what the story’s ending will be… In some cases I

236 know the ending from the start and in other cases I know the direction of the story.

237 Things are difficult when I know neither the ending nor the direction of the story

238 This is the difficulty. This results in writer’s block.

On the other hand, he wants writing to be challenging as is obvious from the way he

feels about the stories that were easy to write and did not present a challenge for him:

466 That is to say, when you do something, it is like trying to solve an exercise

467 while you already know the solution. This is not a challenge.

Overall, Stamatis views writing as an exercise in problem solving where the main job

of the writer is to choose between different solutions:

487 So, what have we got? You have a

488 problem and you try to figure out solutions. You don’t know where each solution will

489 lead you, you have to make a decision, to match what came before with what comes

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490 after. It is a challenge.

In the end, whatever challenges these two writers have gone through, they have been

able to successfully navigate them as is evident from the fact that they have not only been

able to complete some of their stories but also to see them published.

Discussion

The analysis of the three common emergent themes that were identified from across

the transcripts allowed to address the research question of how fiction writers experience the

creative writing process. The three themes that were identified were firstly, finding your

voice, secondly, living between two worlds, and thirdly, facing the challenges of writing.

Overall, there is a considerable degree of overlap between the findings of the analysis

and the findings of several of the studies mentioned in the introduction. There exist

similarities between the data of the present study and the three dynamics operating within

themes identified in the Nelson and Rawlings (2007) study on artistic creativity. Regarding

the intuition-analysis dynamic, the participants do indeed seem to move between more

intuitive and more analytical processes during their writing. Regarding the union-division

dynamic, the movement between the unity in sense of self and lack of self-awareness and the

return to the awareness of other mental objects, including the sense of self, seems to

correspond with the movement of the writers between the fictional world of their stories and

the real world. Regarding the freedom-constraint dynamic, the sense of freedom experienced

while writing was again evident in the data. However, although there was evidence of more

positive affective feelings after the completion of the writing, the same cannot be said about

feelings of vulnerability.

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Some of the themes of the analysis resonate with those generated by Rampley et al.’s

(2019) phenomenological study about creative writing as a serious leisure occupation. The

theme of finding your voice is similar to the theme of creative and communicative freedom

identified in that study, since both concern the freedom of self-expression provided by

creative writing. Self-expression affords writers the opportunity to communicate and clarify

their thoughts, ideas and emotions that leaves them with a deep sense of freedom. There are

also similarities between the theme of living between two worlds and the theme of writing as

an escape from reality identified in that study. Both themes discuss the relationship between

the real world and the fictional world the writers create. Immersing yourself into the fictional

world you have created can provide you with an escape from the challenges and constraints

of real life but you can also pay a heavy price in terms of the social isolation, the reduced

orientation to reality and the emotional burden that this entails.

There are also similarities with Healy’s (2019) study about creative writing in the

classroom. In particular, the finding that children through their writing create a new spatial

and temporal experience, a new world evoked by words, seems to echo the finding that the

participants in the present study inhabit the fictional world they create. Participants in both

studies described writing as if their minds were watching the fictional world they had created

and seemed to experience this watching as transferring them to a different place.

The method of data collection was well suited to address the research question as the

semi structured interviews allowed the exploration of the subjective meanings of the

participants and also drew attention to the role of the researcher in the research process,

inviting consideration of the ways he contributed to the co-production of the data. Moreover,

the method of data analysis was also well suited to address the research question since by

using a phenomenological approach, there was a direct focus on the participants’

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understanding of how they experience the creative writing process and on their meanings of

their experiences. In other words, by using a phenomenological approach, experiences of

creative writing were studied from the very standpoint of the people who have had them and

therefore contributed to the knowledge of creative writing.

However, the present study also had a number of limitations. One limitation was the

small sample of only two participants. While this allowed an in-depth analysis of the themes

that emerged, the perspective of other individuals with similar experiences may have been

particularly helpful in the formation of a more complete picture about the way fiction writers

experience the creative writing process. Another limitation of the present study is the

researcher’s presence during the gathering of the data since the power relations between the

researcher and the participants may have influenced the data produced in the interview

context, especially since the researcher already knew the participants.

The current study explored the way fiction writers experience the creative writing

process. Three common emergent themes from across the transcripts were identified,

analyzed and linked to the relevant literature. By researching the lived experience of fiction

writers, different ways of looking at the phenomenon of creative writing and hidden

dimensions of meaning were hopefully revealed. Further research on this topic could shed

more light on the tensions and contradictions that characterize the experience of the creative

writing process.

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A PHENOMENOLOGICAL STUDY OF CREATIVE WRITING EXPERIENCE

Appendix A

Interview Schedule

Question 1: Can you tell me how you came to write your very first fiction story?

Was there a particular incident that prompted you to write that story?

What happened next?

Could you describe that in more detail?

Do you remember what short of feelings or thoughts you had after writing that story?

Question 2: Can you tell me how one of your published books developed from first

awareness that a story had begun through to the finished text?

Could you describe that in more detail?

Were there any changes in how you experienced this?

Do you remember what short of feelings or thoughts you had after finishing that book?

Question 3: What does it mean for you to be a writer?

Can you tell me a little more about that?

Question 4: Can you think of a particular occasion when you were particularly pleased or

satisfied with how you were writing? This could either be one specific occasion (for example

one evening) or a more extended period of time (for example while writing a particular

story).

Do you have one in mind?

Could you describe that in more detail?

A PHENOMENOLOGICAL STUDY OF CREATIVE WRITING EXPERIENCE

Do you remember what short of feelings or thoughts you had during that occasion?

A PHENOMENOLOGICAL STUDY OF CREATIVE WRITING EXPERIENCE

Appendix B

Participant Information Sheet

I am a third-year Open University student doing a psychology project.

The title of my research project is “Writing fiction; a phenomenological study of the creative

writing experience of fiction writers”. The aim of this study is to explore how fiction writers

experience the creative writing process.

Your participation in this study is voluntary and if you decide to participate you have the

right to withdraw participation at any time.

If you decide to participate you will be asked to participate in an interview (about one hour

long) in which you will be invited to talk about how you experience the creative writing

process. You will have the opportunity to ask questions before and after the interview.

The information you provide will be treated confidentially and anonymously and any

identifying information such as your name and the titles of your published works will be

changed.

For further information or to discuss issues or concerns about the study or my project you can

contact the Module Chair Gini Harrison (by emailing

[email protected]).

Thank you for your time in considering taking part in the study.

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Appendix C

Informed Consent Form

I, the undersigned participant, hereby confirm the following:

Please tick box

I have read and understood the information set out in the participation

information sheet provided and have had the opportunity to ask

questions about the research, interview process and my participation.

I voluntarily agree to participate in this study and understand that I

am free to withdraw at any time during or after the interview, without

providing an explanation, and that I will not be penalised for doing

so.

I understand that there will be no reward or payment for my

participation, other than the possible benefit of gaining a better

understanding of creative writing and how my contribution may

benefit future research.

The use, storage and destruction of my contributed data (including

the measures taken to secure my anonymity and data confidentiality)

has been thoroughly explained to me and I therefore hereby agree to

the interview being audio recorded and for anonymised quotes to be

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used in the final written report.

I understand that by signing this consent form, I am signifying my

informed consent.

Participant Signature: Date:

[ ]

Print Name

Researcher Signature: Date:

Important Contact Information:

DE300 Module Chair: Gini Harrison (email [email protected]).

A PHENOMENOLOGICAL STUDY OF CREATIVE WRITING EXPERIENCE

Appendix D

Initial codes, developed codes and themes of first interview transcript (Anna)

Initial Codes

Developed codes

Reading and living in a fantasy world

Living in a fantasy world

Trouble with endings from young age

Trouble with endings

Self-inspired in difficult times

Self-inspiration

Complete life change

A changed life

Didn’t write for many years

Gap in creativity

Writing for someone to read

Writing for readers

Sense of fulfilment for finishing

Sense of fulfilment

Different life path

A changed life

Writing the script, a way to find herself

Finding herself

Self-expression

Creative time in life

Creative period

Doesn’t write with a plan

No planning

No completion due to fear of readers

Fear of audience

From writing book with no end to writing another in

record time

Dramatic shift in writing

Inspiration from own material

Self-inspiration

Becomes the characters of the stories

Becoming the characters

Characters are like ghosts inside ourselves

The ghosts inside

Her experiences transformed into fiction

Transformation of experience

Dark atmosphere of her novel from her past

Self-inspiration

Positive comments were incentive for editing

Incentive for editing

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Finishing a book meant overcoming feeling inadequate

Proving herself

Not impressed with results but book was well received

High expectations

Satisfied for completing story of main character

Completing the character

Successful and creative career in film production gave

her self-confidence to write novel

Finding the confidence to express

yourself

Lost the fear of artistic results not being hers

Losing the fear

She never felt good enough compared to her mother

Feeling inferior

Her creative and challenging profession enabled her to

find a voice of her own

Finding her voice

Vivid imagination allowed her to design a different life

from that of her parents

Creating an original life

Overcoming feeling of inferiority through creativity and

success

Overcoming obstacles

Found her way in life and her own voice

Finding her voice

Not afraid of writing and being judged anymore

Fear of writing disappears

Differences between writing books and writing scripts

Different forms of writing

Lost her fear and became a master of her skills

Losing the fear

Scared by bad reviews of second book and didn’t

publish for many years

Fear of external evaluation

Writing books more personal and of higher value than

scripts

Self-revelation

Doesn’t feel a writer because she publishes sparsely

Publishing sparsely

Starts a book with characters and scenes not with ideas

Takes time to begin a novel

It takes time to become the characters and enter their

world

Creating the fictional world an

experiential and gradual process

Doesn’t care anymore about other readers’ opinion

Fear disappears

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Characters develop from inside

Own material

To write about the characters she first has to feel them

Feeling the characters

Last novel the most complicated one but managed to

link all the topics

Achievement

Issue with endings resolved

Resolution

Not afraid anymore and confident she will finish

Fearless and confident

Embarrassed to call herself a writer

The weight of the title

If she didn’t work she would gladly write her next book

Enjoying the process

Conflicted about her demanding but also inspiring

profession

Conflicted

Heavy thing to live between this world and the world

you create

Living between two worlds

A sickly child who read and lived in her imaginary

world

Living in an imaginary world

Dark post-war climate and family ordeals came out in

this book

Inspiration from personal

experiences

Experienced feeling transformed into fiction

Transformation of experience

The world of the past only exists in her memories

The outside world becomes the

inside world

Satisfaction and enjoyment for achieving a good result

Satisfaction and enjoyment

Writing is hard work but also has its rewards

Hard work and its rewards

She can express her rich experiences

Abundant material

Having lived her life and made her choices

A lived life

Expressing the rich landscapes of herself

Self-expression

She will not be opening new chapters in her life

Settled

Writing about objects was fascinating and she felt free

Fascination and freedom

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Draw pleasure from the image a friend drew for her

book

Collaboration

Themes:

1. Finding yourself / finding your voice

2. Living between two worlds

3. Self-expression through writing

4. Trouble with endings

5. Writing professionally

A PHENOMENOLOGICAL STUDY OF CREATIVE WRITING EXPERIENCE

Initial and Developed Codes of second interview transcript (Stamatis)

Initial Codes

Developed codes

Adult writing began with poetry

Experimenting with poetry

Got bored and tried prose

Changing form

Finding your place and your voice

Finding your voice

The idea to write began with his mother

narrating him stories

Family beginnings

He made up stories and narrated them to his

brother

Family beginnings

Wrote stories in high-school for fun

Writing for fun

Didn’t get something out of poetry and didn’t

lead him somewhere

Poetry a dead end

Writing prose like discovering a new world

Discovering a new world

Realised he was hitting a wall with poetry

Hitting a wall

Finding the form that suits you

Writing for fun and out of boredom

Writing for fun

Writing like solving crossword puzzles

Writing as a pastime

Found his place and discovered a new world

Finding your voice

Joy, satisfaction and calmness

Proving to yourself you can write another book

Challenging yourself

Took time off from writing

Taking a break from writing

Finding what you want to say

Finding your voice

Finding the link between stories

Finding the links

Stories become more targeted

Finding the direction

Focuses on changes in the text

Editing

A PHENOMENOLOGICAL STUDY OF CREATIVE WRITING EXPERIENCE

Losing the inspiration and the imagination

Losing the magical element

The order of the stories gave him a hard time

Having a hard time

A stoic attitude towards writing

Never truly stops even when not writing

Always a writer

The critical point you become confident about

the story

Becoming confident

Another critical point the ending

The ending is critical

Writing can also be amusing

Enjoyment in writing

After you feel confident, writing becomes a

matter of technique

Writing modes

There are still challenges but you feel safe

Feeling safe

In some cases he had the story in mind

Having a story in mind

Important not to be didactic

Story moving forward but philosophical issue

tormenting him

Philosophical challenge

Not knowing the direction and the ending of the

story leads to writer’s block

Writer’s block

Not knowing the direction is a great challenge

Challenges of writing

Helps to have a general idea even if you don’t

follow it

Knowing the direction

Bad stories are cemeteries of good ideas

Wasting good ideas

A sense of freedom

The book is complete when there is nothing left

to say

Completing the book

A weight being lifted

Writer means being creative and trying new

Openness to experience

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things

To be a writer allows you to change and evolve

Openness to experience

Everything you do gives you material for

writing

Inspiration for writing

Being a writer is the motive to do things

A motive to do things

Writing is a parallel process to life

Parallel universe

You do things and then you stop to write about

them

Between worlds

Vitality transformed into writing

Transformation of experience

Both inside and outside the world

Between worlds

A split personality between two worlds

Finding the balance

Satisfied and happy in most stories

The satisfaction of writing

Proud but also troubled

The difficulties of writing

Satisfaction for creating a new world

Satisfaction doesn’t last long

Fleeting feeling

Writing is like problem solving

Satisfied for turning a crazy idea into a story

Challenges in writing

A simple story is purely procedural and

technical

Writing must challenge you

Predictable stories are mannerisms

Mannerisms in writing

Writing is solving problems and choosing

between solutions is the challenge

Finding innovative solutions

Themes:

A PHENOMENOLOGICAL STUDY OF CREATIVE WRITING EXPERIENCE

1. Finding your voice

2. Feeling confident about your story

3. Living between two worlds

4. Writing that challenges you