creating stories: a comparative analysis of the creative process of fiction writers and journalists...
DESCRIPTION
Creativity is a term that has different implications in different realms of production. In fiction writing, for example, creativity is celebrated whereas creativity in writing such as journalism conjures up images of ‘making things up’, which contradicts one of the fundamental tenets of journalism. Journalism is seen as a highly interactive practice and a form of writing with strict rules that govern how a journalist writes; fiction writing is seemingly a solitary activity that is free from boundaries. Journalism is reporting on factual events; fiction writing comes from the imagination of the writer. This presentation is reporting on two research projects that examined the creative process of fiction writers and print journalists. Elizabeth Paton examined fiction writers and Janet Fulton examined journalists and a comparison of results from research projects showed that while there are differences there are many similarities in these two different forms of writing.TRANSCRIPT
Creating storiesA comparative analysis of the creative process of
fiction writers and journalists in Australia
Dr Janet FultonSchool of Design, Communication and IT
University of Newcastle
Dr Elizabeth PatonSchool of Media, Film and Journalism
Monash University
July 9, 2014
2
Introduction
Creativity is a term that has different implications in different realms of production• Fiction writing: creativity is celebrated• Journalism: creativity conjures up the idea of ‘making
things up’
Elizabeth Paton – Creativity and the dynamic system of Australian fiction writing
Janet Fulton – Making the news: print journalism and the creative process
July 9, 2014
A presentation to ANZCA 2014
3
Introduction - methodology
July 9, 2014
A presentation to ANZCA 2014
Technique Fiction writing Journalism
Semi-structured interviews
Fiction writers, editors, agents and other writing industry professionals
Journalists, editors and other managerial workers, subeditors, cadets
Observation Writer festivals (including ‘green room’), readings, lectures, workshops
3 x newsrooms
Document and artifact analysis
Secondary interview material, websites, process journals, draft manuscripts
Secondary interview material, books, presentations, interviews
4
Introduction
Fiction writing and journalism are creative systems in action.
Structure of presentation:• Motivation• The business of writing• Freedom and constraints• Writing as a social activity• Are both domains creative?
July 9, 2014
A presentation to ANZCA 2014
5
Systems model of creativity
July 9, 2014
A presentation to ANZCA 2014
Systems model of creativity developed by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi (2003, p. 315)
6
Creativity - definition
“… a productive activity whereby objects, processes and ideas are generated from antecedent conditions through the agency of someone, whose knowledge to do so comes from somewhere and the resultant novel variation is seen as a valued addition to the store of knowledge in at least one social setting” (McIntyre, 2008, p.1).
July 9, 2014
A presentation to ANZCA 2014
7
MotivationFiction writers: “The success of the books – going to #1 regularly, winning a fan base, impressing overseas publishers, earning new and more valuable contracts - is highly motivating for me. I find it very rewarding to use my imagination to touch other people’s lives. There’s nothing so satisfying as receiving the regular emails from readers to tell me they haven’t done any housekeeping, they haven’t fed the family, they haven’t been able to sleep for reading my stories” (W18, 2006).
Journalists: “passionate about writing,” “really enjoy writing,” “it’s fun,” “it’s exciting,” “I love doing it,” and “I love the challenge.”
July 9, 2014
A presentation to ANZCA 2014
8
Motivation – flow• Fiction writer: “It’s like riding a whirlpool, riding or surfing. I’ve never
come across similar sensations you get in the physical world with greater buzz than the flow of a book. The book just takes you. In Welsh, there’s a thing called ‘hwil’, H.W.I.L. It’s exaltation when a preacher starts talking and gradually this sermon takes him over and he delivers a beautiful complex, high-flown, lengthy sort of sermon; it’s kind of like that” (W10, 2006).
• Journalist: It [writing] is hard but yes I do [love it]. I think everyone does this when they’re creating, in a creative mode, you struggle up this slope of research and preparation and planning and you start writing and you’re still climbing. And you reach a plateau where you’re in a different world and time is stretched and compressed, but it’s hard. It’s not pleasant being up there all the time because you’re fighting chaos; you’re trying to bring this order and it’s very difficult. And you finish it and come down off the plateau and three weeks later I read the published article and I think, ‘God, did I write that! That’s amazing! How did I write that?’ (J15, 2008)
July 9, 2014
A presentation to ANZCA 2014
9
Business of writingFiction writers:• “I write every day, all day if I can, just like going to
work. And sometimes in the evenings and weekends too” (W14, 2006).
• “I view myself as self employed in the creative business of ideas – 50 hours per week” (W05, 2006).
• “I suppose I’m a bit more business-like, it feels more like work, which is not to say it’s not pleasurable! I’m more aware of trying to write a certain number of words per day just to shove myself along and make sure I’m productive” (W04, 2006).
July 9, 2014
A presentation to ANZCA 2014
10
Freedom and constraints“While it can be shown that journalists work within a myriad of structures, it cannot be said that a journalist has no opportunity to make choices within those structures, that is, a journalist has agency … These requirements and structures not only constrain a journalist but are vital in helping them to be more productive in their creative process”
(Fulton, 2011).
“As these contexts in which writers work are necessary for creativity to occur, this research shows that they both constrain and enable writing by providing boundaries for what is possible or acceptable … the social and cultural contexts within which individual writers work give them the ability to make choices and act in ways that can either reinforce or potentially change those structures” (Paton, 2009).
July 9, 2014
A presentation to ANZCA 2014
11
Writing as a social activity
• “Typically I do about five drafts before the editor makes her structural comments, then another two drafts after, then another two after getting her final comments” (W14, 2006).
• “I have almost daily contact with my editor as I write” (W21, 2006).
July 9, 2014
A presentation to ANZCA 2014
12
Is all writing creative?Common understanding of creativity in different writing domains:
• Fiction writers make things up, of course they are creative
• Journalists make things up, of course they are creative
BUT using a rational, research-based understanding of creativity, what actually occurs in both domains is hard work, a complex process of idea generation, development and evaluation
July 9, 2014
A presentation to ANZCA 2014
13
Conclusion
How are stories created?• By individuals with intrinsic and extrinsic motivation
who can achieve a state of flow• By individuals who act within social and cultural
structures that constrain and enable their work.• As commercial activities undertaken with a business-like
approach• Through inherently social processes
In other words, the product of a system in action.
July 9, 2014
A presentation to ANZCA 2014
14
Bibliography
Amabile, T. and Tighe, E. 1993, 'Questions of creativity', in Creativity: the reality club 4, (Ed) J. Brockman, Simon and Schuster, New York, pp. 7-28.
Csikszentmihalyi, M. 2003, 'Implications of a systems perspective for the study of creativity', in Handbook of creativity, (Ed) R. Sternberg, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, pp. 313-335.
Fulton, J. 2011b, Making the news: print journalism and the creative process, PhD thesis, University of Newcastle, Newcastle.
McIntyre, P. 2008, The systems model of creativity: analyzing the distribution of power in the studio, paper presented at 4th Art of Record Production Conference, University of Massachusetts Lowell, 14th–16th November 2008.
Paton, E. 2008, Creativity and the dynamic system of Australian fiction writing, PhD thesis, University of Canberra, Canberra - accessed 16.12.09.
Wolff, J. 1993, The social production of art, 2nd ed., Macmillan, London.
July 9, 2014
A presentation to ANZCA 2014
15Thank you
Any questions?
July 9, 2014
A presentation to ANZCA 2014