Creating in Flow

Susan K. Perry, Ph.D. is a social psychologist, writer, and writing consultant. Among her books are Writing in Flow: Keys to Enhanced Creativity. See full bio

May 7, 2009

Flashbacks Mimic Memory: Samuel R. Delany

Flashbacks threaded into a novel are handy devices for dealing with past events. But many writers misuse flashbacks, writes award-winning science fiction author Samuel R. Delany. Flashbacks should work the way memory does... Read More

April 25, 2009

Get Creative, Lose Weight, Find Flow & Happiness

At first, I couldn't find the connection. Janice Taylor specializes in helping people lose weight and transform their lives, and she does crafts. After we spoke, I got it: she's found a route to a productive happy life because she no longer torments herself over weight. And she no longer has a weight problem because doing creative stuff pulls her into flow and away from the nibbles. She's funny, too. I mean, sexy vegetables? ... Read More

April 11, 2009

This Writer's Tricks Are Not for You

Cees Nooteboom is a delightfully quirky Dutch novelist (Lost Paradise), poet, and travel writer (Nomad's Hotel: Travels in Time and Space). The delights his work offers the reader are easily matched by a conversation with him. When we discussed his creative process, my first question was, "Have you had a fiction-writing experience where you lose track of time?" His answer wasn't what I expected... Read More

March 26, 2009

How to Stop Fighting That Deadline

Do you find the very concept of deadlines loathsome? Too much pressure, not enough time to be wildly creative. That clock always ticking. Yet some writers believe they would get more done if they had a deadline to work toward. Novelists working without a contract, say, rarely have the benefit of a pre-set deadline. So are deadlines a hindrance or a bonus? Read More

March 12, 2009

Designer Flows from Business to Art

Sophisticated handmade textiles--pillows, duvet covers, sachets, albums, vases--are what Brooklyn-based designer Aviva Stanoff creates in her studio. Products that are gorgeous, upscale, drool-worthy to the likes of necessarily frugal writers like me. A $1000 pillow?! But I knew Aviva long before she found her design niche. As a little girl, she lived next door and hung out in my back yard with her sister and my own kids. I can still see her concentrating intently on her kid-sized art projects. Even then, she knew how to enter creative flow... Read More

February 27, 2009

Writers Do It Often (Amid Chaos): Part 2

Do you growl at interruptions when you're writing? Whether you're easygoing or disciplined, you probably have a routine that works for you. Or perhaps it isn't working for you. Whatever your interest in creativity -- reader, writer, or other creator -- you'll find it enlightening to think about the ways writers get into a flow state. As you read about how bestselling and award-winning novelists make "it" happen, note the anarchy and turmoil of the process. Read More

February 14, 2009

Writers Do It Often: Here's How: Part 1

Getting words to flow isn't always easy. Some authors and poets swear by a highly particular writing ritual. Others swear they don't do anything special to get to that place where the words begin pouring forth. Some time back I questioned, in depth, a large batch of award-winning and bestselling novelists and poets. Describing their creative process, most of them had some sort of routine... Read More

January 31, 2009

Snap + Flow: How Photographers Think

Anyone can snap a photo. That may be why some people think of photography as less creative than a few other arts, an activity that doesn't require special expertise. Just like so many would-be writers think writing a publishable children's book should be easy. But they're wrong: neither art is that simple. Recently I interviewed Steven Barber, a part-time-semi-professional photographer, about exactly how he came to take photography seriously, what role it plays in his life, and how he gets those marvelous effects ... Read More

January 15, 2009

Create Real Life Stories as Believable as Fiction

It's tricky to write good non-fiction, that is, true stories that read as believably as the best novels. Author and writing teacher Richard Goodman writes in The Soul of Creative Writing about the need to make your characters "as real as any fictional characters," building them from the ground up. You can do that with the help of the techniques of fiction, and by being continually aware of the need to make them real." In our interview ...

December 30, 2008

7 Best Writers' Resolutions

Writers and other creative types aren't immune to the impulse to start anew each time we unwrap a new calendar. I began making New Year's resolutions back in elementary school, and at best, my resolutions, like most people's, were always qualified failures. Yet there's something highly symbolic about believing there's a right time to start again. Give yourself the edge this year... Read More

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