A fascination with the creative process

[John Dean]

 

I am becoming increasingly intrigued by the creative process. Surely, I hear you cry, you're an author you always were?

Well, yes and no. You see, writing is such a technical skill - and although it might sound to some people like an odd thing to say I absolutely love the craft, the forensic focus on each word - much more than the freewheeling creativity of plotting.

So why is this blog about creativity then? It's because I am delighted to be working with an aspiring writer who I first encountered twenty years ago when he walked into my creative writing class and said he had many ideas, he just needed to find a way of getting them out and onto the page.

In fact, he had too many ideas - it was like someone had taken the top of his head off and given his brain a good old stir. I said that he had to focus on one idea.

Over time I lost touch with him after I moved north to Scotland and the other day he got back in touch. He has indeed focused on one of those early ideas and turned it into a short novel and it's good - very good.

Would I help him move onto the next stage, preparing it for publication, he asked?  I am delighted to do so, the creativity of the original idea is still there but now it has been given the discipline treatment as well.

We’re now helping him with editing and design (my daughter is doing the editing and proofing).

When the book is ready, I’ll reveal all.