Harold Pinter did not much like talking about his creative works, and especially his writing process, not because he was secretive but because he saw such disclosures as little more than time-wasting, deceptive chatter. Moreover, he said he could not recall precisely how his plays develop from conception to completion. The closest he seemed willing to express about his writing process was his feeling throughout it: "I think what happens is that I write in a very high state of excitement and frustration."
Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi's classic books Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience and Creativity: Flow and the Psychology of Discovery and Invention examine in depth what happens during the creative process. Hours can pass like seconds to an artist in the midst of creating. But what I appreciate about Pinter's observation is its pragmatism. When we are excited and frustrated, we tend to work through those feelings until they fade, making writing an activity in which our intellect and emotions collaborate.
Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi's classic books Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience and Creativity: Flow and the Psychology of Discovery and Invention examine in depth what happens during the creative process. Hours can pass like seconds to an artist in the midst of creating. But what I appreciate about Pinter's observation is its pragmatism. When we are excited and frustrated, we tend to work through those feelings until they fade, making writing an activity in which our intellect and emotions collaborate.
