Previous research indicates that episodic retrieval contributes to divergent creative thinking. However, this research has relied on standard laboratory tests of divergent creative thinking, such as generating creative uses for objects; it is unknown whether episodic retrieval also contributes to domain-specific forms of creativity. Here we start…

Reviews research indicating that children's writing moves in an age-related sequence from the literal and factual to the metaphorical and affective and shows a growth in awareness of the psychological characteristics of the self and others. Presents an analysis of children's stories that provides guidelines for teachers and researchers to use in…

Discusses the experiences of students as they try to turn pictures in their head into poetry. Describes how the poetry of popular music can provide stimulus for student poetry. (HTH)

A study examined the relationship between structured imagination and creativity in story writing among 108 undergraduates. Subjects produced paragraphs that were meaningful/original, meaningful/non-original, or non-meaningful/non-original. Results showed that groups 1 and 2 wrote psychologically meaningful stories significantly more than group 3…

A theory of teaching creative writing that involves preconscious learning is presented in this paper. Following a review of the literature on methods of developing writing ability, the paper describes a three-step creative process of preparation (the gathering and study of appropriate materials), incubation (the preconscious absorption and shaping…

Asserting that the mind of the creative reader operates precisely like the mind of the creative writer, the author examines theories of the psychology of poetic composition, in order to draw implications for the teaching of literature. (SJL)

In teaching students how to write, the utilitarian aspect does not need to be ignored, but--more important--the imaginative, expressive aspect should be emphasized. Since all writing depends on the full resources of the imagination, students need to be taught how to recreate or vivify people, objects, scenes, and feelings. A process which helps…

Reviews automaticity, effortless writing that enjoys freedom from excessive conscious interference, in terms of its origins in automatic writing and growth into contemporary techniques. Characterizes automaticity as a (1) form of dissociation from consciousness; (2) succor to spontaneity and creativity; and (3) key to understanding why some…